Residence Halls at Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

For any current student-- what are the dorms and dining halls like? I was admitted, but will probably not be able to make it out for CalDay. I’ve been there before, this past summer, but I’ve never seen the dorms or anything like it. From the tour I took, I know that they’re off campus. Some of the buildings around campus were very run down… and I’ve heard horror stories from friends about bad dorms. Any insight?

2

I would describe most of the dorms as average, which is not a bad thing.

There are a number of different dorm buildings at Berkeley and they all vary slightly. The majority of the rooms are your typical college dorm rooms. Nothing inherently bad or displeasing about them. I live in a forced triple in Unit 3 (one of the dorm building clusters) and although we don't have a lot of room, I haven't had any reason to complain. It does everything that a bedroom needs to do without problem. 
Those lucky enough to have a double have more than enough room for anything they'd need to do. 
Some people complain about buildings being old but I don't find anything wrong with that. Many people consider my building the "worst" but that is just because it is older than the others, not because it is dirty or broken.

I personally think the dining halls are good. Although there may be one or two meals where I don't think one of the options is appetizing, the quality is at least average and very reliable.

If you have any more specific questions feel free to ask.

3

@gobeers18‌ thanks! Some of my friends live in halls at other schools with no AC or heat, and a few have leaks in their rooms. I’ve heard bad things, so I was hoping for an average room. Not a shoddy, run down one.

4

Well, it depends which dorms you would receive. If you want the all-in social experience, go and live in the dorms, especially if you get financial aid. If you don’t get financial aid, then it’s kind of a rip-off to live on campus vs. out of campus. Take in account that they kick you out after two years anyway, so eventually you’ll need to find an apartment by yourself.