Six Questions to Help You Choose Your UC Berkeley Housing Preferences
Beginning a new academic year is an exciting time at UC Berkeley. Alongside decisions like choosing classes and picking clubs to join, students often put a lot of thought into selecting their housing preferences. The questions in this guide can help you identify your top five preferences for on-campus housing at UC Berkeley.
Under normal operations, all new students receive priority for housing. It is not possible to know at this time whether the COVID-19 pandemic will allow for normal operations in student housing and residential life in Academic Year 2020–2021. Consequently, we cannot guarantee housing priority at this time, but we are dedicated to supporting students who want to live on or near campus.
Important Basics of UC Berkeley Housing
In your housing application, you can select up to five location preferences. Assignments are determined by lottery and availability, so be sure to choose “any room size, any location” as your last choice. Since the most common room arrangement on campus is three students in a room, most freshman students will receive a housing offer for this triple-occupancy option.
1) Should I request to live in a residence hall or an apartment?
Incoming freshmen have an easy choice: residence halls! Transfer and continuing students are considered for both apartment and residence hall options. Both choices offer many of the same amenities: furnished rooms, WiFi and streaming cable, laundry facilities, recreation areas, live-in hall staff, and more. So what are some of the differences to consider when choosing your housing preference?
Residence Halls
Residence halls are an excellent way to dive straight into student life at Berkeley. The traditional college experience allows you to intersect with inspiring scholars, like student resident advisors. There are also dedicated Resident Assistants (RAs) in every hall that aim to create a supportive and inclusive living environment that allow residents to develop both academically and personally while they navigate their time at Berkeley.
Another opportunity offered to students living in the university’s residence halls is the chance to connect with faculty members outside the classroom through the Resident Faculty Program, in which select faculty members live alongside students in the residence halls. The program was implemented to allow residents to get to know a member of Berkeley’s faculty outside the classroom. Resident Faculty are happy to offer advice about choosing a major or co-curricular activities, and provide insight into their own research interests. Every residence hall also has an Academic Center, complete with PC and Mac workstations, laser printers, and direct connection to the campus network and the Internet.
Apartments
Apartments foster a level of increased independence and personal responsibility. UC Berkeley apartments include full kitchens (full refrigerator, stove, oven, and microwave) and furnished common areas (living rooms). The apartments do not include a meal plan; however, residents are eligible to purchase an optional meal plan. Apartments also have Resident Assistants (RAs) who help create a supportive and inclusive living environment that encourages intellectual and personal growth at Berkeley.
Note: Students submitting the Residence Hall 2020–2021 application will be considered for both residence halls and apartments, so there is no need to submit two separate applications.
2) What are my dining preferences? Do I want a meal plan, cook at home, both?
If you are planning on solely eating in the dining commons, you may want to live in a residence hall, where a Cal Dining meal plan is included in the price of your contract. If you live in an apartment (on campus or off campus), you can opt for a separate off-campus meal plan.
If you are a transfer student or a continuing student and would prefer to cook at home, you may be interested in apartment options that feature a private kitchen in your shared room space. Traditional residence halls do include a communal kitchen, so you can still cook when living there, too!
3) What kind of social setting am I interested in?
While there are stereotypes about which living style is more or less social, it really depends on your floor. Although mini-suite floors are known to be quiet, some are very social. That said, here are some general conceptions about which living styles are the most or least social.
Traditional residence halls are generally more social due to the communal living situation in which you share a bathroom and lounges with your floormates. Mini-suites are known to be slightly less social, due to the semi-private bathrooms, but there are many occasions to engage with your floor in the lounges, or by attending events held by your RA or the hall. Suites offer many hall events as well, while also creating opportunities for more intimate social interactions, especially with the residents who share your suite. Apartments are the most private option, and with UC Berkeley apartments, you also have RAs and staff who plan regular events with numerous ways for you to connect with your floor mates and larger building community.
4) Is there a living-learning community I want to join?
You can apply to the Transfer community or one of seven Theme Programs that are in the residence halls. These optional living and learning communities connect you instantly with other Golden Bears who share an identity and/or interests with you. The process is easy, you can apply to multiple programs, and there is no extra cost beyond the cost of your housing.
5) Do I have any distance, location, or direction preferences?
UC Berkeley housing options frame the north, east, and south sides of the campus. Most residence halls and apartments are a five to ten minute walk from campus. However, some locations, including Garden Village and Clark Kerr, are closer to a fifteen to twenty minute walk.
The south side is generally more active and loud during daytime and nighttime. You live conveniently located close to a lot of restaurants and shops, especially on the central street, Telegraph Avenue, and there are two grocery stores only a quick bus ride away. Living on the south side of campus also means you are closer to the classrooms where a majority of Humanities classes are held. Most of the residence halls and all the apartments are on the south side of campus, including Units 1–3, Blackwell, Clark Kerr, Martinez Commons, Channing-Bowditch, Enclave, Garden Village, New Sequoia, and Panoramic Berkeley.
The north side of campus, on the other hand, has a quieter reputation. Here you live close to sites featured on the north end campus, including most of the STEM classrooms, the Greek Theatre, and Memorial Stadium. Nestled in the hills, these housing locations have many beautiful views of local flora and fauna and easy access to the fire trails. The residence halls to the north are Foothill and Stern.
6) Can I live in campus housing after my first year?
Yes! Housing is increasingly available for continuing students who want to live on campus beyond their first year. Under normal operations, most who apply with flexible preferences by the continuing student application deadline will receive an offer. Berkeley continues to actively expand campus housing as one of its key campus priorities, with new buildings to open in 2020 and future years. In fall 2020, the Enclave Apartments are slated to open, providing an exciting new independent living option in the heart of Berkeley’s south side.
Unit 1
- Residence hall located one block from campus
- Less than one block from Crossroads, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Access to a central fitness facility
- Home to Freeborn Hall, a designated Substance-Free Environment
Theme Programs:
- African American Theme Program
- Native American Theme Program and Pacific Islander Pilot Program
Unit 2
- Residence hall located three blocks from campus
- Less than one block from Crossroads, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Access to a small, central fitness facility
Theme Program:
Unit 3
- Residence hall located one block from campus
- Cafe 3, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons, and Bear Market, a mini-grocery store, on site
- Fitness facility on site
- Only a couple blocks from the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF)
Theme Programs:
Blackwell
- Residence hall located one block from campus
- Less than a block from Cafe 3, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Onsite fitness facility with weight and cardio machines
- Interior courtyard
- No kitchen
- Opened in Fall 2018
Foothill
- Residence hall located one block from campus
- Foothill, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons, on site
- Beautiful views and close to nature
- Close to STEM classrooms
Stern
- Residence hall located one block from campus
- Women-identified residential hall
- About one block from Foothill, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Close to the hills with beautiful views
- Close to STEM classrooms
Theme Program:
- WISE: Empowering Womxn in STEAM (welcomes all who experience life through the lens of womxn in body, spirit, identity — past, present, future, and fluid)
Clark Kerr
- Both residence hall and apartment rooms
- Located about six blocks southeast of the main campus
- Clark Kerr, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons, on site
- Features a Spanish mission-style complex
- Close proximity to a sand volleyball court, a track and soccer field, swimming pool, and hiking trails
Theme Program:
Maximino Martinez Commons
- Both residence hall and apartment rooms
- Located two blocks from campus
- Priority for residence hall rooms is given to newly-admitted transfer students and upper division students
- About one block from Crossroads, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Fitness center on site
- Open during winter break
Theme Program:
Channing-Bowditch
- Apartments located two blocks from campus
- About one block from Crossroads, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Open during winter break
- Does not have a mailroom
Enclave
- Apartments located three blocks from campus
- Priority for continuing students and graduate students
- Outside courtyard
- Moorish Castle design with upper and lower terraces
- Opening in fall 2020
Garden Village
- Apartments located about four blocks from the edge of campus
- Priority for continuing students and graduate students
- Rooftop/deck garden
- European washer/dryer in unit
- 200 bicycle parking spaces and on-site repair station
New Sequoia
- Apartments located three blocks from campus
- Priority for continuing students and graduate students
- Outside courtyard
- In-building coin-operated laundry
Panoramic Berkeley
- Apartments located five blocks from campus
- Priority for continuing students and graduate students
- Roof-top deck and central courtyard
- Laundry in building
Wada
- Apartments inside Unit 2 residence hall
- Located three blocks from campus
- Priority consideration for transfer and continuing students
- Less than one block from Crossroads, one of UC Berkeley’s dining commons
- Access to a small, central fitness facility
- Open during winter break
- Live in an apartment that’s part of a residence hall community
Identity and Disability Accommodations
Do you have a needs-based housing request? UC Berkeley works with students to accommodate and support disability, cultural, religious, and gender-identity based needs. Note your request in your housing application or visit the accommodations page on our website to receive information. The website provides a guide and steps to common accommodation requests.
Visit the UC Berkeley Housing website for additional information about housing options.
