Will Berkeley be easier to get into? Forum

[Tom Joad]

Do you think schools that have dropped in the rankings will be less attractive to people with the highest numbers and have more room in their classes for people with lower numbers? I think that is one possibility that could happen, but I also think that schools that recently dropped in their ranking could focus on numbers for the next for years in order to raise their USNEWS ranking.

I would really like to get into Berkeley and its ranking is still so high dropping a few spots doesn't mean much to me when I think it has so many other things to offer that don't depend on some ranking. I would just like to get in and as I haven't taken the LSAT yet and have a high GPA I need some extra hope.

[orm518]

I think most people would agree, no matter what your stats, ED to UVA. Forget Cal.

[99.9luft]

Do you think schools that have dropped in the rankings will be less attractive to people with the highest numbers and have more room in their classes for people with lower numbers? I think that is one possibility that could happen, but I also think that schools that recently dropped in their ranking could focus on numbers for the next for years in order to raise their USNEWS ranking.

I would really like to get into Berkeley and its ranking is still so high dropping a few spots doesn't mean much to me when I think it has so many other things to offer that don't depend on some ranking. I would just like to get in and as I haven't taken the LSAT yet and have a high GPA I need some extra hope.

I was curious about this too. Probably the drop won't mean easier admissions. However, i like the drop because it will eliminate some of the rankings-whores applying to Cal. Excited to apply next year.

[Magnolia]

People who have the numbers to go to Berkeley are not going to be swayed by a change in the rankings. It's still a fucking good school and will attract the same caliber of applicants it does every year. Keep up your high GPA, rock the LSAT and be one of those high caliber applicants.

[run26.2]

It is not likely that a drop of 2 places in USNWR will materially affect the quality of the applicants that apply. Most people on this board generally recognize the similarity of the quality of the schools ranked from 7-10 (MPVB).

Furthermore, if this were to mean fewer "numerically qualified" individuals applied, this would likely be offset by other "less numerically qualified" individuals. At a school like Berkeley, which seems to account more for other parts of the application, this could actually work to your disadvantage, unless you happen to be a person who compares very favorably in other ways to the general applicant.

[lovejopd]

Maybe more people are likely to apply for the Berkeley because of the drop of LSAT and Ranking. Look at its Acceptance Rate..around 10%? They will profit no matter what...I really want to go there so I study for the second mid term Human Communication exam now to boost my GPA Love you Berkeley

p.s. I got my Avatar. Does anybody love "Ladybird" in the King of the Hill? My all time favorite one haha

[pwyoung]

Isn't a huge part of admissions the school's selectivity? If anything they might up their difficulty to grab some spots back.

[Hattori Hanzo]

This is purely anecdotal but I think it will get easier. It isn't the 2 pt drop in the ranking this year per se but the general idea that Cal is a school on decline (even before last year many people believed it was unjustifiably ranked so high). I was debating Cal. v. CLS last year (I am from California and intend to go back) and was considering Cal's ranking (close to CLS) and somewhat cheaper COA as +s for Cal. Neither apply anymore. If I was making that same decision this year, it wouldn't even be a question for me. I am assuming there are other people out there who think like that. So some students with higher_than_Cal numbers who would have considered it as an alternative to higher ranked schools will be out of the picture, leaving more spots open to people with lower stats.

[ArthurDigbySellers]

LOL. If anything, the schools that dropped will be loathe to let in many borderline people in hopes of increasing their medians.

[adt231]

LOL. If anything, the schools that dropped will be loathe to let in many borderline people in hopes of increasing their medians.

You're killing your father Larry...

[ArthurDigbySellers]

LOL. If anything, the schools that dropped will be loathe to let in many borderline people in hopes of increasing their medians.

You're killing your father Larry...

Have you ever heard of Vietnam?

[alexonfyre]

There are three people in this thread who understand reality.

Rankings whores blanket apply to T13. If Cal goes down it isn't because of its student quality rankings, it is because of other factors, like faculty and career numbers, or perhaps the 6 of swords came up when they were finalizing the rankings.

[txadv11]

There are three people in this thread who understand reality.

Rankings whores blanket apply to T13T14 . If Cal goes down it isn't because of its student quality rankings, it is because of other factors, like faculty and career numbers, or perhaps the 6 of swords came up when they were finalizing the rankings.

[clone22]

sorry broseph, its t13 now specifically to exclude texas

[5ky]

If it's easier to get in, it's because their tuition is outrageously expensive and nobody wants to go.

[Tom Joad]

If it's easier to get in, it's because their tuition is outrageously expensive and nobody wants to go.

Yeah but it is worth it since it is Berkeley. It was a center of the Civil Rights movement. You have a great chance to live and work in California your whole life. The Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, DJ Shadow, Sierra Nevada Brewery, etc. It is the place to be.

[coldshoulder]

It's the place to be if you like living in a failed state. The best days of California are behind it.

[powerlawyer06]

If it's easier to get in, it's because their tuition is outrageously expensive and nobody wants to go.

Yeah but it is worth it since it is Berkeley. It was a center of the Civil Rights movement. You have a great chance to live and work in California your whole life. The Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, DJ Shadow, Sierra Nevada Brewery, etc. It is the place to be.

LOL at advocating "going" to CAL with your Screen Name and Tar.

[pwyoung]

It's the place to be if you like living in a failed state. The best days of California are behind it.

This guy.

[whymeohgodno]

Pretty sure berkeley doesn't care

[ArthurDigbySellers]

It's the place to be if you like living in a failed state. The best days of California are behind it.

Lol @ failed state. But yes. You can live in SoCal, urban sprawl nightmare populated by human refuse, or San Francisco-just as dirty and expensive as New York except everything's illegal.

But if I were wealthy I would get a house in Carmel...

[run26.2]

There are three people in this thread who understand reality.

Rankings whores blanket apply to T13. If Cal goes down it isn't because of its student quality rankings, it is because of other factors, like faculty and career numbers, or perhaps the 6 of swords came up when they were finalizing the rankings.

I completely agree is attributable most likely to some slight variation in some factor at B or one of the other relevant schools, or some slight calculation change. Regardless of the cause, it is unlikely to have a noticeable effect on the applicant pool.

None of the schools in the T13, T14, T15 -- call it what you like -- is in "decline." They are all fantastic schools comprised of excellent faculties and students. If a person can get into 1 or more of said schools, that person has an opportunity to get an excellent legal education. With that said, I personally would not want my school to be easier to get into for me or for any other person.

[5ky]

If it's easier to get in, it's because their tuition is outrageously expensive and nobody wants to go.

Yeah but it is worth it since it is Berkeley. It was a center of the Civil Rights movement. You have a great chance to live and work in California your whole life. The Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, DJ Shadow, Sierra Nevada Brewery, etc. It is the place to be.

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6943.htm

For an out-of-state student starting next year, Berkeley will cost 76k for the first year, and 79k for the second year (provided they don't establish in-state residency). Given the fact that Berkeley isn't nearly as generous in handing out aid packages, would you really advocate a person go to Berkeley at a cost of 225k compared to 100k at Michigan or UVa if they got a decent scholarship? CA cannot be that great. This, and only this, was the premier reason why I did not go to Berkeley.

[run26.2]

If it's easier to get in, it's because their tuition is outrageously expensive and nobody wants to go.

Yeah but it is worth it since it is Berkeley. It was a center of the Civil Rights movement. You have a great chance to live and work in California your whole life. The Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, DJ Shadow, Sierra Nevada Brewery, etc. It is the place to be.

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6943.htm

For an out-of-state student starting next year, Berkeley will cost 76k for the first year, and 79k for the second year (provided they don't establish in-state residency). Given the fact that Berkeley isn't nearly as generous in handing out aid packages, would you really advocate a person go to Berkeley at a cost of 225k compared to 100k at Michigan or UVa if they got a decent scholarship? CA cannot be that great. This, and only this, was the premier reason why I did not go to Berkeley.

In addition to the concern about scholarship, a consideration of the cost of living in the area where your school is located, if you want to work there post-graduation, is important. If you go to Berkeley because you want to work in the Bay Area, the COL will make it even harder to pay off the debt versus going to UVA for DC or Michigan for say Chicago.

Of course, you may not go there for these reasons, but according to the poster above, it provides a great chance to live and work their all your life.

[sarahh]

For an out-of-state student starting next year, Berkeley will cost 76k for the first year, and 79k for the second year (provided they don't establish in-state residency). Given the fact that Berkeley isn't nearly as generous in handing out aid packages, would you really advocate a person go to Berkeley at a cost of 225k compared to 100k at Michigan or UVa if they got a decent scholarship? CA cannot be that great. This, and only this, was the premier reason why I did not go to Berkeley.

I would not have applied if I was out of state. There is always going to interest, because there is always going to be people who want to be in California and don't get into Stanford, but I would imagine it will be a less appealing option for people who are willing to be elsewhere. I was all gung-ho about Berkeley in the beginning because I live nearby and want to work here after graduating. But with the tuition increases, not geting any money from them, getting a significant amount of money from a peer school, and getting into higher-ranked schools, I will not be going to Berkeley.