Another worrying problem is that recently the school has not had the financial resources to look after the increasing number of students. Because Berkeley is a state institution and accepts public subsidies, it has the duty to accept as many California applicants as possible. This has created a crisis of overcrowding for undergrads.
和生活環境同樣令人擔憂的，則是近年來學校的財政無法照顧愈來愈多的學生，由於柏克萊是州立大學，財政上接受州政府的補助，有義務擔負加州學生的教育責任，州政府也要求學校儘量不要拒收申請入大學部念書的加州當地學生，造成大學部人滿為患。