Eligibility Guidelines

Prospective Members:

In order to become a member of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, applicants must meet our eligibility guidelines as a full-time student. We will ask you to provide the relevant verification with your summer application; fall & spring applicants will be asked to provide verification during the term.

We welcome full-time students from all post-secondary academic institutions. While the majority of our members are full-time students at the University of California at Berkeley, we also have many students who are completing their general education requirements at local community colleges (Berkeley City College, Diablo Valley College, etc) and also students at working toward undergraduate and graduate degrees at other local 4-year colleges and Universities (Cal State East Bay, Mills, San Francisco State, just to name a few).

Full-time status is determined by your college. Most colleges on the semester system require a student to be enrolled in 12 units minimum to be considered full-time, although colleges will vary and will also make accommodations for students with disabilities. You should check with your college or university to determine the unit requirements to be considered a full-time student.

Members new to the co-op MUST fulfill student eligibility requirements in their first academic (i.e. – fall or spring) semester of residency in the co-op. After a member’s first semester in the co-op, the eligibility categories expand a bit to include opportunities to continue living in the co-op while occasionally taking a reduced courseload, taking a semester off to do an internship, or taking courses to fulfill a specific academic requirement for graduate school. However, these eligibility categories do NOT apply to new members without prior approval of our Administrative Committee.

Before you sign your contract and move in, please be sure to confirm your eligibility for membership. Failure to meet eligibility requirements is a breach of Section 1 of the co-op membership agreement. Should you move into the co-op and fail to meet our eligibility requirements, your membership will be terminated in bad standing, and there are financial penalties associated with this. Losing eligibility during the term will result in a $150 breach of contract fee, unless the Administrative Committee finds that the circumstances are beyond your control. Intentional violations of eligibility requirements (i.e. – taking up residency knowing you will not meet the requirements) will result in a $400 breach of contract fee.