UC Berkeley Dorms Ranked

Honestly Berkeley dorms suck in general but are a significant part of the college experience. I stayed in Griffiths Hall in a triple and for the most part I had a positive experience. You are close to campus, near all the Southside businesses, greek row, good proximity to Elmwood. However the rooms themselves are borderline illegal in how little space you have. 169 SF for three people is not a lot and I would definitely say you need to schedule time to rotate in/out of the room. The good side is that a lot of the other kids on your floor are in the same crappy living situation so you will definitely bond one way or another.

Pros: location, “college experience,” access to buses, nice community balcony with views

Cons: small af, old af, washer/dryers might not work, communal bathrooms for 40+ people, study lounges always full during midterms/finals - 4 years ago

Rooms: The rooms are nice. The layout online is inaccurate, you might get a double in a room that should be a single, or you could get 2 full baths instead of 1.5 baths. Overall the official website is a bit inaccurate for this.

Bathrooms: Water pressure is great, everything is clean and modern
Common Area of Apt: Common area is also great and we have a half balcony (you can't go out but can open the door). The layout is a bit weird with the kitchen being at the front door though. We have a 2 dining tables (and 6 chairs), 2 coffee tables, a couch, and a chair.

General Apartment building: There's a common area on the 3rd floor thats super nice and secluded feeling, and there's roof access that looks out over SF and Berkeley. There is not much management in the way as it is in the Freshman dorms, but help is there if you need it. It's also MUCH less social, but this is mostly because its an apartment and people aren't roaming around as much.

Location: Location is the only meh part. Its close to campus (5 min walk from sproul) so that's great, but their entrance is on the street next to People's park so its a bit scary at night, but that being said I've never had any issues. Otherwise the proximity to campus is nice.

- 2 years ago

Unit 3 has a reputation for being the crustiest dorm, which is great because then no one requests it and you are more likely to get the room type you want (especially if you want a double, which can be hard to come by)! Unit 3 is one of the closest dorms to campus and has a dining hall in the unit! Having the communal laundry room is great because there are so many washers and dryers that they are almost never all full, though having to walk down the stairs with your laundry is annoying. I lived in Norton, which was known for having a broken elevator (which yes, happened an annoying amount), but Unit 3 Norton had by far the best social life of any dorm on campus. The rooms feel way bigger than Blackwell rooms, and they are set up more like a traditional dorm room. The bathrooms were always clean and there were plenty of showers. I knew almost everyone in my entire building, so if you are looking for a dorm social life, Unit 3 is the best place for it! - 4 years ago

i lived in unit 1 in putnam and had a really great experience!

it’s right next to campus and about 10 minutes from sproul. close to several bus stops. it’s a few minutes from telegraph, which is close enough to have fun but since that’s where most of the crime is concentrated it’s nice that it’s somewhat removed.

i lived in a double and it was pretty spacious, especially if you push the desks against the windows. the windows let in lots of natural light and have good curtains. some rooms have problems with cockroaches, but setting traps helps.

the bathrooms were nice enough. co-ed situation wasn't a problem. the bathroom stalls and showers didn’t have any gaps in them. water pressure was good. the sinks and stalls were cleaned every day (although at inconvenient hours, usually 9am). the showers were probably only cleaned once a week at most, so hair will start to collect on the floors/walls.

unit 1 is really social, people are friendly and i made a lot of friends here. however, it really depends on luck, some of the floors are socially dead. the only downside is that it’s loud, you’ll hear people playing music/talking loudly all night in both the halls and in the courtyard.

unit 1 is right next to crossroads dining hall, which imo is the best one. there's a lot of variety and the quality is usually pretty good.

the building itself is the only real con. the elevator breaks a few times per semester. fire alarm will go off once a month or so, usually at night. you’ll either have a laundry room/lounge on your floor. most floors won’t be able to access their lounge until the second semester because they’re used as temporary housing. my biggest complaint is the washer/dryer situation — there’s only 6 washers/12 dryers in the entire building and half of them will be broken at any given time. - 1 year ago

I lived alone in a double room. For the most part the apartment itself it extremely nice and modern. The washer/dryer however were abysmal. You could only put in a handful of clothes because it was so small and left your clothes damp.
I put in a work order to get my bedroom light fixed (didnt work in the first place) and have sinced moved out and it was never fixed. The area isn’t entirely safe as I was nearly mugged just around the corner. But if you don’t plan on going out by yourself then this is definitely a decent place.
Overall, the place was nice and secure, but there were many small issues that made me not want to live here again (vary among other people). There was an air conditioner but never figured out how it worked or if it even worked so I didnt mess with it. - 4 years ago

Yes, Clark Kerr is far, but it has various good qualities. I usually ate at crossroads, but that was just because there were more options there (the food quality at Clark Kerr is just as good). It was the cheapest option for me since I lived in a quad. Living in a quad was actually super fun since the room was quite large. There are a bunch of athletes living in CK, so, if you are into that, more power to you. I would say my favorite part of Clark Kerr was feeling like I lived far enough from campus. It felt like a whole other little community.

I'll talk about some negatives. Clark Kerr is kind of far, but that encourages you to pick up biking, skating, or scootering to school! Plus, a 5 minute bus ride is always available (AC transit and the Night Shuttle). Other dorms have security monitors , so I did feel that (in theory) CK was less safe. Someone can simply wait for a distracted student to leave a door open, and sneak their way into the dorms. Nevertheless, I never experienced anything like that; it is a possibility though.

Almost forgot, Ck is closer to frat parties hehe - 4 years ago

Overall was great because there was weekly cleaning from a sweet lady, which allowed the place to stay clean constantly. the bathroom was huge and so people can use the restroom and shower and brush their teeth separately. I lived in the double double and so even though there were 4 people in the apartment, it still felt very spacious. I felt very safe around the complex for most the time (even though we had an incident once)... It's gated so only residents can enter in. The only flaw is the location, since its only a few steps away from peoples park and right behind the parking lot of taco bell which gets really loud at times. - 3 years ago

I enjoyed living at Martinez as a transfer, but if I were going to do the whole experience all over again I would probably have some reservations. Yes, location and amenities at the building are good, however I had issues with water (?) leaks that appeared over my bed intermittently throughout the year I lived there. Sent in a service request, no response. I also had some issues with the washer & drying machines, as on two different instances a portion of my clothes were ruined by some gunk that dried on them. I never pursued trying to recoup my losses, as I learned it was an outside company that handled maintenance and complaints.

Last but not least, while the Martinez location is ideal in terms of where it is in relation to Crossroads dining hall and campus, it is also right next to People's Park. Where my room was we overlooked a courtyard where homeless folk would sometimes hang out. There were instances where me and my roommate were woken up by yelling, and in one case, we saw a homeless man assaulted from our window. The only way to TRY and tune it out was to shut the window, but we used the window to try and control the temperature in our room.

Now, given my complaints, Martinez is not a bad dorm. Overall it was a positive experience, and certainly worth the investment if you want to try and be involved with a community of transfer students or upperclassmen. - 4 years ago

I think a double was pretty spacious compared to the other dorms at Berkeley! The ceiling is just concrete which was a bit ugly but it isn't a huge deal. I loved that the floor wasn't carpet. The walls were very weak (and thin and the door is not soundproof, so watch your volume) and dented way too easily... you could press your fingernail to the wall and it'd dent. The window doesn't open more than 6? or so inches and the window itself is a lot smaller than the windows in other dorms. Lighting was fine but you'll probably want to bring a desk lamp. There's plenty of room for all your belongings since you get an individual closet and two drawers under your bed.
I loved the lounges on each floor, the all-glass study lounges gave a great view of the bay and sunsets and were a great place to work with friends. The ping pong tables and pool tables were also super fun. The building was really clean because I lived there the first year it was built. There are three fast elevators.
The bathrooms are gender neutral which freaked me out a little at first but I quickly got used to it. The toilets and showers are in individual stall rooms with doors and walls that extend from floor to ceiling so they are definitely private enough. They were kind of gross a lot of the time but I guess that's not really a building problem, I remember they cleaned the bathroom pretty often.
Overall I think this is the best dorm but I might be biased as I had a really good time here. - 4 years ago

I stayed in a single-occupancy 4-bedroom at Anchor House (Unit 8), and honestly, it’s not just the nicest on-campus housing at UC Berkeley—it might be the best across all the UCs right now.

It’s built specifically for transfer students (opened Fall 2024), so traditional 4-year students aren’t eligible. The building is modern, thoughtfully designed, and all apartments are single-occupancy in studio, 2-, 3-, or 4-bedroom layouts. Studios are tough to get—think ADA or serious connections.
There are 14 floors (11 residential), plus cool perks like a huge 2nd-floor patio, a 13th-floor Sun Terrace with amazing views, lounges, and study rooms on every floor, and even an arcade and pool table downstairs. Mail is handled through Amazon-style lockers, and the front desk staff processes inbound mail and sends you an email with your locker number and code to access it, convenient. The location is unbeatable—right across from campus (North-West side), three blocks to downtown Berkley, BART, food spots, and groceries. Brown’s is the nearest campus dining hall and my favorite (try the grilled salmon with chimichurri sauce!). The vibe at AH is chill, more mature with mostly transfer and re-entry students, so it’s quiet with zero party scene.

Apartments:
You can request a room type but not a specific floor or unit, and you won’t find out your room assignment until move-in day. If you're lucky and land on floor 11 or above with an even-numbered apartment, you might get incredible views of the San Franciso Bay, City, Berkeley hills, or campus and Sather Tower/Campanile (odd numbers face the courtyard). Units have 15' ceilings, hardwood floors, full kitchens with new stainless appliances, in-unit laundry, and good sound insulation (7/10 quiet). Rooms feel spacious and have plenty of storage. The bathrooms are decent, with walk-in showers.

Amenities:
Plenty here. Full gym, all new and updated equipment, dance/yoga studio, transfer student center, printing, lounges, etc. Security is good with multiple scan points to access the building, elevators, your apt, your room, and additional staff at the entry after hours. It's much safer than housing units on the south side of campus, but there are vagrants the closer you get to Downtown, but not around the building. Regular cleaning staff keeps the common spaces immaculate, really, they do a great job.

Cons:
Still working out some kinks—elevators occasionally act up, trash chutes don’t always work, and building operations need refining. For example, you can only enter from the East side, even though loading zones are on the West—annoying during move-in. Hopefully, that changes with more staff. No student parking (the garage is staff-only).

If you're lucky enough to get into AH (it's literally a lottery), you won't regret it.
- 1 month ago