Tabletop Joe Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 Anybody out there? I'm a History student specializing in East-Central Europe, starting fall of 2011. I'd love to meet some of my fellow Berkeley newbies, regardless of department. Anything anyone can tell me about the area beyond what's available in the City Guide forum would be appreciated, too...
borderlands Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 I lived in Berkeley for four years as an undergrad. It's a nice city, one can find just about anything one can be into, while most graduate students do live off campus probably for the same reasons. The campus is largely dived into the "north-side" which tends to be more quieter and family oriented, whereas the south-side is much more student oriented. Most of the dorms are in the southside along with the fraternities/sororities and livelier side of campus. In Telegraph there is Amoebas and Rasputin music stores, plenty of local fast food places to eat with quite a variety: Indian, Korean, Italian, Chinese, Mexican food... ect Also People's Park is located on Telegraph, Moe's Bookstore, Mediterranean Cafe, plenty of smoke shops and pubs such as Blakes, Raleighs, Kips, and on campus the Bear's Lair. It all depends what you are into. I am sure you will find Berkeley to be quite an interesting place.
oiseauaudio Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 Berkeley is awesome. I really like it. There's tons of great food and lots of things to do: music, art, Tilden park, book stores etc. As the poster above mentioned, Moe's is a huge, used bookstore on Telegraph, a few blocks from campus and it's great. North Berkeley is a lot quieter, and further up Shattuck, there are other great restaurants too. rent is a bit more pricey in Berkeley, than in Oakland, but if you look on craigslist, you should be able to find a good housing situation! Congrats on your acceptance!!
enginerd Posted February 20, 2011 Posted February 20, 2011 I'm leaning rather heavily towards choosing Berkeley, but I won't decide for a few more weeks. There is something so alluring about this place.
Mama Bear Posted February 21, 2011 Posted February 21, 2011 I currently live in Berkeley and have to admit I am very sad that I will be leaving this summer. Berkeley is an AMAZING place to live. The entire Bay Area is for that matter. You'll have to look past the slew of homeless youngsters that pan-handle on Telegraph. They are harmless. There is much to do: good music, art, outdoors activities, and food! The university offers student housing, it is pricey but everything is in the Bay area. I live in student family housing provided by the University. When I transferred to Berkeley from So Cal I was taken aback by the cost of living, but we've adjusted well living on a tight budget. It is all worth it, because there is never a dull moment in Berkeley. You should have no problem finding housing as there is plenty around campus both privately and University owned. I'd check out the options for University housing @ http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/ and, of course, craigslist. Most of my GSIs (Graduate Student Instructor) live in Oakland and San Francisco, both are an easy commute via the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Congratulations! Good Luck! Jae B. 1
anxious2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Hey guys, Just got my acceptance to Berkeley a couple of days back. I am over the moon about this and super thrilled! Anyone else entering a PhD program at the Haas school of business? Cheers
hiscoba Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Hi, Any EECSer here? I will join Berkeley in Fall 2011. Cheers
klinci3 Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 Any going for chemistry in the fall? I'm visit mid March.
RoboTicks Posted February 27, 2011 Posted February 27, 2011 I am joining UC Berk for IEOR. I would like to know about some options on living in Berkeley.
Slorg Posted February 28, 2011 Posted February 28, 2011 Welcome everyone! I'm a first year science PhD student at Berkeley. I was in your shoes last year, and I'm happy I came here for grad school. Feel free to ask any questions. Regarding the question about finding housing, I recommend using padmapper.com. In general you'll find that places close to campus are expensive, particularly on the north side.
hiscoba Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Welcome everyone! I'm a first year science PhD student at Berkeley. I was in your shoes last year, and I'm happy I came here for grad school. Feel free to ask any questions. Regarding the question about finding housing, I recommend using padmapper.com. In general you'll find that places close to campus are expensive, particularly on the north side. I am a little worried about the financial situation of the university. I am wondering in what aspect will the budget crises influence my research&life in Berkeley? Edited March 1, 2011 by hiscoba
anxious2011 Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 I am a little worried about the financial situation of the university. I am wondering in what aspect will the budget crises influence my research&life in Berkeley? Yeah same here, this came up while I was trying to read up about the University, and I am slightly concerned as well. Should it be big enough a factor to deter someone from coming to Berkeley?
Slorg Posted March 1, 2011 Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) The financial situation of the university also concerned me, but I think graduate students are mostly insulated from it. Everyone I know in engineering is still very well funded, and there's no worry it will drop. I think the two biggest changes that came from the budget shortfall is that semesters are one week shorter than they used to be, and that free food events are less opulent than they were five years ago. Also, the library hours have been reduced. The financial problems have caused minor cuts, but nothing major or worrisome. Worst case scenario, the state cuts funding and the university makes up for it with tuition. It shouldn't deter you from coming to Berkeley, which remains a world-class university. (But if you are on the fence between universities, perhaps it could make the difference. I'll reiterate it's not a major problem; but I won't lie, sometimes the minor cuts are a little annoying.) Edited March 1, 2011 by Slorg
enginerd Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 I went to the visit day this past weekend. I loved it. I will definitely be going in the fall. The place was delightful.
RoboTicks Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Good to know that you found UCB delightful Cements my decision to attend as well I went to the visit day this past weekend. I loved it. I will definitely be going in the fall. The place was delightful.
anxious2011 Posted March 12, 2011 Posted March 12, 2011 I went to the visit day this past weekend. I loved it. I will definitely be going in the fall. The place was delightful. I visited last week too! I absolutely loved the campus, and am pretty sure I am going to attend in fall. Though I found out yesterday that I am waitlisted by another top-notch program. Quite the dilemma, accept or wait and decide?
IvyT Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 I am also coming to Berkeley in the fall! I will be in Civil and Environmental Engineering. I am graduating from a small liberal arts college in Philadelphia and have only visited Berkeley (and California) once. So I think I'll have a hard time moving to and finding housing in Berkeley. So if anyone's interested in finding housing together, or have any tips about it, plz plz plz contact me!
mhphys Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Haven't decided yet, but leaning towards Berkeley (PhD Physics), from India.
Slorg Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Re: Finding housing http://www.padmapper.com Padmapper is a great way to see apartments close to campus (it aggregates Craigslist and other sources) http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/graduatestudents.html On-campus housing is another decent option (it's convenient, expensive, and fills up QUICKLY) http://berkeleystudentcooperative.org/prospective-members The co-op system is a cheap, often filthy, and interesting option too //AMG 1
anxious2011 Posted April 6, 2011 Posted April 6, 2011 I am also coming to Berkeley in the fall! I will be in Civil and Environmental Engineering. I am graduating from a small liberal arts college in Philadelphia and have only visited Berkeley (and California) once. So I think I'll have a hard time moving to and finding housing in Berkeley. So if anyone's interested in finding housing together, or have any tips about it, plz plz plz contact me! Hey IvyT, I also went to college in Philadelphia, and am most likely coming to Berkeley. I agree making the move out west has gotten me slightly worried, especially finding housing etc. Anyone have any ideas on how much in advance one is able to find housing. For e.g. if I show up on July 1st, will I be able to find a place that I can occupy 2 weeks later?
Slorg Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 Yes, I think you can find a place within two weeks of arriving here. Look on padmapper.com to see the places already being advertised.
mhphys Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 Hi, Does anyone know when do we get CalNet IDs? After submitting the SIR form it said I should get the ID in a week, but I read somewhere that we won't get them till mid-May.
cheshirequeen Posted April 15, 2011 Posted April 15, 2011 I'll be attending for English! (and looking for female roommates within walking distance--PM me)
MicroNano Posted April 18, 2011 Posted April 18, 2011 Recently accepted Berkeley PhD in mechanical engineering. Very excited. I do have a question regarding funding though, and I hope this is not too much of a sensitive subject to bring up (ignore my post if it is). I will have a stipend just shy of $20K, and I was told I can expect to be paying around $800-$1200 / month in rent (expensive place to live). Assuming there will be some non-insignificant tax cuts to my stipend (thanks to California), this leaves me in a very tight spot to then be trying to pay for a year of food, clothes, textbooks, and any hopes of recreational activities. Am I overlooking some detail? Did you all get better stipends and I somehow got the shortest stick? Not sure if I'm over-worrying myself here.
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