SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Students at UC San Diego are spending the week moving into dorms and apartments ahead of the start of classes, while the waiting list for on-campus housing remains above 700.
On Wednesday, parents were moving their kids into their new homes, while the basketball court outside the dorms was packed with players.
"It feels nice. College is actually happening this year," said Cole Wener, a sophomore who moved into a single room at Sixth College.
Wener says he was aware of the lack of residential space, noting some had to change their residential colleges to be able to stay on campus.
"A lot of people didn't get housing," said Wener.
"Some of my friends who were over in Marshall, all the Marshall dorms filled up two weeks before their lottery times, so they're over in Warren now."
In response to COVID, the university reduced its occupancy for its on-campus housing. That added to a growing housing crunch at UCSD, which this week was named a top 10 public university in the nation. Enrollment has increased to 32,000 students, hundreds above the number in fall 2020.
The university no longer guarantees housing for an undergrad's first two years but instead uses a priority system to make assignments.
Since 2010, UC San Diego has added 5,000 beds, but more than 700 undergrads are still on a housing waiting list. That list was as high as 3,200 back in July.
Those who did not get housing likely had to compete for apartments in the UTC, where rents are typically more than $2,000 a month.
UC San Diego has an off-campus housing office to help students find a place to live and encourages them to look outside La Jolla and the UTC area, where supply is limited.
On the southwest portion of campus, the university has started construction on the Theater District Living and Learning Neighborhood. It will add 2,000 new beds and should be complete by fall 2023.
