<p>I got my offer today to go to CZ but as a Freshman spring admit I don't know if it'll be harder for me to transition into Berkeley and still get good grades if I'm living at such a big house.
Any personal experiences? I'm trying to get above a 3.5 GPA to apply to Haas.</p>
<p>Is it possible to maintain a good GPA while living at CZ and is it true that it's hard to sleep cause of all the noise?</p>
<p>I also got my CZ offer today…I’ll be bringing my valium. I’d recommend investing in a good sleeping pill.</p>
<p>I don’t have any personal experience for you, but I supposedly the dorms aren’t that much better, just duller. And since you acquire points each semester, you’ll soon be able to transfer to a quieter coop, or at least a single room. </p>
<p>Try out CZ, and take it easy during that 1st semester. Fulfill your arts and humanities requirements, take a freshman seminar, don’t overload on the the units. And if you really can’t handle it, you can always cancel your contract. You can also put yourself on the other coops’ waitlists, so you might be able to transfer sooner than summer.</p>
<p>Cantabilen Are you a freshman? </p>
<p>Im driving up there with my parents and not looking forward to giving them a tour of the house with the erotic murals I hear they have. Has someone tried avoiding the tour for the parents, howd it go?</p>
<p>CZ is known as one of the rowdier houses…if you’re a girl, you can still transfer to the couple of houses that still have spaces (Wilde, Sherman, Hoyt). If not, you can hang around the libraries to study. The Main Stacks are open until 2am and it’s ~10 minute walk from there to CZ, I’m guessing.</p>
<p>Ask for a transfer right now, while keeping your contract for Casa Zimbabwe, and maybe you can get to a quieter house if you decide later on that CZ isn’t for you.</p>
<p>Hmmm…lol, maybe that’s why CZ wasn’t shown during the co-ops tour I went on. We had a pair of parents, but I was surprised at how unshocked they were at some of those dirty houses.</p>
<p>I’m a 2nd year community college student hoping to transfer to Cal fall 2011. I’m moving to Berkeley this January though, because I think it’ll increase my chances.</p>
<p>My parents took the tour of CZ (I didn’t because I had too much hw to do) when we visisted Berkeley to register me at the city college. My mother: “There was a giant phallus painted on one of the walls!”</p>
<p>While my parents aren’t crazy-hippy-pot-smoking-liberals, they also aren’t uptight. They were very shocked by CZ, most likely because a place like that is so rare in 2009. But after the original shock, they embraced the coops and support me living in CZ.</p>
<p>If you have to tour it with your parents, I would let them know about the murals beforehand. [Welcome</a> to Facebook | Facebook](<a href=“Redirecting...”>Redirecting...) There are a photos of the walls on this facebook page. (if that link doesn’t work, search for “casa zimbabwe berkeley” on facebook) That way they’re prepared what to expect.</p>
<p>When my parents visited, it was coop tour week, so the students were all prepared for visitors. What my parents saw probably was a glamourized version of what CZ is. Since I’m assuming you’ll be visiting after finals, it’ll probably be a lot quieter since most students go home during break. That will work in your favor.</p>
<p>What sold my parents is how friendly the coopers were. One girl took my parents on a full tour, including her room, explaining how the room situation works, how some students loft their beds for extra space, etc. If you visit between semesters, the students won’t be bogged down with hw, and will be happy to tour their new housemate. (and again, less people=less mess, less noise) If your parents visit it during it’s rowdier times, or stressed times, the murals will just negatively affirm that you’re moving into a crazy, drug infested, hippie den that will corrupt you. But since your visiting during a relaxed time, your parents are much more likely to see the murals positively, as artistic expression, an accepting place, an outlet to balance the rigor of Berkeley academics (oooh, really push that one).</p>
<p>What sold me was the amenities CZ had. Hoyt, the women only coop, has a very small common area and not as many amenities. CZ has a several common rooms, and a lot of outdoor space. It has a study room with a library, both of which I don’t think you can find in the dorms.</p>
<p>Are you a girl? As birdhouse said, there are spots availble in Hoyt, Sherman, and Wilde. And you’re definitely not alone. CZ is the rowdier house, but it’s also has the most turnover. The people that work their way into the smaller ones stay there; the ones that are placed in CZ move when they get enough points. The rowdy ones stay, but there’ll always be a batch of new coopers who’d rather be in a quieter house.</p>
<p>The adjustment to college life is also difficult in a dorm. Most dormers have to study in the libraries anyway, so if the library in CZ isn’t quiet enough, you’ll just have to do what you would have had to do had you been in a dorm. </p>
<p>Personally, I think it’ll be an advantage living in the coop, grade-wise. The upper division students have learned how to handle their studies in the coop, and I can learn from then. Plus, hopefully there’ll be a couple older phil majors who can help me with my classes :)</p>
<p>^ Hmmmmm, how was Hoyt? I was offered that house last week and it’s one of those I haven’t visited yet. What do they have?</p>
<p>Honestly, the feeling I get from Hoyt and Sherman is that one of them will become coed soon. The women’s only coops don’t appeal to most.</p>
<p>Hoyt seems to be much more wholesome, girl scout camp-y, then the rest. The common area is limited. It really didn’t appeal to me at all because while I like the idea of the communal activities of a coop, I don’t like feeling forced to participate. I’m pretty low-key, and Hoyt seems to be the sort of place where everyone’s expected to get really, really excited about whatevers going on. It’s a great environment for those who like non-party parties, and want to develop real, sisterly bonds with the other women, but I knew I wouldn’t do well there.</p>
<p>However, there’s only 1 triple, and 13 doubles, and 31 singles. And since there’s such high turn over there, there’s a chance of possibly getting a single your first semester. You’re at least guaranteed a double (since the triple will go to whoever fills the still open spots). So this house is probably a lot better for getting work done. (wish me luck in my CZ quad lol)</p>
<p>haha I hope I can somehow avoid the phallus. </p>
<p>Looking at it that way I think it might be better to stick with CZ. It would be a great experience especially since I’m a pretty shy guy and trying to break out of my shell so CZ seems like the place to help me do that. </p>
<p>I just hope I don’t come out of this a party animal. Since I’m a guy I cant transfer to Hoyt or Sherman, besides they seem to quiet and boring. Initially I was hoping for something medium sized like Castro Arms but CZ seems like a better experience, as long as my grades don’t suffer. </p>
<p>Cantabilen you’re staying in a quad? I thought CZ didn’t offer quads. Here’s what it says on the bsc website:
Single Bedrooms: 32
Double Bedrooms: 28
Triple Bedrooms: 12 </p>
<p>Based on that it looks like we have a pretty good chance of getting a single, I think.</p>
<p>Also do any of you understand the payment process? It says on the site after getting the offer for CZ that it’s $3,270 for the semester, making it about 650/month but on the fees section of the BSC site it says
“The cost for the 17 room and board houses for Fall 2009/Spring 2010 is $3,270 each semester, which is about $819 per month.”</p>
<p>P.S. Cantabilen, good luck on transfering! What are you majoring in?</p>
<p>ah, no quads! sweet! </p>
<p>but we don’t have a good chance of a single. The rooms are chosen by “room bids.” We get temp rooms first, then get to pick which room/roommate we want. So 1st, the people who are staying get “squatters rights.” So those already in singles get to keep them. Then it’s by seniority, for each semester in a coop you get 1 point, summer, .75. So they get to pick next. then it’s by app number. And since we were accepted in the 2nd round, we’re pretty much last. But if your roommate has seniority points, then your order in the bid is by theirs.</p>
<p>It depends on how long you stay for how much it is per month. They only charge per contract periods, so if you only stay during the semesters, its 819/month, but if you stay during winter break, and the breaks between the summer contract, it factors out to less. I’ll be staying pretty much all year, so I can either think of it as cheaper per month, or just getting some bonus weeks for free.</p>
<p>And thanks! I’m majoring in philosophy. You?</p>
<p>Oh, thanks for the description. I think I will take Hoyt though, if I get out of my housing contract. Living in an all-women’s building (AGAIN) isn’t too appealing, but that environment sounds better than the sterile one of my dorm.</p>
<p>Btw, singles aren’t necessarily the best rooms. In Ridge, some of the singles are in the basement, where there’s no natural sunlight. There was a GIGANTIC (it was living room sized and extremely dirty) quad in either Loth or Castro – that was the most valued bedroom in the whole house, apparently. And then some people go for the best view, not necessarily the most space per person.</p>
<p>yeah, I’m just talking about from a privacy standpoint. I’ve never had a roommate and that’s the thing I’m concerned about.</p>
<p>and birdhouse-you posted earlier on the philosophy waitlists…is that your major? were you able to get into a class?</p>
<p>I’m majoring in Business Administration… hopefully, if I get into Haas since I have to apply for it junior year. </p>
<p>Uh oh, So I would need a contract the whole year to get to pay the 650/moth fee? I don’t get it cause since the contract says I need to pay 3,270 for the whole semester, thats 5 months, which is 654/month. I think ill call on monday, ill post on here what they say</p>
<p>no, no, you pay by semester, and it just depends on how long you stay. So, if you had moved in last August, you would have 2 contracts of 3,270, the 1st from mid-August to mid-December, the 2nd from mid-January to mid-May. If you wanted to stay from mid-December to mid-January, they wouldn’t charge you anything extra, so you can either think of it as a free month, or recalculate what the total cost per month is.</p>
<p>So basically it’s 3,270, we’re supposed to move in January 14 and out May 20. That’s 4 full months, so 817/month.</p>
<p>Hey, so I’m a current member as CZ, and thought that you’d maybe be interested in hearing my take on the place.</p>
<p>So, I moved in as a freshman spring admit, and since then I have lived here for the past 2 years. Now, I’ll admit that CZ is probably one of the louder co-ops around, but it’s not a constant loud and it’s usually not so loud to the point of being detrimental to your grades. I’ll admit that sometimes if you live in the rooms that face inwards towards our courtyard, it can get somewhat loud, but this is not too common, and generally only occurs on Friday and Saturday nights. </p>
<p>As far as grades go, it’s very easy to live in CZ and maintain a high GPA. Many of the people who live in the house are the best and brightest at Cal. Also, I bonus to living in such a big house as a freshman is that more often than not you’ll find someone living in the house who is either in the same classes as you, or someone who has already taken the class and is willing to help. We also have the occasional GSIs in the house who can be a huge help if they’re from the same discipline as you. When it boils down to it though, getting good grades is up to you. If you know you’re someone who gets distracted easily and you know you won’t be able to turn down a party when you can hear one going on in the house, then maybe CZ won’t be the best place for you. </p>
<p>As far as the environment regarding murals and parents, well, whether you want to bring your parents to CZ depends on who your parents are. I fell comfortable bringing my parents here, but I know other people who aren’t. You just need to be aware of the fact that there are a lot of different people living in CZ, and that yes, your parents could walk in and find someone dancing in their underwear with a half-empty bottle of vodka in their hand at 10 in the morning while another group of people are watching from a couch that’s been placed on top of a table while smoking out of a bong. (this has happened) Yes, there are murals of dicks in the house, but there are also some really cool murals that get overlooked. And if you move in and really don’t like the picture of the dick next to your room or whatever, bring it up and council and paint over it. At the moment we have a stripper pole in the middle of our common room, but rather than being a sexual symbol as some people would see it, it’s a center part of our house which helps bring people together and feel comfortable with who they are and who their house mates are.</p>
<p>Regarding what type of room you’re probably going to get, well, even though CZ has a really high turnover rate, you’re more than likely going to get a triple if you move in. The people who are already in the triples have points, and unless they really enjoy each other, they’re probably going to move into a double before you. I don’t really know off the top of my head how many people are moving out/in, but unless you have points coming in, don’t count on getting a double.</p>
<p>Ok, so after this very long rant, I’m not trying to put you off moving into CZ, even though a lot of what I have in here could be seen very negatively. CZ is a great house! I have met so many people here, and I can not imagine how boring my life at Berkeley would have been if I hadn’t moved into this house. I’ve had random Tuesday nights where I’ve walked out of my room at 10 in the evening and ended up dancing around the kitchen in my underwear, singing at the top of my lungs while baking chocolate cupcakes with my best friends. Another time, in the middle of finals in order to calm down, me and some other people went around caroling to a bunch of other co-ops around north side. Or I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten home after a long day to find some of my housemates sitting next to the fire downstairs with a bottle of wine.
Some of the things CZ has to offer:
two roof-tops with amazing views of Berkeley, the city, and the bay
a hot tub, pool table, stripper stage, two pianos
bike room with all the parts you would need to fix a bike and plenty of knowledgeable people on how to do this
study room on one of the roofs that is always kept very quiet
bar/movie room on the other roof with a projector
very large industrial sized kitchen that is fully stocked (CZ is known around the co-ops for having some of the best dinners)
we have some great costume parties throughout the year!</p>
<p>In the end though, you need to look at yourself to see if it’s the kind of house that can work for you. Some people move in, and they can’t deal with the freedom or the noise, or whatever it is. But if you think you’re someone who can deal with the atmosphere and manage to be serious when you need to, then I think CZ will be one of the best parts of your college experience! Sorry for the really long rant. I really love this house, and if you end up moving in here, I think you will too!</p>
<p>hey thanks for all of that. </p>
<p>regarding the rooms, do people usually pick their roommates, or just wind up with whoever? and are coed rooms common?</p>
<p>cantabilen: oh, I get it now, i was counting an extra month while calculating the monthly rent. </p>
<p>Pyro004: I dont think its negative at all, I’m actually more motivated to go to CZ now. hopefully I’ll see you guys there.</p>
<p>Cantabilen - You get to pick your roommates. When you first move in you’ll be placed in a temp room with a temp roommate for a short time while you get to know the house and the people in the house. We then generally have a BBQ or some type of house get-together the first weekend or so, where you can meet prospective roommates and get to know everyone. And then we have room bids after that. Because there aren’t that many new people moving in, it will probably mean that you don’t have too much of a pick as to who your roommates are this semester. Coed rooms only happen if you want to be in a coed room. According to BSC policy, everyone is entitled to having roommates of the same sex. The house manager has to sometimes mess around with points and who gets what rooms to make sure this happens, but don’t worry, if you don’t want a coed room then you won’t have one. They’re not that common in the house anyway.</p>
<p>oh, and panchovilla, when are you planning on visiting the house? There aren’t very many people that stay here after finals are over, so it might be very hard to get in to visit. Any other time it wouldn’t be a problem, but keep in mind that our house doesn’t have a doorbell or anything, so generally you get in for a tour just by waiting till someone comes in the door and lets you in. If there aren’t many people here it might take a while. And a warning: the house gets very messy over winter break because there is generally noone here to clean it.</p>
<p>I’m actually not going to visit until move in day. Since im in southern california i cant afford to make the trip just to take a tour. For move in day are students generally allowed, or do they, to bring their parents to help them move in/have a tour?</p>
<p>Once Im at CZ do we have keys to go in the house or would I have to wait till someone from inside opens it? And do the rooms have keys/do things get stolen from inside the rooms?</p>
<p>according to the website, the rooms have deadbolts, I think. So yes, stuff gets stolen.</p>