Orientation Question

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy with studying and preparing for interviews and such. I haven't compiled enough pictures and stuff for a nice Sun God blog yet, but I'll get there. I'll answer a question that someone asked on a previous thread which was:

pcontreras24 said...

i have a question about orientation. I signed up for the last session in september and just wanted to ask what the perks were for having an early orientation date? like are you more likely to get the residence hall of your choice or sign up for classes? thanks :)

Addressing the residence hall question, I think the residence halls are randomly chosen, unless you applied for the themed housing like I mentioned before. They contact you a couple of weeks before school starts to let you know who you're rooming with and which residence hall you'll live in. But in regards to whether there's an advantage for the people who have an earlier orientation date, I don't think there is. They determine the housing after all the orientations are over so I think it's random. I went to one of the very first orientations and got stuck with a crappy residence hall, so yeah.

In terms of classes, the people who sign up for the earlier orientations have the advantage because they're able to register for classes before you do. But I'm sure you'll be able to take all the classes that you want, mainly the first quarter of your college career is used to just get a feel for college, so you don't want to overwhelm yourself. If you're going into Revelle, I highly recommend you take Gospel Choir for the Fine Arts requirement. It's easily the most enjoyable and easiest class at UCSD. And there's a lot of space in that class too, so no need to worry about getting in or not.

I can't really think of any other perks that an early orientation date can have. All of the Orientation Leaders are the same and you'll still meet some cool people from your orientation. I guess the only downside is the later orientation group COULD be smaller because it's so close to the start of school, but I'm just guessing at that. And that in turn could limit the number of people you can meet. But there are always residence hall events and meet-and-greets that will give you the opportunity to meet your neighbors and fellow college-mates.

UPDATE: pcontreras24 left another comment saying that there was an e-mail saying that there will be registration for classes in August and that registration is no longer done at orientation. If this is the case, then the registration priority will go to the students with the most college units (from either AP classes or college equivalent classes).

I hope this helps clarify some things on orientation. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a question about orientation because I didn't really explain too many details about it.

Cheap Textbooks

It doesn't matter if you're an incoming student or a current student, anybody will tell you that book prices are a drag. Nobody likes continuously being owned by super high bookstore prices. In this post, I'll be talking about how I've learned to work the system and avoid being owned by the bookstore.

Buy Online
If you already know what books you need before the quarter begins, simply search for the book online ahead of time so you'll be ready for the upcoming quarter. The website that I used throughout my entire college career to compare book prices online was DealOz or formerly CampusI.com. This website is kind of like a Google Product Search where it compares prices of a lot of popular merchants (i.e. Amazon, eBay, Half.com, etc) and gets the best prices (after shipping) for you with coupon codes and everything.

If you don't want to deal with shipping costs, check Facebook Marketplace or other websites like Uloop. Students will usually post the books they're trying to get rid of on these websites and would be willing to meet up to do the transaction. Therefore you avoid shipping costs and waiting for the book to actually get to you.

Search Online for eBooks/PDF versions of the book
Search torrent websites or just Google textbook titles adding "pdf" to the end of the search keyword. If you're lucky you'll find that some of your books have been uploaded by somebody else online and that you don't have to fork out any money to get the book. Usually these eBooks are hosted by Rapidshare or Megaupload or something, but beware, some of these websites might have viruses on them. The safest way is probably downloading these books via torrents. But I won't get too much into detail for that, just Google search it up yourself.

Use the Bookstore's Return Policy to Your Advantage
Unless it has changed, the bookstore's return policy states that you're able to return your book to the bookstore for a full refund before the end of the second week of a quarter. This allows people to return books if they decide to drop a class within that period. And that is where the loophole exists.

If your class has already started, and you lagged on getting the book for that class, just go to the bookstore and buy that book first (make sure that you buy one that is NOT in shrink wrap, or else you can't return it). Now you have that textbook for 2 weeks to stay on track for your class. Within that period, look for that book at a cheaper price online at DealOz or on Facebook or something and order it. When the book arrives, simply return the first book to the bookstore for your full refund and you basically get back the difference of the bookstore list price and the online price. You can usually find books online for 50% the price of the books in the bookstore, so although you fork out a lot of money initially, you'll be getting more money back in the long run.


Consider this post as a "SCREW YOU" to the publishing companies that release new editions every damn year and to UCSD bookstore's soaring prices. Take advantage of the system and I hope this post helps you save some green.

Tips On How To Avoid The Freshman 15

I received a comment the other day on my second post about UCSD dining which said:

Jeffrey said...

"now for tips on how to avoid the freshman 15 :D"

And as promised, ask and you shall receive. So here are some of my tips to avoid the infamous Freshman 15 at UCSD:

-Take advantage of UCSD's recreational facilities (your tuition pays for it anyways, so might as well use it). RIMAC is supposedly the biggest recreational facility west of the Mississippi River, so that says a lot. And trust me, I've been there many times, it is damn huge. If RIMAC (located next to ERC) is too far, hit up Main Gym which is in between Revelle and Muir College.

-Join an intramural sport. UCSD has different intramural sports for different quarters, ranging from basketball to ultimate frisbee to dodge ball. So if you're not looking to be a serious athlete and just want to stay in shape and meet some new people, join an intramural sport when it is offered.

-Don't eat dinner so late. They close the dining halls at 8 PM for a reason. But then again, it IS college, and I'd be a hypocrite to say that I have not eaten past 8 PM before so I guess just manage it well.

-Be health-conscious when selecting what to eat at dining halls. I know Revelle has certain meals that are "heartier" than the spicy chicken strips and curly fries I mentioned earlier in my blog. So choose those hearty meals over the super heavily battered fried stuff, and you'll be good.

-Drink hard liquor instead of beer. You get to have a great time, minus the beer belly, how much more perfect can it be. In exchange, you might throw up a bit faster though lol. Although I'm not encouraging underage drinking, c'mon, it's gonna happen, it's college.

Since UCSD has so many recreational facilties on campus, I'll talk about those in another post as well as intramurals more in detail and my experience with them. Until next time, I hope this helps you go into your sophomore year of college at the same weight as the first.

UCSD Dining Part 2 - ERC, Warren, Sixth, Other

Sorry for the late post, I've been caught up the past couple of days with the Sun God festivities, but I'll talk about those experiences in another post =). Here's the rest of my opinions on the rest of the dining halls at UCSD in addition to some other places to eat.

Eleanor Roosevelt - Cafe Ventanas
This is probably the classiest looking dining hall on campus. The structure of the building and interior just makes it feel like you're in a higher-end restaurant as opposed to a school dining hall. Like most of the other dining halls, with OVT being an exception, they also close at 8pm. Cafe Ventanas is probably the only place where you can find Mochi ice cream on campus. So if you're living at ERC or relatively close to it and have a craving for some Mochi, there's no need to drive out to Trader Joe's, just go out to Cafe Ventanas! Similar to OVT, Cafe Ventanas has cultural themes for their variety of food. Cafe Ventanas is also the only place that makes fresh sushi in front of you, so you're not stuck with generic, already-packaged sushi that tastes kind of sour sometimes. Anyways, I haven't actually eaten here very often so I will skip the recommendations part and ask some of my colleagues to see what they recommend from here.

My (Friends') recommendations: TO BE POSTED LATER

Warren College - Canyon Vista/Earl's Place
This is the dining hall that I have eaten at the most next to Plaza Cafe at Revelle because I lived in Warren College during my second undergraduate year. When we first went here, I thought that the food was amazing because I was so used to Revelle food. But later in the year, I got sick of all the selections and the lack of variety didn't help much either. But anyways, the food here is pretty decent. Don't try the lobster burrito...the "lobster" tastes like rubber. Their pizza and sandwiches are pretty good, but I mainly got food from the rotisserie-ish area where they usually served an entree with two sides. One memorable dish that I had from CV were the scalloped potatoes/Au Gratin potatoes (or "death potatoes" as my friends and I call it because you feel like crap after eating it, although they taste amazing). They also have this side dish at Plaza Cafe as well, so get your fill of death potatoes while you can! I wish I had some right now actually...Anyways, when I ran out of things to eat at CV, I resorted to the grill, which had things like chili dogs, or chicken nuggets that were pretty good choices when there was nothing to eat at all. Oh, and I don't know if more were installed in other dining halls, but Canyon Vista and Plaza were the only dining halls with ICEE machines.

Earl's Place is more of a convenient store than an actual dining hall. I just included it in the list because it is a late night meal option for those like me who lag on getting dinner before 8pm. Earl's Place is great because it is a convenient store like 7-11 that takes meal points. So if you don't eat very much and you have like a thousand meal points left before the school year ends, you can go to Earl's Place and buy a bunch of cool stuff like lighters and stereos or something. But as for food at Earl's, they have like chips, cold sandwiches, TV dinners, frozen foods, and pastries at the Cafe. If you love coffee, you'll love Earl's because they brew Starbuck's Coffee AND you can pay for them with your meal points! So if it's 12:35 AM and you're screwed because there's a final tomorrow at 8 AM and need to pull an all nighter, head to Earl's before 12:40 - 12:45 AM because that's the last call for coffee.

My recommendations: For Canyon Vista, I'd recommend getting whatever special they have at the rotisserie/grill area. Otherwise, the chicken nuggets or pizza will suffice. And get a cherry ICEE on your way out too. For Earl's place, there's no food that I would really recommend since it's just a bunch of cold sandwiches and stuff. But for coffee, I will suggest to get the Caramel Macchiato, either hot or cold, and if you're feeling extra bold (or screwed) get an extra shot of espresso added to it.

Sixth College - Foodworx
This is probably the smallest dining hall at UCSD, if you even want to call it a dining hall. It's more of a shack that has food that has been shipped over from Plaza Cafe. I have never personally been here to eat, but I've seen it before and man, is it small. My friends have told me that the food is decent, but if I lived in Sixth college, I would have just walked to Warren to Canyon Vista to get some food. They barely have any seating (a few chairs and tables outside), so I think if you want to grab lunch with some friends, you would need to eat it at someone's apartment or dorm room. Again, I didn't go here very often, so I will skip the recommendations again until I ask a few friends about it.

My (Friends') recommendations: A friend told me that their variety of food is very limited, but is just like the rest of the dining halls and that you learn to cope with it after a while. He suggested that the salads and the pizzas were the best selections at Foodworx. So give those a shot if you happen to live at or around Sixth College, or if you have a car, head somewhere better like Phil's BBQ or something =D.

Other Food Choices on Campus
Price Center Restaurants -
Bombay Coast Indian Tandoor and Curry Express, Burger King, Tapioca Express, Santorini Greek Island Grill, Yogurtland, Panda Express, Tacone, Rubio's Baja Grill, Subway, Round Table Pizza, and Shogun Sushi and Japanese Food

You can probably find reviews for these places on Yelp.com actually, but I will give you where I would go if I was hungry and at Price Center. If I wanted something cheap, I'd just go to Burger King or Subway, but if I wanted something better at a higher price, I would probably head over to Shogun Sushi because they have some pretty good bento boxes and combos.

Hi-Thai Asian Cuisine -
This is a Thai restaurant located in between Muir and Revelle, right across from Main Gym. Their food doesn't really taste like authentic Thai cuisine, but other than that, it has some pretty good dishes. I used to go there, twice a week between classes when I had a break. Their Pad-Thai is pretty good, although their chicken may look a bit questionable sometimes. My favorite dish from here are the drunken noodles with chicken because it has so much flavor, but the quality of it will probably vary from time to time. But the main reason why I go to Hi-Thai is for the Thai Iced Tea, because regardless of who makes it or whenever you go, it still tastes awesome.

I hope this gives you guys some insight on how to gain the Freshman 15 more efficiently =).

UCSD Dining Part 1 - Revelle, Muir, and Thurgood Marshall

Whether you're an incoming freshman or a transfer student, you gotta eat, right? I doubt Yelp.com has anything about UCSD dining halls either, but have no fear! I am going to provide to you my experiences with the UCSD dining halls:

Revelle - Plaza Cafe and Plaza On The Side (POTS)
When I was a freshman, and this is at the very beginning of my college career, I thought Plaza was the greatest thing ever because it was like eating Hometown Buffet type food for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. Though I rarely made it up for breakfast, their breakfast is pretty damn good. Towards the end of my freshman year, I grew to hate Plaza and found myself only eating the rotisserie chicken and/or chicken strips for every meal. A couple of years later, I realized how much I missed it after I left it lol. After living in Warren College for a year and frequenting other dining halls, I have concluded that Plaza Cafe has the MOST variety out of all of the dining halls at UCSD. The food might not be the best, but the variety is what makes it stand out from the other dining halls. So if you're living in Revelle, you'll probably get sick of Plaza after a while, but don't take it for granted.

Plaza On The Side (POTS) is a late night type convenient store that serves leftovers from Plaza after Plaza has closed. Plaza closes at 8pm and I think POTS closes at 12am. POTS is a great place for a late night snack or coffee if you're up studying late for a midterm that you should have been studying for last week.

My recommendations: From Plaza, I recommend the Rotisserie Chicken (although I've had it for so long, it is still bomb), Spicy Chicken Strips, and the Buffalo Wings. From POTS, Nachos with cheese and jalapenos ftw. Enough said.

Muir - Sierra Summit and El Mercado
Sierra Summit's food is pretty solid. Again I don't think their variety is as wide as Plaza, and the food area is not as big either, but their food is solid. Their stir-fry is good depending on who makes it, because sometimes they make it uber salty and it's just gross after like the first half. Other than that, check out the rotisserie section for the daily specials which are usually pretty good. And if all else fails, you can go to the carvery or deli part where they make sandwiches to order a slice of turkey with two sides or something.

El Mercado is an open-for-lunch-only dining hall that only serves Mexican food. I think they open at like 11am until like 3pm or so. This place is pretty good if you can make it there when their open, and although sometimes there's a huge line, it usually moves pretty quickly so just be patient.

My recommendations: From Sierra Summit, any of the specials at the Rotisserie should be pretty good, or otherwise go to the carvery. Or you can get the stir-fry at your own risk. From El Mercado, the Enchiladas with two sides are awesome. Their Horchata...ehh..not so much.

Thurgood Marshall - Ocean View Terrace (OVT)
This dining hall was perhaps my favorite place to go my first year and second year of college. Mainly because it is the dining hall that stays open the latest (It closes at midnight). The overall variety is alright, not as great as Plaza's. But I would say that the quality of the food is a little better. They usually have a themed meal (Asian, Indian, Italian) depending on what day it is. Their Mexican food is awesome, especially their burritos because of their massive size. Both the breakfast burrito and regular burrito (both of which you can customize yourself when you order), are godly. And if you're really feeling bold, you can try eating the SUPER Quesadilla. Yes, I capitalized AND bolded the super because it's THAT super. For example, one of my friends had to play tricks on his mind to overcome the feat of finishing it. So if you're up to it, get that, but other than that, OVT's wraps (made at the deli) are pretty good and...there's nothing else that is worth noting.

My recommendations: OVT should automatically scream late night Mexican food because of the burritos they have to offer. And the SUPER Quesadilla, if you're up to the challenge. Let me know if you finish one, I would like to shake your hand.

This post is long enough already, so I'll continue with the 3 other dining halls tomorrow. I hope this gives you guys from Revelle, Muir, and TMC an idea of what the food is like at your respective colleges.

Revelle Housing

So if you happened to have read the collegeconfidential post about the Truth About UCSD-Revelle, you might recall me saying that housing at Revelle was pretty bad. That was when I was a freshman still living in the fleets, and now I offer my updated opinion:

THEY ARE STILL BAD. The fleets at least lol.

i2hub.com doesn't exist anymore (or maybe it does with a fee?), so that plus is gone from the fleets. The best option for living on campus at Revelle is still definitely Argo and Blake. Try to get into those residence halls any way possible. One way to get into Argo for sure is to sign up for themed housing at orientation because Argo has different themes for each floor of the building. If I remember correctly, you can sign up for themed housing at the end of orientation to avoid being stuck in the fleets.

I think that if you live in Argo and Blake your first year, you're more likely to meet people from Revelle at social floor/building events. Like I said in my CC post before, they stick all the overflow kids from other colleges in the fleets, so if your Resident Advisor doesn't make the effort to try to get everyone to socialize, then it's pretty hard to make friends while living in the fleets because it's farther from everyone else. You're also a lot closer to Plaza Cafe and Plaza On The Side (POTS) if you live at Argo/Blake, but I'll talk about what UCSD has to offer in food in another post =).

So if you can, try to do as much as possible to get into either Argo or Blake when you're applying for housing. I hope this helps for those who seek advice on what to do about housing at Revelle.

I'm going to be regularly updating this blog (maybe daily? weekly? haven't decided yet). If you have any specific questions that you want answers to, feel free to leave a comment and I'll blog about it.

About (First Post!)

Hello world!

This blog is based on my experiences at UCSD as an undergraduate student for the past 5 years. When I finished my freshman year of college, I posted many of my Revelle and UCSD opinions on a College Confidential forum thread called The Truth about Revelle College. Although 5 years have passed, I still occasionally get an e-mail or PM on College Confidential asking about how UCSD is like. I figured if people are still looking at that thread after 5 years, I might as well share my experience with the rest of the world on this blog. A lot has changed in 5 years, well kind of, but I guess you're going to have to read my posts to find out!

These are only MY opinions, so what I say on this blog may be different from others who have experienced UCSD differently. I am not here to offend anyone or UCSD's name or anything. My goal is to give incoming students, either freshman or transfer students, some more insight and security before they start college with my experience as a UCSD graduate.