Foothill Reviews

PROS:
- largest dorm rooms at berkeley, most are only doubles too!
- super close to CoC/Engineering. made going to my 8ams really easy (as a chemical engineering major)
- more quiet spacey area for studying compared to other dorms
- some of the best views on campus!!!
- you are able to hear (and sometimes see) when there's concerts at the Greek Theatre sometimes!
- stayed hella fit/avoided freshman 15 bc of the premade work out up the hill it's on
- best dining hall on campus (and onsite!)
- in a much safer area compared to the other dorms
- option to be in a single gender suite/floor if interested in that
- each suite has a private study room and a private bathroom (shared with less people compared to in other dorms)
- has a mini gym!
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I lived at foothill during my freshman year at Cal. I did not really like my experience living here because it was far from most of my classes. It would take me 20 minutes to walk to the front of campus (near Dwinelle or Sather Gate). We had shared bathrooms but they were cleaned regularly by the staff. There is not a lot of food/restaurants near foothill so I would usually eat at the dining hall (which did not have good food). I did not make many friends at foothill because I did not live on a social floor so I joined a lot of other clubs to meet more people. The good side about foothill is that is near the football stadium and a lot of nice hikes like the Big C.

It's alright, and livable. Nothing to write home about and you may encounter your fair share of ants (and mice if you live on the ground floor). Great if you have early labs in Cory/Etch/Soda and Chem labs.

When I came back from winter break there were a ton of mice shit all over my room, on my bed, inside my drawers, my closet, on the floor, just everywhere! Foothill has horrible mice issues and I have no idea why people haven’t brought this up. It’s also old, honestly not worth it. If you are a freshman, might as well live in the units area.

People complain about the location, but I like it:
1. Close to Engineering/CS buildings
2. A few footsteps from the best dining hall on campus (Foothill Dining)
3. Bus stops right outside Foothill every few minutes and takes you virtually everywhere
4. The hike is a good workout

Triple in a suite was spacious. The suite itself was a great working space. Beautiful location. Bathroom was regularly cleaned. Overall, I'd live there again.

The walk is KILLER!! The dining hall is easily the best on campus though and the access to the big C and hiking trails is unmatched though. It is a really long distance from telegraph and downtown, but learning the bus routes, it becomes easier.

Foothill is an extremely beautiful dorm. The design of the building is gorgeous and it sits on a hill so you can get some incredible views. Unfortunately, because it's on a hill it's one hell of a walk to get to. It's also far from most restaurants, shops, etc. surrounding campus. It's not a traditional hall and suites generally have under 15 people. It's reputation is the introverted dorm because of this set-up and because it is a popular choice for freshmen engineering and STEM students. My room had three people living in it, but it was the same size as many of the doubles. I enjoyed living here, but would not choose to do so again.

So first off, I had a very good experience with my four roommates, which is not always the case & I think that made a huge difference. We random matched. The room was small, but there was enough space. Closets in a quad are VERY tiny, so don’t overpack like I did. As far as location, foothill is gorgeous with YMCA vibes, and the dining hall is objectively the best. However, it is a TREK to get where you need to go. About a mile to get to southside, and on the way back up, get ready to suck air because it’s all uphill. That was the worst part for me. (As a bio major, a lot of my classes were by that part of campus anyway, but going anywhere else is a long walk.) However, northside is a very nice place to hang out. There’s cute shops and it’s...See more

I loved the community of people I met in Foothill, proximity to the dining hall, suite-style living, and the views/sunsets/nature vibes. I personally appreciated how Foothill was farther away from the busyness of Southside, but it did require more careful planning when estimating how long it took to get to places/safe travel at night.

Foothill get's a lot of flak but I thought it was really great. It has amazing views of the bay, a more tight-knit feeling from constantly seeing friends in the dining hall, a great surrounding of nature (was very common to see deer and turkeys), and a great general cabin-like feel. The location is also perfect, very close to all my engineering classes. The feel of Foothill was perfect for me, and some people questioned me picking it over Blackwell as Regents but I definitely didn't regret my decision.

Possible Cons: The building was a little old and homely, but I'm the type that likes that. The laundry machine broke sometimes and there was a massive flood that sent the laundry room and a lot of Stern first floor rooms out of commission. I...See more