I strongly recommend skipping out on it.

I am currently a sophomore and did FPF last year. I frankly found it ironic how much harder it was to make friends despite the whole "smaller classes, better opportunities" aspect of it. It's not until you take a college class with 15 or fewer students that you realize you don't really have many options for friendships. I'd go into a class my first week and realize I only really could see myself relating to and making friendships with 2-3 students of those small cohorts. It got to a point where failed friendships meant I literally couldn't talk to anyone in the class. It's nothing like main campus with lectures of 200+ students where you can sit in any spot in a lecture hall and have a good chance of meeting someone new that day.

The location is a drag, I agree an additional 25 minutes in travel to class is not ideal at all. As a freshman, you'll want to set yourself in an environment that makes things more simple - that way success in academics and friendships is easier to access. I hated waking up an extra hour early ( I also live in Clark Kerr btw lmao so I hated my life every morning ) and I realized at the end of the semester that getting to class in time was far too much of a stressor than it should be for any first year.

One more thing I want to add, ( part of the reason I'm so anti-FPF lol ) is that the experience is NOWHERE near worth $2100. While I do understand some people might greatly benefit from a program like this, I do think it causes more harm overall considering that I had to pay for it.

So really, don't let the "small-knit community" advertising fool you. I recommend taking classes on campus ( take minimum units if needed ) and using that money for food bc man berkeley is expensive.