twinkletoes16 wrote:Bump- can someone discuss this some more? As a 0L I know nothing about bidding but am really interested in making sure I get back to Cali. Would I be better off at NYU or Mich instead of boalt? This seems contrarian. Or just pick where I get the most $?
Basically in a lottery system, each firm has a certain number of screening interviews and students then rank all of the firms they wish to interview with. If a firm has 20 spots, then the 20 students who rank the firm highest get screening interviews. But screening interviews don't mean you have a good shot at getting the firm. Firms generally have a certain GPA range that they hire in and if you have a 3.0 and the firm you're interviewing at has a GPA callback median of 3.8, you're probably not getting a callback even if you crush the interview. So having a lot of screeners doesn't necessarily translate into success, but it helps.
The problem with choosing UMich over Berkeley is that, even if it is easier to get screening interviews at UMich than it is at Berkeley, firms expect to hire more people from Berkeley than UMich. So the firm goes to UMich with the intent of calling back 2-3 people but goes to Berkeley with the intent of calling back 10-12 people. If you absolutely want CA, you should probably go to Berkeley over UMich or NYU. A certain amount of money might make another T14 a better choice than Berkeley financially, but it won't make it a better choice for getting you CA.