UC-Berkeley Class of 2017 Forum

[brotherdarkness]

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[admiringatticus]

Anybody have any insights about matching scholarships? I have an offer from Michigan that I'm thinking of submitting to them but I was wondering if I have a better chance if I wait for a higher ranked school to offer me a scholarship. My gut says to just submit something as soon as possible given how stingy Berk is with scholarships but I was wondering what others are doing...

[Marshmallow]

Anybody have any insights about matching scholarships? I have an offer from Michigan that I'm thinking of submitting to them but I was wondering if I have a better chance if I wait for a higher ranked school to offer me a scholarship. My gut says to just submit something as soon as possible given how stingy Berk is with scholarships but I was wondering what others are doing...

take this with a grain of salt since I'm an 0L and don't really know what's what. i did, however, speak with a Berkeley 1L this weekend, and she basically confirmed that I should probably not expect much from Berkeley's matching scholarship program even with scholarships from qualifying peer schools (not HYS)

She did say Berkeley matched her friend's HYS scholarship, so... there's that.

[Moonlight]

Content Deleted

[nutsforboalt]

If there are any current students on here I could really use some insight... I'm debating whether or not to sell my car before law school and I'm wondering if I'll need one at Berkeley. I'm from Florida where public transportation is a joke and a car is an absolute necessity, so any advice would be helpful, thanks!

[brotherdarkness]

.

[waferthinmint]

If there are any current students on here I could really use some insight... I'm debating whether or not to sell my car before law school and I'm wondering if I'll need one at Berkeley. I'm from Florida where public transportation is a joke and a car is an absolute necessity, so any advice would be helpful, thanks!

I sold mine before coming here and have had no issues whatsoever. Public transportation out here is solid; we get a sticker on our Cal ID cards that allows us to ride the buses for free, and BART/MUNI/etc. can get you around the rest of the Bay without much of a hassle. There are plenty of students here who have cars, but it'd cause me more of a headache than it would relieve.

I was at Berkeley for undergrad, and I would second this. I went four years without a car; the BART (subway) is within walking distance from campus and can get you into the rest of the East Bay and also the city quickly and easily. And of course, the free bus passes are great for getting around Berkeley.

That said, if you can score a parking spot wherever you're living (~$50/month is pretty average I think), having a car would make things a lot more convenient and fun -- getting to the IKEA or Target in nearby cities and buying bulky things like toilet paper or furniture usually required me trying to score a ride off a friend. Also there's great nature all around the Bay Area (Oakland redwoods, Marin County, Tilden Park) that is harder to get to with public transpo, and which I only got to start exploring once I got a car after I graduated and started working. That made me wish I'd had one sooner.

[angels2fly]

hey hey hey hey

[admiringatticus]

hey hey hey hey

Welcome! And congrats!!

[Redamon1]

If there are any current students on here I could really use some insight... I'm debating whether or not to sell my car before law school and I'm wondering if I'll need one at Berkeley. I'm from Florida where public transportation is a joke and a car is an absolute necessity, so any advice would be helpful, thanks!

I sold mine before coming here and have had no issues whatsoever. Public transportation out here is solid; we get a sticker on our Cal ID cards that allows us to ride the buses for free, and BART/MUNI/etc. can get you around the rest of the Bay without much of a hassle. There are plenty of students here who have cars, but it'd cause me more of a headache than it would relieve.

I was at Berkeley for undergrad, and I would second this. I went four years without a car; the BART (subway) is within walking distance from campus and can get you into the rest of the East Bay and also the city quickly and easily. And of course, the free bus passes are great for getting around Berkeley.

That said, if you can score a parking spot wherever you're living (~$50/month is pretty average I think), having a car would make things a lot more convenient and fun -- getting to the IKEA or Target in nearby cities and buying bulky things like toilet paper or furniture usually required me trying to score a ride off a friend. Also there's great nature all around the Bay Area (Oakland redwoods, Marin County, Tilden Park) that is harder to get to with public transpo, and which I only got to start exploring once I got a car after I graduated and started working. That made me wish I'd had one sooner.

Residential parking in Berkeley, IF YOU LIVE IN BERKELEY, is $45 per YEAR. Those high monthly rates people mention are options you'll need to use if you drive to school from outside Berkeley.

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Customer_S ... rking.aspx

[angels2fly]

hey hey hey hey

Welcome! And congrats!!

thank you!!!

[angels2fly]

Is there a Facebook group for admitted students?

[isaiah1992]

Checking in! Just got in off of FR!

[waferthinmint]

Woohoo in!!! (Confession: I replied to the car question above when I hadn't been admitted yet...)
See y'all at ASW!
Berkeley Round 2?!

[ashley82929]

I will probably be at Berkeley next fall. Getting more and more excited about it all the time. (And believe me, I was really really f-ing exciting in the first place.)

That bit in the admissions packet there they listed all the average January temperatures in Chicago, New York, Boston, and Berkeley? I'm dying for that not-so-mean temperature of 50 right now.

No more Ohio winters for me.

Ohio!

ps- checking in!!

[nutsforboalt]

I sold mine before coming here and have had no issues whatsoever. Public transportation out here is solid; we get a sticker on our Cal ID cards that allows us to ride the buses for free, and BART/MUNI/etc. can get you around the rest of the Bay without much of a hassle. There are plenty of students here who have cars, but it'd cause me more of a headache than it would relieve.

I was at Berkeley for undergrad, and I would second this. I went four years without a car; the BART (subway) is within walking distance from campus and can get you into the rest of the East Bay and also the city quickly and easily. And of course, the free bus passes are great for getting around Berkeley.

That said, if you can score a parking spot wherever you're living (~$50/month is pretty average I think), having a car would make things a lot more convenient and fun -- getting to the IKEA or Target in nearby cities and buying bulky things like toilet paper or furniture usually required me trying to score a ride off a friend. Also there's great nature all around the Bay Area (Oakland redwoods, Marin County, Tilden Park) that is harder to get to with public transpo, and which I only got to start exploring once I got a car after I graduated and started working. That made me wish I'd had one sooner.

Awesome, thanks for the advice! Also, on another note, if anyone is looking for affordable options to stay for ASW check out airbnb.com. I just discovered it last week and it's much cheaper than a hotel and a pretty cool concept.

[ashley82929]

Does anyone know how the asw reimbursement thing works? We haven't gotten any info about it but I'd like to buy my ticket ASAP before prices go up. I just don't want any problems

[admiringatticus]

Does anyone know how the asw reimbursement thing works? We haven't gotten any info about it but I'd like to buy my ticket ASAP before prices go up. I just don't want any problems

I think they will reimburse you at the ASW when you show them the itinerary. As long as you're flying into the Bay Area I don't think you will have trouble.

[NYC2012]

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[solucky]

Do a good number of the students commute? Are commuters less likely to get the full Berkeley experience?

[admiringatticus]

Flight is booked for the ASW! EXCITED.

(Not excited that my flight went up $50 in the last 24 hours. Should have booked it sooner. )

[ashley82929]

Flight is booked for the ASW! EXCITED.

(Not excited that my flight went up $50 in the last 24 hours. Should have booked it sooner. )

[cal]

Does FAFSA/Need Access at all affect Berkeley's merit aid offers? Also, is it necessary to fill out that admitted students scholarship interest form? I am having trouble logging in and don't think that I forgot my password - wanted to see if anyone else is having issues with that before contacting the school to get a new log-in. Thanks!

[admiringatticus]

Does FAFSA/Need Access at all affect Berkeley's merit aid offers? Also, is it necessary to fill out that admitted students scholarship interest form? I am having trouble logging in and don't think that I forgot my password - wanted to see if anyone else is having issues with that before contacting the school to get a new log-in. Thanks!

Admissions office told me if I wanted to be considered for only merit scholarships there was no need to submit either FAFSA or NA. Since the needs based grants are pretty stingy outside HYS, and I didn't want to compromise my merit chances, I didn't submit either. My understanding is that the scholarship interest form is only if you want to add any additional information that you didn't cover in your application or if you want to address any specific criteria for the scholarships that they list on the ASW.

[aena]

Does anyone have the schedule for ASW?

4/10-4/13. Are we supposed to fly in on Thursday and fly out on Sunday? I feel like sleeping there for three days might be too much! Or is that the norm...



When do we get the login info after the acceptance email?