<p>Hi, I’m a high school junior contemplating where I should apply to college. Since I would like to stay close to my home/family in the Bay Area, UC Berkeley would be a great choice for me. I am not really into going away/pursuing a normal “college life” because I just want an undergraduate degree so I can go to graduate school and do research eventually. I’m not into the normal parties, drinking, etc. Also, I would like to save money by staying at home and commuting to UC Berkeley instead of taking a dorm or apartment.</p>
<p>For anyone who has or is currently a commuter student at UC Berkeley, how is it? Is it possible to make friends as a commuter there? I am planning to join an a capella voice group there, so maybe that can be a way for me to make friends. The reason I’m worried is because I currently take concurrent enrollment classes at community college, and I don’t really like the social life there (it seems like it’s hard to make friends as a community college student). I’m wondering if commuting to UC Berkeley would be similar.</p>
<p>Living in the dorms is generally one of the easier ways to make friends. Making friends out of classmates isn’t that hard, but making friends out of neighbhors and roommates is easier.</p>
<p>Unless you live in Berkeley (like, the city of Berkeley), commuting is actually pretty exhausting than you might think. I myself live in a dorm, but I know people who commute from San Ramon and Hercules and they’re not happy about how much time they spend on the road every day; they’re forced to schedule their classes back-to-back so they don’t have awkward gaps between classes and because of that they cannot attend almost any office hours. If you are really about being frugal, get 2~3 people to rent an apartment and split up the payment - it’s not as expensive as living in the dorm.</p>
<p>And btw, please don’t think pursuing a “normal” college life is a waste of time. “Just getting an undergraduate degree” in 3~4 years is actually stressful and requires a lot of effort. And because of that, attending a couple of parties is really not as bad as you think. Nobody’s gonna force you to drink and it’s really about having fun because you’ll need a break from seriously hard classes at Cal.</p>
<p>@UpMagic: I’m from Hercules haha. But there are definitely a lot of people (not myself) from my hometown (which is about 20-30 minutes from campus with no traffic) that commute and for the most part I know that they’re fine with the commute.</p>
<p>To answer the question, based on the many people from Hercules and elsewhere that I know who commute, for the most part they all enjoy it or are fine with it. They find it not too difficult with their schedules, as long as they plan it out well. Plus, some of them have jobs outside of school and other obligations, so commuting to school is not as much of a burden for them. One of friend’s who commutes from SF by BART even prefers it versus living at Berkeley because she’s able to concentrate and study a lot more efficiently than at school. A big part of being a “successful” commuter is being able to manage time well and understanding what you have to do in order to do well in school.</p>
<p>As for friends and social life, it will definitely be different than if you were on campus. A lot of it depends on how social of a person you are. By talking with people from classes, groups, etc, you’ll be able to meet all types of people. It won’t be as convenient, but as long as you put the effort out there into getting to know people, you’ll find friends.</p>
<p>I’m a transfer student, so only have two years at Cal. For my first year, I lived right next to campus at International House. My second year, I moved back to San Francisco and am commuting from SF to Berkeley almost every day. While I really enjoyed living at I-House and made loads of friends the first semester, many of those friends moved back to their home countries or studied abroad spring semester. Most of the school friends I’ve made and kept in touch with daily have been in my major department, classes, and clubs. I moved back to SF because I really missed it, work in SF, and my social life is over here more than in Berkeley. </p>
<p>It is a pain to commute, I will not lie. It takes at least an hour for me to get to and from school, so I tend to treat school like a job. If I have a day where one class is in the morning and another in the afternoon, I go to campus in the morning around 9am and stay there until at least 6pm. I study, go to the gym, meet with professors, or participate in other campus activities during breaks between classes. I work in San Francisco at least 14 hours per week, so the commute is broken up just a bit - I go “halfway” to work, then it only takes ~35-40 minutes on the bus to get to campus. Going home in the evening is the worst part since MUNI runs less frequently at night. It has taken 1.5 hours for me to get home, 1.5 hours I could have spent at the library or studying in a cafe or eating dinner. BART is a faster ride, but to save money I take the AC Transit F bus. I try to read on the bus. </p>
<p>Sometimes I miss living right next to campus, but I don’t think it is truly necessary in order to be happy and successful at Cal. There is a Commuters at Cal organization, although I haven’t joined it. I think they have a Facebook page. You might try commuting for your first year, then move to Berkeley in a flat share or to one of the co-ops later as you become more independent.</p>