University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

i met my closest friends in my building. they are the people i see the most so i get to know them faster,then i meet friends through them and so on. most people keep their doors open unless it is finals or midterms week. thursday night is the night that most of the people i know go out and party, thats when the halls are empty and the frats are full. the co-op parties are way better though. there is not much to do besides drinking, everything here closes really early, you can however, go into san frasisco it is only a bart ride away.

Again, the campus is large enough that you can find groups that suit your interests. Go to school-run events like "Caltopia" to see all the clubs that set up tables.

Mission District is the best place in the city to go dancing. Laid back and everyone is friendly and eager to meet new people.

Berkeley is pretty boring in regards to nightlife. If you want a good night of dancing, drinking and crazy fun then you head to the city. Basically the hotspot here is Triple Rock on thursdays where they serve their own brew of beer for a very cheap price and people flock. Mostly going out in Berkeley will consist of bars on Shattuck. There is a very cool pool hall on shattuck where you can share some drinks and play some billiards, or just do one of the two. In Berkeley the party scene is mainly small parties where you have to know someone to go... you cant just walk around and show up to parties (like in UCSB or UCSD). Frat parties are okay, but after a couple of times they were just annoying because some of the guys there are just gross. The co-ops will have some large themed parties now and then but I find them flooded with freshman who are just ready to get plastered and be obnoxious.

Students can be sociable (a wide range...). Football games are a must and that is the biggest social event in my opinion on Berkeley. People are up late in my hall, we hang out with each other. However it is difficult to get off campus because people often have to study or do homework. I go to SF once in a while for a change in scenery to go shopping or to just walk around. I party a couple times a month at the frats but there isn't much else to do on Fri/Sat nights that doesn't involve partying/drinking.

i chose Cal over Stanford not only because i wanted a challenge and i wanted to earn my degree, but also because of the environment. Berkeley is alive - there is no denying that. we are so close to SF and our town has so much life and character. if you are bored in Berkeley, you must be a boring person.

it's great to see some awesome speakers and respectable and prominent people come to visit Berkeley. also, i met my closest friends from clubs/organizations, specifically christian fellowships. if i am awake at 2 am, i am usually on my computer surfing the web or reading for the next day's class. i do not drink so Saturday nights are when i just hang out with friends. we watch movies, go karaoking, have dinner, or just hang out in someone's apartment.

I'm a writer at the Daily Cal and a writer for a campus publication called THE WIRE. I used to be involved with the Undergraduate Mass Communications Association. My dorm experience was amazing - my entire floor was friendly and so, yes, we did leave our doors open. But that's subjective to the floor. Athletic events are extremely popular, especially football, although I personally don't go to the games. i went freshman year, because the tickets were free, but I prefer basketball. The dating scene is a joke. People don't "date" - they hook up or latch onto each other. I blame facebook, alcohol, and the general decline of romanticism. I love going to concerts.

You can be as social as you want to be. Only the freshman live in the dorms; after that it's up to you and your friends to have fun. Football games are a big deal but frats aren't. As a Chemical Engineer we mostly study on the weekend, or go to co-op parties. The co-ops are more popular than the frats. A lot of bands and speakers and events come to Berkeley because it's so well known so there is always something to do.

My friends and I go to shows and house parties and get super fucked up. It's the life.