My undergraduate living experiences for two years in campus housing
Starting at UC Berkeley, I had no idea what to expect before moving into the residence halls as a first-year. I had never visited the city and only knew what the residence halls looked like from the UC Berkeley Housing website and Google Maps. I ended up having the chance to live in on-campus housing for two years: one year at Blackwell Hall and Foothill, and the other year at xučyun ruwway in Albany.
One experience that helped me tremendously in acclimating to Berkeley was taking a semester of classes before my first year through the Summer Bridge program. I got to learn what living in a residence hall would be like in a less busy environment than the fall and spring semesters when campus is a bustling place. During the summer program, I lived in Blackwell Hall for six weeks before moving to my assigned campus residence hall, Foothill, for my fall and spring semesters.
My partner and I moving into Blackwell Hall for the six-week Summer Bridge program.
Living in a residence hall mini-suite
During my first year, I lived in a mini-suite in the La Loma section of Foothill, where I had one roommate and seven suitemates. I had a random roommate situation, and while my roommate and I never got to be close friends, I found a community through my Golden Bear Orientation (GBO) group that included a few of my suitemates.
Living in a suite with more than just two rooms offers an experience similar to traditional residence halls in that it is essentially one big hallway with a closer group of friends. We kept our doors open often and socialized in our common space. Roommate and suite agreement forms were essential to knowing boundaries and expectations, and it is something myself and my livingmates took seriously during our first year.
My freshman year room in a Foothill suite.
Foothill was different from my initial experience in Blackwell. Mainly, my room in Foothill offered more space to move around and the common area in my minisuite was spacious. While Blackwell has many comfortable lounges on each floor, I enjoyed having a common space right outside my door. I bought a small TV for the space that everyone in the suite used to watch movies or shows, and that helped make the space feel like a home.
The distance between Foothill and main campus buildings can be daunting at first, especially considering the large incline on the way back from campus. The location also gives Foothill a more quiet environment compared to the dorms south of campus, and it is actually much closer to campus buildings for STEM classes. The long walks helped me become familiar with the campus in my first year, and when I wasn’t feeling up for the walk I was able to learn the Bear Transit bus system for going back and forth between class and my dorm.
Living in an apartment
During my second year, I chose to live in campus housing again, and while I was initially assigned a Unit 3 double room, I received an email with an offer to live in a four-bedroom, two-bathroom campus apartment at the brand new graduate housing building xučyun ruwway in Albany, next to UC Berkeley’s family housing community, University Village.
[Note: Undergraduate students who are not first-year students (freshmen) are now eligible to live in shared apartments at xučyun ruwway. They live in a separate building from graduate students but share common amenities such as the gym, lobby, common areas, etc.]
The brand new building offered modern amenities and a single bedroom, offering a more private space than the traditional Unit 3 residence halls. The only challenge for me was the distance from campus, which requires a 20- to 30-minute bus ride to and from the UC Berkeley campus.
Here are the main takeaways from my year living in xučyun ruwway as an undergraduate:
What went into my decision to live at xučyun ruwway?
xučyun ruwway offered a single bedroom apartment in a brand new building — I was a part of the first cohort living there. I had financial aid that helped me cover the monthly payments; in my case, the payments included all utilities and amenities, but not a meal plan.
Overall, I preferred living in a more private, apartment-style space over living at a Unit 3 residence hall, and I was ready to take on the experience of living in an apartment, including cooking and cleaning on my own.
What amenities did I find useful?
xučyun ruwway offers incredible amenities. The on-site gym has 24-hour access with multiple machines available for use. There is a plethora of study space located near the lobby and on each floor, and the mailroom has easy and secure access with a phone app. The main thing I miss from my time living at xučyun ruwway now that I live off campus is the free laundry in each apartment. Laundry can get expensive, but each individual apartment there had a washer and dryer with no payments required.
xučyun ruwway is a very modern style apartment building, with many amenities and lots of space within the apartments. These are some common spaces in the lobby, a look inside the apartments, and the greenery outside. Photos courtesy of Student Affairs Communications.
How was it different from other campus housing?
With my experience living in Blackwell Hall and Foothill in mind, the main difference was the commute to campus every day. Taking the 52 or 18 bus line to campus meant I needed to plan ahead of time or I would essentially miss my entire class — this did happen quite often. I also worked late nights during the spring semester that year, and I would sometimes need to take an Uber home since the 52 and 18 bus lines would stop running late at nights on weekends.
I also had to adapt to not having a meal plan, which meant cooking for myself often. I signed up for CalFresh food benefits, which helped me buy groceries at a nearby Sprouts, Whole Foods, or Safeway in Albany. University Village also has a food pantry with fresh produce weekly right outside the xučyun ruwway apartment complex for folks in need of food assistance.
How did I find a community?
While I lived in an area with predominantly graduate students, the UC Village area has a thriving community of families and students to interact with. I went to the University Village Community Center to play basketball almost every Tuesday or Thursday night, and I found a group of friendly residents who welcomed me into their community immediately. I saw the same people almost every week there and I still return to Albany occasionally to play basketball with that group of people even though I live in an off-campus apartment now.
My takeaways from campus housing
I think it’s safe to say that I have had a unique experience in my over two years in campus housing. I lived in three different styles of housing: a traditional residence hall at Blackwell, a suite at Foothill, and an apartment at xučyun ruwway. Overall, I tried to make the most of the amenities and community spaces in campus housing, whether it be social lounges or community recreation. I hope that my experience can help others gauge what they want from their undergraduate living experience and how to navigate the shared spaces.
Ethan Teeguarden, Class of 2027, is majoring in English and minoring in journalism. Cover photo courtesy of Student Affairs Communications.
Want more?
- A guide to all things Berkeley housing for incoming students.
- Are you a graduate student? Find out about campus grad housing options.
- How you can find your community through campus housing.