<p>I live about 50 miles from Berkeley right now. My parents want to buy me a car and have me commute everyday to campus because of the high cost of dorms. I personally don't want to. Are there any other cheaper alternatives to living in the dorms? (I am an incoming freshman this fall)</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t recommend commuting as a freshman… you’ll be losing 2+ hours a day getting to/from campus. It’ll be harder to come to study groups, find motivation to go to class, or attend clubs/events. You won’t get that automatic friend group that living in the dorms brings, and going to social events becomes this huge trip.</p>
<p>As for cheaper housing, the co-op system comes to mind. Take a look here, and see if it’s something you might like: <a href=“Affordable Student Housing | Berkeley Student Cooperative”>https://www.bsc.coop/index.php</a></p>
<p>There are also some private “dorms” near campus, though I’m not sure if any of those are cheaper. As for apartments, you’ll probably need some roommates for it to be cheaper than dorming. I wouldn’t recommend random roommates, but if you have friends in a similar situation maybe you can arrange something with them?</p>
<p>Yeah those are the concerns I had as well
Do you know much about the co-op dorms? Like the living conditions or what you’ve personally heard about them?</p>
<p>It really depends on your personality when it comes to co-ops. Are you willing to live in a place that’s generally messy/dirty and in some cases, run down? Are you ok with loud/drunken parties going on downstairs? In case you can’t tell, I think most co-ops are horrendous haha.
Also I don’t think it’s even an option for you right now because the selection for living is already going on and one of my friends who’s been gunning to live there for a while is having trouble getting a spot. </p>
<p>Sadly, the cheapest alternative to housing in Berkeley is the dorms, unless you rent an apartment with like 5 other people, I don’t think you’re going to have much luck for next year.</p>
<p>Yeah I just did some research on the co-ops and it doesn’t fit me at all. I have to have a clean, quiet place to live and from the stories I’ve read, they’re the complete opposite. I don’t know anyone else from my school who is going to Berkeley so living in an apartment doesn’t seem realistic either. Looks like i’ll probably have to commute.</p>
<p>I really don’t recommend commuting your first year, you’ve looked into financial aid right? And the pricing for the high rise triples (the cheapest dorms)? If it’s not an option, then yes, you’ll probably have to commute.</p>
<p>They’re not offering me much in financial aid in the form of grants. Is there any way to request or ask for more in any way?</p>
<p>A 50 mile car commute is going to be very annoying. You basically will lose 2-3 hours per day (depending on traffic), and you cannot use the time driving to do anything else useful (like reading, sleeping, etc. that you might be able to do on public transportation). Spending that much time on the road will also make it more difficult to connect socially with other students and with student services offered to frosh. Add to that the hassle and cost of parking. The cost of a reliable car, maintenance, fuel, and car insurance, plus the cost of food and utilities that you consume at home, may not actually save as much as your parents think it might save.</p>
<p>Commuting may be more tolerable if you have convenient public transportation available. But, at a mostly-residential school like Berkeley, it is likely beneficial for frosh to live in the dorms, although the option of commuting in later years can still be taken.</p>
<p>The BSC co-ops are very low cost, and Cloyne Court (the largest house) will be a substance-free academic theme house beginning fall 2014.</p>
<p>If there is any way you can manage, I hope it works out for you to find housing at Cal. As a graduate myself (a couple of decades ago!) and a Bay Area resident, I can tell you first of all you will lose a lot of time commuting to campus. Where do you think you are going to park? the traffic to and from campus and on the freeway there can be terrible. Plus, I think it is so important to be a part of the campus community if you possibly can be…college should be about more than just going to classes! Good luck to you…have you looked into options for a work/study job as a possible extra source of income?</p>
<p>You can use <a href=“http://www.sigalert.com”>http://www.sigalert.com</a> to see the state of the freeways at any time of day. It won’t be pretty.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the advice! I am looking into aparments right now near campus that cost a lot less than the dorms. Hopefully I can find one!</p>
<p>Honestly, a 50 miles commute is extremely annoying too.Too much traffic in the Bay Area and also gas prices are rising up every single day. ;( I do suggest commuting if you could get to Cal by BART. But, if you’re living beyond that distance,then don’t commute. Try to commute during your third or fourth years? Hope, that helps :).</p>
<p>Something that might not have occurred to your parents is that, if you are getting a new car, the cost of the car, the car insurance and the massive cost of gas from driving 2-3 hours per day will most likely be more than the cost of the dorms. Right now gas is about $4 per gallon in the bay area, so if you have drive to school five days per week, to got there and back thats 100 miles times 5 which is 500 miles per week. If you have a car that has 25 miles per gallon, thats $80 of gas per week, and $320 per month. times that by about 36 for the school year weeks, you get to $11,520. Thats just gas alone. Then, lets say you have a $200 per month payment, thats another $2,400 a year, plus car insurance, which will be at a higher premium due to you being a teenaged driver.</p>
<p>So for your commuting, it’s an absolute minimum of $14,500 per year, possibly more. A double room in one of the dorms $14,812 for a school year. <a href=“http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html”>http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html</a></p>
<p>So unless you have a way to get the car or gas paid for, you really aren’t saving anything. Plus, if you plan to go to summer school, the price of gas is much higher</p>
<p>Good point, but check your math…$320 per month for 9 months of school is $2,880 for gas, not $11,520.</p>
<p>The average cost to operate a car last year (per AAA) was $.61 per mile. That includes gas plus wear and tear (tires, oil changes, maintenance, etc.), insurance, etc. At 500 miles per week that is a total of $305 per WEEK that you are spending by commuting every day ($1,321 per month at 4.33 weeks/month average). This might be a good argument to your parents to let you live in the dorms. Are you sure that cost is the only reason they have for you to commute, or could it possibly be that they would like you closer to home? I agree with others that you should really try to live in the dorms. That is where you will meet people and become part of the community at UCB. You will miss out on a lot if you commute and it will really cut into your study time. That 50 mile commute in the Bay Area can easily turn into 2 hours each way!</p>
<p>Don’t forget to add the cost of parking …</p>