The furnished studio apartments, which rent for 25 percent below market rate, offer privacy when students want it. But if it’s camaraderie they seek, they only have to step out to find shiny new grills on a patio just waiting for a BBQ; a comfortable lounge with a pool table, big-screen TV, easy chairs and couches; a business center with computers, printers, scanners and FAX machines; and the Village View meeting room — with its high ceiling and an expansive balcony, complete with wooden tables and chairs, that overlooks the village.

 

"I have a view out onto Westwood Village with the FOX sign that lights up the night. It’s pretty sexy," said Sean Dreyer, a first-year medical student who lives on the fifth floor of the Paseo. Dreyer said he also enjoys the convenience of having a study lounge in the commons as well as study rooms in his own building.

 

Living close to the medical school and hospital was also a selling point for Dreyer, who moved here from UC Berkeley. "Berkeley was a great experience for those [undergrad] years, but I can definitely get used to the ritziness that is Westwood Village and how convenient it is."

 

A studio apartment in Weyburn Paseo comes furnished and rents for about 25 percent below market rate.

One reason why Dreyer chose to come to UCLA for medical school was its proximity to the hospital. "I wanted to do medical school where I’m hoping to also end up for residency. And knowing I could live in nice, new grad-student housing was among the many other factors that made this place appealing."

 

There’s already a waitlist of graduate students hoping to move into the Paseo, where rents run around $1,335 a month and include cable TV, Internet, utilities and furnishings.

 

"I really like it," said Shruti Swaminathan, a Paseo resident, as she picked up her laundry from the laundromat in the complex; a downloadable app sends users an email when their wash or load in the dryer is done. "It’s comfortable, convenient and nice. It’s one of the best rental apartments I’ve lived in. And everything is available in one place."