ALTERNATIVE HOUSING OPTIONS AT UC BERKELEY besides the Dorms - Bowles Hall, Co-Ops, Greek Life

[@rachel_lin]

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED! You can watch the full UCLA and Berkeley Student Panel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHO6YpZrjqt5f6M Don’t forget Study Hall College Consulting is hosting a UC Berkeley and UCLA student speaker panel TONIGHT at 5 PM PST/ 8 PM EST. This is a free hour-long panel featuring students and recent graduates of Berkeley and UCLA! Whether you have already committed, are deciding between these two colleges, or applying to colleges soon, this event is perfect for you! More information and Zoom Meeting details are on my Community Tab here on YT! See y’all tonight! 🥳🥰

[@stephennapolitano3630]

Thank you for this video!

[@rachel_lin]

Of course! Thank you for watching 😋

[@lulucardoza6202]

Any reason as to why the person who lived in Bowles their first year didn't return for the last 3 ? Awesome video thank you!

[@rachel_lin]

Thanks so much!! He had to move out of Bowles after freshman year due to financial reasons

[@katherinea-z112]

As an EOP student who did my first year remotely, I was inclined to apply to the co-ops namely because of the price but also to make up for the lost socializing I missed out on in a way but I hesitated because of covid which led to a lot more doubts and it makes me so sad now 😭. I ended up applying to the "on-campus apartments" and actually accepted the offer this week. It is wayyy more expensive than anything I asked for but thank you so much for this! It will definitely be helpful in the future.

[@rachel_lin]

Oh no!! In the apartments, you can definitely meet people as well, although I would say that the on-campus apartments are typically less social. But, you can still meet people by going to your RAs events! With expenses, I believe you can cancel your housing contract, even though you have already accepted an offer, but you may just lose any downpayment or application fees you paid. Because like you are saying, any on-campus housing is a lot more expensive than other options you could find. So technically if you still wanted to look into the co-ops, you could!

[@EvonneLo]

Thanks for all the videos. They're really helpful. My question is: Can i prepare my own mattress in dorm?

[@rachel_lin]

Thank you for watching!! What do you mean by prepare your own mattress? If you mean purchasing bedding/sheets/pillows then yes, that is something you have to do! If you mean switching out the dorm provided mattress, that is probably not allowed unless you have a reason/doctors note that gets approved with housing. To make the dorm provided mattresses more comfortable, students usually buy a mattress pad or topper! Hope this helps 😝

[@siprabag9498]

Hi Rachel, many thanks for all the videos you posted online. Those are really very helpful. I would like to know which dorms will be nearer to Biological Science,, Psychology and Chemistry department. Thank you in advance.

[@rachel_lin]

Hi Sipra, thank you so much for watching! So for Berkeley, you'll probably take classes all over campus, no matter what college or what major you are! Classes are not separated by building through your major/college. So even though CNR, College of Chemistry, and College of Engineering have clusters of buildings that are considered that "college," you will probably have classes all over campus. In general, Unit 1, 2, 3 and Blackwell are closer to the south end of campus, so I would say you can't go wrong with any of those dorms! Hope this helps!

[@siprabag9498]

Hi Rachel, thanks for your reply. All your videos have been super helpful to us. I have more questions to ask you. In housing application form can we choose two different alternatives for one building? Like can we choose mini suite style and double room option for unit 1? We have to choose 5 options. Is it possible to choose 2 options from the the same unit? During pandemic will they allow 4/5 people to stay in a mini suite? Is there sufficient vegan food choices in the residence halls? Do you have any idea whether the international students bring pillows from their own country or they buy them when they reach the university accommodation? When an international student travels on his/her own for the first time to go to Berkeley does the university arrange any transport or any kind of help to pick them up from the airport? This is mainly for the safety reason. Please let us know. Thanks a lot.

[@rachel_lin]

@@siprabag9498 Thank you so much for watching! 1. Yes, for the housing application form, you can choose 2 different choices for one building - so you could do Unit 1 Double, Unit 1 Mini Suite as two out of your 4 choices. I say 4 choices because your 5th/last choice has to be "any room, any location." 2. This year during the pandemic, I believe they converted all rooms into singles/doubles. Next year, the housing website looks like they are offering singles, doubles, and triples based off public health guidelines. This may change depending on health guidelines, so check back at the housing website for more info - housing.berkeley.edu/rates. 3. Yes, there are vegan options at the dining halls! Each day, the dining halls post their menus online, so you can check them out (caldining.berkeley.edu/menus/). On the menu, there's little graphics that denote what foods are vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher etc. 4. I was an out of state student to Berkeley and I bought my pillows once I was in California. I had a limited amount of space on the plane to bring items, so items like pillows/dorm accessories etc I bought once I was in Berkeley. I would presume it is similar for other out of state and international students as well! 5. No, the university does not arrange transport to and from the dorms for any students. It would be up to you! For me, I would just call an Uber/Lyft from the airport to go to and from the dorms to the airport. You could also take the BART (metro/subway system near campus) to go to and from the airport, but I found that difficult because I would have many suitcases with me. Hope this helps!

[@siprabag9498]

Many thanks Rachel. You are a very beautiful and graceful person inside out.

[@clairesauzel]

UC Berkeley sounds awesome !! wow

[@rachel_lin]

It truly is awesome!! 🎉😍

[@marik9628]

Does anyone have a link that leads to Co-Ops and Greek Life housing application? Please let me know!

[@rachel_lin]

This is the Co-op website bsc.coop. For Greek Life, you’d have to join the Greek life house when you are a student on campus, and then you can apply to live in the house. Hope this helps!

[@Bestmail991]

@@rachel_lin How to join Berkeley's Greek life house? I cannot find official link

[@rachel_lin]

@@Bestmail991 Hi Best Man, incoming freshmen can't apply to live in the greek life houses. Earliest you would be able to apply would be as a second-semester freshman, so there are no official links available online as you would need to get accepted into a house first!

[@Bestmail991]

@@rachel_lin My son is a sophomore, but he doesn't know how or where to get accept into a house. No place to register like club. Can you expand more?

[@rachel_lin]

@@Bestmail991 "Applying" for fraternities at Berkeley happens at the start of every fall and spring semester, with the fall rush being much more popular than spring (some houses may not even do spring rush). He would have to attend the welcome events and "rush" the fraternities. Then if he is accepted, he would have to do the "pledging process" throughout the semester. So if he is looking to move into a frat house, he probably would not be able to do so until he is completed with the pledging process and fully inducted into the frat, so that would be completed by the end of one semester, so housing would not be available until the following semester. This website might be helpful to see what the Greek Life options are on Berkeley's campus - lead.berkeley.edu/cal-greeks/find-a-chapter/. Hope this helps!

[@mutuallybeneficialtransaction]

OH KEVIN! That guy is my friend and he just graduated. Go Bears!! I can also vouch for Bowles Hall -- it was a wonderful experience, although indeed a tad expensive. But totally worth it in my opinion. Some of the best years of my life for sure.

[@rachel_lin]

Ayyyy love your thoughts on Bowles! Go bears! 🐻🎉

[@siddharthsahu2101]

Thanks for the video! As an international student, I was thinking of applying to co-op for my first year to save money. But I wanted to consider what the major benefits of living in a residence hall might be, compared to a co-op, in terms of social life (including greek life), interaction with other Cal students and faculty, academic support, food etc?

[@rachel_lin]

Good question! From Andy's perspective living in the co-op, it seems like both the dorms and co-ops have social activities and get togethers. The co-ops might have older students versus the regular dorms would be mostly freshmen. Either choice wouldn't have any effect on Greek Life, as you can rush a fraternity/sorority no matter where you live. A lot of Greek life parties require "invites" so you need to be a part of Greek life or know people who can get you invited. For faculty and tutoring, I would say the dorms might have a leg up because of the Resident Faculty Program (reslife.berkeley.edu/academics/resident-faculty-program/) and the Free Tutoring offered at the dorms (reslife.berkeley.edu/academics/academic-support/). Like Andy mentioned, in the co-ops everyone chips in for chores, so you and your peers would be cooking meals. Versus in the dorms, you would get a meal plan and eat at the dining halls. Hope this helps!

[@siddharthsahu2101]

@@rachel_lin Thank you! This is a great summary

[@davidparnell3241]

60 degrees in phoenix this morning! Highs today 82

[@rachel_lin]

Ah fun in the sun! ☀️

[@kyened]

Can incoming Freshmen apply to COOP Housing?

[@rachel_lin]

Yes, you should be able to apply as a first year! Check out this site to see all the eligibility of who can apply - bsc.coop/housing/membership-eligibility

[@bobbylim6035]

Hi am an incoming freshman in the Architecture degree what dorm is the nearest to the College of Architecture

[@rachel_lin]

Congrats Bobby!! The College of Environmental Design, where the architecture major is housed, is at Wurster Hall, so unit 1 would be the closest dorm. However, you will probably be taking classes not only in Wurster Hall, but in the other buildings on campus as well!

[@bobbylim6035]

Thanks Rachel

[@gingyrocka6039]

hi, can you ask the guy from bowles if you are allowed to cook ur own food in the kitchen if you want...

[@rachel_lin]

He says that he does not believe that you are allowed into the kitchen because it is a dining hall kitchen, not a communal kitchen in Bowles. The on-campus dorms do have little communal kitchens in each building if you wanted to make some of your own food though!

[@gingyrocka6039]

@@rachel_lin Thanks

[@gingyrocka6039]

danke

[@rachel_lin]

bitte :)

[@gingyrocka6039]

@@rachel_lin hi, can you ask the guy from bowles if you are allowed to cook ur own food in the kitchen if you want... and also if its possible to rent a fridge and microwave,...

[@rachel_lin]

@@gingyrocka6039 for Bowles, you can bring your own mini fridge and microwave if you can fit it! For the on-campus dorms, you’d have to rent a mini fridge and microwave through the school-sponsored company.