<p>Well my girlfriend of 2 years got into berkeley, (she did early decision, binding agreement really) and we both live in LA. im sure you all have heard the "oh we love eachother very much" and well as cheesy as it sounds... thats the case. I plan on going to a CC because i can't afford a 4 year university and i would really like to get in berkeley after transferring. My girlfriend plans on living off campus, and she would love for me to live with her. unfortunately, the cost can be alot, i mean considering san Fransisco, houses might be expensive right? well anyway, would it be possible for an out of high school student to move out of the house and move in with someone else like such as in an apartment building? would the costs of living in one be possibly affordable if we both get jobs and pitch in? i plan on going to a local community college in san fransisco and transferring to berkeley. (yes i know i need to maintain a good GPA to really have a chance of getting in as a transfer, but im willing to put in the effort.)</p>
<p>Welcome to college confidential. :)</p>
<p>Housing in Berkeley (and SF) can be pretty expensive because of the high cost of living. Living in SF might be a bit far if your girlfriend is going to Berkeley but if you are willing to drive, then living a bit further from campus might be a bit cheaper.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t really know much about this but I just wanted to say how sweet!</p>
<p>Have you considered going to San Francisco State because that is a really good state school and you would be relatively close to your girlfriend. Also, most Berkeley students end up living in an apartment after freshmen or soph. year so there are places around the campus, you just have to look. As for pricing, I know that they actually end up being cheaper than dorming ( but Cal dorms are notoriously expensive and are around 14 k a year) so you are looking at less than 14 k a year with roomates and such. You’ll really have to research and get on the apartments soon though because I’ve heard there is a lot of competition for them. </p>
<p>I would also say, and this is just for the safe side, to consider a back up plan in case things don’t work out with your girlfriend, you don’t get into ucb/don’t want to go there, etc. Just don’t make all your plans dependent on your girlfriend. </p>
<p>But I wish you guys the best of luck and hope everything works out amazing!!!</p>
<p>And just to clarify, when I say have a back-up plan, I simply mean that this is an important time for you as well and a time for growth, new opportunitites, etc so make sure that while being with your girlfriend is important, you get as much as YOU can out of the college experience. Don’t just settle. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Depending on how much space you want/need, housing runs anywhere from $750 to $2500+ per month for a studio to 1+ bedroom. Water, hot water and garbage are often included (meaning you pay PG&E and internet/phone/TV, etc.). You’ll pay more for being close to campus or to a BART station, but if you’re going to go to CC in San Francisco – though Berkeley CC is two blocks from UC Berkeley – you’re going to want to be close to a BART station. </p>
<p>I recommend avoiding a car unless you really think you need it because parking sucks AND is expensive, as are gas, insurance, tolls, and the inevitable tickets.</p>
<p>Two people working can do it. Two students on financial aid can do it. If you want to, you can do it! Might not be the most fun thing ever, but it’s definitely possible.</p>
<p>If you want to go to a CC, I would suggest the City College of SF. It’s near Daly City and housing is much more affordable in that area than in downtown SF. I know a few people who opted to live in Daly City because of the affordability. It will be a pain to get to Berkeley from there, but it’s possible with the muni/BART stations around that area. Or you could just go to a CC in Berkeley like someone else suggested. Best of luck!</p>
<p>This is a bit off-topic, but…early decision at Cal? I didn’t think there was such a thing.</p>
<p>It is do-able. Risky, but do-able. I attended CCSF and loved it there, but I also took a class at BCC and found it to be fine. There are a lot of community colleges in the Bay Area. CCSF offers classes at around 10 different sites in SF and BCC is within the Peralta Community College consortium, so you cold take classes at 4 different campuses in the East Bay. Choosing one of the schools is probably the least of your worries. It is definitely possible to get into Cal after two years at a CCC. Just keep your grades up and use the career center or other student service centers to look for EC opportunities. And if things don’t work out between you and your girlfriend, after you are done with your lower division requirements you could transfer into another UC or CSU in a different city.</p>
<p>Housing is less expensive in the East Bay, especially in Oakland. I find that Berkeley and SF are about the same as far as rent goes, but you might be able to get a 1 bedroom for less rent in Berkeley than SF. Berkeley has a lot more “dumpy” places than SF, especially next to the Cal campus. I looked at 10 tiny, moldy, falling apart studios that were around $950 and decided not to move into an apartment after all. But it is supposedly a renter’s market in SF and it definitely is in Oakland, so it might not be too bad now. </p>
<p>By the way, Oakland has a bad rep, but it is a huge city and not all parts of it are unsafe or unsavory. </p>
<p>If you are working and going to school and/or get financial aid, it should be no problem at all. Lots of young people with lower paying jobs (retail, cafe, movie theater) still manage to live on their own in the Bay Area, although they are often broke.</p>
<p>[craigslist</a> classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums](<a href=“http://www.craigslist.org%5Dcraigslist”>http://www.craigslist.org) is your best place to start looking for rentals.</p>
<p>When did Cal have ED? o_O</p>
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<p>There isn’t any such thing, there hasn’t been, there won’t be. Too big, too public. Same reason there’s no wait list. They don’t need it, nor can they afford the resources to run it.</p>
<p>I chalk it up to misunderstanding.</p>
<p>That was the first thing I thought of, unless she is a recruited athlete there is no early decision, binding or not, at Berkeley.</p>
<p>You could probably get by on about $10k a year for living expenses, as a roommate with some one else.</p>
<p>As a parent I would not encourage you to go off and sign a lease with some one you are romantic about. Roommate situations are fraught with stresses and issues that cause platonic friends to become enemies, let alone the tension of a romantic relationship.</p>
<p>If you sign a lease together (assuming you can even qualify) and then break up, you are both still liable for the rent. I know you would like to think you won’t ever break up, and maybe that is true, but assume for discussion that you do and are both on the lease. You move out, home, GF is stuck finding a new roommate and either finds one (all okay, but maybe 1 month rent unpaid); doesn’t find a new one (you both end up paying your rent- she gets a subsidized single and you pay rent for nothing) or (you don’t pay rent and she pays it all) or (you don’t pay rent and neither does she resulting in an eviction and ding on both your credit reports- which can affect car insurance etc)</p>
<p>I have dealt with some serious financial consequences of roommate conflicts for one of my kids. DON’T DO IT! DON’T RISK IT!</p>
<p>Now, if you want to move there, in your own place or to room with others, that could be fine.</p>
<p>My DD is a graduating senior who has been dating the same BF for almost 5 years, he has been in school over 1000 miles away the entire time. It can work.</p>
<p>To my mind the best way to do this would be to let her go in the fall, get settled in, meet some nice people and look for some nice guys who have a roommate moving out after the 1st term, then if it still looks good, you move up and take that person’s spot. This has given her time to adapt to school and make some friends before you two are joined at the hip :D</p>
<p>You guys should rent a room together. It can be as cheap as $250 each, and if anything happens she would be able to pay for it herself, while you find a job or if you guys were to break up.</p>
<p>The only way to not outdo it is to go to Berkeley CC.
And yes, please explain what early decision means in this context.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies guys. well thats the thing, i didnt know berkely had ED either, but she told me that she had gotten accepted into berkelely, shes 11th grade. (this is if we still are together after 12th) but she said she had gotten accepted into berkeley so yeah.</p>
<p>If you want to live in Berkeley, live somewhere closeby, and not in the city. Albany, El Cerrito, Pinole, Oakland, San Pablo…all of these cities/towns are cheap alternatives to Berkeley, and are very BUS/BART friendly. </p>
<p>In terms of community college, I suggest BCC. CCSF is a great school, but unless you actually live in SF, commuting can be pretty expensive ($7/round trip bart ticket per day). I’m actually transferring from Berkeley City College to UCB this fall, and the amount of support I was able to get from UCB because of how close I am to the campus really made it easy to transfer. Also, we have a really tight transfer rate to CAL. Out of the 94 students admitted to Haas, 12 of them came from Berkeley City College (that I know of). </p>
<p>There are a lot of great transfer programs on CAL’s campus that are much more accesible when you’re right next door, like:
-Stiles Hall
-TAP
-Starting Point Mentorship</p>
<p>Plus, the college itself is all in one building, so getting from class to class isn’t too much of a hassle. I suggest that no matter what community college you go to that you do Concurrent Enrollment, which will allow you to take a UCB class for community college prices for two semesters. </p>
<p>If you need any further advice, feel free to PM me.</p>