Jaron Brandon studied recently in the whirlpool tub of a six-bedroom rental house. UC Merced students like Brandon, who is a sophomore, have benefited from the real estate downturn.
(Max Whittaker/The New York Times)
Students find lush living for $300 a month
Jaron Brandon studied recently in the whirlpool tub of a six-bedroom rental house. UC Merced students like Brandon, who is a sophomore, have benefited from the real estate downturn.
(Max Whittaker/The New York Times)
Heather Alarab, a junior at the University of California, Merced, and Jill Foster, a freshman, know that their sudden popularity has little to do with their sparkling personalities, intelligence or athletic prowess. While students at other colleges cram into shoebox-size dorm rooms, Alarab, a management major, and Foster, who is studying applied math, come home from midterms to chill out under the stars in a curvaceous swimming pool and an adjoining Jacuzzi behind the rapidly depreciating McMansion that they have rented for a song.
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