Berkeley

[mlamar]

I'd say I'm 90% sure I'll be at Berkeley next year. It's my top-choice program, and heck, they admitted me. Gotta hear about funding and convince the husband before the deal is sealed though. Who else is probably/definitely/maybe headed to Berkeley?

[boneh3ad]

IF I get accepted, that is probably my top choice program, though funding will be an issue. We will see. We ME's are getting shafted as far as hearing in a timely manner this year. I don't know where I am going to find the time to go visit the places I get into.

[GoodGuy]

Still looking at Berkeley myself, got my funding package today and was MUCH more impressed than I expected. In some ways it's better than one of the Ivy offers I'm considering.

So I'm gonna go out to the meet-and-greet in a coupla weeks and check out the dept and campus.

[Carlula]

I am definitely considering Berkeley, about 99 percent sure! They have an awesome social psychology program and I have heard great things about the department and the people. I just have to wait on the final financial aid package (I received a fellowship with a $25000 stipend for the first two years and have yet to find out numbers for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th years of departmental funding through TAships). The next step is officially accepting their offer and *yikes* finding housing! Keep in touch

[Liz]

I'm about 90% sure I'll be going to Berkeley for English next year (still have a few visits to other schools before I decide for sure).

Carlula, I think I got the same fellowship you did, which my adviser tells me is about as good as it can get at such a great school (his exact words were "it's an embarrassment of riches"). But I'm still kind of worried about not being able to make ends meet in such a notoriously expensive place to live. But I guess there are worse things in the world than being a poor grad student at Berkeley.

I look forward to hearing what you all think about the school. Anyone going to the prospective students weekend?

[Carlula]

Liz,

Congrats on receiving the fellowship, that's awesome! I believe it is the Chancellor's fellowship? That is the one I have. Unfortunately, I could not attend my visitor's weekend as I had an interview the same exact days. But I did schedule my own day to visit the campus and I met my potential advisor and the faculty and I had a really great experience.If you guys decide to attend Cal, do you think you will live in the graduate student housing on/near campus or are you guys thinking of renting a studio or renting a house with roommates off campus? I can't really make up my mind but if I choose the latter I guess I would have to go through the task of finding "normal" roomies, haha. Let me know your thoughts everyone

[whomi]

Hello All,

I'm a "probably/definitely/maybe Berkeley," too.

Liz and Carlula, I live in another notoriously expensive place, and I believe that as long as there's a steady income, it's possible to make ends meet on almost any amount as long as you live within or below your means.

Also, as a vet of another notoriously expensive place, housing prices in the Bay don't scare me (much). In fact, from my few glimpses at listings on Craigslist, I'm finding plenty of places - 1 and 2 BRs for just moi even - within my imaginary budget. (But I am a frugal singleton w/ almost no debt, so it's literally just the basics for me. If I had to add a kid, cc/loan debt, a shoe fetish into the equation, I might think a little differently.)

My thoughts:

I read somewhere that student fellowships were taxed at 14%, so $25K would give you $21,500 in take home pay. Over ten months that leaves you with $2,150/month (or about $1,790/month over 12 months). Your biggest expense will likely be housing. The most expensive Cal graduate housing for a single person is about $1200/month I think. So on a 10 month budget, you've got almost $1000/month left for other expenses if you take even the most expensive Cal option and close to $600/month left on the 12 month budget. It looks like you can definitely find a studio, shared apartment or house within BART, bike and even walking distance that you'd pay less for and have even more money left over after rent.

Not trying to be a know-it-all, especially on a board full of current and future academics, but I just want you to reassure you that while you may not live in the lap of luxury, you're not necessarily going to be in total poverty, either. If Cal is your first choice and you've already got 25K in hand, come on down, up, over and don't sweat it (too much).

Signing off,

Who? Mi? (who doesn't know much about The Bay but knows a lot about how to stretch a dollar in an expensive place)

[mlamar]

As for housing -- I'll be bringing a family of four to Berkeley, so I'm looking at the Family Student Housing in University Village (in Albany). It should be affordable for us as long as my husband can find a job! If anyone else is looking at this option, I recommend applying immediately. There is a long wait list and although I applied the day after receiving my acceptance letter, they are not sure there will be an opening for us.

I'm really looking forward to living in a city again. I did my undergrad in Chicago and really miss the convenience of city life. Walking to groceries and restaurants; taking mass transit to cultural hot-spots. I've been stuck in suburbia for too long!

[hepkath]

Liz, unless you've got some uncontrollable spending addiction that needs to be accounted for, you'll be fine! There seems to be a slight dip in overall funding when we switch from Graduate Division fellowship to department-sponsored TA-ship in the third year, but I don't think this will put too much of a dent in our ability to survive. (Also, there are all sorts of external fellowships and internal grants to apply for over the course of the next few years.) Your adviser is right: this is as good as funding gets from a state school, especially given the current economic climate in California. It rivals most private funding packages and is a veritable boon.

I also suspect that, after those two fantastic Chancellor's Fellowship years, you'll know some people you'd be happy to room with. You'll also know the area a lot better and have a sense of what sort of living situation would suit you. This will make finding good, cheap housing much, much easier.

[anyli_t]

It's been a while since anybody posted here - anyone else headed to Berkeley in the fall? I'll be in the Linguistics department.

[ConceptualMetaphor]

Oh hey, yet another thread I should have posted in a while ago that I didn't even realize existed.

Thanks for resurrecting it, anyli_t - I'll be in the linguistics dep't at Berkeley too! I'm pretty sure we met during prospie visit week, actually. (I'm the other cog sci-type.) I'm really curious to find out who else is in our cohort, but I guess we'll find out in August...

[dramanda]

I'll be at Berkeley for Educational Psychology! So excited!

[Carlula]

I decided to go to Berkeley and am super excited! I'm still worried about finding housing and roomies but I guess things will fall into place as time goes on...right? haha

So I'm curious, what are the reasons that everyone here decided to attend Berkeley?

[whomi]

I'd visited the campus once before a few years ago and visited The Bay frequently in the months before submitting my application, including another trip to campus.

1. Program a perfect fit for my interests

2. International Reputation of Cal/School

3. As a current CA resident, in-state "fees" (why don't they just call it tuition?)

4. Location - college town within a short distance of a world-class city

5. Diversity - intellectuals, academics, artists, students, ethnic diversity

6. Public Transportation! BART!

7. Great food!

I think that about sums it up... What made everyone else settle on Cal?

[mlamar]

I chose Berkeley because the program was the best fit for my interests and career goals. Also, the group I will be studying with there is well known in my field which implies that I will have an easier time finding a job after graduation.

[Carlula]

Whomi, those are just like my reasons for deciding to attend Berkeley

On an unrelated topic, is any female on this forum perhaps looking for a female roommate to live with near to campus? I am thinking I will try to find roomies in order to cut some of the high cost that comes with living in the (beautiful) Bay Area. Also, does anyone know when they will start looking for housing in/near Berkeley? I'm not sure when would be the best time to start looking.

Lemme know!

[gokcenk]

if you are not a US citizen, check out the international house:)

[Carlula]

Hello again everyone,

I am a 23 year old female searching for a female roommate to live with in Berkeley. I will be a PhD student in social psychology at Cal and I am clean and studious but also fun! Please let me know if you would be willing to room with me. I am hoping to live in North Berkeley as it is clean and quiet there and I am hoping to pay $750 a month at most if possible.

Please get back to me! thank you, Carla

[Carlula]

Hello everyone,

I am a 23 year old female searching for a female roommate to live with in Berkeley. I will be a PhD student in social psychology at Cal and I am clean and studious but also fun! Please let me know if you would be willing to room with me. I am hoping to live in North Berkeley as it is clean and quiet there and I am hoping to pay $800 a month at most if possible but I am flexible.

Please get back to me! Thank you, Carla