The Grad San Jose — Local services in San Jose

#Update after living here for one year: They added lockers on F1, so it’s pretty much faster to get your package than before. (Not sure how fast to get bigger packages tho. You still have to go to the office cuz they can’t fit in the lockers. ) For the noise problem, please call the security guard. They are all kind and willing to help you. It may works at the first time, but many residents will ignore the noise complaint later. Sometimes the fire alarms in rooms and common area will keep ringing for a long time for no reason. In my case, they always rang at a freaking early time and kept ringing for an hour. That was pretty annoying. And maintenance wouldn’t work :(

The chaos of the moving day really freaked me out. Lines without order and lack of trained staff are disappointing. Warning for people who want to move in there: Soundproof here is absolutely bad. There are quite many young people live in there. For example, people living next to my unit like to play their music out loud, shouting and laughing the whole day. I can clearly hear what they are listening to or their music and conversation. I had contacted the staff and even the security guard several times, but either they ignored me or it didn’t work on those annoying children . Also, frequently, there are people shouting like a maniac at night on the road, and it can be heard clearly if your room is facing the road, so if you are a light sleeper, this place won’t suit you. Staff members are nice and friendly here. They will help you with patience if you have any questions. However, work efficiency is pretty low here. For example, If you want to pick up your packages, you will have to wait until they inform you or you can’t pick up them. But it always take so long to get informed by them. So if you frequently buy things on Amazon, do not choose the address of the grad as a place to receive your packages. Just choose an Amazon pick up location, it will be faster than pick up from the grad. Also, the maintenance always takes so long to wait. Moreover, if you send email messages to them, you will have to wait so long to receive the replies (maybe they won’t even read). Well, the reason of the lack of efficiency may be lack of employees, but they like to hold parties, and I saw so many staff members standing there and just chatting. So, I was quite speechless at that moment. People who don’t smoke or like the smell of cigarettes may not feel comfortable if living here. It seems like they mix units having non-smokers and units having smokers together. You will smell the smell of cigarettes although your roommates don’t smoke if people live next to your unit are smokers. It’s really disgusting. (One of my friends also assume that some of people living there do drugs, cuz sometimes there’s smell that really like weed.) The wifi, water or even power here frequently go out. The staff would try to solve these problems, but the speed is really slow. The elevators frequently can’t work. One of the elevators is still broken since several months ago. So you would need to spend a lot of time wailing for the elevators. Although there are so many cons living here, there are still have some pros: It is convenient for sjsu students cuz it’s literally in font of the school. There are so many restaurants nearby the grad, and they provide nice food and drinks. Well, that’s it. The pros living here are still less. Summary: If you are a light sleeper, impatient person, the grad is not the best choice. You can find better choices that have same or even lower price than here. However, If you are a party person who love staying up late or even don’t sleep and love playing music out loud. Congratulations! You find the right place! Cuz staff here doesn’t care about residents suffering from noises caused by others. They will just ask you to call the police or security guards. But that won’t work, cuz they always cause intermittent noises. The noises may stop at any time when the police come, and start again when the...

After living here for 8 months, I have quite a bit to say about living here.

Pros: The building is quite pretty and has fantastic amenities: the gym, pool, study rooms, lobby, and yoga studio are all functional and totally great to use. The fantastic team of community assistants are respectful and have never been rude to me. Fully furnished and utilities are all included in rent! It's extremely convenient and perfect for people that don't want to deal with all those extra steps when finding a place to live The Grad holds community events and food giveaways in the lobby, which is always a nice gesture when your building is full of stressed college students. The effort is there and I appreciate it! Proximity to campus (obviously) Maintenance is pretty punctual and are very respectful! I've had nothing but positive interactions with them.

Cons: Elevators: the elephant in the room... having only 3 elevators for 19 floors of people is a problem in itself, but the real issue is how often they break down. It's at the point where the fear of having to rely on the elevators functioning before work or class has me concerned about continuing to live here. The elevators are pretty slow too. Parking: There is a lot underneath the building, but it has enough parking for (I'm guessing) 15% of the building's residents, leaving the rest of us to park at the next closest parking garage, which is sketchy and very prone to break-ins. Also, no guest parking either, so if anyone brings a guest, good luck! Water shutoffs: They randomly shut off the water for maintenance at a pretty high frequency. It may be necessary, but it gets annoying at a point. Area: This is not The Grad's fault at all, but this area of Downtown SJ is very loud and can be sketchy as well. The violence you read about in other reviews is absolutely there, and it's a factor to consider when moving here.

I'm conflicted on how many stars to give this building (between 3-4), since the pros are definitely there. However, the cons, present as they are, not all of them are the The Grad's fault. The elevator is by far the main concern, but it all comes down to the individual person and situation. I would recommend students to live here, but sign the lease...

UPDATE: It is almost 4 months after I have moved in and I STILL don't have blinds in my bedroom. Privacy of my unit is 0/10.

There are many issues with this property. A review that was written previously mentioned that students and parents are just upset about having to pay or from parents who "seem to be unsatisfied with their children’s (now adults) decisions in life. Well that is no fault of the apartment complex".

This is not true. I am a student putting myself through college and working full time to even pay the rent (which is expensive but I knew this before signing my lease). The reason why someone like myself is upset is because the building is NOT finished.

Just a few days ago, (months after moving in), did they just now have their doors be only accessible with a key that residents have. There was no sense of safety prior to that, unless you count the "security guards" who didn't even look up as I walked in the building or continued to look down at their phones. They also have construction guys going in and out of the building, propping doors open with tape, allowing anyone to just walk in to the building. They also work on the building and wear hard hats, where as residents are forced to walk along the building with the chance of getting hurt by the construction.

It is now 3 months past move in day, and I still do not have blinds in my bedroom, which is towards the lower levels, so privacy is a 0. I have grown men looking into my bedroom almost at every time of the day.

Don't even get me started on the grad "manager" and grad assistants. They don't know how to help you. They will write your name down and pretend to help you but then you never hear anything back. I have had countless issues and I know if I lived anywhere else, I would have received a much more professional response.

So no, I am not an upset student who "doesn't" want to pay for my lease. I am an upset student who doesn't want to pay full price for an UNFINISHED building with unfinished amenities I am paying for. When a building tells you it will be finished by move-in day, it should be. I should have blinds in my bedroom if that was promised to me PRIOR to...