UCB: Most expensive dorms in the nation

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

<p>article from yahoo finance section today:
<a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/special/luxury081706_article1.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://biz.yahoo.com/special/luxury081706_article1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>slideshow of the top 10:
<a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06...id=yahoo_dorms%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06...id=yahoo_dorms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>For those who didnt bother reading:
1. University of California, Berkeley
2. Suffolk University
3. Marymount Manhattan College
4. Sarah Lawrence College
5. Drexel University
6. University of California, Los Angeles
7. New York University
8. Eugune Lang College
9. University of California, Santa Cruz
10. Manhattanville College</p>

<p>Courtesy of kfc4u from the UCLA board.</p>

2

<p>This was hashed out in the parents forum earlier this week.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=226591%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=226591&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>It seems that undergrad students should be worrying about more housing costs than hikes in tuition.</p>

4

<p>I know...</p>

<p>Bowles costs just a little under 12k. That place is suppose to be torn down back in the 80s for f***'s sake.</p>

5

<p>Links don't work but I believe you.</p>

6

<p>San Fransisco is a notoriously pricey place to live. I intend to work out an off-campus housing arrangement my sophomore year.</p>

7

<p>Holy s***. The most expensive dorms that we have here in Irvine barely break the $9000 barrier.</p>

8

<p>This isn't too surprising. Berkeley has a lot of students, while the city is relatively small and dense in comparison. I wish it wasn't the case, but more people prefer apartments after freshman year anyway, so it's not such a big deal.</p>

9

<p>I knew it. I so knew it all this time.</p>

10

<p>Beach front property at UC Santa Barbara and they didn't even crack the top 10? I think its more a case of UCB exploiting the students rather than a price that reflects the actual cost of living in Berkeley. my two cents</p>

11

<p>Bleh...someone tell me why I'm living in the dorms for a second year</p>

12

<p>"Beach front property at UC Santa Barbara and they didn't even crack the top 10? I think its more a case of UCB exploiting the students rather than a price that reflects the actual cost of living in Berkeley."</p>

<p>Yeah but in all honesty, SB is what? An hour away from LA? </p>

<p>But I agree 13K is really out of this world. Thats 1,300 a month!</p>

13

<p>Uhh ... I mentioned this several months ago in the top 8 reasons not to go to Berkeley thread.</p>

<p>I believe the excuse most pro-UCB'ers used was that the rates were reasonable given California's housing situation.</p>

<p>Evidently, the statistics back up the assertion that Berkeley at the very least, Berkeley is an expensive place to study rent-wise.</p>

<p>Also, the private housing is not much better and the dorms in and of themselves are rated as some of the worser ones in the nation. The food is also anecdotally rated to be notoriously bad.</p>

14

<p>Yeah, all the more reason to get an apartment. Off-campus housing isn't terrible. It is definitely more expensive than elsewhere, but not by a large amount (by California standards, anyway). I don't see it as a good reason not to attend Berkeley, though. Four years of slightly overpriced living? If that scares you, wait until you go house shopping.</p>

15

<p>"But I agree 13K is really out of this world. Thats 1,300 a month!"</p>

<p>Actually, if you live in a double thats 2,600 a month!</p>

16

<p>it's amusing that US News had to point it out before anyone realized how much we are paying... </p>

<p>by the way UCSB is a almost 3 hrs from LA metro. Median price of housing in Santa Barbara is higher than LA. </p>

<p>i agree with eudean, living in california is expensive. the cost of housing at CAL is worth it for me to attend CAL.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
i agree with eudean, living in california is expensive. the cost of housing at CAL is worth it for me to attend CAL.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Agreed.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, the private housing is not much better and the dorms in and of themselves are rated as some of the worser ones in the nation. The food is also anecdotally rated to be notoriously bad.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's nice to know that you feel this way, but it's not supported by much. Could you provide some ranking of dorm quality, or outside housing quality? Or food? The food in the city of Berkeley is perhaps some of the best in the nation.</p>

18

<p>Also, how are there stupid numbers calculated? Many students are paying different prices than the number they report students pay. For instance, do they care about the different prices of some living in triples in the units ($9,995) vs. doubles in the units ($11,970) vs. singles in the units (rare - $13,485) vs. Wada vs. Channing-Bowdwitch vs. Foothill vs. all the other differences? I think this estimate is very crude. They probably don't even calculate the number of students paying each amount- do they care enough to distinguish that differen students pay different amounts? This is in no way saying living in Berkeley housing is cheap or expensive, or that the prices are or are not justified, it's just saying the survey is crude and doesn't even say so.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

19

<p>You know they'll do the worst calculation they can to come up with the highest figures to make the article as sensational as possible to sell more magazines.</p>

20

<p>Wow! They jacked up Bowles' rates to over $12,000? That's ridiculous. Last year, it was $10,600 for me, and that's for a single!</p>