UC Berkeley School of Law C/O 2020 Applicants (2016-2017) Forum

[Wallyplatypus]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

[Christinabruin]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

I don't know anything about the Faculty Club, but I'm staying at a hotel in Oakland (20 minute drive away) since they had some cheaper/cleaner/better hotels than other areas and I was going to rent a car anyway!

[crookedsmile]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

[studyingeveryday]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

[Keilz]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland.

[studyingeveryday]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

[Keilz]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

I'm not really super familiar with the area and I come from NYC, but I don't think you'll have much trouble on the train. I took it at night with a friend, but it felt fine. The train station is inside of SFO, and if you set up a Lyft or something to take you from the train to the hotel I think you would be okay.

I need to book my ASW Tix this weekend!

[crookedsmile]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

^ this is half true. Both SFO and Oakland airport are accessible by the BART system. Both have BART stations inside of them. I always found it easier to fly into Oakland but both are pretty simply trips. Depending what part of the country you're flying in from, your flight might be cheaper at SFO vs. Oakland or vice versa.

Flying into either Oak or SFO that late is fine, but at that point I would just suggest taking a Lyft/Uber since BART can get sketch after hours and actually runs less frequently after about 9PM.

[studyingeveryday]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

^ this is half true. Both SFO and Oakland airport are accessible by the BART system. Both have BART stations inside of them. I always found it easier to fly into Oakland but both are pretty simply trips. Depending what part of the country you're flying in from, your flight might be cheaper at SFO vs. Oakland or vice versa.

Flying into either Oak or SFO that late is fine, but at that point I would just suggest taking a Lyft/Uber since BART can get sketch after hours and actually runs less frequently after about 9PM.

I think I would get there after 9 pm, so I'll take that into consideration, thanks!

[studyingeveryday]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

I'm not really super familiar with the area and I come from NYC, but I don't think you'll have much trouble on the train. I took it at night with a friend, but it felt fine. The train station is inside of SFO, and if you set up a Lyft or something to take you from the train to the hotel I think you would be okay.

I need to book my ASW Tix this weekend!

+1! I'm thinking of going on Thursday and Friday and then flying back Saturday.

[TripleM]

As stated above, both airports have access to the BART system. The uber/taxi/lyft ride from SFO would be sort of expensive and not much faster. If I were flying into OAK late at night I might consider a ride service because it would be pretty snappy and reasonably priced. I rode BART for years and never feared for my safety, but I'll only speak for myself on that front. It is true that it runs less frequently in the late evening.

[Keilz]

My bad for being wrong about the Oakland airport! I try not to speak too much on things I'm not familiar with for this reason edited my original post

[crookedsmile]

My bad for being wrong about the Oakland airport! I try not to speak too much on things I'm not familiar with for this reason edited my original post

You were just trying to be helpful!

[Wallyplatypus]

Both airports are equally accessible. Uberpool can be a bit cheaper. Or you can BART from SFO to Downtown SF(avoid Civic Center stop)/Ashby and take a uber/lyft from there to your destination.

[socalpal]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

yes, its safe. you'll be fine. the only thing to consider is the cost of bart. the airport taxes your bart ticket so its pretty expensive (comparably speaking). i considered flying into SFO but the bart ticket is going to be 14-16 dollars... you will have to take a bus from oakland to bart but its not expensive.

[studyingeveryday]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

yes, its safe. you'll be fine. the only thing to consider is the cost of bart. the airport taxes your bart ticket so its pretty expensive (comparably speaking). i considered flying into SFO but the bart ticket is going to be 14-16 dollars... you will have to take a bus from oakland to bart but its not expensive.

good to know, that did not cross my mind. thanks!

[studyingeveryday]

My bad for being wrong about the Oakland airport! I try not to speak too much on things I'm not familiar with for this reason edited my original post

You were just trying to be helpful!

yeah thanks for speaking of your experience! you couldn't have known!

[eck456]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

I don't know anything about the Faculty Club, but I'm staying at a hotel in Oakland (20 minute drive away) since they had some cheaper/cleaner/better hotels than other areas and I was going to rent a car anyway!

FYI parking in/ at Berkeley is a total disaster. It's about $20 / day at lots near campus, and the ones that aren't lots you have to move your car every four hours. It will be as cheap or cheaper to uber or BART - BART takes you to a stop right near the law school, it's a pretty easy walk but not sure where your hotel in Oakland is

source: a $200 ticket the first day of TFA induction at Berk, on a $0/ month salary at the time. each one teach one.

[eck456]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

Cal undergrad here. Faculty club is inside the campus, looks quaint and nice. Faculty Club and Bancroft Hotel are the closest hotels to Boalt Law.

+1 but pretttty pricey.

thanks! any difference between flying into san francisco or oakland? pros and cons to either? which is it easier to get to berkeley area from with public transportation?

I just went this summer. From SFO you can take the BART directly to areas in Berkeley and Oakland. No other airports on the BART system

do you think taking the BART from airports to berkeley after 10 pm would be considered safe?

riding after 10 is fine, but service stops at midnightish so it's just not an option if your plane gets delayed

[Christinabruin]

For anyone planning on visiting, where are you thinking of staying? Does anyone know anything about the Faculty Club?

I don't know anything about the Faculty Club, but I'm staying at a hotel in Oakland (20 minute drive away) since they had some cheaper/cleaner/better hotels than other areas and I was going to rent a car anyway!

FYI parking in/ at Berkeley is a total disaster. It's about $20 / day at lots near campus, and the ones that aren't lots you have to move your car every four hours. It will be as cheap or cheaper to uber or BART - BART takes you to a stop right near the law school, it's a pretty easy walk but not sure where your hotel in Oakland is

source: a $200 ticket the first day of TFA induction at Berk, on a $0/ month salary at the time. each one teach one.

Yikes thank you for the heads up! I guess I will drop my rental car off at a friend's place and take uber/BART from there. I'm flying in to SFO since the flight tickets were $250ish cheaper than flying directly into OAK, but my actual hotel is right near Oakland airport so I'm all over the place

[staypuff]

Yikes thank you for the heads up! I guess I will drop my rental car off at a friend's place and take uber/BART from there. I'm flying in to SFO since the flight tickets were $250ish cheaper than flying directly into OAK, but my actual hotel is right near Oakland airport so I'm all over the place

FWIW, as a life long Bay Area native, I would take BART from SFO to your hotel and avoid renting a car unless you were planning on driving to locations outside of Berkeley / Oakland / SF / Albany / El Cerrito. BART + Lyft will cover you for a fraction of the cost, are convenient, and you'll get to see a different view of the area. The BART station at SFO is clean and orderly, and so is the one at Oakland Coliseum (which it sounds might be your stop). Berkeley is awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

[Christinabruin]

Yikes thank you for the heads up! I guess I will drop my rental car off at a friend's place and take uber/BART from there. I'm flying in to SFO since the flight tickets were $250ish cheaper than flying directly into OAK, but my actual hotel is right near Oakland airport so I'm all over the place

FWIW, as a life long Bay Area native, I would take BART from SFO to your hotel and avoid renting a car unless you were planning on driving to locations outside of Berkeley / Oakland / SF / Albany / El Cerrito. BART + Lyft will cover you for a fraction of the cost, are convenient, and you'll get to see a different view of the area. The BART station at SFO is clean and orderly, and so is the one at Oakland Coliseum (which it sounds might be your stop). Berkeley is awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much for all the advice! I am staying two full days so I was hoping to visit some friends in Berkeley/Livermore/San Jose with a rental car, so would that still be feasible without a rental car and taking BART/lyft/uber instead? I am from LA and dread public transportation so if it's feasible then I guess now is the time to overcome my phobia lol

[crookedsmile]

Yikes thank you for the heads up! I guess I will drop my rental car off at a friend's place and take uber/BART from there. I'm flying in to SFO since the flight tickets were $250ish cheaper than flying directly into OAK, but my actual hotel is right near Oakland airport so I'm all over the place

FWIW, as a life long Bay Area native, I would take BART from SFO to your hotel and avoid renting a car unless you were planning on driving to locations outside of Berkeley / Oakland / SF / Albany / El Cerrito. BART + Lyft will cover you for a fraction of the cost, are convenient, and you'll get to see a different view of the area. The BART station at SFO is clean and orderly, and so is the one at Oakland Coliseum (which it sounds might be your stop). Berkeley is awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much for all the advice! I am staying two full days so I was hoping to visit some friends in Berkeley/Livermore/San Jose with a rental car, so would that still be feasible without a rental car and taking BART/lyft/uber instead? I am from LA and dread public transportation so if it's feasible then I guess now is the time to overcome my phobia lol

If you're heading to San Jose, BART is not the way to go, you'll def want your rental car for that. There are several areas 10-15 minutes away from campus where parking is free all day. I can PM you with specifics if you'd like.

[Christinabruin]

Yikes thank you for the heads up! I guess I will drop my rental car off at a friend's place and take uber/BART from there. I'm flying in to SFO since the flight tickets were $250ish cheaper than flying directly into OAK, but my actual hotel is right near Oakland airport so I'm all over the place

FWIW, as a life long Bay Area native, I would take BART from SFO to your hotel and avoid renting a car unless you were planning on driving to locations outside of Berkeley / Oakland / SF / Albany / El Cerrito. BART + Lyft will cover you for a fraction of the cost, are convenient, and you'll get to see a different view of the area. The BART station at SFO is clean and orderly, and so is the one at Oakland Coliseum (which it sounds might be your stop). Berkeley is awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much for all the advice! I am staying two full days so I was hoping to visit some friends in Berkeley/Livermore/San Jose with a rental car, so would that still be feasible without a rental car and taking BART/lyft/uber instead? I am from LA and dread public transportation so if it's feasible then I guess now is the time to overcome my phobia lol

If you're heading to San Jose, BART is not the way to go, you'll def want your rental car for that. There are several areas 10-15 minutes away from campus where parking is free all day. I can PM you with specifics if you'd like.

Whew! I was hoping to find an excuse to avoid public transportation and you've just given me two, lol! Thank you to everyone who has helped out so far, if you guys ever need advice getting around LA hit me up

[Monday]

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