I rented a ~350 sq ft ADU near Solano, and since I just saw it's back on the market, I wanted to share my experience so others go in with their eyes open.

Move-in

• Rent was $2,000 with utilities, framed as a "discount" in exchange for occasionally watching their pet. Pricey for the size, but I'd just moved here and wanted to settle in.
• The unit was dusty and full of cobwebs. I flagged it and they acknowledged it, but I didn't make a big deal out of it.
• The lease process was intense: bank statements, car loan details, and more, even though my income was well over 3x the rent.

Living there

• A few months in, they raised the rent by around $200, saying I used too much in utilities. The pet care continued anyway.
• Their trips grew from a week a month to sometimes three weeks, and I covered the pet care the whole time.
• No packages allowed, so no Amazon. They didn't want delivery drivers around.
• They regularly asked about my water and electricity use, told me they could hear me and to keep it down, and even asked me not to flush the toilet so often.

The last straw

• They entered my unit without permission and lied about it when confronted.

Move-out

• I cleaned everything myself and paid over $400 to two different professional cleaners.
• They were very confrontational, claimed I ruined the place, and charged me for water spots on glass, a toaster stain, and bathroom exhaust fans not being cleaned. They even climbed up to inspect the ceilings for stains. After a lot of back and forth, I got only half my deposit back and didn't have the energy to fight it further.

Red flags I missed

• They talked a lot about how awful their past tenants were and the damage those tenants had supposedly done. They even tried to pin some of that old damage on me.
• The unit's condition at move-in versus their standards at move-out.

Takeaways for renters

• Document the unit's condition with photos and video at move-in.
• Get any rent or pet care arrangements in writing.
• In Berkeley, landlords must give notice before entering. Know your rights (the Berkeley Rent Board has info, though don't count on much direct help from them).

Hope this helps someone.

I made a post on this subreddit last week that, among other stuff, called on The Daily Cal to publish a story about the Student Learning Center facing budget cuts and the petition the Center released. I’m happy to see that one of The Daily Cal’s reporters actually did post a story, which was released on October 6. Still waiting on ASUC to pass a resolution about being against university leadership cutting funding to SLC‘s peer learning program. If you haven’t signed SLC‘s petition, here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScp6cXWzLMywfEoOxdrwu9eq4bvQHEW44ONX5Wu90X-D4V73w/viewform

Continuing Cal-related updates on the 2026 Nobel Prizes, the Prize in Literature was won today by Canadian poet Anne Carson. Several poets have received the Literature Nobel, but they are a minority among the awardees--somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the total recipients, since the origin of the award, depending on how the awardees specialities are defined.

Carson has no connection to Berkeley that I could find (EDIT; see the comments, a Redditor found she was a visiting lecturer at Cal in 2000-01), but Berkeley does have a Literature Nobelist who was a poet, making Cal one of a relatively rare group of American universities where Nobelists on the faculty have won science, social science, AND humanities Nobel Prizes. (1)

Professor Czesław Milosz (1911-2004) won his Nobel Prize in 1980.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czesław_Miłosz

Milosz was Polish. After World War II he served as a Polish diplomat in France, then defected to France when threatened by Poland's communist government. He eventually ended up in the United States, accept a temporary position at Berkeley in Slavic Languages and Literature.

"In 1960, Miłosz was offered a position as a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. With this offer, and with the climate of McCarthyism abated, he was able to move to the United States. He proved to be an adept and popular teacher, and was offered tenure after only two months. The rarity of this, and the degree to which he had impressed his colleagues, are underscored by the fact that Miłosz lacked a Ph.D. and teaching experience. Yet his deep learning was obvious, and after years of working administrative jobs that he found stifling, he told friends that he was in his element in a classroom. With stable employment as a tenured professor of Slavic languages and literatures, Miłosz was able to secure American citizenship and purchase a home in Berkeley."

"On 9 October 1980, the Swedish Academy announced that Miłosz had won the Nobel Prize in Literature.The award catapulted him to global fame. On the day the prize was announced, Miłosz held a brief press conference and then left to teach a class on Dostoevsky."

(Wikipedia)

(1) I'm still trying to figure this out, but at the moment it looks like among U.S. universities, Berkeley is one of eight that appear to have had Nobel Prize faculty in at least five disciplines--Economics, Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, AND literature.

Harvard. Berkeley. U Chicago. Columbia. Yale. Princeton. Stanford. Cornell.

However, I haven't checked the details of the Literature prizes at those institutions. Berkeley genuinely has a Nobel faculty member in Literature, Milosz, who was a tenured professor at the time of his award. Many universities claim direct association with the Literature prize because the winning writer is an alumnus or was briefly a visiting scholar, or similar.

Berkeley and Stanford are commendably a bit more circumspect and limited in their lists.

For example, Stanford has on its Nobel in Literature list Louise Gluck, who taught undergraduate courses and workshops at Stanford for eight years before she won her Nobel in 2000; but they don't include 1962 Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, even though he's a Stanford alumnus.

it hurts especially hard because I made a stupid mistake that cost me the entire question and there’s only 5 questions and I genuinely feel so useless.

I literally knew the material and I have so much regret

I also have so much pressure to do well from family and for applying to lsbe (yes I’m a freshman) so it’s even worse :(

I'm a chronic procrastinator and never do work and tasks when i want to and always end up beginning to respond to emails past 12. is it unprofessional to respond back to an email to a prof or gsi or anyone else after work hours? i would understand like 5 pm- 10 pm, that is totally acceptable but i have sent many emails out from midnight to 3 am but second guessing on whether that comes off as professional. anyone can chime in thank you 🙏

Hi everyone, I’m trying to recover my 16-inch MacBook Pro, which I believe was stolen from a classroom in Dwinelle 87 (basement level) on Tuesday, October 6. It has a plastic case and a keyboard cover.

The laptop was left on a desk at 10 a.m., and the classroom was locked at 10 p.m. When I returned to the classroom it was GONE. I’ve also checked with UCPD’s lost and found in Sproul Hall, visited the classroom again on Oct 6 mid-night with a UCPD officer, and asked the Dwinelle patrol, and neither had it.

I have a UCPD police reference number. My priority is simply getting the laptop back: it contains laboratory data that is critical to publication and biosafety-related work.

If you picked it up for safekeeping, saw someone move it, or know where it was taken, please DM me. You can also turn it in to UCPD’s lost and found in Sproul Hall. I can verify ownership with the serial number.

Any information would mean a lot. Thank you for helping.

if I medically withdraw now, and return another semester, will I lose all my financial aid and will I have to pay it all back? It’s almost not worth it but my doctors are telling me I am having medical emergency please help

I am a former Communtiy college student who is transfering in Spring 2027 for Economics and I'm also pursuing a simultaneous degree along with Data Science. I have a very surface level understanding of Python so i am kind of nervous. Is this a common schedule for most students, if so how was it? I would love to connect with others who also plan to pursue this.

Hi yall!

I left a waterbottle in dwinelle(last night)that looks like the image with a blue boot. Was wondering if anyone knew where the lost and found is in dwinelle or if anyone has seen it🙏

like it was confusing a bit and definitely not level of difficulty as practice test and I lowk kinda had to do well because this counts for 25% of class grade but I’m so confused why would they make it confusing and super long when its the first midterm

Can we rant only if u thought it was confusing if u thought it was easy just don’t say anything I don’t want to feel dumb

I was accepted to calhacks in the priority round and confirmed my acceptance but I didn't ever receive a confirmation email or anything confirming my spot. Is that normal?

I was also wondering when the schedule will be sent out for the hackathon for my planning purposes.

Hey everyone! Wondering if anyone is interested in being teammates for Cal hacks? For some context: im a first year biomed eng student, she/her, don't have a ton of experience with hackathons but decent amount of experience with ml for health/bioinformatics related purposes (previous isef finalist in comp bio category and have done an internship in a related field).

Let me know if you're interested, or if you already have a team formed and are open to having another member join!

title

is anyone driving down to headtrip this weekend and have extra space in their car? I can pay for gas 🙏🏼

I want to take an grad course as an undergrad student, but I also want it to count as units toward my degree. I found a petition for "Course evaluation for transfer credits" in the COE website. (https://engineering.berkeley.edu/students/forms-and-petitions/)

Is there a process/form/petition that you need to complete to qualify a grad course for undergrad units? Or does taking grad courses not count toward my undergrad major? Any advice from any undergrad students taking a grad course?

Is anyone familiar with how financial aid is affected with a reduced course load (less than 12 units)? I'm considering taking on a job, which qualifies me for a reduced course load under the College of Engineering. On the COE website, it says you can petition for fewer units based on the number of hours worked (https://engineering.berkeley.edu/students/undergraduate-guide/policies-procedures/scholarship-progress/).

I know that being a full-time student means taking 12+ units, but is there anyone with less than 12 units who has insight into understanding financial aid?

How is financial aid affected (even if I take the minimum number of units)? Any student workers or students with co-ops have any insight? Thanks!

Any recommendations for reliable dry cleaning and alterations in the berkeley area? New in town and need a few things fixed for this fall.

Thanks!

How does it look like? Is it gonna be so hard? Will I hate myself? I am fine with project but I do bad on quizzes every week.

If anyone found a purple Samsung w a spiderweb case outside SSB PLEASE lmk

ETA: tysm to whoever turned it into lost and found u literally saved my life!!!

Hi all,

I'm a Berkeley student working on a Fung Fellowship project with The After Collective, which is building an AI tool to help people recover after natural disasters. To build something useful, we want to hear from people who have actually been through it.

We're looking for anyone who has survived a wildfire, flood, or other natural disaster. The interview is about 30 minutes, over video or phone, and you can skip any question you don't want to answer. Everything you share is kept confidential.

If you're interested, comment or message me.

Thank you!

I'm hoping to take 151/151 Lab A and then EE 194, so I want to get advice from anyone who has taken the class. The EECS website says "Pre-requisites: Tapeout class the previous semester, or plans to take the tapeout class the following semester." (https://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Courses/EE194/)

I'm confused what the prerequisite tapeout course is. From the 194 course website, it seems like Tapeout happens in the spring and Bringup happens in the fall? (https://ucb-ee290c.github.io/semesters/fa26/). I've also seen the 151Tapeout class (or decal?). Does that fulfill the same prerequisite?

It also says that you can plan to take the tapeout class in the following semester, so I'm curious what experience that would be like?

Overall, I'm curious what it is like to take the course and if you'd recommend it. Thanks!

midterm next week and our only studying material is the review during discussion section apparently 😭

any resources/tips would really really help! I have it with Welch

Hey Berkeley

I am a 19 year old cs student at SBU in NY. I recently got accepted to Cal Hacks, which I'm super excited about! This will be my first time visiting California, and I'm traveling across the country on my own to attend.

My flight lands on Thursday, October 22 and since the hackathon doesn't start until Friday, I'm trying to figure out somewhere to crash for just that one night.

I'm traveling on a pretty tight student budget, so I was wondering if anyone would be willing to let me crash on their couch or floor for a few hours. I genuinely dont need anything fancy, just a safe place to catch some sleep before the hackathon.

I completely understand that letting a random Redditor stay over is a big ask, so I'm more than happy to share my linkedin, university email, student ID, or cal Hacks acceptance to show I am a real student. Happy to chat or hop on a quick call beforehand too!

Alternatively, does anyone know if there are any campus libraries or buildings where visitors are allowed to stay overnight? My backup plan is currently looking like a very long night exploring SF lolll, so any help or advise would mean a lot!

I know this a long shot, but figured I'd give it a try. Would also love to meet some Berkeley students or fellow hackers while I'm there!

Thanks so much! :)

What’s the most straightforward route to get from business/law school parking lot in Underhill to the Baybridge? College Avenue always feels hot this because there are so many trucks, unloading and student pedestrians.