Official UC-Berkeley Transfer Thread Forum

[98234872348]

Arrow, can you be a bit more specific about how transfers should expect to do at OCI?

[Badger3920]

Man, congrats guys.

Feeling pretty terrible. Within top 5% at a bay area school, did not get the call. Oh well...

[solidsnake]

Dean Tom said the official email/packet will be sent out in one big group around july 1st, so there may be another wave or two of acceptances before then, and certainly after then if and when any admittees decline their offer. So don't lose hope!

[kings84_wr]

haha Once again top 7 % at IU is not enough to get the call. Its starting to be an annoying theme.

Edit to add: i did notice on my status checker my phone # is wrong, but i doubt thats what happened

[solidsnake]

Cal called only -- no email (and no voicemail or status change for that matter). If your phone number is wrong, that could be it, man. I suggest you call/email the admissions office on Monday to correct your phone number.

[transferhopeful12]

Anyone know if CA residency helps for Cal transfer admissions?

[kings84_wr]

Anyone know if CA residency helps for Cal transfer admissions?

Didn't help me yet

[Lawl Shcool]

Re: residency

anyone know what it takes to be a resident / get in-state?

[worldtraveler]

To those of you with questions about housing:

I'm a Berkeley student and I live at the i-house, which is right across the street from the law school. There are only about 12 JD students here but a lot of other grad students. It's half-international, half-US students. Every grad student/law student gets a single room. There is also a meal plan. Basically, it's a typical dorm but full of really cool, really smart people from all over the world. Most people leave here with really strong friendships.
I absolutely love it here and so do the other law students who live here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you are interested, I would recommend applying fairly soon to ensure that you get a spot. Last year there were plenty of openings but it varies.

[Arrow]

Arrow, can you be a bit more specific about how transfers should expect to do at OCI?

I have only a small sample of knowledge (along with what career services told us in this presentation), but I feel like transfers should expect similar OCI results as the regular students. If you had grades beyond what was necessary for admission at Boalt (top 1% at T2, top 5% at T1, top 10% at T14), you are almost guaranteed to do well just based on grades. Firms still like transfers, and while some feel like they did get screwed this last year, everyone kind of got screwed this last year, so it is hard to say. Overall though, EVERYONE has a job by now, as I do not know a single person with no 2L summer job (unlike at my old school, which seems to be tougher). However, to be realistic, OCI was overall a slaughter compared to previous years. Callbacks were much lower, and offers were lower, but I didn't notice any specific trends for transfers. This coming fall should be better, but firms will likely be cautious and overall offers will not be much higher.

If you have any doubts about transferring, I still think it is better to transfer. While OCI is no guarantee anymore, it is much better at Boalt than my old school. At Boalt, I felt like 100+ students got jobs through OCI, while at my old school, only about 5 people did according to my friends who did interviews, each with only 1-3 callbacks.

One last thing about Boalt is that you should definitely pick a journal and join it before you do OCI, and put it on your resume. Law review results won't be out, but if you can be an editor for a journal (any journal), that will look great. Some journals need more people, and you can just "sign up" to be an editor almost (though some you need to do a mini-write on I think).

Re: residency

anyone know what it takes to be a resident / get in-state?

You just have to have either gone to high school year or lived here for a year (with documents showing intent to stay like bank accounts, car registration, registration to vote here, addresses, etc.). The details are complex and they are mad strict about it (I lived in Cali for 10+ years and they still required me to submit like a ton of paperwork). Overall though, they are not as strict as the other states, and if you come here for 2L, you should be able to get in done for 3L year. Still, it is a lot of money. =\

Anyone know if CA residency helps for Cal transfer admissions?

I cannot imagine that it would. It might show that you want to practice around here or have connections here, but I can also see how the school would like to get that extra out of state tuition money. My transfer class had a LOT of people from out of state, enough to make me say that the majority was from out of state, with the rest being from Hastings, USF, and Santa Clara.

To those of you with questions about housing:

I'm a Berkeley student and I live at the i-house, which is right across the street from the law school. There are only about 12 JD students here but a lot of other grad students. It's half-international, half-US students. Every grad student/law student gets a single room. There is also a meal plan. Basically, it's a typical dorm but full of really cool, really smart people from all over the world. Most people leave here with really strong friendships.
I absolutely love it here and so do the other law students who live here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you are interested, I would recommend applying fairly soon to ensure that you get a spot. Last year there were plenty of openings but it varies.

What? All grad students get singles? And they were trying to get me to live in a double lol, but yeah I applied to I-house as a transfer and I REALLY REALLY wanted to live there because it was so close and it comes with albeit expensive food. However, transfers may not be able to get into I-house. I called them in June/July and they said they had spots, but I felt like they were full and just wanted my registration money. I applied (yes there is an application about how you are "international", got waitlisted, and that was that. Oh well. Yes, I am bitter lol.

Still though, great place to live overall, high in demand, and my current roommates lived there last year and they loved it as well, aside from having to eat there everyday (which is a risk/reward kinda thing).

[eddietx12]

know someone from a lower t14 who got into berkeley transfer with just-above-median grades. Getting into Berkeley as a transfer is kind of a backdoor for kids, its not as hard to get in as a transfer. And with a decent UGPA in poetry it doesn't seem to be too hard to get in the front door either. Seems like everyone and their mom got the Dean Tom call yesterday.

I would take Arrow's "t14 top 10%" thing and ignore it.

Trust me, if you're t14 top 10% and transferring - you're not going to "Berkeley"

[Bankhead]

know someone from a lower t14 who got into berkeley transfer with just-above-median grades. Getting into Berkeley as a transfer is kind of a backdoor for kids, its not as hard to get in as a transfer. And with a decent UGPA in poetry it doesn't seem to be too hard to get in the front door either. Seems like everyone and their mom got the Dean Tom call yesterday.

I would take Arrow's "t14 top 10%" thing and ignore it.

Trust me, if you're t14 top 10% and transferring - you're not going to "Berkeley"

Arrow is great, but I'm pretty sure with the numbers quoted he was confusing Cal with Harvard.

[Arrow]

know someone from a lower t14 who got into berkeley transfer with just-above-median grades. Getting into Berkeley as a transfer is kind of a backdoor for kids, its not as hard to get in as a transfer. And with a decent UGPA in poetry it doesn't seem to be too hard to get in the front door either. Seems like everyone and their mom got the Dean Tom call yesterday.

I would take Arrow's "t14 top 10%" thing and ignore it.

Trust me, if you're t14 top 10% and transferring - you're not going to "Berkeley"

Arrow is great, but I'm pretty sure with the numbers quoted he was confusing Cal with Harvard.

That's true haha, if you're in the top 10%, you have a great shot at HYS, but I guess I was thinking of a guy (one year above me) who lateralled over but was like top 10-15% at another T14 yet transferred to Berkeley for personal/family reasons. You can lateral to Boalt with the usual lateral numbers, but if you're way above it, OCI should still be a breeze. But you guys are definitely right though, if you got top 10% in the T14/T20, shoot for higher! =P

[eddietx12]

A transfer to Boalttt is not something to be proud of. They're gaming the system by admitting low-statistic transfers, collecting out-of-state checks, and you suckers are their pawns.

Berkeley is not a top law school, it barely belongs in the t10, MVPD >> B, harder to get into, etc.

I said before, and I'll say it again - you can get a dumbo GPA around the 3.8 mark in basket-weaving or kumbayah, and slide into Berkeley by a pedestrian LSAT, an LSAT which intends to measure in a standardized way, standardized for GPA that is.

BoalTTT has kids walking around in the 160's for LSAT, it is a certified TTT. The real school is about 20 mins south, Stanford.

Think about it. How hard was it to get a 167 on the LSAT? EASY for t14 kids. BoalTTT is the toilet for LSATs, and the only dopes who get in here are dopes with easy majors.

[eddietx12]

Why is BoalTTT even accredited as a law school?

They are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to share with Yale and Harvard, the no-grade policy.

Listen up BOALTTT: you have allowed sub-standard students who got 163s on the LSAT in your school. 25% of your kids got below this mark on the LSAT. Tons of kids shoot a 163 COLD having never TAKEN an LSAT. College GPAs are a joke at a lot of schools in this country, the LSAT is the only uniform measure, and BoalTTT kids FAIL in this regard.

By allowing a low 160s inchworm get a grading scale comparable to Yale, you're engaging in all out self-deception. You just ain't that good BOALTTT.

STOP IT.

[Journeybound]

Eddie: Where do you go to school, and what is your rank? Jobless? Jealous? Thanks.

[3ThrowAway99]

Where are the mods to shut this guy up? (re:Eddie)

The racist comments he made in another thread and PM should be enough to get him banned permanently. It's one thing to hold an opinion, but to be a total d-bag about it is another.

I guess he didn't get the part about flaming not being an accepted practice on TLS...

[worldtraveler]

[quote="mistergoft"

To those of you with questions about housing:

I'm a Berkeley student and I live at the i-house, which is right across the street from the law school. There are only about 12 JD students here but a lot of other grad students. It's half-international, half-US students. Every grad student/law student gets a single room. There is also a meal plan. Basically, it's a typical dorm but full of really cool, really smart people from all over the world. Most people leave here with really strong friendships.
I absolutely love it here and so do the other law students who live here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you are interested, I would recommend applying fairly soon to ensure that you get a spot. Last year there were plenty of openings but it varies.

What? All grad students get singles? And they were trying to get me to live in a double lol, but yeah I applied to I-house as a transfer and I REALLY REALLY wanted to live there because it was so close and it comes with albeit expensive food. However, transfers may not be able to get into I-house. I called them in June/July and they said they had spots, but I felt like they were full and just wanted my registration money. I applied (yes there is an application about how you are "international", got waitlisted, and that was that. Oh well. Yes, I am bitter lol.

Still though, great place to live overall, high in demand, and my current roommates lived there last year and they loved it as well, aside from having to eat there everyday (which is a risk/reward kinda thing).

The admissions office here is pretty disorganized. They must have been confused and thought you were an undergrad or something. At least last year, there were extra rooms at the beginning of the year. Plenty of extra singles but doubles were full. I have the feeling if you say something in your application about being a transfer or something like that, they think undergrad. I dunno.
You can still come visit us if you want.

[A'nold]

WOW! Oh my gosh guys, congrats!!!!!!!! Wohoo stinger, JPU, bk, solid, journey, etc.!!!!!!!! I can't even express how happy I am for you guys!

[98234872348]

Why is BoalTTT even accredited as a law school?

They are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to share with Yale and Harvard, the no-grade policy.

Listen up BOALTTT: you have allowed sub-standard students who got 163s on the LSAT in your school. 25% of your kids got below this mark on the LSAT. Tons of kids shoot a 163 COLD having never TAKEN an LSAT. College GPAs are a joke at a lot of schools in this country, the LSAT is the only uniform measure, and BoalTTT kids FAIL in this regard.

By allowing a low 160s inchworm get a grading scale comparable to Yale, you're engaging in all out self-deception. You just ain't that good BOALTTT.

STOP IT.

Lol 0L flame.

[confused111]

Does anyone know if Berkeley reviews apps before they are complete? I am still waiting on grades, so I hope so.

[Bankhead]

They need your grades. The transcript containing them can be an unofficial one, but I would imagine all grades need to be on it.

[vacaman]

Got the call today. Quite pleased. Did my undergrad near the bay area, great place to live, great school to go to. Congrats to all that have made it, and best of luck to everyone else.

[confused111]

They need your grades. The transcript containing them can be an unofficial one, but I would imagine all grades need to be on it.

I figued. I guess I am getting too anxious waiting for my grades.

[Journeybound]

Congrats Vacaman!!!! We'll have to get a group together sometime in August for those who end up at Berkeley.