Tulane to Berkeley? Forum

[confused8655]

I was recently accepted at Berkeley, but not I actually need to decide if it is worth it.

1) It will cost nearly 50k more (unless Berkeley gives me grant money)
2) I would be giving up law review and my top 3% position at Tulane
3) My goal is to practice in Florida (but i'm not completely opposed to opportunities elsewhere)
4) I think I might go into tax law, but for sure into some sort of commercial practice
5) I would have to move my wife and kid across the country, again

v.

6) Berkeley's name

[merichard87]

I get that Berkeley is a T14 but why are you currently in Louisiana? Did you not get into UF or FSU when you first applied?

P.S. I think Tulane is a pretty nice school but I doubt it will take you back to Florida. So are you comfortable with possibly being median at Berk? Being top 3% and LR at Tulane ain't a bad place to be. Just sayin.

[interalia]

I get that Berkeley is a T14 but why are you currently in Louisiana? Did you not get into UF or FSU when you first applied?

P.S. I think Tulane is a pretty nice school but I doubt it will take you back to Florida. So are you comfortable with possibly being median at Berk? Being top 3% and LR at Tulane ain't a bad place to be. Just sayin.

I don't really understand why people ask people intent on transferring this question: are you prepared to be median at... . Yeah, Tulane's LSAT median is 162, which is quite a bit lower than Berkeley's median and that of the higher T1s, but

1) Does it really matter how the op does in his second and third year when recruiting is going to take place in August/September?

and

2) I think that a top 3% at a T1 will be, as a floor, slightly above median at Berkeley.

[merichard87]

Ummm... because its an important question.

Being median at Berkeley probably has better prospects than median at Tulane but OP has a lot going for himself right now. His current position will sit him comfortably in New Orleans and some parts of Texas and those are not bad places to be.

The bottom line is making sure the OP understands what he's giving up. He won't have grades to cushion him if 2L goes badly and firms at OCI are not going to look at him as top 3% at Berkeley. OP has a lot to consider.

[Journeybound]

There are no grades at Berkeley. So, you can't really say "do you mind being median?" If you do decently, your report will show a bunch of H's, and maybe a few HH's (top 15% per class). I love the fact that Berkeley doesn't rank. And, a Berkeley degree carries enormous weight all around the country. I vote for Berkeley, and we can hang out next year. =p