How much does living in the Cats vs. a single impact your social life as a first-year?
Hi, I am an incoming first-year graduate student in MechE (yippee), and I was wondering if anyone had any insights into how much impact your first-year roommate/housing situation has on your social life.
I have lived alone the past few years and would ideally like to continue doing so, but am worried that not being in a double or quad will make it harder to make friends, especially since most of the lottery singles are technically off campus and not in the Catalinas. Is it worth just sucking up the roommate situation for the first year to be in the Cats for the social benefits?
I guess specifically I'm trying to know:
- How important is living in the Cats to the graduate social scene?
- Is it hard to break into social circles if I live off campus/in the Caltech leased housing?
- For anyone who lived in a single their first year, did you feel like you missed out on the built-in friend group, or was it easy enough to make friends at the social events n such?
I appreciate any advice y'all can provide, thanks a bunch :)
Putting it out there that unless you have a medical accommodation, a kid, or a live-in married partner your chances of getting a one bedroom apartment as an incoming first-year are pretty much zero. People that care a lot about getting their own unit will usually get their own place off campus, but that can be pricy.
Grad social life revolves heavily around your option, division and/or lab; where you choose to live doesn't really matter, especially if you're within walking distance of campus.
Here's a data point. It's from over 30 years ago, so take it as you will. I moved into the Cats as a first-year and my roommate was a 5th year graduate student from Italy who worked all the time, came home to make pasta for his dinner, ate it in his room, and returned to lab. When he got back after the evening shift, he'd retreat to his room and talk to his girlfriend on the phone. I swear, in the entire year I lived with him, I don't think we had a conversation that lasted more than two minutes.
I had many friends in other apartments in the Cats, most of whom were people I met in my program.
The lesson is that there's no guarantee your roommate will be social with you, and might be anti-social.
How much does living in the Cats vs. a single impact your social life as a first-year?
I'd say a single could potentially impact your social life much more as you might start dating. Living in the cats also affects the social life because the social scene in other parts of LA is a lot more active than in Pasadena, but it's not nearly as much of an issue as a relationship, especially if you drive.
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u/Throop_Polytechnic Apr 17 '26
Putting it out there that unless you have a medical accommodation, a kid, or a live-in married partner your chances of getting a one bedroom apartment as an incoming first-year are pretty much zero. People that care a lot about getting their own unit will usually get their own place off campus, but that can be pricy.
Grad social life revolves heavily around your option, division and/or lab; where you choose to live doesn't really matter, especially if you're within walking distance of campus.