If you want to live in university affiliated housing, as soon as possible, to submit an application to Housing, Dining and Hospitality. Your submission will be time-stamped and the earlier it is, the higher on the wait-list you will be. You are not committed to living in affiliated housing when you submit an application. You are just reserving yourself a spot for the future.
It used to be that as soon as a graduate student got affiliated housing, they would be able to remain there for the duration of their time at UCSD. Affiliated housing is now limited to two years. Once those two years have been used, you will be required to find off-campus housing.
On Campus Housing
One Miramar
One Miramar is located in UTC. Students get to campus by biking (10-15 min.), walking (25-30 min.) or taking the UCSD Mesa Shuttle (20-25 min.). If you are moving to San Diego from out of town without a chance to see apartments ahead of time, One Miramar is a reliable and decent place to live. It is quiet, safe and close to school. Since your neighbors are other UCSD graduate students, it is a good way to meet graduate students from other departments.
Having other grad students living nearby is convenient for new students since it makes it easier to meet up to work on homework or study for the qualifying exams. There are grocery stores, banks and the UTC mall within walking distance. However, there is not very much night life going on in this area and students often wish that there were more things to do near UTC.
Here is the OMS community HDH page, including a map of the complex: https://hdh.ucsd.edu/arch/pages/OMS.html. The complex has outdoor community grills, community laundry rooms, and meeting rooms. The external amenities at Mesa Nueva (pool, spa, fitness center, pub, coffee shop) can be used by Mesa residents.
Mesa
Mesa is located right next to One Miramar, so travel times to campus are the same. As with One Miramar, students like Mesa because it is quiet and close to campus. The layout of Mesa has the feeling of a large park setting, and there are a lot more families living there compared to One Miramar. Our graduate students with children have mentioned that they enjoy the playgrounds at Mesa available for their kids, and the green areas.
Mesa has larger apartments (esp. South Mesa at 850 sq ft per apt, the largest at UCSD) and getting into Mesa can take more time due to the wait list (see above). Some students get around the wait list by finding a UCSD student already living there who is looking for a roommate.
Some time in 2021, UCSD has scheduled Mesa to be redeveloped into a rennovated higher density mid-rise complex, where the complex is still meant to also accommodate students with families, but it will definitely be denser, and bigger, and the apts will be smaller.
Here is the Mesa community HDH page, including a map of the complex: https://hdh.ucsd.edu/arch/pages/Mesa.html. The complex has outdoor community grills, community laundry rooms, and meeting rooms. The external amenities at Mesa Nueva (pool, spa, fitness center, pub, coffee shop) can be used by Mesa residents.
Coast
Only a few grad students (~150 residents total) live at Coast primarily because of the long waitlist to get in (regularly ~ 2 yrs, but according to some Physics grads totally worth the wait). Coast is the closest to campus and only a 3-10 min. bike ride to campus, depending on the campus location. It is very close to the ocean and students living there enjoy the many running routes to the beach. Also, since Coast is closer to downtown La Jolla than other graduate housing, it is easier to take advantage of art and community events going on there. The complex (still) has a huge lawn which residents use for games and picnics. The 2-3 southwestmost buildings (9310, 9321, 9331) have an ocean view. You can request with the Housing office (HDH) to keep you mind only for apartments you prefer, say the ones on those 3 buildings.
HDH/UCSD had plans to rennovate and turn Coast into faculty housing in 2020-2021, but it seems for now (probably due to CA Coastal Commission political challenges) these plans have been put on the backburner.
Here is the Coast community HDH page, including a map of the complex: https://hdh.ucsd.edu/arch/pages/Coast.html. The complex has outdoor community grills, community laundry rooms, and meeting rooms. The external amenities at Mesa Nueva (pool, spa, fitness center, pub, coffee shop), although not very conveniently located for Coast residents, can be used by Coast residents.
Mesa Nueva
Mesa Nueva was built in 2017 and replaced the lovely and spacious, but old, North Mesa Complex (as of April 2020 Google Maps still shows North Mesa, and not Mesa Nueva). It houses some of the more desirable amenities in campus housing such as a swimming pool, a hot tub, a fitness center, a pub, a coffee shop, and each unit except for the studios, have dishwashers and in-unit washer and dryer (the only apts on campus with dishwashers and in-unit washer and dryer!). It is a dorm-type complex with buildings between 4 and 8 stories which has studios, 1-, 2-, and 3-bd apts.
Some may say that currently Mesa Nueva offers the most value for your money (if you are ok not having an ocean view at Coast) due to the amenities and the relative spaciousness of the apts when they are compared with the new Nuevo West and Nuevo East.
Here is the Mesa Nueva community HDH page, including a map of the complex: https://hdh.ucsd.edu/arch/pages/MesaNueva.html. The complex has outdoor community grills, community laundry rooms, and meeting rooms.
Nuevo West
The Nuevo West complex opened in March 2020. It is a dorm-style complex with 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-bedroom units (and a handful of studios). The apartments are furnished, but are on the small side. The complex is next to Mesa Nueva, so all external Mesa Nueva amenities (pool, spa, fitness center, pub, coffee shop) are available for use by Nuevo West residents.
Here is the Nuevo West community HDH page, including a map of the complex: https://hdh.ucsd.edu/arch/pages/NuevoWest.html
Off campus Housing
If you want to join the half of the grad students that live off campus, it is helpful to know a bit about the various neighborhoods you can choose from. Most grad students who live off campus live in UTC, Pacific Beach, and Hillcrest. Other neighborhoods that house a few of our students include Clairemont Mesa, downtown La Jolla, Mission Bay/Clairemont, Ocean Beach, Mission Hills and North Park.
University Town Center (UTC)
UTC is located just east of campus and was mentioned already when discussing One Miramar and Mesa. Students living off campus in UTC get to campus by biking (15 min.), walking (30 min.), driving (10 min.) or taking the UCSD Arriba or Nobel Shuttles (20-25 min.). UTC is close to campus, but off-campus housing there is rather expensive, since this is where most of the undergraduates who need to find off-campus housing their third year go. While apartments here tend to be quiet and close to grocery stores, there is a lack of fun activities nearby.
Pacific Beach
Pacific Beach (PB) is located just south of campus. It is a 30 minute bike ride away or a 20 minute drive. There is also a city bus (#30) to campus, which takes about 40 minutes. There is a great bike route from PB to campus called the Rose Canyon bike trail, which many students use. PB has a small town vibe with lots of grocery stores, restaurants and nightlife. Students living here are blocks from the ocean and a short walk to Mission Bay. There are a lot of college students that live in Pacific Beach that like to party and surf, so sometimes it can be quite loud. However, there are some quiet parts in PB to be found.
Hillcrest
Hillcrest is south east of campus and about a 20 min drive away by freeway. Since UCSD has a medical center in Hillcrest, there is a UCSD Hillcrest shuttle that goes to and from campus about every half hour on weekdays. Many students who live in Hillcrest bike to the medical center and then take the shuttle, which takes 20 minutes. The benefit of this neighborhood is its proximity to many restaurants, bars, nightclubs, etc. It is just north of Downtown San Diego, and right next to Balboa Park, which is the location of many museums and the San Diego Zoo. The park also has many nice walking and jogging trails and many weekend activities going on. The drawback about living in Hillcrest is its distance from campus; however, some students enjoy living where they can separate their personal life from their work life. It is also home to the largest LGBTQ community in San Diego.
Clairemont Mesa
Like Hillcrest, Clairemont Mesa is south east of campus but quite a bit closer. It is a 10 min. drive by car, and there is a city bus (#41) to campus which takes 20 min. Clairemont Mesa is a good place to live if you do not want to drive to campus a lot and want to save some money on your housing. The neighborhood is more middle class with many grocery stores, strip malls and movie theaters. One great thing about Clairemont Mesa is its proximity to many excellent Asian restaurants, and cheaper restaurants in general.
Downtown La Jolla
This neighborhood is right next to campus, and students get to school within 20 minutes by city bus (#30). This is the same bus the PB folks take. Downtown La Jolla is characterized as being rich and clean, so as you might expect, any apartment that you can afford will be on the smaller side. It is one of the few neighborhoods close to school that has fun things that you can walk to. It is right next to the beach and there are lots of restaurants to choose from.
Mission Bay/Clairemont
This area is south of campus, and just below Pacific Beach. Students living here bike to school, again using the Rose Canyon Bike trail, which takes about 35-45 minutes. Otherwise it is a 15 min. drive by freeway. It is more middle class and less expensive than La Jolla. You can live about one mile from the bay where you can run, bike and swim. It is also relatively close to Pacific Beach and Hillcrest if you want to go out on the weekend.
Ocean Beach
OB is south of Mission Bay and is a cute little beach community that does its best to reject retail chains of any kind. It is a bit quieter than Pacific Beach, and you can afford to live two blocks from the beach. Students living here get to school by driving, which takes 20 min. on the freeway.
Mission Hills and North Park
These neighborhoods are right next to Hillcrest so your commute is very similar. You would either drive to school or take the Hillcrest Shuttle. North Park is just east of Hillcrest and you will find housing there less expensive than Hillcrest, while Mission Hills is west of Hillcrest and a bit more expensive. Mission Hills is the home of one of the better record stores in San Diego (M-Theory). North Park has some of the best brewpubs around and has an active night life.