<p>How much are you paying per year? </p>
<p>Did you get any scholarships or financial aid? If so, which scholarships did you get and how much money did you receive (from scholarships or financial aid)??</p>
<p>Do people HAVE to live in a dorm the first year or can they live in an apartment, with relatives/friends, etc?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Berkeley's not giving me any financial aid, but I have about $2000 for scholarship money from outside sources and I also had my health insurance waived, so it's about $23,000 for tuition and $10,000 for room and board.</p>
<p>33,000? Thats pretty cheap. I thought the OOS price was like 42,000?</p>
<p>Depends on how much you like to spend. I ended up with a triple so that saved $2,000. Waiving health insurance saved me another $1,500. The $42,000 is just an estimate on how much a student will spend, including living expenses. The $33,000 is simply the bare minimum I have to pay. I still haven't factored in laundry, food, plane tickets, etc.</p>
<p>it was 36000 for me last year total (clark kerr triple) without any scholarship</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do people HAVE to live in a dorm the first year or can they live in an apartment, with relatives/friends, etc?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure nobody has to live in university housing, but it's a good experience.</p>
<p>Agree first year dorming (especially triple because it saves &) is a great idea in terms of getting acquainted socially with other people. After that, I recommend oos people getting an apartment with cheap rent.</p>
<p>University housing may or may not be a good experience. Berkeley has more than its share of deadbeat students and you might end up with one of the more delinquent ones, who play counterstrike all day or invite tons of friends over or are insensitive to your needs and habits.</p>
<p>36k a year for Berkeley. What a waste of money.</p>
<p>Do out-of-state students have the opportunity to become in-state after a year of living in California? I know they do as grad students, but I'm getting the impression you don't as an undergrad.</p>
<p>No, you have to live in california for 2 years, be financially independent during that time, and prove of "intent" to become a state resident.</p>
<p>The situation is different for graduate students because they work full time.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The situation is different for graduate students because they work full time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not true (the working full time part). I know many that don't work at all (assistanceships or otherwise) and still obtained California residence after one year.</p>
<p>Is it really hard for OOS people to get scholarships from berkeley? Like for example regents, alumni, cal bears, etc?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Is it really hard for OOS people to get scholarships from berkeley? Like for example regents, alumni, cal bears, etc?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As far as I know, it's just as hard as any other student, although fewer people will probably be competing against you for the alumni scholarship.</p>
<p>It's near impossible to get in-state status for tuition purposes. I believe the president of the club SOID (Students for Out of State and Int'l Diversity) a few years back did it, but said it involved basically cutting off financial/legal ties with family members and being virtually on one's own, completely. Not only must you earn enough income to be called financially independent (which is soo difficult considering you'll want to fit in classes with that work schedule), but you can only leave California for an alotted time period each year. You must also establish your intent to become a resident by getting a California driver's license and/or registering to vote in California, among other things. You can read the long, round-about explanation on the registrar's website page regarding residency for tuition purposes. Personally, I am graduating early to save money, but that may not be the best route for everyone I understand. It would depend on your AP credits, if you are willing to take an overload of classes, and of course the rigor of your major. There are also some outside scholarships, but I've found them to be sort of paltry in comparison to how much we out of staters pay, like in the realm of $1000-2000. I guess if you got a lot of these small scholarships it would help. There are many ways to make it work if you need to save money, but of course it's going to take a little more work or sacrifice on your part.</p>