OFFICIAL: Best/Worst Residence Halls! (Reviews)

<p>The food at the I-House sucks and is more suited for vegetarians.</p>

<p>wat do you guys think about unit 3? one of my friends lives in beverly cleary and she really really likes it there...but everyone else has said that it isnt...the best. i already sent in my thing....i put unit 3, 1 and then 2. but since the asian pacific theme is in unit 3...and if ppl are recommend it i think im going to apply to it to hopefully increase my chances</p>

<p>thanks =]</p>

<p>I was planning on putting Unit 3, since it's so close to campus, but from some of the responses on this thread I'm having second thoughts. I'd like a reasonably social environment, but not too crazy or loud. I'd also like to be close to campus.</p>

<p>Strange question, but can you have someone spend the night in your dorm room and can you visit other units in the evenings? When I was taking the tour of Unit 1 over the weekend, we were told that you have to show your i.d. after a certain hour and if you didn't have an id for that building, you would not be able to get in. I mean, I like the security, I think that's a good thing, but does it mean my friends can't hang with me after that hour?</p>

<p>you can spend the night in other buildings, but, except for foothill and bowles, you have to check in. It's a legal issue, that way if something happens, you can A. have an alibi if you get accused of something. and B. the university can prove if you were in a location if they accuse you of something. but you can stay the night at other reshalls and what not.</p>

<p>^ After 5pm in the units, if you live in the building, you just get your ID card swiped and you can go in. If you're visiting a building, have your friend from that building go with you, and they'll just sign you in. That's all there is to it. It's actually a pretty useless system I think...As for having people stay overnight, it just depends on if your roommate is comfortable with it or not, but people do it all the time. </p>

<p>as for the main topic, I will contribute my 2 cents because I don't want to work on my problem set:
Unit 1: decently quiet, pretty social-you'll get pretty close with the people on your floor and it's mostly freshmen, so there will be lots of people who share your classes and mostly everyone will be up to meeting new people. close to crossroads (dining commons) also pretty clean. I recommend unit 1 dorms. If you are of a more philosophical, dorkier nature, I highly recommend Freeborn. I would have lived there, but people on this site told me that freeborn was filled with crazy evangelicals. that is not true.
Unit 1+2 minisuites: like people have been saying, they're less social, but way cleaner and you'll get pretty close to the people in your suite.
Unit 2: a bit farther than Unit 1, but not by much, close to crossroads. a bit more diversity in class years, and more noise.
Unit 3: really ridiculously conveniently located. there's bear market, cafe 3, and campus, etc, etc, but kind of loud and pretty diverse spread of class years. in general, you probably will not get as close with your floor as you would have if you lived in unit 1
Foothill: pretty quiet, really close to certain classes and really far from others, you'll get pretty close with the people in your suite. if you're an engineer or science major, it's great because everyone has the same classes as you/are in the same engineering organizations etc. if you are a humanities major though, I highly recommend that you do not live in foothill
Stearns: again, you'll get close to people in your suite, but it's not that great
Bowles: ya I'd probably agree with hopefully haas...the building's not even seismically sound</p>

<p>as for theme houses, I know the people in the asian one are really close-knit, but Berkeley is pretty much asian-themed anyways, so it seems kind of redundant.
My friends in WISE like the program...ya</p>

<p>hope this helps a bit, but ya there are a million threads on housing. plus there's a high probability that you won't get your first, second, or even third and fourth choices anyways so...ya sorry.</p>

<p>"plus there's a high probability that you won't get your first, second, or even third and fourth choices anyways so...ya sorry."
What? Really? Do you know this from personal experience or anything? That really sucks. O_o</p>

<p>Unfortunately this is pretty true. Usually the freshmen will request a double and then be put into a triple. It's not that bad though, just luck of the draw. If you don't get a Unit 1 double like you had hoped, they may just put you into a Unit 1 triple instead, which is almost the same thing.</p>

<p>Yikes! So even if the top 4 of your choices are doubles, they may still put you in a triple? If I don't get a Unit 1 double, why would they put me in a Unit 1 Triple unless that was the next in line in my housing preferences (I can only see this happening if all 5 of my preferences couldn't me met, so they place me somewhere that I didn't request; your post implies that they see Unit 1 Double, notice that they're full, and just decide to put me into a Unit 1 Triple while ignoring the other FOUR preferences I listed)?</p>

<p>Almost the same thing? Isn't it a double room transformed into a triple by basically adding another BED and person? It may just only be 2 things that are added, but those are 2 BIG things that really alter your dorm dynamics compared to being in only a double (the difference is at least larger than "almost the same thing"). I personally wouldn't want to live in such a crowded space with THREE people, especially with the fear that they may mess with my stuff and what not (mess with my expensive electronics, like headphone rigs and what not).</p>

<p>^ Your roommates will be just as much worried about YOU touching THEIR stuff!</p>

<p>Honestly the triples aren't that bad. It's not like you have to grind against each other's shoulder's to get around in the room. There is a place just for you to study, and your own bed. Granted, it's super expensive, but everyone should try living in the dorms once.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Yikes! So even if the top 4 of your choices are doubles, they may still put you in a triple? If I don't get a Unit 1 double, why would they put me in a Unit 1 Triple unless that was the next in line in my housing preferences (I can only see this happening if all 5 of my preferences couldn't me met, so they place me somewhere that I didn't request; your post implies that they see Unit 1 Double, notice that they're full, and just decide to put me into a Unit 1 Triple while ignoring the other FOUR preferences I listed)?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, of course they'll first go through all five of your preferences. If all five preferences cannot be given to you, then they might stick you in a triple, which happens to a lot of freshmen.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Almost the same thing? Isn't it a double room transformed into a triple by basically adding another BED and person? It may just only be 2 things that are added, but those are 2 BIG things that really alter your dorm dynamics compared to being in only a double (the difference is at least larger than "almost the same thing"). I personally wouldn't want to live in such a crowded space with THREE people, especially with the fear that they may mess with my stuff and what not (mess with my expensive electronics, like headphone rigs and what not).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's not that bad. You have your own bed and your own desk. That's all you really need. If you're in a double the only extra thing you'll have is a little extra walking room, and let's face it, how much are you going to walk in your small dorm room anyway? It's honestly not that bad, and roommates usually don't mess with your stuff (you can turn them in if you're that concerned).</p>

<p>Well, my point is that there's an obvious difference between living with 1 guy and living with 2 guys. Adding another roommate to the equation certainly will have great effects (positive or negative, you can decide). I'm just saying that there's a difference that's a lot bigger than "almost the same thing" between having 1 roommate and 2 roommates (I know it's just ONE more person, but there's more to it then just adding 1).</p>

<p>Anyways, I hope I get lucky in the draw and end up in a double :)</p>

<p>i think this is pretty obvious...</p>

<p>unit 3..</p>

<p>
[quote]
Well, my point is that there's an obvious difference between living with 1 guy and living with 2 guys. Adding another roommate to the equation certainly will have great effects (positive or negative, you can decide).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No actually, there really isn't. Most people don't spend most of their time in their rooms. It's quite possible that you'll have a roommate who just goes out all the time and is rarely in the room, so it's essentially a double. I know people who live in triples yet often, they'll have the room to themselves or the room is empty. Even when all three people are in there, a lot of times it's really just another body in the room. You may think it's a big difference, but it's really not.</p>

<p>Bringing this thread back up again, since I'm having trouble figuring out my housing situation. I'll be transferring to Berkeley as a junior, and I know a few people at Berkeley, but I'm wanting to make my own friends and what not. So I'm basically looking for a place that's pretty social, but also with other transfers as well. What's best for my situation?</p>

<p>unit 3 spensblack</p>

<p>Unit 1 mini-suites (Slottman and Christian) are for 2nd years and transfers. Unit 2 Wada is for upper-divs. If you want to live in the dorms, those are your best bet. The high-rises may be more social, but they're full of first-years.</p>

<p>This year Slottman has ALOT of freshman, sophmores and even a few transfer juniors... a few spring admit freshmen too.</p>

<p>It is not true that mini-suites are "only" for 2nd year. And Wada's for transfers...</p>