UVA vs. Berkeley -- NEED HELP!! Forum

[djones215]

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[xylocarp]

Have you tried negotiating with UVA? Also, did you get an offer from Duke?

Please post:

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

[LoganCouture]

To my understanding, COL will be much higher at Berkeley so you should consider that when making your decision.

I know nothing about how well the B degree will carry to the southeast but I imagine/speculate UVA or Duke would do better there.

I personally think you should take UVA but definitely try to negotiate.

[NoLieAbility]

I'm literally torn half and half on this decision!

Forget law school. Seek medical attention.

[thatsnotmyname]

As you mentioned, I would think that UVA would make it much easier to get back to Atlanta and the southeast in general. I think you have a valid concern about Berkeley's ability to get you back to the southeast. I'm curious to get some Berkeley student opinions on this. I'd bet that getting back to the southeast would require a lot more legwork on your part from Berkeley than it would from UVA.

In terms of costs, based on what has been posted on TLS it seems like UVA is basically out of money and telling applicants to not expect any more scholarship money to become available. It's always worth a shot to ask. However, keep in mind that Berkeley is in a much higher cost of living area than UVA and once you factor that in, it probably takes that $28K you calculated and reduces it to a really negligible difference in cost between the two schools.

If I were deadset on the southeast after law school, I would take UVA in your situation over Berkeley.

[djones215]

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[BigZuck]

I didn't apply to Duke

Why not?

[djones215]

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[BigZuck]

I didn't apply to Duke

Why not?

Because people like @NoLieAbility go there. , no really, I live near Durham now and I just never saw Duke as being a good "fit" for me as far as school culture. Plus, my extended family would probably disown me (UNC fans).

School culture? Whatever that is, it likely doesn't exist and if it does it doesn't matter.

This is problematic because you're going to be in a metric buttload of debt from either school and you shot yourself in the foot before the race even started. Wanting to practice in the Southeast and not applying to Duke (and yet somehow still applying to Berkeley?) is not good. I think it might be best to do a do over and have a proper cycle unless you've already over performed your numbers.

What is your lsat/gpa?

[thatsnotmyname]

I didn't apply to Duke

Why not?

Because people like @NoLieAbility go there. , no really, I live near Durham now and I just never saw Duke as being a good "fit" for me as far as school culture. Plus, my extended family would probably disown me (UNC fans).

I think most of that school culture you associate with Duke is attributable to the undergraduate student body and not the law school. If you want to disqualify schools based on "fit" you might as well disqualify UVA as well where the undergraduate student body is pretty similar to Duke.

You really should've applied to Duke for the opportunity to leverage their scholarship offer against other schools not to mention it's probably the lower T14 that could place you in the southeast most easily. Who knows maybe once you visited the law school you would've really liked it, I'm sure your extended family would've forgiven you - I've known a few UNC undergrad kids that went to Duke for grad school (vice versa also).

[Rigo]

I'm literally torn half and half on this decision!

Forget law school. Seek medical attention.

haha I appreciate this.

I think UVA is the way to go here. However, what makes you say you want to clerk? In all likelihood, you won't be an A3 clerk out of either school. Other than initially clerking out of law school, what are your long term career goals?

[chuckbass]

UVA for sure given your goals, however it could be a good idea to sit out this year and apply to Duke next year and see if you can get a better offer there, or possibly more money from UVA early.

Also as an earlier poster said, the culture at Duke, while mainly attributed to its undergrad, is very similar to UVA so this is not only a dumb consideration but you're quite a bit off.

[NoLieAbility]

I didn't apply to Duke

Why not?

Because people like @NoLieAbility go there.

Seems legit. Though, in all fairness to Duke Law, I have not yet begun to perfect my Dukie douche qualities. They just saw enough potential in my popped collar and aviator sunglasses to give me a chance.

If I were you, I'd go to UVA. Of the two schools, I'd imagine that UVA is more likely to dedicate resources to secondary markets in the south - though you might want to reach out to some UVA students/alums on that. And, while I think the conventional wisdom is to not put much weight in political ideology in picking a law school, it might be worthwhile where Berkeley is concerned. It's widely regarded as a liberal think-tank in the South, which might close certain doors for you.

[Nomo]

I wouldn't make your desire to clerk a part of your decision. Its a great job for future litigators, but its a one year job, and its not going to make or break your career.

I'm having trouble making a recommendation because I'm not sure what your total debt at repayment will be for each school.

Also, agreed that if you want to practice in the southeast its crazy not to apply to Duke, no matter how you feel about the culture. When I was applying to schools I thought school culture was important. But at this point I'm pretty sure that its a very marginal factor. Plus, you really should be blanketing the T14 for scholarship negotiation purposes. A lot of times you only need a big scholarship from one school to get the school you're really interested in to substantially increase your scholarship.

I think you misplayed the cycle, and your best bet is to reapply next year, casting a wider net.

PS: What type of law do you want to practice? Could UNC, Emory, or UGA make sense for your goals?

[Mack.Hambleton]

Please post:

[quote]-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

[djones215]

Ok, for those pushing Duke... you all have fair points and in hindsight, I would've applied to Duke to leverage more money from other schools. I have visited Duke (law school, not undergrad) and know people who attend now. I've visited UVA as well. I'm familiar with both places. I'm not just pulling opinions of Duke from the air. I liked UVA, I didn't like Duke (it's not all school culture, I'm not a huge fan of Durham/change of scenery). I casted a wide net for law school (mainly because of TFA fee waivers) & considered acceptances/$$ from other schools closer to my geographic preference (Vandy, Emory, UGA, UT, Gtown, GW, etc), and I'm still waiting on places like UPenn, Chicago, & Northwestern. At this stage in the game, I think whether I should've, could've, or would've applied to Duke is a moot point. Unless UPenn comes with an amazing scholarship package in less than a week, it's between UVA and Berkeley and I just need some advice on those 2 schools given the circumstances.

[chuckbass]

Then UVA. Berkeley makes no sense for your goals relative to UVA.

[BigZuck]

Ok, for those pushing Duke... you all have fair points and in hindsight, I would've applied to Duke to leverage more money from other schools. I have visited Duke (law school, not undergrad) and know people who attend now. I've visited UVA as well. I'm familiar with both places. I'm not just pulling opinions of Duke from the air. I liked UVA, I didn't like Duke (it's not all school culture, I'm not a huge fan of Durham/change of scenery). I casted a wide net for law school (mainly because of TFA fee waivers) & considered acceptances/$$ from other schools closer to my geographic preference (Vandy, Emory, UGA, UT, Gtown, GW, etc), and I'm still waiting on places like UPenn, Chicago, & Northwestern. At this stage in the game, I think whether I should've, could've, or would've applied to Duke is a moot point. Unless UPenn comes with an amazing scholarship package in less than a week, it's between UVA and Berkeley and I just need some advice on those 2 schools given the circumstances.

People are trying to give you the absolute 100% best advice possible tailored to your exact circumstances.

To that end, what is your gpa/lsat?

Also, it's definitely not moot. Not at all. You can reapply next year.

[Rigo]

what are your long term career goals?

[CanadianWolf]

OP: Based on your initial post in this thread, you seem to have a clear grasp on the strengths of your two top options. In my opinion, it depends upon how set you are on returning to Georgia. If definite, then Vanderbilt, Emory &, maybe, Georgia will enhance their scholarship offers. Regardless, Virginia remains your top option for the South & for clerkships in that region. Nevertheless, if you're willing to consider a different area of the country, then Berkeley is a great option.