Top Law Schools

Berkeley (No scholly yet)
Michigan $$ (over three years)
Cornell $$$ (over three years)

Shower me with your collective wisdom!

where do u want to work?

Geneva wrote:where do u want to work?

I don't know....I've lived on the East Coast my whole life, and kinda feel like expanding my horizons.

I'm worried I'll turn into Elaine from Seinfeld.

Cornell if you definitely want NYC biglaw. They don't place well anywhere else.

Berkeley and Michigan are peer schools, so pick whichever one gives you the most scholarship and you like the best. Make sure to attend the ASW events. Both have national reach, although Berkeley has the edge in California if you want to live there after law school.

Michigan wins the award for nicest t-14 out of HYS IMO. They are just always incredibly pleasant and it is quite refreshing. The big bump for Berkeley is the grading system (H/P/LP) but I am unaware with how well that plays with employers. Best of Luck!

I'm in the same position as you, OP, but without the Berkeley acceptance. Did you apply to Penn?

taikofox wrote:I'm in the same position as you, OP, but without the Berkeley acceptance. Did you apply to Penn?

No, I didn't. Is that your three-pronged decision?

Based on money given, prospects, and your desire to branch out from the east coast, Michigan seems like the perfect fit for you.

catwomangirl wrote:

taikofox wrote:I'm in the same position as you, OP, but without the Berkeley acceptance. Did you apply to Penn?

No, I didn't. Is that your three-pronged decision?

Yep...

so far mine is berkeley vs mich vs gulc. still waiting to hear back from 5 schools and find out about scholly money, though.

taikofox wrote:

catwomangirl wrote:

taikofox wrote:I'm in the same position as you, OP, but without the Berkeley acceptance. Did you apply to Penn?

No, I didn't. Is that your three-pronged decision?

Yep...

haha cute!

Onthebrink wrote:Michigan wins the award for nicest t-14 out of HYS IMO. They are just always incredibly pleasant and it is quite refreshing. The big bump for Berkeley is the grading system (H/P/LP) but I am unaware with how well that plays with employers. Best of Luck!

That's not the Berkeley grading system. It's HH/H/P.

Michigan. Hands down.

blowhard wrote:Michigan. Hands down.

imagine same cost for berk and mich. would u still say mich?

Take Berkeley with $75k

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

bdubs wrote:Take Berkeley with $75k

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

nice thought, but there's no guarantee they will match the amount.

Geneva wrote:

blowhard wrote:Michigan. Hands down.

imagine same cost for berk and mich. would u still say mich?

Absolutely

bdubs wrote:Take Berkeley with $75k

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

wow, whole t14 except for NU...weird

DaftAndDirect wrote:

bdubs wrote:Take Berkeley with $75k

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

wow, whole t14 except for NU...weird

Doesn't surprise me. They look for different types of students. NU is very much a splitter-friendly school, whereas Berkeley is a reverse-splitter-friendly school.

Looked at both - once I got into Berkeley I didn't look back. But, I love the Bay Area and California. Michigan has a nice campus, but AA is a small college town. They're both great schools. Visit both, hope for even financials and then pick which one you like more. If it's more than a few thousand dollars difference, go to Michigan.

AA isn't that small. There are a bunch of restaurants, parks, football games to go to. It's not NYC, but in my mind that's a plus (Cost of living, real sense of community, professors who are always in the office).

bilbobaggins wrote:Looked at both - once I got into Berkeley I didn't look back. But, I love the Bay Area and California. Michigan has a nice campus, but AA is a small college town. They're both great schools. Visit both, hope for even financials and then pick which one you like more. If it's more than a few thousand dollars difference, go to Michigan.

bilbobaggins wrote:Looked at both - once I got into Berkeley I didn't look back. But, I love the Bay Area and California. Michigan has a nice campus, but AA is a small college town. They're both great schools. Visit both, hope for even financials and then pick which one you like more. If it's more than a few thousand dollars difference, go to Michigan.

how liberal is berkeley? would a conservative person feel out of place there?

Geneva wrote:

bilbobaggins wrote:Looked at both - once I got into Berkeley I didn't look back. But, I love the Bay Area and California. Michigan has a nice campus, but AA is a small college town. They're both great schools. Visit both, hope for even financials and then pick which one you like more. If it's more than a few thousand dollars difference, go to Michigan.

how liberal is berkeley? would a conservative person feel out of place there?

The town or the law school?

The law school is far from hyper-liberal. One small anecdote: this year's 1L class has a former Bush speechwriter. That said, the student body is certainly more liberal than it is conservative. The default viewpoint is liberal, but there is a surprising amount of variation on issues that are not traditionally left/right issues. And, I know several dedicated conservatives. I'm not sure if they feel out of place, but they don't act like they do.

If you have more specific questions on this point, feel free to PM me. I come from a VERY conservative part of the country and the political dynamics here have really interested me.