Boalt 1Ls taking questions Forum

[Arrow]

I was reading in the law school gym thread that Berkeley was notoriously for having "the worst gym on the planet." What do you guys think about that statement? Are there any private gyms off-campus that are near Boalt or near campus?

I have been to some private gyms that were pretty run-down, so Berkeley's was not bad at all in comparison. I personally just did not like how their cardio equipment was set up. Overall, I thought it was a small gym for such a large school the first time I went, but it was not that bad (crowd-wise). The weight room was great, there are plenty of basketball courts, tons of raquetball courts, tons of random classes, and plenty of pools. The place isn't fancy, but definitely suffices. The treadmills however, all face the wall. When I go running, I literally stare at the wall one feet away in front of me. Other than that, there are not really any TV's or anything to watch when you do cardio, so I prefer to jog the rolling hills instead.

[ahduth]

As a city boy... I don't own a car. Is that pretty much required out there? I figure the answer is yes, since it's California, thought I'd ask the question though.

[Kronk]

I hate the gym because it is busy, but that's the only reason. I still go 3-5 times a week and don't have much trouble getting through my workout. Once I left because it was too busy, but if you go midday instead of in the evening you won't have a problem.

[r6_philly]

Could anyone elaborate on the Harvard-Berkeley program?

Is anyone doing combined/ad hoc degrees with another university? If so has anyone had any success with working it out with a school other than HKS?

Thank you for all the answers, Boalt is atop my list right now.

[worldtraveler]

As a city boy... I don't own a car. Is that pretty much required out there? I figure the answer is yes, since it's California, thought I'd ask the question though.

Depends on where you live. I don't have a car, but I have food provided in a dorm. You can do it without one, but I think most people have a car.

[sarcasticswede]

As a city boy... I don't own a car. Is that pretty much required out there? I figure the answer is yes, since it's California, thought I'd ask the question though.

Depends on where you live. I don't have a car, but I have food provided in a dorm. You can do it without one, but I think most people have a car.

I realize I'm not a 1L, but since I grew up in the Bay I've got an opinion.

Public transportation in the Bay Area in general is fairly awesome. Is it Europe? No, but for the most part I've found that as long as you aren't trying to take buses in the East Bay (East of the Caldecott Tunnel East, not Oakland Berkeley East), things run efficiently enough. There are plenty of buses in Berkeley and pretty good BART access. I used to work in Berkeley during high school, and quite frankly I can't really stand driving around there anyway. So no, you don't need a car.

[Knock]

Are there any intramural sports that Boalties participate in?

[Kronk]

Are there any intramural sports that Boalties participate in?

Yeah. Some do. Although intramurals are legit at Berkeley, so if you want to make a team for something you have to camp out the night before signups.

[Shaggier1]

As a city boy... I don't own a car. Is that pretty much required out there? I figure the answer is yes, since it's California, thought I'd ask the question though.

I don't have a car and it is totally fine. Included in your tuition is a pass for the local bus service. They put a sticker on your student ID card and you can ride any of the buses at any time.

I live about about a block from Boalt, so it is particularly easy for me; but I still take the bus to Trader Joe's, to the movies, to the BART, etc...

With respect to the gym: yes, it sucks. But it is sufficient. I would say it is not so terrible that it should factor into your decision.

If you really hate it, there is a 24-hour fitness just off campus that is pretty nice, and cheap.

[Kronk]

Any 1Ls or 2Ls know if there is a place online that we can lookup books for next semester? Headed out of the state until the 10th in a couple days and wanted to buy them before that if possible.

[Rotor]

Any 1Ls or 2Ls know if there is a place online that we can lookup books for next semester? Headed out of the state until the 10th in a couple days and wanted to buy them before that if possible.

Just go to the schedule of courses on law.berkeley.edu, find your class/section & click on the link. Books will be on the bottom of the page, with reqd books in blue. Not all classes have the info, but it looks to be better populated than it has in prior semesters.

[Kronk]

Any 1Ls or 2Ls know if there is a place online that we can lookup books for next semester? Headed out of the state until the 10th in a couple days and wanted to buy them before that if possible.

Just go to the schedule of courses on law.berkeley.edu, find your class/section & click on the link. Books will be on the bottom of the page, with reqd books in blue. Not all classes have the info, but it looks to be better populated than it has in prior semesters.

Thanks, got them.

[Tangerine Gleam]

So when are we gonna get those damn grades? I'm looking at CivPro first. It's been 25 days.

[paisaaa]

While we're sort of on the tail end of the subject of gym quality:

Is Berkeley a nice area to run around? I wouldn't be so concerned with wall-facing treadmills if the great outdoors suffice...

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of these

[Kronk]

While we're sort of on the tail end of the subject of gym quality:

Is Berkeley a nice area to run around? I wouldn't be so concerned with wall-facing treadmills if the great outdoors suffice...

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of these

Nope. At least not in my area. I was pretty disappointed about it. But I come from the best city on Earth to run in, so it might not be so bad relative to most other cities. Most of the running I do is on concrete, but you don't have to stop for intersections very often, so in that sense if you don't mind concrete or the occasional weave, it'll be fine.

[Shaggier1]

valengina wrote:
While we're sort of on the tail end of the subject of gym quality:

Is Berkeley a nice area to run around? I wouldn't be so concerned with wall-facing treadmills if the great outdoors suffice...

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of these

Nope. At least not in my area. I was pretty disappointed about it. But I come from the best city on Earth to run in, so it might not be so bad relative to most other cities. Most of the running I do is on concrete, but you don't have to stop for intersections very often, so in that sense if you don't mind concrete or the occasional weave, it'll be fine.

I have to disagree here. I think the fire trail is amazing. Running out by Tilden Park is great. And even hitting the roads up on the Northside is fun.

[re-applicant]

I don't know why the RSF gets so much hate on these forums. I like it quite a bit: 7 basketball courts, 6 squat racks, and three rooms of free weights. I can't speak to the orientation of the cardio machines, but the gym is pretty good for my purposes.

[Dignan]

While we're sort of on the tail end of the subject of gym quality:

Is Berkeley a nice area to run around? I wouldn't be so concerned with wall-facing treadmills if the great outdoors suffice...

I'm a runner and I think that Berkeley is a good running city. As was already mentioned, you've got Tilden Park to the east, which is over 2,000 acres and includes great trails. Tilden connects directly to Wildcat Canyon park to the north, which contains even better trails and offers amazing views of the San Francisco Bay and the Marin headlands. If you live in North Berkeley, you'll probably be near the Ohlone Greenway trail, which runs for four miles adjacent to the BART tracks.

Berkeley isn't as good of a running city as Boulder or Portland. Still, I can't think of a T14 law school that is located within a city that has better running options.

[r6_philly]

Running, biking or rollerblading along the Schuylkill river along Kelly and West River drives in Philly is actually really nice. It's probably one of the best routes in any cities.

[Shaggier1]

Running, biking or rollerblading along the Schuylkill river along Kelly and West River drives in Philly is actually really nice. It's probably one of the best routes in any cities.

It's great but only on weekends.

[Shaggier1]

Berkeley isn't as good of a running city as Boulder or Portland. Still, I can't think of a T14 law school that is located within a city that has better running options.

TCR.

[ahduth]

Running, biking or rollerblading along the Schuylkill river along Kelly and West River drives in Philly is actually really nice. It's probably one of the best routes in any cities.

Never been to Philly, but LSD in Chicago probably has to be competitive.

[r6_philly]

Running, biking or rollerblading along the Schuylkill river along Kelly and West River drives in Philly is actually really nice. It's probably one of the best routes in any cities.

It's great but only on weekends.

Why so? I actually never liked going on weekends. Less people during the week.

[Shaggier1]

Why so? I actually never liked going on weekends. Less people during the week.

WRD closed on the weekends (I think btwn April and November?). Yes there are more people but I enjoy the crowd. And with WRD closed, there is plenty more space.

Just a matter of preference, I guess.

[sarcasticswede]

question regarding the weight room, is it overly dominated by UG frat guys? at my current UG anytime a girl walks near the weight area we get some seriously strange looks : /