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. You will need 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.

New Member Eligibility:

For Fall & Spring terms:

• Registered U.C. Berkeley students, including Freshman Extension
• Students at other post-secondary academic institutions, under the following criteria:

Full time student (as defined by your college or university)AND

Working toward recognized academic goals (examples include being enrolled in a degree program or obtaining a teaching credential) -- -AND

More than half of the units must be in a classroom setting (i.e. – all of your units cannot be internet or distance learning courses).

For Summer:

• You are a full-time student at a college or university (UCB or another) during the Spring term, working toward a recognized academic goal
• You will be a full-time student at a College/University (UCB or another) for the upcoming Fall term
• You will be taking classes at UC Berkeley summer session or enrolled full-time at another college/university during Summer.

Note on UC Extension and UC Concurrent Enrollment:

With the exception of UC Freshman Extension program, the University does NOT recognize student enrolled through UC Extension (concurrent enrollment or otherwise) as registered U.C. Berkeley Students. Therefore, if you are taking courses through UC Extension (concurrent enrollment or otherwise), you must provide verification that you are fulfilling academic requirements in furtherance of a recognized academic goal. The type of verification required will be determined on a case-by-case basis, so you will need to contact the BSC staff to discuss your specific situation and to obtain approval of your eligibility.