Top Law Schools

So I'm definitely leaning toward Berkeley at this point. Love the location, laid back atmosphere, and a billion other things about them, but I'm wondering how the budget cuts are going to effect the program in the long run. Anyone have any ideas on this?

I'm most worried about the school's LRAP. In light of the state's massive budget cuts trickling down to Cal, is that going to dry up money in the LRAP? I'd hate to find this out a few hundred thousand dollars too late. Also, how is this going to influence their ability to retain top-notch faculty?

I think this is on the minds of a lot of Berkeley applicants. I'm guessing that they wouldn't have a problem keeping top-notch faculty, but tuition and fees will skyrocket in order for them to maintain their programs. LRAP could be trimmed. Jerry Brown did say the budget cuts were going to hurt.

From the website:
Our LRAP is funded primarily by the Professional Degree Fee and is not dependent on state funding.

It would've been preferable to have this discussion in one of the "ask about Boalt" threads instead of here. You're going to get a lot of trolls.

That being said, having sat through multiple presentations and discussions on the budget and having spent a fair amount of time thinking about the issue, this is what I have observed:

- Before Jerry Brown made the continued cuts, we received a paltry amount of money from the state. I believe our yearly operating budget is around $40M or $50M, and last year we received about $4M from the state.
- Boalt has continued to expand LRAP and is now linking it with the Federal loan repayment program. After 10 years of repayment, provided you meet the qualifications, your loans will be forgiven. Read about it here: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6190.htm
- As with most things in life, LRAP is not 100% guaranteed. That being said, it seems highly unlikely that Boalt would demolish one of its strongest selling points. Right now the income cap is at $65k/$100k. If the program were to get into trouble, I could see this lowering. However, please go back and reread that sentence- there has been no indication that the program is in trouble or that LRAP will get worse going forward.

I'm sure we'll see a ton of speculation about the CA economy, government, budget, etc. The law school really isn't that tied to UC funding. It would be my guess that fees will stabilize and continue to rise in line with the other top schools. Faculty will be kept, the new parts of the building will be open and the UCs as a whole will continue to suffer, but Boalt's budget was cut in the round of cuts in the 90s and at the turn of the 21st century. There's not really much left to cut.