Berkeley Class of 2013 Forum

(housing, friendships, future exams, all things 2013)
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Dignan

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Dignan » Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:46 pm

Rotor wrote:As for advice, keep your study group to a manageable size. First semester we kept saying "come along" to everyone and the sessions got less productive as time went on. Second semester, that resulted in a few splinter groups forming and a couple folks got left out in the cold.
Do some people do well without joining study groups at all? When I was an undergraduate (many years ago), I did better when studying by myself. I am unsure, though, if going at it alone will work as well in law school.

BoaltSF

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by BoaltSF » Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:18 pm

I don't do study groups, and I do well. They certainly are not helpful to me. As bilbo said earlier, you should do what works for you instead of worrying that you are not doing the same thing as everyone else.

In my experience, study groups left me more confused. I often felt I had a good grasp of the topic, but then in the study group, no one could agree on what the rule was or how it worked. In the end, we never came to a consensus so I felt like it was a waste of time.

Other people find them very helpful to discuss and parse apart everything. That's just not the way I work though. To do well, you just need to figure out what works for you and what does not.

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Rotor

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Rotor » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:17 pm

Dignan wrote:
Rotor wrote:As for advice, keep your study group to a manageable size. First semester we kept saying "come along" to everyone and the sessions got less productive as time went on. Second semester, that resulted in a few splinter groups forming and a couple folks got left out in the cold.
Do some people do well without joining study groups at all? When I was an undergraduate (many years ago), I did better when studying by myself. I am unsure, though, if going at it alone will work as well in law school.
Of course. As Bilbo and BoaltSF rightly say, if study groups aren't helpful, don't go to one. My advice was really for those who want to be in a group. But I would also say don't just assume that if it worked well in UG it will work well in law school. I never did groups as an undergrad (many many years ago) but the group discussion helped me here. You have time at the beginning of the semester to get a sense of what you'd like to do/figure out who you'd like to study with (if anyone)/etc.

The key in all of it is try to enjoy it. If you're having fun, odds are you'll do better than if you're miserable.

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screwsandboalts

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by screwsandboalts » Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:11 pm

have fun and law school.... never thought i'd see the two in the same sentence, but im liking that the good people at berkeley seem to take this approach

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bayareadunks

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by bayareadunks » Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:15 pm

daviddel03 wrote:hey guys random question. for those of you who have lived in berkeley, what do you think i should expect to pay in electricity a month for a house with 5 guys in it? what about cable/internet?

sorry for the odd question, lol

thanks!
Just finished living in an apartment with 5 guys in it for 3 years here. PG&E for a household that was pretty bad at turning off small stuff like cable and PS2 and random lights here and there was about $24-27/month (total, not each, and I really can't remember it going over $30 in the winter...but I could be wrong. I'll check my statements online to make sure). I think we easily could have cut it down to $20 but we were pretty lazy. Cable for us was $22/month each person this year, but I remember that our first year we had this special introductory offer with Comcast where their Triple Play was like $99/month, but I'm not too sure what offers they have now. Cable/Internet was really fast, could support all 5 of us on it at once and multiple people downloading music/movies pretty regularly. Hope that helps.

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daviddel03

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by daviddel03 » Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:51 am

bayareadunks, dignan thanks a lot for your insight! Trying to figure out a budget can be tricky, but it seems like electricity is pretty cheap, so i'm not that worried anymore.

Once again, thanks guys!

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tintin

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by tintin » Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:57 pm

has anyone been able to access their e-bill yet to pay tuition? every time I try to access e-bill it gives me an error.

Error Code: I60:634148890694073499
Details: Error authenticating SSO user

help!

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Tangerine Gleam

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Tangerine Gleam » Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:36 pm

Is everyone on track with financial aid stuff? I'm wondering if I'm missing anything; I submitted my EFT info, completed loan counseling, and signed the promissory notes all within the last few weeks. However, I haven't received any sort of confirmation and I still feel in the dark about how and when the loan money is disbursed. Does anyone know?

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bilbobaggins

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by bilbobaggins » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:09 pm

Tangerine Gleam wrote:Is everyone on track with financial aid stuff? I'm wondering if I'm missing anything; I submitted my EFT info, completed loan counseling, and signed the promissory notes all within the last few weeks. However, I haven't received any sort of confirmation and I still feel in the dark about how and when the loan money is disbursed. Does anyone know?
Hahaha. Start scrimping and saving as loans aren't usually dispersed until mid-August.

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BoaltSF

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by BoaltSF » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:29 pm

Financial aid is a mystery. Money is not disbursed until the first day of classes, which, of course, makes buying books before classes begin difficult for those of us who depend on that money to buy them.

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bilbobaggins

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by bilbobaggins » Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:07 pm

BoaltSF wrote:Financial aid is a mystery. Money is not disbursed until the first day of classes, which, of course, makes buying books before classes begin difficult for those of us who depend on that money to buy them.
What, you don't get the logic of this system? ;)

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Tangerine Gleam

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Tangerine Gleam » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:48 am

Does the mid-August disbursement cover loans for the whole semester? Whole year?

ChaiChai

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by ChaiChai » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:59 am

Tangerine Gleam wrote:Is everyone on track with financial aid stuff? I'm wondering if I'm missing anything; I submitted my EFT info, completed loan counseling, and signed the promissory notes all within the last few weeks. However, I haven't received any sort of confirmation and I still feel in the dark about how and when the loan money is disbursed. Does anyone know?
Geez, I feel really far behind. I was holding off on accepting loans until I found out if I got some of the scholarships I applied for. I guess I should stop waiting...

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gymboree

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by gymboree » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:14 am

can't find the promissory note to sign... link?

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Tangerine Gleam

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Tangerine Gleam » Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:10 am

gymboree wrote:can't find the promissory note to sign... link?
It's on the "entering students financial aid checklist" or something, which is accessible via the admitted students page. I'd link you myself but I'm posting from my phone!

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bilbobaggins

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by bilbobaggins » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:22 pm

Tangerine Gleam wrote:Does the mid-August disbursement cover loans for the whole semester? Whole year?
One semester.

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gymboree

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by gymboree » Tue Jul 20, 2010 8:50 pm

Tangerine Gleam wrote:
gymboree wrote:can't find the promissory note to sign... link?
It's on the "entering students financial aid checklist" or something, which is accessible via the admitted students page. I'd link you myself but I'm posting from my phone!
Thanks Tangerine!

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tintin

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by tintin » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:41 am

has anyone used the bike lots on campus? there appears to be one near boalt. experiences? i'm also investing in a super high quality u-lock but i'm still afraid of theft, also of people stealing parts off my bike....

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Rotor

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Rotor » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:12 am

tintin wrote:has anyone used the bike lots on campus? there appears to be one near boalt. experiences? i'm also investing in a super high quality u-lock but i'm still afraid of theft, also of people stealing parts off my bike....
I considered signing up for the locked bike-parking area (in the Boalt garage), but in the end, getting a campus license sticker for my bike from the campus police (a prerequisite) was too much of a hassle.

I had a brand new Trek to start the year including a very nice saddle. I got locking skewers for the wheels & seat post (about 50 bucks; get the one requiring a special tool and not a regular hex wrench) and a high strength chain (basically a Kryptonite "New York" lock knock-off; the Kryptonite is about 75 bucks). Never had a single issue at the outside racks (bikes definitely got stolen from out there, but without these reasonable security measures).

If you don't want to buy the locking skewers, and you just want to use a U-lock, check out this page from the Missing Link Bike Shop (Shattuck). --LinkRemoved--

(Not AS expensive as Performance or Mikes, but the people are great (and they even provide loaner tools if you need them)).

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tintin

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by tintin » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:28 am

Rotor wrote:
tintin wrote:has anyone used the bike lots on campus? there appears to be one near boalt. experiences? i'm also investing in a super high quality u-lock but i'm still afraid of theft, also of people stealing parts off my bike....
I considered signing up for the locked bike-parking area (in the Boalt garage), but in the end, getting a campus license sticker for my bike from the campus police (a prerequisite) was too much of a hassle.

I had a brand new Trek to start the year including a very nice saddle. I got locking skewers for the wheels & seat post (about 50 bucks; get the one requiring a special tool and not a regular hex wrench) and a high strength chain (basically a Kryptonite "New York" lock knock-off; the Kryptonite is about 75 bucks). Never had a single issue at the outside racks (bikes definitely got stolen from out there, but without these reasonable security measures).

If you don't want to buy the locking skewers, and you just want to use a U-lock, check out this page from the Missing Link Bike Shop (Shattuck). --LinkRemoved--

(Not AS expensive as Performance or Mikes, but the people are great (and they even provide loaner tools if you need them)).
yeah, i am getting the standard new york kryptonite lock. my bike has a quick release front wheel so i figured i'd just pop it off and lock it to the back + frame.

i've heard that locking skewers can screw up your wheels / are tricky to install- what has been your experience with these? i am pretty paranoid about my seat getting stolen because i think it's a weird size post and would be hard to find a replacement.

is putting fenders on my bike a bad idea? will those just get jacked?

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worldtraveler

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by worldtraveler » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:17 am

tintin wrote:
Rotor wrote:
tintin wrote:has anyone used the bike lots on campus? there appears to be one near boalt. experiences? i'm also investing in a super high quality u-lock but i'm still afraid of theft, also of people stealing parts off my bike....
I considered signing up for the locked bike-parking area (in the Boalt garage), but in the end, getting a campus license sticker for my bike from the campus police (a prerequisite) was too much of a hassle.

I had a brand new Trek to start the year including a very nice saddle. I got locking skewers for the wheels & seat post (about 50 bucks; get the one requiring a special tool and not a regular hex wrench) and a high strength chain (basically a Kryptonite "New York" lock knock-off; the Kryptonite is about 75 bucks). Never had a single issue at the outside racks (bikes definitely got stolen from out there, but without these reasonable security measures).

If you don't want to buy the locking skewers, and you just want to use a U-lock, check out this page from the Missing Link Bike Shop (Shattuck). --LinkRemoved--

(Not AS expensive as Performance or Mikes, but the people are great (and they even provide loaner tools if you need them)).
yeah, i am getting the standard new york kryptonite lock. my bike has a quick release front wheel so i figured i'd just pop it off and lock it to the back + frame.

i've heard that locking skewers can screw up your wheels / are tricky to install- what has been your experience with these? i am pretty paranoid about my seat getting stolen because i think it's a weird size post and would be hard to find a replacement.

is putting fenders on my bike a bad idea? will those just get jacked?
You can also just take your seat off and put it in your locker while at school. I've done that a few times.

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gymboree

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by gymboree » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:41 am

For those asking about experiences with professors/classes - found this link for Boalt Professor Review on Nuts & Boalts:
http://boaltprofs.blogspot.com/

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bilbobaggins

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by bilbobaggins » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:39 pm

The skewers, if installed properly will not mess up your bike. However, it is extremely important that they are fitted as snugly and tightly as possible.

As with most things- if your bike is not the least protected and not the most expensive, it will likely be fine. I have never had an issue, nor heard of anyone having an issue with locking his or her bike in front of Boalt as long as it was properly locked.

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tintin

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by tintin » Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:31 pm

bilbobaggins wrote:The skewers, if installed properly will not mess up your bike. However, it is extremely important that they are fitted as snugly and tightly as possible.

As with most things- if your bike is not the least protected and not the most expensive, it will likely be fine. I have never had an issue, nor heard of anyone having an issue with locking his or her bike in front of Boalt as long as it was properly locked.
that is good to hear, i think i'm probably just overly paranoid about it. better safe than sorry though...

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Shaggier1

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Re: Berkeley Class of 2013

Post by Shaggier1 » Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:18 pm

Is everyone on track with financial aid stuff? I'm wondering if I'm missing anything; I submitted my EFT info, completed loan counseling, and signed the promissory notes all within the last few weeks. However, I haven't received any sort of confirmation and I still feel in the dark about how and when the loan money is disbursed. Does anyone know?
Same, same, and same. No confirmation received, but I know I submitted all of the above.

As for your question re: how and when money is disbursed: if you did EFT, it will be directly deposited into your account. Should arrive at the end of the first full week of classes, I have been told*

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