Is Berkeley worth the new COA? Forum

[Na_Swatch]

They also have by far the lowest LSAT ranges for a top 8 school. There is probably some selectivity in regards to applicants who most likely won't get into other T6's so that they will be much more likely to matriculate at Berkeley. Thus not a direct YP of high numbers, but more of an admissions bent towards high GPA, lower LSAT type applicants.

I also didn't do the tailored PS for Berkeley so that couldn't have helped.

I got in with a 173 / 3.91 and my numbers twin was accepted with a 173 / 3.93.

Tailored PS / and or located on West Coast? I got into Duke since I was near the area without doing anything special

[Kronk]

They also have by far the lowest LSAT ranges for a top 8 school. There is probably some selectivity in regards to applicants who most likely won't get into other T6's so that they will be much more likely to matriculate at Berkeley. Thus not a direct YP of high numbers, but more of an admissions bent towards high GPA, lower LSAT type applicants.

I also didn't do the tailored PS for Berkeley so that couldn't have helped.

I got in with a 173 / 3.91 and my numbers twin was accepted with a 173 / 3.93.

Tailored PS / and or located on West Coast? I got into Duke since I was near the area without doing anything special

2pg PS not tailored to Berkeley and I'm from Colorado. I don't know about her, though.

[Na_Swatch]

They also have by far the lowest LSAT ranges for a top 8 school. There is probably some selectivity in regards to applicants who most likely won't get into other T6's so that they will be much more likely to matriculate at Berkeley. Thus not a direct YP of high numbers, but more of an admissions bent towards high GPA, lower LSAT type applicants.

I also didn't do the tailored PS for Berkeley so that couldn't have helped.

I got in with a 173 / 3.91 and my numbers twin was accepted with a 173 / 3.93.

Tailored PS / and or located on West Coast? I got into Duke since I was near the area without doing anything special

2pg PS not tailored to Berkeley and I'm from Colorado. I don't know about her, though.

When I say West Coast, I mean anything west of Texas (at least in terms of law school admissions)

[Kronk]

Well I think she's from Philly. But either way, I think Berkeley is just a crapshoot.

[los blancos]

Na_Swatch, when did you apply?

[los blancos]

Conventional wisdom among credentialed observers of the UC school system is that Berkeley is not worth the new COA.

I'm hardly unbiased because Berk was/is my top choice and I was perfectly willing to go there for sticker, but come on.

[Na_Swatch]

Na_Swatch, when did you apply?

Hmm, don't quite remember. 1st week of October?

[los blancos]

Na_Swatch, when did you apply?

Hmm, don't quite remember. 1st week of October?

Strange. Just shows how much of a black box Berkeley can be I guess. I applied in the last week of December and was FRed with numbers that weren't even close to yours (slightly below 25th GPA and slightly above 75th LSAT). That said, over half of my PS was a love letter to them expressing why I felt that it was the best fit and why it was my top choice. I even made a binding commitment to attend.

I'm convinced I would've been accepted had I applied earlier, which is why I'll be really tempted to just re-apply next cycle if I don't get FR love and the rest of my choices are unspectacular.

[postitnotes]

Yeah, Berkeley seems to be doing straight dings that are more like YP this year... just rejected with 172+, 3.90+ recently

Berkeley doesn't YP. They've consistently had one of the lowest acceptance rates in the country in recent cycles. They care about a lot more than numbers.

They also have by far the lowest LSAT ranges for a top 8 school. There is probably some selectivity in regards to applicants who most likely won't get into other T6's so that they will be much more likely to matriculate at Berkeley. Thus not a direct YP of high numbers, but more of an admissions bent towards high GPA, lower LSAT type applicants.

I also didn't do the tailored PS for Berkeley so that couldn't have helped.

+1. Berkeley has the lowest LSAT interquartile range and median out of every top 14 school, except for Cornell. Most cross admits seem to choose CCN and I know a quite a few people at my school MVP who came here instead, partly because our school offered more money and partly because of where they wanted to work. Berkeley's yield rate (1/3) is about the same as every other school in the top 10 outside of HYS, so I can see it YP-ing those with high LSATs and high GPAs.

[Kronk]

+1. Berkeley has the lowest LSAT interquartile range and median out of every top 14 school, except for Cornell. Most cross admits seem to choose CCN and I know a quite a few people at my school MVP who came here instead, partly because our school offered more money and partly because of where they wanted to work. Berkeley's yield rate (1/3) is about the same as every other school in the top 10 outside of HYS, so I can see it YP-ing those with high LSATs and high GPAs.

False. Berkeley's yield is tied with Columbia for 4th best in the nation. Most T14s are in the 20's. UVA and Michigan are in the low thirties not much, but still below Berkeley's.

[postitnotes]

+1. Berkeley has the lowest LSAT interquartile range and median out of every top 14 school, except for Cornell. Most cross admits seem to choose CCN and I know a quite a few people at my school MVP who came here instead, partly because our school offered more money and partly because of where they wanted to work. Berkeley's yield rate (1/3) is about the same as every other school in the top 10 outside of HYS, so I can see it YP-ing those with high LSATs and high GPAs.

Extremely false. Berkeley's yield is tied with Columbia for 4th best in the nation. Most T14s are in the 20's. UVA and Michigan are in the low thirties not much, but still below Berkeley's.

? Berkeley's yield rate is 34%...I hope you realize 1 divided by 3= 33.3333%. UVA's yield rate is 31% and Michigan's yield is 32%. They pretty much have the same yield, all around 1/3.

http://berkeley.lawschoolnumbers.com/

[Kronk]

Chicago's is 26. Penn's is 28. Duke is 20. Northwestern is 27.

[Na_Swatch]

+1. Berkeley has the lowest LSAT interquartile range and median out of every top 14 school, except for Cornell. Most cross admits seem to choose CCN and I know a quite a few people at my school MVP who came here instead, partly because our school offered more money and partly because of where they wanted to work. Berkeley's yield rate (1/3) is about the same as every other school in the top 10 outside of HYS, so I can see it YP-ing those with high LSATs and high GPAs.

Extremely false. Berkeley's yield is tied with Columbia for 4th best in the nation. Most T14s are in the 20's. UVA and Michigan are in the low thirties not much, but still below Berkeley's.

He's right about the LSAT ranges tho. BoalTTT has a 25th LSAT of 164. Nobody is that low in the T14, not even Georgetown.




hahaha Just pointing it out for fun. You're going to Harvard anyways Kronk

[Kronk]

The bottom quartile at Berkeley can't say the alphabet; but they're selective, damnit!

[postitnotes]

Chicago's is 26. Penn's is 28. Duke is 20. Northwestern is 27.

With the exception of Duke, the other schools have similar yields. Michigan, Virginia, and Berkeley have almost identical yields. I think Chicago's slightly lower yield is partly because it admits more cross admits with Columbia and NYU and loses out to them.

[Na_Swatch]

The bottom quartile at Berkeley can't say the alphabet; but they're selective, damnit!

Notice how Virginia, which is notorious for something (i can't quite put my finger on it, has to do with the letters, E,D,Y, & P) and Berkeley have similar yield rates??

"Come Watson Come! Something is Afoot!"

[Kronk]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

[Na_Swatch]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

Sherlock Holmes disagrees...

--ImageRemoved--

[los blancos]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

This is true to a certain extent, but I think it's also really attractive for its small class size and grading system. Especially the grading system.

[Kronk]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

This is true to a certain extent, but I think it's also really attractive for its small class size and grading system. Especially the grading system.

Yeah. The grading system + the west is probably the biggest reasons I would consider it over Chicago or NYU.

[los blancos]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

This is true to a certain extent, but I think it's also really attractive for its small class size and grading system. Especially the grading system.

Yeah. The grading system + the west is probably the biggest reasons I would consider it over Chicago or NYU.

Yeah, and the overall experience is so different, too. Chicago is probably my next realistic choice after Berkeley, but it's just so far behind because I think I'd have a strong love/hate relationship (love amazing career prospects/hate super competitive environment) with it.

[Dignan]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

I agree, but isn't that a factor in Berkeley's favor? I mean, Berkeley is easily the second best law school west of the Mississippi, and its graduates benefit from that reputation. A peer school like Penn, on other hand, is the maybe the fifth best law school in its general geographic area, getting outcompeted by YHCC.

[Kronk]

Despite it's reputation, I doubt it is any more competitive than a bunch of law schools in the T14. I've heard HYSB (no grades) and NYU (too much fun) are pretty lax, but I bet MVPDCNG are pretty cutthroat. Columbia is just as bad as Chicago too.

Dresden and Doyle both said that the "academic rigor" wasn't that bad. Even if it is, when they're putting 75% of their class into NLJ250 firms and 70% into Vault 100, who cares what rank you are?

[Kronk]

I think Berkeley just benefits from being the only T14 outside of Stanford that is in the West.

I agree, but isn't that a factor in Berkeley's favor? I mean, Berkeley is easily the second best law school west of the Mississippi, and its graduates benefit from that reputation. A peer school like Penn, on other hand, is the maybe the fifth best law school in its general geographic area, getting outcompeted by YHCC.

I meant that is why it has such a high yield. Not about the school in general.

[postitnotes]

Yeah, and the overall experience is so different, too. Chicago is probably my next realistic choice after Berkeley, but it's just so far behind because I think I'd have a strong love/hate relationship (love amazing career prospects/hate super competitive environment) with it.

Keep in mind that it is competitive at every top 14 law school, especially ITE when you need H and HHs to have a real shot at jobs out of Berk. A semester of P, P, H is around median at Berk, so to stand out you need multiple Hs.