Iconic on Alvarado
San Diego State University boasts an enrollment of over 34,000 students and numerous national rankings for its undergraduate education, including a #30 ranking in the Forbes’ list of America’s Best Value Colleges.
While SDSU is academically a good bang for your buck, its location in Southern California means that housing comes at a premium – especially as the State of California endures an ongoing housing affordability crisis. So for many incoming and returning San Diego State University students, a new school year means returning to the stress of finding housing for the upcoming school year. Here’s a rundown on the housing options available to new and returning SDSU students to help get you started.
San Diego State University operates 23 on-campus dorms and apartment-style communities to house over 7,000 students who want to live on-campus. Some residence halls are dedicated to first-year students to help them transition to college life. In contrast, others are devoted to second-year students and above, including one community specifically for graduate students at SDSU. Each dorm or residence hall has different amenities, but all units come fully furnished and include the cost of utilities in the housing contract.
Students who want to live on-campus can choose from 23 San Diego State University dorms and apartment-style communities.
The residence halls available for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year have:
Residence halls for first-year students:
Residence halls for sophomores and upperclassmen:
Graduate student housing:
San Diego State University requires that any first-year student is living on-campus also have a meal plan with university dining. Therefore, the dorm costs for first-year students include the cost of meal plans, which ranges depending on the meal plan selected, which consists of a Flex 5, Flex 7, or Meals Plus plan, and are for the entire 9-month academic year. For more information about these meal plans, visit the San Diego State University dining website.
SDSU requires all first-year students to have a meal plan with university dining.
Dorm costs for first year students:
Meal plans are not required for sophomores or other upper-division students, including graduate students, who have opted to live on-campus. The cost of housing seems lower, but these rates just cover housing and not the meals included in first-year rates. Rates will also vary by residence hall – including some non-renovated vs. renovated units in dorms like Villa Alvarado – but these are the ranges that students can expect for the 9-month 2022-2023 academic year.
Dorm costs for sophomores and upperclassmen:
Dorm costs for graduate students at Mixquic in an apartment-style community:
Living on-campus is the best way for San Diego State University students to engage with the university community, build a new network of friends, and find academic success. The University notes how students who live on-campus have higher GPAs and are more likely to stay in school to complete their degrees than those who choose to live off-campus. For students who participate in one of SDSU’s Residential Learning Communities, the rates are even higher. Students in these communities are twice as likely to graduate in four years than students who do not participate in the RCL program. But it’s not all about a school – students who live on-campus are a part of a community as soon as they set foot in their new residence hall and are a part of all the social events that come along with on-campus housing.
San Diego State University requires all first-year students from outside SDSU’s local admissions area to live on-campus for their first and second years at the university. Incoming students are in the local admissions area if they will graduate from a high school in San Diego County located south of state route 56 and extending eastward or from a high school in Imperial County. Students in the local admission area have the option of commuting from home, and therefore have an exemption from the on-campus housing requirement. Students coming from outside this area are required to live on-campus for their first two years but then have the option of living off-campus for subsequent years as an SDSU student.
Purpose-built student housing communities offer individual lease agreements that align with the academic calendar, usually running mid-August through the end of July.
Students who opt to live off-campus have a greater selection of housing to choose among, including both purpose-built student housing and traditional apartment complexes.
Purpose-built student housing communities offer individual lease agreements that align with the academic calendar, usually running mid-August through the end of July. An individual lease agreement means students are only responsible for their own rent – not the rent for any roommates they may have. Individual lease agreements almost always require a guarantor – usually a parent or guardian – who provides some financial guarantee that the rent will be paid since most students do not have the credit or income to qualify on their own.
Traditional apartment complexes offer a joint-and-several lease agreement, where all roommates are on the same lease and jointly responsible for the monthly rent. These complexes are usually at a slightly lower cost than student housing. Still, students are financially liable for their roommates’ rent payments, and the lease terms do not always align with the university school schedule.
Iconic on Alvarado residents have the best of both worlds: easy access to campus by bike or vehicle, and the convenience of living close to campus.
Iconic on Alvarado is a student housing midrise community located just a few blocks from the northern edge of the San Diego State University campus at 6625 Alvarado Rd. Iconic on Alvarado offers fully-furnished studio, two, and four-bedroom apartments designed explicitly for SDSU students. Iconic on Alvarado is packed with amenities and offers residents two resort-style pools, an on-site 24-hour fitness center, study rooms, a computer lounge, and onsite management & maintenance team.
Residents of Iconic on Alvarado have easy access to campus by bike or driving just a few blocks west on Alvarado Road and have the best balance of on and off-campus life due to the proximity to the SDSU campus. For information on availability, roommate matching, and pricing, contact the team at Iconic on Alvarado today at (619) 286-3990!
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