Applying to Boalt, boosting my softs? Forum

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Da1andOnlyPharo

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Applying to Boalt, boosting my softs?

Post by Da1andOnlyPharo » Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:50 am

Hey everyone, I'd like some input on Boalt admissions.

Boalt seems to place a huge amount of emphasis on softs, at least in the realm of work experience/extracurriculars/unusual backgrounds. My hard numbers are honestly not that great, with my current being 3.33/171 and my best case scenario graduation numbers @ 3.51/171. I've already accepted the fact that there's almost no way I'd get into Boalt unless I waited a year to bring my GPA up and maybe get some WE, so the first part of my question is do you guys think this whole thing is worth committing to? As in, is it worth putting off school for a year to increase my CHANCES of getting into my dream school? I'm kind of obsessed, I'm in this mode where I don't even want to go anywhere else besides it.

The main reason I'm posting this, however, is because, say I do wait and have a year to do something with my life to increase my chances for getting into Boalt, what do you guys recommend? I'm a finance major now, looking to go into entrepreneurial/M&A/venture capital law, (sorry if this sounds like a stimulus for a writing sample but...) Discuss the following options for maximizing my chances of getting into Boalt Hall and suggest alternatives if you think there are better ones.
-Move to the west coast and try to get experience working with a start-up company
-Get any sort of finance work in a well-established company
-Travel as much as I can, and learn another language
-Dedicate myself to volunteer work
-Focus on developing leadership skills.

Sorry, I know this is a lot but anyone who has something valuable to help me figure things out has my deepest gratitude.

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buckilaw

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Re: Applying to Boalt, boosting my softs?

Post by buckilaw » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:02 am

you do realize Boalt is the most expensive T-14, that you have little chance of getting in there, have a good chance of getting in at at least 1 other T-14, that delaying graduation for a year won't raise your gpa above their median? What aversion do you have to the rest of the T-14?

Da1andOnlyPharo

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Re: Applying to Boalt, boosting my softs?

Post by Da1andOnlyPharo » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:20 am

buckilaw wrote:you do realize Boalt is the most expensive T-14, that you have little chance of getting in there, have a good chance of getting in at at least 1 other T-14, that delaying graduation for a year won't raise your gpa above their median? What aversion do you have to the rest of the T-14?
I'm not going to delay graduation, I'm delaying applying. (I'd still apply this cycle just to see what I'm working with but eyes are still set on Boalt). I wasn't too worried about the costs...I mean, i'll be upfront and say that I'm poor as shit, but is there really that much of a difference between 70K and 65K? Boalts aid is primarily need-based and they match offers from other peer schools, so i figured the costs will eventually be about the same.

I'm primarily interested in Boalt because of the field of law I'm studying, a lot of entrepreneurial stuff has and will continue to go on at the west coast so it makes sense to go to a school out there and pass the bar there. additionally, Boalt is pretty focused on IP law which means I'll be surrounded by a bunch of technically focused people; it'd be brilliant for networking for someone goin into entrepreneurial/business law like myself.

anyways, really feel like I'd fit in with the culture over there and all that, so I'm kinda tunnel visioned on it.

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