Berkeley Class of 2012 Forum

[iamlife1001]

yeah, this is definitely in berkeley

[IzziesGal]

yeah, this is definitely in berkeley

Okay cool...b/c I asked her about that cross street in Berkeley.
I've heard that patches of South Berkeley aren't so good, but I have never been through the area. Get a few more opinions, though, before you make your final decision!

[iamlife1001]

I avoided areas south of ashby because below that it gets tricky;

[IzziesGal]

I feel your pain about being on the east coast and having to do this remotely.

[alleycat3]

Me too!

[feeblemiles]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Here are some stats on crimes within 1/2 a mile of that address in the last 30 days:

--ImageRemoved--

As a point of reference here are the same stats for a North Berkeley address.

--ImageRemoved--

Check out this Berkeley Police site for more info.

Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere west of MLK, although I think it gets a little better the farther you get from Oakland.

[IzziesGal]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Here are some stats on crimes within 1/2 a mile of that address in the last 30 days:

--ImageRemoved--

As a point of reference here are the same stats for a North Berkeley address.

--ImageRemoved--

Check out this Berkeley Police site for more info.

Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere west of MLK, although I think it gets a little better the farther you get from Oakland.

I'm afraid I may become a statistic as far as the "barking dog" thing goes lol....I have the most precious pomeranian in the world....but his bark could seriously wake the dead. I apologize in advance. Please don't report me. C&F will be awful enough.

[Go_Cardinals]

Where can I do the online Entrance Counseling for stafford loans?
thanks

[TheNerdProject]

Where can I do the online Entrance Counseling for stafford loans?
thanks

http://www.dlservicer.ed.gov/ . Make sure you do the right one -- Stafford only or Stafford+Grad Plus -- to avoid having to do this twice.

On a related note, does anyone know what happens once you submit the MPN? Does any sort of confirmation ever show up on BearFacts or is any email sent out to confirm UC received it?

TIA!

[Rotor]

Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere west of MLK, although I think it gets a little better the farther you get from Oakland.

feeblemiles: great data! Looks like my potential place in N Berk isn't as idyllic as I had hoped!

Personally, I think there are some neighborhoods west of MLK that were pretty decent. For me, California was about as west as I am (was?) looking. Obviously, that's a broad generalization and I would certainly take a personal opinion about San Pablo/Bancroft instead.

As far as iamlife1001's "south of Ashby" limit, we have some friends who are south and they live in a nice neighborhood, but it is east of Shattuck. The closer you get to College, the nicer "south of Ashby" becomes. I definitely wouldn't go south/west of Ashby/Shattuck without getting a personal opinion from someone who lives there.

My situation has gotten complicated...the current tenant in the house that we had hoped to rent has told the landlord she now wants to stay until 1 Sept. We want to move in before school starts (we only have a matter of days as it stands now). Hopefully, landlord will have talked some sense into her and said "you gave me your notice and I have some good tenants lined up, so get out like you said you would!"

[Rotor]

On a "how awesome is Berkeley note": Did anyone else who followed feeblemiles' link appreciate that even the Police Department crime reporting web-site used the Arts & Craft style font (F. L. Wright/Green & Green/Stickley) for its "your map is loading" box?

[heyyitskatie]

Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere west of MLK, although I think it gets a little better the farther you get from Oakland.

feeblemiles: great data! Looks like my potential place in N Berk isn't as idyllic as I had hoped!

Personally, I think there are some neighborhoods west of MLK that were pretty decent. For me, California was about as west as I am (was?) looking. Obviously, that's a broad generalization and I would certainly take a personal opinion about San Pablo/Bancroft instead.

As far as iamlife1001's "south of Ashby" limit, we have some friends who are south and they live in a nice neighborhood, but it is east of Shattuck. The closer you get to College, the nicer "south of Ashby" becomes. I definitely wouldn't go south/west of Ashby/Shattuck without getting a personal opinion from someone who lives there.

My situation has gotten complicated...the current tenant in the house that we had hoped to rent has told the landlord she now wants to stay until 1 Sept. We want to move in before school starts (we only have a matter of days as it stands now). Hopefully, landlord will have talked some sense into her and said "you gave me your notice and I have some good tenants lined up, so get out like you said you would!"

Most of Rockridge is south of Ashby, and it's a beautiful area. When going south, the key is to also go east

[feeblemiles]

FWIW I asked my SO (who currently lives very near Berkeley Bowl and Ashby Bart and is in the process of moving) and she said there generally speaking West of MLK in south Berkeley is sketchy but that there are pockets that aren't so bad.

[iamlife1001]

Where can I do the online Entrance Counseling for stafford loans?
thanks

http://www.dlservicer.ed.gov/ . Make sure you do the right one -- Stafford only or Stafford+Grad Plus -- to avoid having to do this twice.

On a related note, does anyone know what happens once you submit the MPN? Does any sort of confirmation ever show up on BearFacts or is any email sent out to confirm UC received it?

TIA!

Candy said she cannot see who completed the entrance interviews and the MPNs yet

[iamlife1001]

feeblemiles - the data is great, thanks

[worldtraveler]

Did anyone else apply for ihouse? I'm patiently awating my app results and I need to apply somewhere else if they aren't giving me a spot. Anybody heard back yet?

[jawsome]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Here are some stats on crimes within 1/2 a mile of that address in the last 30 days:

--ImageRemoved--

As a point of reference here are the same stats for a North Berkeley address.

--ImageRemoved--

Check out this Berkeley Police site for more info.

Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere west of MLK, although I think it gets a little better the farther you get from Oakland.

West of MLK is fine. In fact, some of the nicest areas in Berkeley are west of MLK in the North. It's just kind of a bit of a haul to campus since the law school is at the very top of campus. But yeah, the general rule: further from Oakland, the nicer it gets.

For those of you who want to be close to campus: don't be on the South. It's so goddamn noisy all the time. I lived on Southside for a year (during undergrad, no less) and it got old really quickly.

[jawsome]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Oh man. That is reaaaaaally far from campus. You'd have to take a bus that would take 30-40 mins. Plus, San Pablo is not a very nice neighborhood. Great place to buy food and whatnot during the day. I'd never want to live there in all honesty.

However, you'd be living right next to my favorite bar in the world: The Albatross.

[iamlife1001]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Oh man. That is reaaaaaally far from campus. You'd have to take a bus that would take 30-40 mins. Plus, San Pablo is not a very nice neighborhood. Great place to buy food and whatnot during the day. I'd never want to live there in all honesty.

However, you'd be living right next to my favorite bar in the world: The Albatross.

Agreed. It is insanely far away as it's something like 15-18 blocks PAST Shattuck. It already takes about 20 minutes to walk from Shattuck to Boalt. It'd be impossible to walk to your apartment. You should get some place closer. There should be some places available closer to campus. I would however not recommend signing a lease without viewing the place first...most off-campus housing is run down. If you can't view housing before signing, try on-campus housing, which is much more reliable albeit probably more expensive.

Maps shows that it is only ~2 miles to boalt, which I can easily fastwalk/bike/bus; I am a bit wary of the whole deal, however my only other choice would be to look at places when I come to town aug5, which gives me less than a week to find one. Being from NYC, a week to find a place scares me a bit.

Edit: I just declined the place as 2 miles does seem a bit far, and I do prefer to walk. Thanks. I decided not to let my fears get the best of me

[alleycat3]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Oh man. That is reaaaaaally far from campus. You'd have to take a bus that would take 30-40 mins. Plus, San Pablo is not a very nice neighborhood. Great place to buy food and whatnot during the day. I'd never want to live there in all honesty.

However, you'd be living right next to my favorite bar in the world: The Albatross.

Agreed. It is insanely far away as it's something like 15-18 blocks PAST Shattuck. It already takes about 20 minutes to walk from Shattuck to Boalt. It'd be impossible to walk to your apartment. You should get some place closer. There should be some places available closer to campus. I would however not recommend signing a lease without viewing the place first...most off-campus housing is run down. If you can't view housing before signing, try on-campus housing, which is much more reliable albeit probably more expensive.

Maps shows that it is only ~2 miles to boalt, which I can easily fastwalk/bike/bus; I am a bit wary of the whole deal, however my only other choice would be to look at places when I come to town aug5, which gives me less than a week to find one. Being from NYC, a week to find a place scares me a bit.

Edit: I just declined the place as 2 miles does seem a bit far, and I do prefer to walk. Thanks. I decided not to let my fears get the best of me

I don't really know what I am talking about, so take this with a grain of salt, but I do look at Craigslist practically twice a day, so... I think you will be able to find something within that week. It might suck for that week, but the vast majority of the listings seem to be "available now," with a smaller minority available June 1-- and it's now May 21. I haven't found anything even for July 1. There seems to be a really fast turnover. I think you'll be okay!

Plus, as someone reminded me when I was freaking out, a lot of the places are month-to-month. So if you get somewhere and hate it, you can get out (and we have seem to have a break at the end of September, which would be a good time to move, I would think).

[iamlife1001]

one reason I am not considering grad housing is the fact that I dread the place will be a freaking cubicle, and while I am open to just about anything, I am totally not down to live in anything that resembles a cubicle

I am actually seeing a lot of decent options on craigslist as well, so I am not that worried.

[IzziesGal]

Has anyone seen this? Berkeley is posting videos of its Environmental Law classes online. Pretty interesting.

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/2866.htm

[PeanutButtah]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Oh man. That is reaaaaaally far from campus. You'd have to take a bus that would take 30-40 mins. Plus, San Pablo is not a very nice neighborhood. Great place to buy food and whatnot during the day. I'd never want to live there in all honesty.

However, you'd be living right next to my favorite bar in the world: The Albatross.

Agreed. It is insanely far away as it's something like 15-18 blocks PAST Shattuck. It already takes about 20 minutes to walk from Shattuck to Boalt. It'd be impossible to walk to your apartment. You should get some place closer. There should be some places available closer to campus. I would however not recommend signing a lease without viewing the place first...most off-campus housing is run down. If you can't view housing before signing, try on-campus housing, which is much more reliable albeit probably more expensive.

Maps shows that it is only ~2 miles to boalt, which I can easily fastwalk/bike/bus; I am a bit wary of the whole deal, however my only other choice would be to look at places when I come to town aug5, which gives me less than a week to find one. Being from NYC, a week to find a place scares me a bit.

Edit: I just declined the place as 2 miles does seem a bit far, and I do prefer to walk. Thanks. I decided not to let my fears get the best of me

Man, I feel you iamlife, I'm living in Queens right now, and the prospect of just rolling into town and trying to find something a week before scares me deep within my soul, it took me forever to find something here.. I applied for Manville just in case, but I'm concerned about living in something that feels like a dorm, ya know?

Also, not relishing hauling my stuff all the way across the country.

[jawsome]

I found a nice cheap place for rent, but I am unsure of the location. I am renting from NYC and before I pay for it, can anyone tell me how the location is. The house is at Bancroft Way and san pablo (123) avenue, and the google street view does not look great.


thanks in advance to all who respond

Oh man. That is reaaaaaally far from campus. You'd have to take a bus that would take 30-40 mins. Plus, San Pablo is not a very nice neighborhood. Great place to buy food and whatnot during the day. I'd never want to live there in all honesty.

However, you'd be living right next to my favorite bar in the world: The Albatross.

Agreed. It is insanely far away as it's something like 15-18 blocks PAST Shattuck. It already takes about 20 minutes to walk from Shattuck to Boalt. It'd be impossible to walk to your apartment. You should get some place closer. There should be some places available closer to campus. I would however not recommend signing a lease without viewing the place first...most off-campus housing is run down. If you can't view housing before signing, try on-campus housing, which is much more reliable albeit probably more expensive.

Maps shows that it is only ~2 miles to boalt, which I can easily fastwalk/bike/bus; I am a bit wary of the whole deal, however my only other choice would be to look at places when I come to town aug5, which gives me less than a week to find one. Being from NYC, a week to find a place scares me a bit.

Edit: I just declined the place as 2 miles does seem a bit far, and I do prefer to walk. Thanks. I decided not to let my fears get the best of me

Biking back wouldn't be too hard since it's all downhill (and a really fun ride...I used to live on MLK), but getting there. Ugh. The good thing, however, is there would is a bus that goes directly from San Pablo/University to a block from campus and it runs regularly.

And I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT give yourself a week and just hope for the best. Thousands upon thousands of undergrads will be doing this all summer, and it's already hard enough at the beginning of the summer to find a decent place.

[alleycat3]

Jawsome: then how-- and when-- do you find an apartment? Everyone I've talked to who lives there says that nothing is posted until a week or so before you can move in, and I haven't seen a single thing on Craigslist past June 1, let alone August 1. Everyone told me that if I came out at the beginning of July to get an apartment for August 1, there wouldn't be anything to look at.

I'm scared