BellJarred

As for staying clear of the area completely, I personally don't think you have to exercise that much caution. Oakland is home to a variety of things to see and things to do. Here are is hastily put together list: - Oakland Museum (admission is free on the first Sunday of every month) - Oakland Zoo (for animal lovers) - Oakland Chinatown (super cheap groceries, authentic Chinese restaurants, and bakeries with delicious pastries) - Lake Chabot (it's huge and it's perfect for hiking) - Lake Chabot Golf Course (they offer golf lessons) - Lake Merrit (you can visit the boat house and rent a kayak for 2 people or a pedal boat for 3 people for some fun exercise on the lake) - Oracle Arena & Oakland Coliseum (people come here to watch the Oakland A's, Golden State Warriors, and Oakland Raiders. Off the top of my head, I also remember that Rihanna performed here in 2011 and that Alicia Keys is coming here next week on March 10th.) - There are also tons of really great and highly recommended restaurants in Oakland, but you'll have to check Yelp for that information. Again, I want to say that you should always be careful and be smart, wherever you are. Go with a group, don't flaunt your wealth (leave valuables at home), and don't stumble around looking like you're a lost tourist (plan and search for directions before heading out).

There are some parts of Oakland that you may want to avoid if you are new and unfamiliar to the area, but there are also really great and "safe" places to live in Oakland too! You may want to look into the following places: North Oakland - especially the lovely and vibrant Rockridge and Temescal districts Oakland Hills - the air and the scenery in the secluded Oakland Hills is wonderful and they have a gorgeous park with an amphitheater (Joaquin Miller Park). The rent is quite a bit higher though. Piedmont - this is technically it's own separate city but it's located right in the middle of Oakland and it is considered to be a very nice area. Alameda - this is a nearby island city that you can reach by simply crossing a tunnel or bridge from Oakland. Alameda is a great place to live, but it can be pricey and you may want to purchase a car. It is, of course, possible to take the bus for free (using your student ID) to the Berkeley campus, but our public transportation system is not the most efficient and most people tend to drive here in the Bay Area. The bus ride will take about an hour since you'll need to change buses once. I also want to remind everyone that crime and robbery can happen anywhere in the world, even if you're in a place that is usually labeled "safe." When you're out at night, remember to always watch your surroundings, keep your iphone in your pocket, and walk purposely as if you have someone to meet and some place to be. If you are in the Berkeley area and you don't feel safe walking somewhere alone, you can call BearWALK for an escort to take you to where you need to go. After 2:00 AM, you can even catch a night shuttle that will drive you to your destiantion. More information can be found here: http://police.berkeley.edu/programsandservices/campus_safety/index.html

Yes, the Northside area is generally safer and more graduate students live there. All of the engineering and science buildings are on the north and northeast sides of campus, so you will also be very close to your civil engineering department. However, northside also has significantly less people walking around during both the daytime and nighttime (compared to the major hustle and bustle of Telegraph Ave and downtown Berkeley), so I would advise that you remain extra cautious when going through this area. Berkeley is home to a diverse mix of all types of people and, as IRFuture stated, the campus itself is kept very open and integrated with the city that surrounds it. I don't know too much about the University Village, but I do know that there is a bus line (line 52) that will bring you directly to campus from there. You will be able to ride all AC Transit buses for free with a Class Pass sticker that you get from the student ID (Cal 1 Card) office. A lot of undergraduate students (mostly freshmen who are coming out from the dorms) will look for apartments from the end of March to May, mainly because they want to secure a place before the semester officially ends in May and they'll have to head back home for summer vacation. Leases can usually start at whichever month you with, although most landlords will want you to commit to a full year of renting. My roomates and I saved some money on our apartment by avoiding the rush and contacting landlords towards the end of summer when they were getting worried about being left with remaining unrented apartments for an entire school year. We were able to negotiate $200 off by doing this. However, this plan is only plausible if you have a friend to stay with while you do the apartment hunting and if you are not too choosy with the options.

One of my LOR writers still has not submitted a letter for me yet! I've been following up with him, but he's been swamped with work and some family problems. I didn't want to sound too demanding, but now I am so worried that my application will be considered late. I have everything else turned in except for that one LOR! :( Does anyone know if SUSE allows LOR's to be sent in later? Will they still review my application? I think my LOR writer will get the letter submitted in a few days or so...

For those who have applied to a Penn GSE program with rolling admissions, have you heard anything back from them yet? I sent in my application on Jan 5th, but I still haven't received an email saying that they are reviewing my application. The Penn GSE blog says that decisions will be sent out about 4 weeks after you get your initial email, but how many of these have gone out? I can just imagine my application collecting dust in a corner, overlooked and forgotten...

Is anyone absolutely sure of this time zone rule? I wish I asked HGSE about it back when I still had the chance. I've had people tell me that it's okay for me to submit applications after the EST deadline (since I'm on the West Coast) since most universities will understand, but I've also had people tell me not to risk it...