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Stats:
4.2 UC Berkeley legal studies
169 LSAT score

More than 6 years out from Undergrad
LSAT score is more recent
Currently finishing out masters in social policy from LSE

Accepted @ Berkeley Law in 2020 with 180,000 scholarship
Was waitlisted at Harvard Law
- never submitted LOCI bc of pandemic
Applied in December/Jan

Should I re-apply to Harvard law early? (November by thanksgiving)

LSE grades won’t be out till next year, unfortunately. But doing fine so far. Academic supervisor recently had family emergency, plus 2 other professors I took classes with now on sabbatical. Not sure they’re available for letters.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Waitlisted at higher ranked school then reapplied? Or sitting on scholarship offer?

I think I have to forfeit my Berkeley law scholarship and reapply there too is how it works?

What are my best options here?

I'm so confused about this timeline. Are you saying that you were accepted to Berkeley last cycle and chose not to attend this year? Did you defer? Did you apply anywhere else (besides Harvard)? What are your career goals?

Yup, exactly. Was accepted at Berkeley last cycle. Deferred b/c issues related to pandemic.
Harvard waitlist last cycle.
Accepted at Cornell and Georgetown too. Everything else was a waitlist. I applied Jan 2020.

The Berkeley offer is on hold. But I am thinking about reapplying elsewhere early.

Legal Academia (ideally) or Federal Jobs are something I am gunning for. I’ve been told the trinity is best for that if I can get it.

Hey, fellow LSE alum. I think your package at UCB is great, and if you are interested in nontenured academia in law, you won't have too much of a problem with a UCB degree being an adjunct. You've really gotta gun for Y if legal academia is the route you want (and by no means is it guaranteed). That said, I think YHS wouldn't be detrimental. Also, you will be in position for any fed govt job with good grades from UCB. I'd def apply to H, S, and Y though, worst case scenario, you take your original offer from UCB and enjoy a good time in the bay area.
Your LSE grades won't matter in the slightest if it is a grad degree. Just make sure not to get a low pass. Best of luck.

Thank you!

That's a good scholarship to Berkeley, and Berkeley is a great outcome, especially if you want to practice in California / West Coast. Academia is a long shot for everyone, including HYS. And it's not like it's beyond reach from Berkeley. No idea though if you have to forfeit your scholarship to apply elsewhere, but I would imagine there was some fine print in your offer.

Personally, I'd take the money and run in that situation. I might be tempted by Stanford, but even then, $180k is a nice scholarship.

I was unaware Berkeley gave out offers that large! Congrats regardless!