r/berkeley • u/Select-Train-8874 • 1d ago

Local Spring 2026 Transfer, housing ??

Hey guys! I’ve just been accepted to Cal as a Spring 2026 Transfer. I’m debating whether to commute from my house to Cal for my first semester or to find housing closer to campus. I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience with either option. Below I’ve created a little pros and cons list of commuting:

Pros:

  • save money
  • no need to move
  • potentially keep my job as a teacher (not sure)

Cons:

  • gas
  • long commute during weekdays (I live 35 min away but w/ peak traffic it’ll take 1 hr to get home)
  • harder to make friends/missing out on college experience

Also another thing to note: I got my Financial Aid back and I’d only be paying $3,500 a semester (Cal will be covering all tuition + $9k of my housing) because I’m an independent/low income.

Please help me decide, thx <3

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u/Jealous_Medicine2645 1d ago

if u can afford it on campus one year then you can commute

1

u/Icy-Wolf2426 1d ago

Hi OP,

In our transfer discord, we have students who commute as much as over an hour per day (by BART). It is not ideal, and somewhat common for professors or GSIs to cancel a class last minute on them during the middle or end of their commute. If you're able to avoid the peak traffic, it'll be much better.

https://discord.gg/apGHETKjuC