UC Berkeley Dorms for Freshman

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

Our D1 was accepted into College of Letters and Science and is looking into dorms. She is intending to study political economy/economics.

  1. What dorms should she be looking into to stay closer to classrooms?
  2. How safe is the campus and surrounding areas for students? Reading some of the online reports is making me very nervous.
  3. How do students get to and from airport?
    Thanks in advance!
2

Bump

3

I’m in the same boat with my son, but the decision is a bit more clear cut for me. Foothill is the place to go for Engineering and CS majors because of the proximity to the Engineering buildings. It happens to also be in the safer part of the campus. Stern is next to Foothill and I believe it is all-female, so that is also an option. Evans Hall, which is where a lot of Math and Economics classes are, are pretty close to Foothill/Stern.

Units 1,2,3 are in the no-so-nice side of the campus. But it is all relative, I’m sure security is tight. However it is more convenient for non-Engineering classes and more access to restaurants and the like.

One thing to note - from all the interviews I’ve done with parents of kids who are friends of my kid who currently attend UCB, most likely they will only be in the dorm for one year only, for one reason or another. Then again, almost all of them are CS or Engineering majors at or formerly at Foothill.

4

Regarding airport, a common way to get to and from the airport is to take BART, whose Berkeley station is a block west of campus (though it can be a hike of uphill to any of the dorms if one has lots of baggage). BART goes to the SFO (San Francisco) terminal and also goes to the Coliseum station from where a special train goes to the OAK (Oakland) terminal.

It would not be convenient to use SJC (San Jose) airport from UCB.

5

As far as airports goes, without traffic it’s around 25 min to the Oakland airport and 40 minutes to SFO. You can almost double that time during rush hour. You can take BART to either airport as well, but it invokes a transfer. It’s probably a little over an hour to go from the Berkeley BART station to SFO. A little less time to Oakland Airport by BART. Both involves one transfer.

The area surrounding the campus is similar to USC, U of Chicago, Notre Dame, etc. Not necessarily that nice, especially as you head south from the campus. You just have to have the big city mentality - always be aware of your surroundings. The campus itself is perfectly safe though.

6

Which dorms are the most social?

7

Here’s my kids’ answer to a different, but similar question:
my S2 is a EECS freshman and he said that Foothill is the closest to the CS and EE buildings which is where most of your labs will be. However most of lectures will be towards the middle/South of campus which is closer to units 1-3. He lives in unit 2 now
My S1, a junior, another eningeering student, lived in Foothill in his freshman year. He said In the units, with 20 people on a floor it will be easier to make a closer knit community.
He now lives on the south side of campus, much closer to classes.

For the safety: don’t walk alone at night. Use common sense.

Airport: BART or Uber. My kids use Oakland airport more than SFO. Closer to campus but less flight choices. SFO has more flights but also lots of delays.

8

My child is a freshman and lives in Clark Kerr. When you tour the campus, we went on Cal Day, we took a tour of the units and we both thought they felt prison like. All dorms are off campus. Clark Kerr is about 7 blocks. They call it the country club! Super spacious rooms, my child has a view of the bay and the golden gate bridge. He finds it super social and there is a lot of outdoor space to hangout. Also a sand volleyball court, a track, soccer field, swimming pool and hiking trails right out the back door. Common consensus is they have the best weekend brunch. Quite a few kids seem to join the greek system from here, maybe because it is so close to greek houses. He has eateb at all the different dining halls, depending where he is on campus and who he is with. I believe everyone who lives at Clark Kerr loves it, no one left for spring semester to live in sorority and fraternity houses like the did from the units. Foothill is very far away and very isolated. Most engineering students don’t take classes in engineering buildings their freshman year, maybe one class? If you want to live in a triple, less expensive, Clark Kerr (CKC) is the way to go! Hope this helps.

9

Hey, current Berkeley student here studying EECS. Congrats an getting accepted! Here’s a quick rundown of my answers:

  1. I currently live in Unit 3, and its approximately 3 blocks from the entrance to campus; on average, I walk about 10 minutes to class, but for my EE/CS labs which are on northside, I walk about 20 minutes. Most of the classes, esp for humanities majors, will be scattered towards the southside of campus, and unit 3 is the closest I would say. Overall, the pros/cons of dorms are:
    • Unit 3 is close to campus, close to RSF, has its own dining hall (Cafe 3), has a grocery store type of thing called Bear Market where they take mealpoints. However, Unit 3 is older and not as nice (although I think the difference in "niceness" between Unit 3 and other Units is negligable)
    • Unit 1 is also close to campus (a bit farther than Unit 3), and is newer, so has nicer facilities. It's very close to Crossroads, the main dining hall. Unit 1 is probably the most applied to dorm
    • Unit 2 is essentially the same as Unit 1 but is pretty far from campus (6 blocks ish). Would not really recommend. Also is close to People's Park, which is unsafe.
    • Clark Kerr is very nice (it has awesome facilities), but is VERY far from campus (about a 30 minute walk)
    • Foothill is on northside and has its own dining hall as well, but is on the antisocial side. Also is slightly more expensive because the rooms are suite style (bigger rooms tho)
    • Units are overall more social
  2. In my opinion, the overall Berkeley area around campus and the dorms is fairly safe if you're smart. There are definitely sketchy things that go on (people get mugged, etc)., and there is a homeless population. Overall, having general street smarts (not wandering around alone at night, being aware of surroundings, not being on phone/wearing headphones while walking (esp at night)) is necessary, but in my one year so far at Berkeley, I have never really felt threatened.
  3. Airport: I usually fly out of Oakland, and I take BART - it's about a 9 dollar ticket one way and takes about 35 minutes to get to Oakland via BART. Uber, if you share with others, is a bit more expensive, and also takes about half an hour.
10

I made a mistake: my s2 lives in unit 1
Uber may be a bit expensive but it’s advantage is if you have luggage, you don’t have to walk uphills with it. One time my S1’s flight to SFO was so delayed there’s no more BART. After that, they fly in and out of Oakland.

11

I just passed by the new dorm that’s being built. Should be done in time for the 2018 incoming class. 700 beds. Looks pretty nice. My kid probably would like the RSF which is close by, so now I have to think harder about the choices.

12
  1. What dorms should she be looking into to stay closer to classrooms? Do you really want to stay near the classrooms? All of the dorms are a tradeoff between distance and room size. Clark Kerr is farther away but bigger rooms. Plus there's a bus every 30 minutes nearby and every 15 minutes 3 blocks away. Units are closer but cramped. She'll probably be mostly in Dwinelle and Wheeler buildings first year for classes.
  2. How safe is the campus and surrounding areas for students? Reading some of the online reports is making me very nervous. It is not suburbia but it is fine and gets you out of your bubble. Super rich in some places nearby. Support homeless people with good resources such as the suitcase clinic and a good shelter network because Berkeley takes care of anyone who lives here. Lots of useful apartments. Nice Victorian houses. So many cafes, boba, restaurants. Good views of the bay. Lot of organic and vegetarian food if you're looking for it. People are idealistic. You know, I feel like girls get physically assaulted less than guys because a large quantity of girls carry pepper spray, creating a positive externality for other girls. Other than that, it's mostly laptop stealing from cafe strada, so just don't bring your laptop to Cafe Strada for long periods of time and you're fine.
  3. How do students get to and from airport? Airport: UberX. 23$ one way if you have a lot of luggage. About 15$ if pool.Still cheaper than owning a car.
13

What’s the name of the new dorm?

14

@socalemma Bancroft Residence Hall?
http://www.dailycal.org/2017/03/03/bancroft-residence-hall-help-alleviate-student-housing-crisis/

15

so is that new dorm be one of the options for incoming freshmen class ? it doesn’t show up on Apply for Housing page. my kid has already SIR so the housing is next…should we wait 'til end of the month to see if that new hall becomes an option ? is there an advantage to submit housing request sooner ?? many thanx in advance.

16

Officially called Blackwell Hall: https://housing.berkeley.edu/blackwell-hall

17

@avz11ymc4 officially there is no advantage to submitting early, as long as you submit by the due date. Random numbers will be assigned for each application for processing.

18

Being in a dorm that is “close to classes” is sort of a crap shoot (unless you are Engineering, then it’s Foothill). The first year or two, kids will be taking breadth classes which could be all over the campus. Units 1,2, and 3 are all within a couple of short blocks of campus, on the south side; the new unit is also on that side, but a bit further west. Clark Kerr is further southeast, but not ridiculously so. Tends to house more athletes (near practice fields) and be a bit rowdier (fire alarms pulled quite a bit, so I’ve heard).

D was in Unit 1 last year, which is right next to some frats, so got a bit noisy, but great location. Housing is tight, so, yes, getting on-campus housing after freshman year is unlikely (although D and her roommates lucked out this year and wound up in an on-campus apartment; off campus next year). Some of the unit buildings are old (thinks 60’s or 70’s era), and some are much newer and nicer. Again, a crap shoot. Just make sure that D1 1) makes her 5th housing choice “anything available” if she wants to get on-campus housing, and 2) checks the email address she’s given the school frequently (a lot of kids don’t communicate much via email and forget to check, missing important deadlines).

As for safety, I’d give the same advice regardless of where my kid was going: don’t walk alone at night (walk with friends or call for a Bear Walk or take a shuttle or bus), don’t make yourself a target by leaving laptops or phones unattended or easy to pick up from a table in public), don’t keep your dorm room door perpetually propped open, keep things locked up. Berkeley isn’t a hermetically sealed college campus - it’s a city, just like any other city and should be navigated as such.

19

Great advice all of you. Thank you very much. Few more questions after reading the responses:

  1. How safe is BART at night? Can she take BART and then uber from there to the dorm?
  2. If my daughter ends up in Clark Kerr - can she take bus to far off classes?
  3. What do your kids do if they have to stay late in the library? It sounds like the dorms are scattered. Do they walk alone or wait for Bear Walk? I have heard that Bear Walk can take up to an hour.
  4. I have also read on Niche that sexual assaults are on the rise. Is that true? From the comments above, parents don't seem to be too concerned about the safety other than taking the regular precautions.
  5. Another complaint I have heard often is students finding affordable housing after Freshman year as the housing is not guaranteed after that. Any advice/comments?

Sorry for so many questions. My DD lived in a suburb in a bubble all her life. It is pretty safe where we live. I know she will have to learn and adapt soon regardless of the college she attends. She is visiting CAL next week and we will get a better picture. Thanks again!

20

Probably the riskiest situation is for a naive first semester freshwoman to go to a party with lots of alcohol, and then start drinking, where she may get more drunk than intended (due to inexperience with alcohol), or be targeted by a predator putting “date rape drugs” in her drinks. In the very drunk or passed out state, she will be vulnerable to a rapist, who may be able to commit the crime without sufficient witness memory from the victim or other drunk people around.

She can apply now for space in the BSC co-ops and hope that she can get in by second year. https://www.bsc.coop/