<p>I really want to go to UC Berkeley but the OOS cost is just insane. What can OOS students do to reduce the cost? If there are any OOS students reading this, what did you do to bring down the price tag?</p>
<p>I have the same problem too, i don’t wanna get into huge debt right after graduate from UCB… so is there any ways to reduce our tuition? or other source of income ?</p>
<p>anyone? 10char</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a newly admitted OOS student as well, and I think you should try to cut the corners at Cal (ie. live in a triple instead of a double, spend less pocket money), apply for as many scholarships as possible, even ones that are really obscure, and perhaps get a job your second or third year? I’m looking for ways to manage the tuition also, so current student suggestions would be appreciated.</p>
<p>1)Live in a triple in the Units for your first year, it’s the cheapest dorm option.
Avoid eating out as much as possible and utilize your meal plan effectively and efficiently (don’t buy the overpriced crap at Bear Market; don’t swipe your friends in at the dining halls; your meal plan will not last if you eat 2 meals a day at the dining halls (DCs); if you take out food from the DCs, you can take out more than you need for that meal and save the leftovers for later). Or you could move into an apartment your first year and avoid the dorms but dorm-life is a quintessential part of the college experience (or so people say).</p>
<p>2)Move out after your first year cos dorm housing costs are a huge ripoff. Sharing a room with a friend instead of getting a single room to yourself will drive down costs even further. </p>
<p>3)Save money by using textbooks from the library course reserves instead of buying new/used ones every semester. The school bookstore/Ned’s overcharges for textbooks as well, try Amazon or abebooks instead. Alternatively, try buying the international editions of the textbooks (easiest to find on abebooks), these are usually soft-cover but generally contain the same stuff, the order of exercise questions may vary. Search online for <em>free</em> ebook versions of the textbooks/readings that you need. Math 1A/B/53 textbook ebook is easily available if you look in the right places. Downloading textbook ebooks for free is usually not legal. I do not condone this, just sayin that some people do it. I’ve only had to buy 2 textbooks (both international editions) in 4 semesters.</p>
<p>4)Get a work-study job starting your first semester. If you get a job at the dining halls you get to eat for free before/after your shift and the pay is slightly higher than most other work-study jobs on campus. Most people don’t want to work at the dining halls for a variety of reasons which should be obvious to you, but it’s a decent job with some nice perks.</p>
<p>5)If you really want to save money, don’t get some fancy iphone with an expensive data plan or some crap like that. I see plenty of people with iphones who complain about not having enough money to spend on **** and honestly that’s just ridiculous.</p>
<p>The published budget guidelines seem a bit high. Triples are a good option…You don’t need the biggest meal plan…getting housing at the Co-ops or sharing an apartment with a couple friends…</p>
<p>Granted, I don’t know your unique financial situation. If you and your family is uncomfortable with the amount of money and the only way to “afford” it is through private student loans, I would seriously reconsider. Berkeley is 4 years…student loan debt payments are impossible to discharge in bankruptcy and are with you forever. A huge debt burden will hamper your future goals and dreams.</p>
<p>I wish all could experience Cal.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused. copperback, you say that if I get 2 meals/day using my meal plan then I’ll run out quickly. This doesn’t register with me as I’ve also heard a lot of other people say that meal plans that grant 18 meals/week are excessive. Yet, 3 meals per day = 21 meals per week, so am I missing out on something here?</p>
<p>@Copper, why would they not want to work at the dining hall :o? What are the “variety of reasons?” I’m planning to start my work study ASAP, so that might be somewhere I would look into :p!</p>
<p>The standard meal plan that comes included with housing gives you 1250 points per semester to spend. Each point is pretty much equivalent to $1. Lunch at the dining commons (DCs) costs 7 points, dinner costs 8 points. So if you eat 2 meals a day at the DCs, you’ll be spending 15 points a day. 1250/15 is 83.3 days. 83.3days/7days a week = 11.9 weeks. Each semester is 15 weeks long (not including Reading week and Finals week). So you won’t have enough meal points to cover all your meals assuming you eat 2 meals a day at the DCs. </p>
<p>There are other cafes etc on campus that accept meal points. But basic meals (e.g. a sandwich/panini costs slightly under 6 points) there aren’t exactly very filling considering their costs. I think it’s pretty safe to say that in general your meal plan will not be able to cover all your meals. Most people will usually eat out occasionally.</p>
<p>There are a lot of events on campus that offer free food (esp near the start of the semester). It’s a good way to meet new people/make friends and grab something to eat. The residence halls will usually have a number of these events every semester.</p>
<p>Working at the DCs is not as chill as some of the other jobs on campus like those at the libraries. You have to stand for long hours, and it gets kinda tiring according to friends who have worked there. Some of the other jobs on campus may provide you with more relevant skills as well. In the end, the slight increase in pay that you get for working at the DCs may not be worth all the extra effort you’ll have to put in.</p>
<p>EDIT: Like UCBChemEGrad says, don’t get the biggest meal plan, just stick with the standard one that comes with housing. You can get meals at much cheaper prices at the wide variety of restaurants around Berkeley. You can cook as well if you have your pots and pans and stuff, there’s a small kitchen on the ground floor of all the Units (I think).</p>
<p>^Well that’s just lunch and dinner. I usually have breakfast and a snack between lunch and dinner because I eat dinner late (around 8pm). Will dining halls be open that late? Also, if getting 2 meals a day is too much, then how do people manage? The free meals can’t make up the entire cost. Do most people end up paying a lot for food out of pocket?</p>
<p>The dining halls usually close at 9pm. There’s also the late-night grille at Crossroads on Wed-Sun from 10pm to 2am. But late-night is ala-carte whereas breakfast/lunch/dinner is buffet style. </p>
<p>Most people get sick of dining hall food pretty fast and end up eating out a couple of times a week. Some people skip meals/eat snacks as a form of meal-replacement. It’s good to eat out occasionally since there’s such an excellent variety of restaurants around Berkeley. But eating out too often can get pretty expensive.</p>
<p>Ouch, sounds like we need to starve our way to the first year :(! So 3 meals per day is impossible correct? 2 meals per day will work right?</p>
<p>I’ll just replace breakfast with something else then :(!</p>
<p>3 proper meals a day on meal points is definitely out of the question. You can probably make it to 2 meals a day if you spend your mealpoints really efficiently. For breakfast you can buy bread + jam/peanutbutter/etc and milk at walgreens and just keep it in your room. If you/your roommates bring a mini-fridge that would make it easier to store food. There’s a common fridge on the ground floor of all the Units but it can be a hassle going downstairs every morning just to get milk.</p>
<p>Ok that sounds a bit more comforting I guess. Crappy breakfast, average lunch, and decent dinner :p! By efficiently, does it mean crappy meals :(? Or does it mean you sacrifice a poor lunch for a good dinner?</p>
<p>By efficiently, I mean don’t spend your meal points buying overpriced crap at Bear Market (convenience store at Unit 3 that sells overpriced cereal, snacks, drinks etc). Occasionally take out food from the dining halls and stuff the take-out box full of food, enough to last for 2 meals. Eat half of it for lunch/dinner, eat the leftovers for your next meal. This is probably a little extreme, but I’ve seen lots of people do it and if you don’t mind eating leftovers then go ahead. </p>
<p>The quality of the meals at the dining halls depends on the menu for the day. See [Cal</a> Dining - Menus - Partners](<a href=“http://services.housing.berkeley.edu/FoodPro/dining/static/todaysentrees.asp]Cal”>http://services.housing.berkeley.edu/FoodPro/dining/static/todaysentrees.asp) for details.
It’s buffet style.</p>
<p>Good tips so far… loving CC :D!</p>
<p>So I can bring stuff out from dinner (even in buffet style ones) O_o?</p>
<p>When you take-out food, you will have to pay an extra 0.5 points, and the cashier at the entrance when they swipe you in will give you a take-out box. If you take-out food, you can’t sit down and eat inside the dining hall; although I have seen some people do that, the staff will usually ask you to leave. If you didn’t ask for take-out, you are not allowed to take food out of the dining hall except for 1 piece of fruit (they usually have apples; sometimes there are nicer fruits like strawberries, kiwis etc) or a piece of dessert (not too sure about this since most of the desserts are on plates so you can’t exactly carry it out of the DC). There’s a soft-serve icecream/yoghurt machine at Crossroads (Unit 1/2 Dining Hall), you can take those out, but the plastic cups they provide are very small.</p>
<p>Everything sounds so strict :(! I’m surprised I have not asked you this… but what is your typical meal @ UCB then (when you live on campus & off campus) :o?</p>
<p>^I’m very interested in this as well. I was hoping I wouldn’t end up on the ramen noodels diet on college, but now it looks like that just might happen. How do you all get by for food?</p>