The Hill: UCLA Campus Housing

Hi everyone,

I’d like to share a bit about my experience in UCLA campus housing, fondly called the Hill.  Students at UCLA refer to their housing as the Hill because all of the campus housing is located on the same hill on the west side of the campus.  Although I realize that not all campus housing is like the system at UCLA, I’ll share about my experience and how it pertains to campus housing in general.  Here are some great things about the Hill that works and should be things that you look for in your campus housing:

1. Proximity—all of the buildings on the Hill are very close to each other, which creates a friendly, safe atmosphere and accessibility to your friends.  This makes making and meeting up with friends much easier than if housing were spread across campus and I believe makes students happier.  Additionally, most of the UCLA apartments and fraternities are located just across the street from the dorms.

2. Duration—UCLA guarantees campus housing for three years, which is a wonderful option if you choose to partake in it.  Some people aren’t quite ready to move out of the dorms after their first year.  Additionally, there are less responsibilities in the dorms; no cooking or grocery shopping, cleaning is done for you, and crazy landlord contracts.  I believe that having the option to live on campus for at least a couple of years is a nice safety blanket.

3. Food—the UCLA meal plan is based on swipes; you can use a swipe to either get into the dining halls or choose something from a to-go restaurant.  I believe that this system gives you solid options and the food at UCLA is really good for dorm food.

4. Choice—the Hill offers many different living options to live on campus that vary in price, size, and location.  UCLA offers residence halls, which are wide-open hallways with rooms, suites, which connect two rooms with a large open room, and plazas, which are two rooms with an adjoined bathroom.  These options are nice to have while living on campus.

There are some difficulties with UCLA housing—lots of freshmen are put in triples and some of the residence hall rooms are smaller—yet I believe these difficulties are significantly outweighed by the strengths of UCLA housing.  Keep these things in mind while looking at schools, as it is the place that you’ll be living for the next four years (or more)!

Peace,

Tyler