@ProfessorPlum168 good to know they have crew team…I’m sure they’re really good since they can be on the water year round!
@Walter924 I think my S would like the NRHH for free food too! 
What is the undergrad econ assoc? did you have to apply to join? have you taken econ classes yet? what’s your impression of how hard they are?
@sdhotmama that’s good info! what did S2 do? My S is concerned about getting an incompatible match since his room will be his refuge and doesn’t want to risk having bad living situation for a year! Although, I guess going through facebook is still no guarantee…but my D at UVA found her roommate that way, and they are best friends…just got lucky I guess!
For my kid, he rarely uses his dorm except to sleep, and pretty much the same with his roommate. Even in HS he pretty much did the majority of his studying at a library or at Starbucks or Denny’s even though it was pretty much the two of us. Maybe it’s a guy thing.
My kid is staying in the same dorm this year and most likely will do a blind/random roommate draw again. Yet another of his best friends from HS is actually attending this year as an incoming freshman, but it’s a bit weird how roommate matching works - seems like they will separate out the returning students from the freshmen, regardless of whether it’s a blind match or arranged match.
@wolverinealum my S2 roomed with a friend. I think they requested to do so. I feel my S2 has it easier in every aspect, probably because he’s learned a lot from his older brother.
@wolverinealum my D thinks she found a roommate on the FB page. They have been snap chatting over the weekend. Her future roommate( I hope it works out, this girl seems to be very popular on FB and a lot of girls asking her to be roommates. My D didn’t post anything about herself) was at Cal day, saw the dorms and decided they should put down Blackwell (as expected), and Unit 1, 2 as their first, second, third choice, etc.
Will see how it all will work out.
Question - is there a schedule for the moving week? Will there be any event for Cal parents during that week?
We just got home from the Cal Day weekend (we’re in southern CA) and we were incredibly impressed with the number of extracurricular organizations available! My daughter was still unsure about whether to choose Cal when we arrived, but before the day was half over, she had absolutely, positively decided that it’s the place for her! I am so relieved 
. I don’t even know how many informational tables there were for organizations/clubs/groups, but the tables went on and on and on! She was also encouraged by listening to the student volunteers speak, as well as listening to the student panel for the Haas School of Business, which she hopes to enter. They talked a lot about what students are involved in outside of academics, and what Cal students go on to do after undergrad. It was all massively impressive!
@Nhatrang move in will be the day before Golden Bear Orientation starts, so probably Tuesday August 13. Some people, like athletes, DSP, and themed dorm students move in the day before that. Moving in that Monday is much less stressful than the Tuesday. On Move-In day, there will be a couple of Parent Orientations and a few other presentations. Nothing after that, the kids are on their own for GBO.
Do note that for those of you who experienced Cal Day, Move-in day will be almost as chaotic. Not as many people, but way more cars roaming the streets since everyone is trying to find a spot close to the dorm. For those of you moving into Blackwell, you’ll find for move-in day that taking the stairs will be a lot faster than waiting for the elevators, especially going down.
@sdhotmama that’s definitely the benefit of an older sib…get all of the knowledge they gained without any of the pain! lol! glad it’s worked out for both of them!
@Nhatrang hope your daughter confirmed her roommate?! I remember how stressful that stage was when my D did it at UVA two years ago…but it all worked out and that girl is still her best friend! It looks like there are way more girls posting on UCB page than boys, which I guess it to be expected! My S is still deciding between UCB and UMich…wants to go away and get out of comfort zone, but isn’t seeing many other boys he feels he’d click with/be roommmates with. I’m confident that he will find his people once he gets there, but he is the one that has to feel confident. Hoping more boys will post on the page in the next few days…the not knowing is killing me!! lol!
@ProfessorPlum168 sounds like your S has found a great situation! My S really uses his room to study but hopefully he’ll learn to go to libraries or coffee shops if his room is not great.
I just checked the UCB website and it looked like move in day for Fall 2019 is Tuesday Aug. 20th unless you’re an athlete or in a preapproved program. @ProfessorPlum168 do they give you an assigned time to move your stuff in? S is interested in Clark Kerr or Blackwell (which they said on housing tour will be mixed with upperclassmen and not just freshman next year). A girl from my S’s high school lives in Blackwell now and LOVES it!
@GonnaBEmptyNest that’s good to know about all the different groups and congrats on your D making her decision! My S is also thinking about possibly doing Haas! if you know of any boys going from your area, let me know!
@wolverinealum If I remember correctly I believe they give you a one hour window. We were late actually so I can’t remember, that day was a lot of chaos. Blackwell is very nice, the only sort of bad thing is no cafeteria, you have to go across the street to Cafe 3 (Unit 3) to eat. Unit 3 also has a video identification entry system which I don’t think Blackwell has, so some may consider Unit 3 to be a bit safer especially if coming in at night.
I think Clark Kerr is the nicest dorm in terms of layout and size of rooms, but far away.
@wolverinealum I’m not sure if you have already decided on a dorm but you may want to take a look at Bowles Hall. @CalDadCA did a good write up about it here.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/1878613-bowles-hall-good-for-freshmen.html
Its a pretty tight community, which makes the freshman transition much smoother and you get to stay for all 4 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowles_Hall
Regarding grade inflation/deflation, the “grade deflation” is mainly relative to some of the private schools with the greatest grade inflation (although it appears that Michigan and Virginia have higher grade inflation than UCB).
You can compare grade distributions by course at various schools here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/2074436-some-colleges-have-grade-distribution-information-available-by-course.html
Also, overall grade averages here:
http://www.gradeinflation.com/ (list of schools at the bottom)
@wolverinealum Congrats to your son he has lots of great options. My sister is at cal and enjoys it although she has found it to be academically competitive and generally a studious school all around. If your son wants to join Greek life UM hands down wins in that respect. The Cal Greek community is pretty small as far as state schools go. UM has amazing academics and imo a social scene that is closer to schools like UCLA and OSU if that’s what your son is looking for.
On a side note @Nhatrang congrats to your daughter on choosing an excellent school. Too bad it wasn’t UCLA. lol
@10s4life Don’t rub it in lol, I am still moaning the loss of UCLA 
I love the whole UCLA vibe and it was my first choice, but I am not the one going to college. Your assessment is right on, UM and UCLA have very similar vibe, but UCLA has much better weather hence > social life imo (not just Greek life).
@wolverinealum for selfish reason I hope your son chooses Berkeley
My hubby is a Bruin and serves at some board so imagine his pain when S2 chose Berkeley/brother over UCLA/dad! S1 was waitlisted at UCLA but was accepted to UM. The difference in tuition made it easy for him to choose Berkeley.
So I have multiple teams to root for during football and basketball seasons, and multiple teams （those teams who wear different shades of red! ）to root against! Very fun.
those left coast teams in blue and shades of red all were pretty bad in football and basketball this year lol
@ProfessorPlum168 didn’t know that about Blackwell, but I don’t think S will mind going across the street if he ends up there. He does like the size of CK rooms and it’s funny that everyone says it’s so far away…I guess it’s all relative compared to what you know! At UMich we have the “hill dorms” which are a good 15 min walk to central campus where most classes are, and then we have “north campus” which is a 10-12 min bus ride! So CK really doesn’t seem far to my S! lol! Good to know about the one hour time slot…I’m sure it’s chaotic at every school! It certainly was at UVA!
@autumnspast I had heard something about Bowles, but no details…tour guide only mentioned it briefly. Looks wonderful and definitely will have S take a look at that when he makes his final decision (STILL thinking about it!).
Thanks so much!
@ucbalumnus thanks for that info. UVA is known for being very tough for first two years during gen ed/major pre-reqs, but then once you get into major (apply to major during 2nd year, complete major 3rd & 4th year) it eases up. UMich is entirely dependent on major/particular class. Some are known as GPA “killers”. I’m guessing there’s a lot of hype about UCB and that it will be fairly similar to UVA and UMich…likely a little more challenging but I am confident S can handle it without causing him extraordinary stress!
@10s4life thank you! we have heard that it is definitely competitive and more academically focused than UMich for sure, and I think UVA (where my D goes) is right in the middle. My S is up for the challenge and is feeling that UMich is a little too familiar/comfortable. Thinking he wants to challenge himself and go out of comfort zone to try someplace totally new. Whether he joins social fraternity or professional one, and plays club soccer, he is prepared to work hard and study to do well, but definitely wants to have that social connection/community as well. He has friends in fraternities at UMich and knows that it can be quite the scene…I think the smaller scale of UCB greek life might be a bit better for him…coming from mom point of view! Is your sister in a sorority or any other clubs/groups?
@wolverinealum Haha totally understandable on that, UCLA can get pretty wild with the party scene. She is involved in other groups on campus and is going to rush next year. She was adjusting to classes and the shock of how much harder cal is compared to college and decided not to follow through with it last fall. One thing to consider is that UMich may be close and familiar but once on campus there is so many things to do and see that a lot will be new. I wouldn’t brush off UMich just cause it’s close.
@wolverinealum Clark Kerr is far, but you are right that it is nothing compared to taking (people-overloaded) bus rides to go back and forth between Central and North campuses. I think the dining is the best at CK in addition to the big rooms. Bowles Hall is great now that it is renovated, and with how many steps you need to climb to get there, getting 10k steps a day and developing that calf muscles should come in naturally. The only minor quip of Bowles is that it’s the only dorm that has no dining hall nearby, and because it’s right next to the football stadium, if you need to study for that Saturday, then you gotta find somewhere else in the campus. Overall there is no ‘bad’ dorms in my opinion.
Bowles Hall is called the castle on the hill for a reason
Bowlesl has its own dining hall, separate from Cal dining. The down side is that you don’t have points to use at the other dining halls around campus. However, they do have take away lunches you can grab on you way out.
I have been in Bowles during the homecoming game and couldn’t hear anything. It is built out of concrete block so its pretty much a tomb. It has its own library and study areas on most floors. That said I have heard the residents facing west have been woken, early Saturday, by the Cal band practicing on the lacrosse field.
Bowles comes with its traditions and encourages all residents to participate. The Yule ball, The haunted house and singing along with the Cal band when they are serenaded after every home game.
Bowles is a community and it played a huge part in helping my S get settled as an OOS.
Word of caution. The thing about yelling “Hello Bowles Hall!” in the courtyard is a real thing, you are likely to receive the response that has been given since the 1930’s.
I dunno, I don’t know why Bowles is separate from everything ie not part of Cal Housing. It feels like something uppity that only some people have access to. Kinda like a secret frat or sorority. Just my opinion, never been there before, never knew that anyone could apply and the only student I knew that went there left after one year. Worth investigating though.
For us it was suggested by the MET office along with several other dorms.
It is listed on the home page of Cal housing as an option.
https://housing.berkeley.edu/
It is also mentioned on the Cost Of Attendance page.
https://housing.berkeley.edu/
My understanding is that Bowles alumni were alarmed at how the hall had fallen into such disrepair, under Cal management. Leased it back from the university, raised their own money and renovated it.
The older Bowles students work hard to help the first years get acclimated to their new surroundings, this can not be underestimated when young students take their first steps into the wider world.
Bowles is open to anyone, they just don’t have a good marketing department…