I guess part of me wishes that I knew of this option existed before looking at dorms last year. The marketing for Bowles does seem non-existent.
@autumnspast Wait, what’s the response to Hello Bowles Hall? I want to know.
@Walter924 Probably best that I not post that but here is a link to a story from the Daily Californian in 1996. Your answer lies within.
Please read it in the context of when these events took place, today’s Bowles is a very different place.
I was under the impression that it’s very competitive to get in to Bowles Hall. When D heard she had to write a ton of essays and she may or may not be accepted, it’s a huge turn off for her. She is all essayed out lol, would be happy to never have to write another one again within the context of “pick me pick me”. I don’t blame her
@Nhatrang I know that the students have to write essays but I am not sure how competitive it is, as this and other threads have shown, Bowles isn’t really well known. I know with my S, he had to dig REALLY deep to get it done. For him it was the smaller community that attracted him as well as not having to worry about housing for the rest of his undergrad. I totally get her being done with it though.
@Nhatrang my S is right there with your D! done with essays/applications for a while and needs a breather! lol! he is leaning towards UCB, but def getting a lot of pressure from buddies here to go UMich! But in his heart he is ready and excited to try something/someplace new and challenge himself to go out of his comfort zone. Will keep you posted!
@10s4life totally hear what you’re saying, and trust me, being an alum myself (and husband too, we met junior year!), I know and have explained all the amazing things about UMich ad nauseum! We live literally one mile from campus and he grew up going to games, participating in UMich sports camps, his elementary school is a few blocks from campus, and he and friends frequently go down to State St. area to eat at BDubs or other restaurants. Guess we jinxed ourselves by being TOO close! lol! Would love for him to be a Wolverine, but looking like he’g going to be a Golden Bear instead! And I’m excited for him to try something new! It takes a lot of courage to go someplace you’ve only visited once for a few hours and where you don’t know anyone! @sdhotmama we’ll be in the same boat as your husband!! at least UCB and UMich are both blue and yellow (technically maize for UMich, but same dif!). And all of our rivals have red too! OSU, Stanford and Virginia Tech! lol!
@autumnspast that’s such a great article about Bowles! I’m with @ProfessorPlum168 in knowing nothing about it whatsoever and feeling they don’t market it very well. My S is hoping for Clark Kerr as the rooms/dining are supposedly best! He doesn’t mind the walk at all!
@wolverinealum Your son really can’t go wrong with any of his choices. Welcome to the Golden Bear family!
This is such a helpful thread! DS is just about ready to commit to UCB for this fall - he’s trying to make his final decision between UCB and Duke, but is definitely leaning toward Cal. He actually just asked me today for a copy of his senior picture so he can join the UCB FB page and start looking for a roommate, so I think he might have some news to share with us when he gets home from school.
DS is also looking for that perfect balance of strong and challenging academics while having a life that includes other things as well - possibly intramural sports, service opportunities or clubs. He’s planning to major in Physics and also hopes to minor in Music/Music Composition, so he plans to be involved in the on-campus choirs. And he wants to bring some of his musical instruments (guitar, keyboard, electric bass, etc.) but I have no idea how feasible that will be in a dorm! At least he should be able to use headphones with the electric ones so he doesn’t bother his roommates.
Once he commits, we will be looking for all the info the helpful people here can offer on dorms, classes, orientation, move-in, etc.! Thank you!
@lisalisae there are definitely a lot of wonderful people who have given excellent insights and advice…there’s another thread called “questions about Berkeley” or something like that and it has great comments as well.
My S is STILL struggling with his decision…I think he will drag it out to the very last day! lol! But it is definitely something that we want him to feel as comfortable as possible with, so if he needs more time to mull things over, then so be it! Good luck to you with your S’s choice…he sure has two great options! And I know Cal has some great music/acapella groups as well! Keep us posted! 
@lisalisae Definitely recommend Berkeley for strong physics program. I’ve also minored in music – also highly recommended just to get out of Evans and LeConte Hall every once in a while. There are practice rooms in most of all dorms and additional rooms at Morrison and Cesar Chavez Hall. The campus choir groups are fantastic with varying level of choir groups depending on the audition results.
Son is junior in EECS (Computer Science) at UCB. Younger daughter committed this week to Berkeley EECS as well, after a long deliberation between Cornell and Berkeley. In my mind Berkeley is filled with highly-motivated, self-driven normal kids, who have an abiding passion for virtually everything they become interested in. My son has only been to one football game, but has a rich social and professional life on campus. Congrats !
@wolverinealum My daughter is at University of Michigan and my son just committed to Cal. He has three cousins there and we are from Silicon Valley about an hour away. The social or “normal” students are all in Greek life. My son plans to rush a frat immediately to find his “people”. Greek life at Cal is not quite as active as it is at Michigan but it really is active and lively. Also there are lots of club and intramural sports. In Clark Kerr there are more athletes and more socially outgoing students. One warning to you: once your child leaves Michigan and comes to California, he will never return!
@StephSavides As a counterpoint, there’s plenty of social normal people outside of Greek life and plenty of nerdy quiet people in Greek life at cal. Not all fraternities and sororities are the same there’s different tiers and personalities across the row. I think it’s unfair to stereotype that broadly.
@StephSavides thanks so much for that reassurance! S is SO close to putting down deposit for Cal!! He has messaged with a few kids on fb (still looking for roommate but hopefully that will all work out!), and is feeling ready to go out of his comfort zone and try something new. He has always loved UMich and imagined himself there, and most of his close friends are going there next year. But since this option has presented itself, it has made him rethink his enitre plan! I am excited for him and confident that he will do well there, and will find “his people”! He is definitely planning to rush, and also try out for club soccer, and he wants to live in Clark Kerr, so I think socially he will be setting himself up to be in the best possible position to make lots of friends! I am fully aware of the fact that we may be losing him to Cali…but if we have to move there eventually, I’m fine with that! 
We are actually moving to Chicago this summer for my husband’s new job, so I think we will be ready to be done with winter after living there for a few years! lol! Thanks again for sharing your opinion on Cal and the social scene! Really appreciate it!
There are plenty of “normal” people not in fraternities and sororities.
I will be careful to generalize “all” “always”, etc etc. My two boys are not in Greek but I will say they are pretty normal, and have a social life.
When we visit them, we go watch football games. The most memorable experience is last year UCLA @ Cal. My boys were so sure they’d beat the Bruins handily, but UCLA got their first victory of the season! Needless to say, my hubby was extremely happy, lol.
@CalDadCA you must be thrilled to have both kids going to same school next fall! Cornell is also a great school (S has some friends there) but I think the weather is definitely better in Berkeley than Ithaca! I definitely get the impression that there are lots of highly motivated and driven kids…I think that is a big appeal for my S but he also just wants to make sure there’s a balance as he would not do well in an environment where everyone is only focused on academics, grades, etc.! He read something that said the kids at Berkeley don’t smile and are always stressed out and that had him concerned…I told him don’t believe everything you read on the internet! lol! I’m glad to hear from everyone in this discussion group that kids at UCB do take advantage of and participate in the many club and IM sports offerings as well as the other clubs, professional and social fraternities and of course cheering on the teams! Thanks so much for your perspective! It definitely gives me, as the mom, a lot of reassurance that he can thrive there!
@sdhotmama it sounds like your boys are also having such a great experience and really making the most of their time at UCB…hopefully next year will be a better football season! I know my son will have to adjust a bit after growing up going to games at “The Big House” (UMich famous football stadium that seats over 105,000 people…nothing like being at a home game in a packed stadium there!), but we could tell from walking around and seeing everyone sporting their Cal gear that there is definitely a LOT of school spirit and he really liked that! Does anyone go to basketball games?! Or any other team games? Have your boys joined any professional clubs or any other organizations? thanks so much for all the insight!! really appreciate it!
@wolverinealum my boys are active in campus fellowship, join some engineering clubs, play IM basketball and volleyball, participate in a musical group, and S2 is a tutor in one of the CS 60s classes. I think as long as they enjoy what they do, it doesn’t really matter if it’s Greek, religion, music sports or professional clubs.
@sdhotmama that all sounds really good and definitely they are leading balanced lives with their academics, which I think it super important!
I am happy to share the exciting news that my son has committed to Cal!! He is officially a Golden Bear!! Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences and perspectives…all of the information I have gathered through this thread was definitely an important piece of the decision making process!
Congrats @wolverinealum to you and your son!