UCSF housing question

[MDMD7]

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anyone know about the UCSF housing situation? I've been checking out student housing links online, but no pics. craigslist is great, but SF is so expensive... any suggestions? on-campus and/or off?

 

[DeadorAlive]

I have similar questions (my only concern re: UCSF, really): since on the interview day the answer to housing seemed to be "it all works out"... any current students/locals know a bit more about where students live, how difficult places are to find, what the real costs look like?

 

[thegenius]

I have similar questions (my only concern re: UCSF, really): since on the interview day the answer to housing seemed to be "it all works out"... any current students/locals know a bit more about where students live, how difficult places are to find, what the real costs look like?

I life in SF, about 2 miles from UCSF. If there is no subsidized housing program through UCSF, then you'll obviously have to pay market rates. And that ain't good.

You'll live most likely in either Cole Valley (really expensive) or the Inner Sunset. You could live elsewhere though because there is public transit (MUNI) that drops you off right next to the school, one block away. It's the N-Line I think.

You can probably rent comfortably for $750-1000/month, and that is splitting the cost with someone else. That should get you a 800-1000 sq ft flat, 2 BA, 1 BR, no parking. It will be a Victorian/Edwardian style flat. I doubt you need a car for UCSF, but if you want to keep yours parking will cost an extra $150-$200/month (either that is tacked onto your rent or you can rent a specific car parking spot.)

I can see why the students there don't talk about the living situation - SF is an expensive place to live.

 

[thegenius]

I life in SF, about 2 miles from UCSF. If there is no subsidized housing program through UCSF, then you'll obviously have to pay market rates. And that ain't good.

You'll live most likely in either Cole Valley (really expensive) or the Inner Sunset. You could live elsewhere though because there is public transit (MUNI) that drops you off right next to the school, one block away. It's the N-Line I think.

You can probably rent comfortably for $750-1000/month, and that is splitting the cost with someone else. That should get you a 800-1000 sq ft flat, 2 BA, 1 BR, no parking. It will be a Victorian/Edwardian style flat. I doubt you need a car for UCSF, but if you want to keep yours parking will cost an extra $150-$200/month (either that is tacked onto your rent or you can rent a specific car parking spot.)

I can see why the students there don't talk about the living situation - SF is an expensive place to live.

Oh yea, craigslist.org is undoubtely the best place to find housing. Scour that website and you'll find something.

 

[diosa428]

I life in SF, about 2 miles from UCSF. If there is no subsidized housing program through UCSF, then you'll obviously have to pay market rates. And that ain't good.

You'll live most likely in either Cole Valley (really expensive) or the Inner Sunset. You could live elsewhere though because there is public transit (MUNI) that drops you off right next to the school, one block away. It's the N-Line I think.

You can probably rent comfortably for $750-1000/month, and that is splitting the cost with someone else. That should get you a 800-1000 sq ft flat, 2 BA, 1 BR, no parking. It will be a Victorian/Edwardian style flat. I doubt you need a car for UCSF, but if you want to keep yours parking will cost an extra $150-$200/month (either that is tacked onto your rent or you can rent a specific car parking spot.)

I can see why the students there don't talk about the living situation - SF is an expensive place to live.

Do you know how long it takes to get to UCSF from Berkeley? Would it be reasonable to live there and commute everyday or not? (Not that I've even interviewed at UCSF, but just curious).

 

[Bluntman]

UCSF actually does have some on-campus student housing. It isn't really available for your first year though (since the units are already assigned by the time most of us will know if we will be accepted or not). For the MS2/3/4/... students, there is a lottery, with preference given to older class standing.

Anyway, that's what my tour guide told us.

 

[thegenius]

Do you know how long it takes to get to UCSF from Berkeley? Would it be reasonable to live there and commute everyday or not?

Commuting by public transit would take 40-50 mins each way because you have to transfer from BART to MUNI. It's all in one station but transfering always takes time. BART is great, it just got voted best public transit system in the United States, but it doesn't make it all the way to UCSF.

I suppose you could live in Berkeley, but I would doubt many students do. There are cheaper places to live in SF, just a bit more of a commute. You could live in the Mission district (a gentrified, yuppy place, can be kind of dirty at times) or can live in the Sunset, which is more west than Inner Sunset. Your commute times would then be about 20 mins.

The Mission is a fun place to live because if you are single that is where a bunch of people like you live. The rents in the Mission district are probably 10% less than the UCSF area. I'm talking about 22-28 year olds. I don't know off hand if there is one bus that takes you to the UCSF area, but that should be easy to find out. When I first moved to San Francisco, I lived in the Mission district and thought it was the bomb. Then I moved to Cole Valley (near UCSF) and thought it was even better. Then Glen Park (not easy to get to UCSF area) and that was a step down in location but a huge step up in apartment. Then Noe Valley because now I'm married with a child, and that is the best place to live in SF if you are in that situation (still kind of hard to get to UCSF). That or either the Marina but I hate the people who live in the Marina district.

If I were you I would try hard to find a place within 10-20 minutes transit/walking time of UCSF. You can always move during the summer of your first year if you don't like it or find a better living situation, either somewhere else in SF or in Berkeley.

When you go to Craigslist http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/
you'll see a dropdown filter starting with "All Neighborhoods". I would select the following neighborhoods (too bad you can only do one at a time...)

Close By
USF/Panhandle (10-20 minute walk)
Cole Valley/Ashbury Heights (0-10 minuute walk)
Haight Ashbury (5-15 minute walk)
Inner Sunset/UCSF (0-10 minute walk)

A bit of a stretch
Hayes Valley (20-35 minute walk)
Lower Haight (30-40 minute walk)
Twin Peaks/Diamond Heights (only certain locations) (30 minute walk)

There is pretty good public transit from other areas, but I would check these out.

 

[cadilakgrl]

UCSF actually does have some on-campus student housing. It isn't really available for your first year though (since the units are already assigned by the time most of us will know if we will be accepted or not). For the MS2/3/4/... students, there is a lottery, with preference given to older class standing.

Anyway, that's what my tour guide told us.

Their on-campus housing is not cheap! Check out the housing website- http://www.campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/housing/
Mission Bay studio $900-1200
Missions Bay 1BD $1300-1600
Mission Bay 2BD $1700-2000
Avenues (no openings)- Single students $550-700 shared house

You can definitely find cheaper and nicer apartments in surrounding neighboorhoods. But expect to pay at least $900 for a studio, $1100 for a one bedroom or $700-800 for a room in a house with roommates. SF is expensive!!

 

[NorCalGirl]

thegenius provided some really good information about housing in SF. Most of my classmates live within a 15-minute walk to campus and pay anywhere from $600ish to over $1000/month. Others choose to live in other parts of the city and take public transportation or if they're lucky, they take UCSF shuttles that happen to pick up near their neighborhoods. A small group lives in the Mission Bay housing which is a 30-min shuttle ride to campus-- I hear that it's not that bad if you don't mind getting up early.

One of my classmates lives in Berkeley and takes BART and muni to school. She doesn't complain too much about it because she reads on BART, but I can imagine that getting annoying if you had to be on campus late.

 

[noonday]

yah. i've lived a stone's throw from ucsf (who rejected me) for a while and i pay 1000/mo plus utilities for a bedroom in a 3 bedroom, no parking. i work in berkeley and commute every day, but reverse. i used to live in albany (next to berkeley) and had my own 1-bd with parking space, fireplace, balcony, etc. for the same price.

if you're going to live east bay, i'd reccommend albany/el cerrito (one bart stop further -- nice and also cheaper) or parts of oakland (where you don't have to transfer bart trains at night or on weekends).

a car's nice to have, but pricy in the city. easier in the east bay to have one.

other than CL, there are a few paid services that are decent, some more for city, some more for east bay. homefinders is good, as is metrorent.

i've lived in the bay area for over 5 years, feel free to send me a PM if you want to talk about it more.

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ok, here it goes....

http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?myid=04760

 

[doublepeak]

http://www.housingmaps.com/ which combines CL and google maps is really helpful so you can see where everything is in relation.