UC-Berkeley Class of 2017 Forum

(housing, friendships, future exams, all things 2017)
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agglomeration

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by agglomeration » Thu May 22, 2014 4:44 pm

Since it seems like student housing is terrible, what neighborhoods is everyone looking to rent in? It seems like (from what i have read) that the southside is mostly undergrad/greek life? Where's everyone looking? Can someone who knows the Berkeley area give a more in depth analysis of all the different areas?

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Tanicius

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by Tanicius » Thu May 22, 2014 5:10 pm

You'll want to research these neighborhoods, but I've got some hackneyed Googlemaps images for you. I've found these areas to be great south-side areas for housing if you are okay with a distance from campus that is beyond normal walking distance (5-15 minute bus depending):

Elmwood
Rockridge
Temescal

Temescal and Rockridge are a bit too far if you want to walk to class every day, but they take 10-15 minutes to get to campus by bike, which is what I did throughout almost my entire time in law school whenever it wasn't raining outside. In those neighborhoods, it's fairly easy to find a house for rent inside a residential neighborhood with young families and working professionals, and flats within apartment complexes/duplex housing are even easier to find.

And if you plan on driving every day, then you might as well just live in the commercial Emeryville area, which has the newest and nicest apartments in the East Bay and is about a 10 minute drive from campus and is not reasonably accessible by bike or bus.

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hmlee

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by hmlee » Thu May 22, 2014 5:36 pm

Hey everybody. Apologies for ducking in here. For anybody who is definitely attending Berkeley as a member of the class of 2017: I work for a startup that operates online case briefing and networking tools for law students. We're currently looking for a campus rep for the upcoming school year. The pay is good and the work is minimal. If you think you'd be interested in chatting with me about this, or talking with one of our current reps, shoot me a PM.

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cotiger

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by cotiger » Thu May 22, 2014 10:38 pm

Tanicius wrote:You'll want to research these neighborhoods, but I've got some hackneyed Googlemaps images for you. I've found these areas to be great south-side areas for housing if you are okay with a distance from campus that is beyond normal walking distance (5-15 minute bus depending):

Elmwood
Rockridge
Temescal

Temescal and Rockridge are a bit too far if you want to walk to class every day, but they take 10-15 minutes to get to campus by bike, which is what I did throughout almost my entire time in law school whenever it wasn't raining outside. In those neighborhoods, it's fairly easy to find a house for rent inside a residential neighborhood with young families and working professionals, and flats within apartment complexes/duplex housing are even easier to find.

And if you plan on driving every day, then you might as well just live in the commercial Emeryville area, which has the newest and nicest apartments in the East Bay and is about a 10 minute drive from campus and is not reasonably accessible by bike or bus.
Love those bootleg maps.

How is the bike ride to campus? Hilly and/or steep? Good bike lanes?

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Tanicius

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by Tanicius » Thu May 22, 2014 10:45 pm

cotiger wrote:
Tanicius wrote:You'll want to research these neighborhoods, but I've got some hackneyed Googlemaps images for you. I've found these areas to be great south-side areas for housing if you are okay with a distance from campus that is beyond normal walking distance (5-15 minute bus depending):

Elmwood
Rockridge
Temescal

Temescal and Rockridge are a bit too far if you want to walk to class every day, but they take 10-15 minutes to get to campus by bike, which is what I did throughout almost my entire time in law school whenever it wasn't raining outside. In those neighborhoods, it's fairly easy to find a house for rent inside a residential neighborhood with young families and working professionals, and flats within apartment complexes/duplex housing are even easier to find.

And if you plan on driving every day, then you might as well just live in the commercial Emeryville area, which has the newest and nicest apartments in the East Bay and is about a 10 minute drive from campus and is not reasonably accessible by bike or bus.
Love those bootleg maps.

How is the bike ride to campus? Hilly and/or steep? Good bike lanes?
From those South Berkeley neighborhoods, you'd either take Shattuck, Telegraph, or College to the law school. Those streets are all relatively flat, with a very very mild incline. It's going up the east-bound streets that is the bitch, but if you're coming from the west you gotta do it somehow during the ride. I'd typically take Telegraph all the way to Bancroft Avenue and then walk up to College, because I had a backpack and I didn't want all that heat to get trapped on my back while riding up a steep incline and make me a sweaty mess in class.

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cotiger

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by cotiger » Thu May 22, 2014 11:01 pm

Tanicius wrote:
cotiger wrote: Love those bootleg maps.

How is the bike ride to campus? Hilly and/or steep? Good bike lanes?
From those South Berkeley neighborhoods, you'd either take Shattuck, Telegraph, or College to the law school. Those streets are all relatively flat, with a very very mild incline. It's going up the east-bound streets that is the bitch, but if you're coming from the west you gotta do it somehow during the ride. I'd typically take Telegraph all the way to Bancroft Avenue and then walk up to College, because I had a backpack and I didn't want all that heat to get trapped on my back while riding up a steep incline and make me a sweaty mess in class.
Cool. It's good to hear that biking's pretty easy so long as you stay west. Wasn't looking forward to relying on buses.

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Tanicius

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by Tanicius » Thu May 22, 2014 11:33 pm

cotiger wrote:
Cool. It's good to hear that biking's pretty easy so long as you stay west. Wasn't looking forward to relying on buses.
Well, the campus is on a hill. You can't live pretty much anywhere except directly on College avenue or further East if you don't want to be biking uphill to get to the law school on at least a portion of your ride. But if you live further east than College, that means you're practically living in the Berkeley/Oakland Hills, which are really steep and basically zero percent bike friendly when you've got books, a computer or something in a backpack.

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cotiger

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by cotiger » Thu May 22, 2014 11:57 pm

Tanicius wrote:
cotiger wrote:
Cool. It's good to hear that biking's pretty easy so long as you stay west. Wasn't looking forward to relying on buses.
Well, the campus is on a hill. You can't live pretty much anywhere except directly on College avenue or further East if you don't want to be biking uphill to get to the law school on at least a portion of your ride. But if you live further east than College, that means you're practically living in the Berkeley/Oakland Hills, which are really steep and basically zero percent bike friendly when you've got books, a computer or something in a backpack.
Ah, gotcha. I suppose I'll figure out the details when I go apartment hunting. Thanks for the tips on the best general areas to look around in.

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brotherdarkness

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by brotherdarkness » Thu May 22, 2014 11:59 pm

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Last edited by brotherdarkness on Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Dr.Zer0

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by Dr.Zer0 » Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:32 pm

So...how's everyone housing search going?

agglomeration

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by agglomeration » Wed Jun 11, 2014 10:20 am

Still house hunting online currently. I am going to head out to california for a week in early July to look for an actual place.


Has anyone ever lived in Normandy Village or know anyone who has? It seems sort of interesting. But i couldn't find any information about the place on any of the apartment review sites. --LinkRemoved--

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SlothManProphecy

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by SlothManProphecy » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:48 pm

agglomeration wrote:Still house hunting online currently. I am going to head out to california for a week in early July to look for an actual place.


Has anyone ever lived in Normandy Village or know anyone who has? It seems sort of interesting. But i couldn't find any information about the place on any of the apartment review sites. --LinkRemoved--
Never even heard of that before. It's in a nice area, although you will have an uphill walk home from school each day. That being said, hills are hard to avoid in Berkeley. It looks like it is a studio, and that is a ridiculously high price for a studio, even in the Bay Area. You could easily find something $800 cheaper.

One of my neighbors just moved out and they are sprucing up the apartment for the next few weeks. If anyone is interested, I can put you in touch with my landlord. If it's the same as my apartment ( pretty sure it is) it is a 1 bedroom 1000 sq ft w/ formal dining room for $1600 per month. Cats allowed, in a four-plex. In grandlake area of Oakland, a 3 minute walk from Lake Merritt.

It's a beautiful area, doesn't feel like Berkeley (none of that undergrad vibe going on) but still distinctly East Bay, close to shopping and dining.

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Tanicius

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by Tanicius » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:13 pm

agglomeration wrote:Still house hunting online currently. I am going to head out to california for a week in early July to look for an actual place.


Has anyone ever lived in Normandy Village or know anyone who has? It seems sort of interesting. But i couldn't find any information about the place on any of the apartment review sites. --LinkRemoved--

No way is that worth $1,800. If you're looking at a studio or a room in a shared flat for more than $1,000 month, then you had better be loaded before law school and are just spending money because you can. Otherwise, there is absolutely no reason to pay so much higher than market rate. And really, if you're a trust fund baby, get a sweet rented house in the hills and host some parties for your classmates instead.

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admiringatticus

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by admiringatticus » Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:27 pm

.
Last edited by admiringatticus on Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

agglomeration

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by agglomeration » Sat Jul 12, 2014 10:16 am

Anyone planning on attending the picnic the day before the orientation starts?

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SlothManProphecy

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by SlothManProphecy » Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:31 pm

agglomeration wrote:Anyone planning on attending the picnic the day before the orientation starts?
I'll most likely be there

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SlothManProphecy

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by SlothManProphecy » Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:40 pm

I just wanted to give everyone some tips on finding housing from out of state/ from SoCal. The market is crazy competitive right now. Rent prices are shooting up in SF and more and more people are moving from the city to the East Bay because of it. When I was apartment hunting a few months ago, I went to close to 20 open houses. Each one had at least 10 other people there (and I never saw the same person at more than 2 open houses, showing just how infinite the "seeking housing" crowd is) and often a third or so of the people there were currently working/living in SF.

One thing that could help you find an apartment is to post an ad on Craigslist in the "seeking housing" section (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/hsw/) about yourself and what you are looking for. This could help you find some hidden gems before they even get posted on CL. I did this and was contacted by two different people that had converted their basements in the Berkeley/Oakland hills into a private apartment with its own entrance/kitchen/bath/laundry etc. and they wanted to potentially offer it to me before posting on CL so they don't have to deal with the hassle of filtering through emails, setting up an open house etc. I ended up finding the perfect apartment for me through other means, but it was great having that option.

Landlords have no incentive to offer an apartment to someone that is out of state when there are so many locals looking and able to meet/view the apartment/fill out applications/etc much more easily. Also, trying to give yourself just a week to find housing is risky because you might not get offered any apartments you attend open houses/viewings for. There are lots of people out there looking. If you are looking in the nicer/less undergrad-populated areas (Temescal, Rockridge, Elmwood etc.) there are plenty of SF/East Bay professionals with an income trying to move in, and they usually win out over student loan-dependant law students.

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lawschoolyayyy

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by lawschoolyayyy » Sat Aug 02, 2014 3:50 pm

SlothManProphecy wrote:I just wanted to give everyone some tips on finding housing from out of state/ from SoCal. The market is crazy competitive right now. Rent prices are shooting up in SF and more and more people are moving from the city to the East Bay because of it. When I was apartment hunting a few months ago, I went to close to 20 open houses. Each one had at least 10 other people there (and I never saw the same person at more than 2 open houses, showing just how infinite the "seeking housing" crowd is) and often a third or so of the people there were currently working/living in SF.

One thing that could help you find an apartment is to post an ad on Craigslist in the "seeking housing" section (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/hsw/) about yourself and what you are looking for. This could help you find some hidden gems before they even get posted on CL. I did this and was contacted by two different people that had converted their basements in the Berkeley/Oakland hills into a private apartment with its own entrance/kitchen/bath/laundry etc. and they wanted to potentially offer it to me before posting on CL so they don't have to deal with the hassle of filtering through emails, setting up an open house etc. I ended up finding the perfect apartment for me through other means, but it was great having that option.

Landlords have no incentive to offer an apartment to someone that is out of state when there are so many locals looking and able to meet/view the apartment/fill out applications/etc much more easily. Also, trying to give yourself just a week to find housing is risky because you might not get offered any apartments you attend open houses/viewings for. There are lots of people out there looking. If you are looking in the nicer/less undergrad-populated areas (Temescal, Rockridge, Elmwood etc.) there are plenty of SF/East Bay professionals with an income trying to move in, and they usually win out over student loan-dependant law students.
+1; agreed in full. I just secured housing in Berkeley and I REALLY lucked out. Landlords get around 50 emails a day from prospective tenants and don't have time to screen everyone.

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SlothManProphecy

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by SlothManProphecy » Sun Aug 03, 2014 1:38 pm

Mod assignments were emailed out a couple days ago, and Telebears registration is this week. The 1L courses aren't posted yet, so you still can't see what your class schedule (days/times) are, but if you are curious about who your professors are they are posted here (along with textbooks so you can start ordering from amazon etc.)

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-progra ... eBooks.php

Anyone else in mod 9?

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by YouGoGlenCoCo » Sun Aug 03, 2014 10:43 pm

SlothManProphecy wrote:Mod assignments were emailed out a couple days ago, and Telebears registration is this week. The 1L courses aren't posted yet, so you still can't see what your class schedule (days/times) are, but if you are curious about who your professors are they are posted here (along with textbooks so you can start ordering from amazon etc.)

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-progra ... eBooks.php

Anyone else in mod 9?
Mod 9 right here. We should be seeing a lot of each other pretty soon

drumstickies

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by drumstickies » Sat Aug 09, 2014 11:54 am

Does the bookstore sell everything at list price? If so, it might just be better to buy everything on amazon/half. Is there another avenue to buying books? I can't seem to log onto the berkeley facebook group, unfortunately, to get onto the used book exchange. And, also, are we going to have reading to do before classes start?

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solucky

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by solucky » Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:53 pm

Is there a website or forum where students have posted reviews on specific professors?

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by jmmaster » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:42 pm

Hey, I'm a 1L at another law school and was taking Russell Robinson a visiting professor for Con Law. He taught at Berkeley the past few years. I was having difficulty figuring out what key things to take away from his class discussions and was wondering if anyone was kind enough to send me old outlines of his class. The outlines are on the berkley outline bank but I don't have access to it. It would be tremendously helpful.

TheoO

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Re: UC-Berkeley Class of 2017

Post by TheoO » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:26 pm

Hello Berkeley peeps. Looking for outlines, info, advice, etc., on Talley for Corps

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