Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall) Class of 2015 Forum

[catwomangirl]

I met a couple of really cool people at ASW who seemed genuinely interested in attending Berkeley but who have now decided to go to other schools because they got tired of waiting around for scholarship info...

I'm sure this isn't uncommon. Berkeley has probably been the slowest school about getting scholarship info out there, basically forcing people to deposit elsewhere or risk losing their existing T14 scholarships. You'd think this would hurt their yield...

I love them to pieces, but they've definitely gone full retard on this one.

[SaintFond]

Wait

Has Berkeley given out ANY scholarship/scholarship information yet?

I know some schools for some students give scholarships up front, whereas others send the acceptance before any scholarship information (sometimes waiting for financial information).

[poe]

Wait

Has Berkeley given out ANY scholarship/scholarship information yet?

I know some schools for some students give scholarships up front, whereas others send the acceptance before any scholarship information (sometimes waiting for financial information).

Apparently they starting giving out the matching scholarships last week (though I haven't seen one person on TLS report having received one). They gave out a couple of the bigger scholarships a few weeks ago.

[anonymous1213]

Has anyone else had issues with Berkeley's administrative staff in addition to no response about the matching scholarships? I have had both an email and a voicemail (the only times I have tried contacting the school) gone unanswered after months about the matching scholarship, and I know the office is busy, but every other law school has eventually responded. It seems like this might be indicative of a greater problem. Does anyone else have any insight into this issue? It could just be an isolated incident, but it is really difficult to justify such a big investment if they are already going to be so unresponsive.

[thebigspoon]

Wait

Has Berkeley given out ANY scholarship/scholarship information yet?

I know some schools for some students give scholarships up front, whereas others send the acceptance before any scholarship information (sometimes waiting for financial information).

Apparently they starting giving out the matching scholarships last week (though I haven't seen one person on TLS report having received one). They gave out a couple of the bigger scholarships a few weeks ago.

there are some people on lsn who have gotten scholarships. and i met someone at ASW who had gotten a matching scholarship in early april

[Redamon1]

Wait

Has Berkeley given out ANY scholarship/scholarship information yet?

I know some schools for some students give scholarships up front, whereas others send the acceptance before any scholarship information (sometimes waiting for financial information).

Apparently they starting giving out the matching scholarships last week (though I haven't seen one person on TLS report having received one). They gave out a couple of the bigger scholarships a few weeks ago.

there are some people on lsn who have gotten scholarships. and i met someone at ASW who had gotten a matching scholarship in early april

Second this.. Some peeps have communicated on TLS about matching $$ in the "choosing a law school" forum. And not everyone is on TLS. And don't forget the lurkers...

[Redamon1]

Has anyone else had issues with Berkeley's administrative staff in addition to no response about the matching scholarships? I have had both an email and a voicemail (the only times I have tried contacting the school) gone unanswered after months about the matching scholarship, and I know the office is busy, but every other law school has eventually responded. It seems like this might be indicative of a greater problem. Does anyone else have any insight into this issue? It could just be an isolated incident, but it is really difficult to justify such a big investment if they are already going to be so unresponsive.

Sorry to hear about the troubles bro. They've been good with my requests.

[EvelynS]

Has anyone else had issues with Berkeley's administrative staff in addition to no response about the matching scholarships? I have had both an email and a voicemail (the only times I have tried contacting the school) gone unanswered after months about the matching scholarship, and I know the office is busy, but every other law school has eventually responded. It seems like this might be indicative of a greater problem. Does anyone else have any insight into this issue? It could just be an isolated incident, but it is really difficult to justify such a big investment if they are already going to be so unresponsive.

Sorry to hear about the troubles bro. They've been good with my requests.

I also did not get any problems. They were always responding within 24 hours.

[donmai910]

So is staying on waitlists ok then? I got waitlisted at STTTanford and Harvard. I definitely don't want to go to Harvard and prefer Berkeley to Stanford but in the off chance I get off I'd be given a calculated financial aid offer that I could maybe present to Berkeley... it'll be late but I know someone who did that at Boalt a couple years back. I've been given 20 k in need based financial aid so far (is that good for law school?) but UVA and Penn didn't give me any aid I could sent a matching scholarship for. Since its need based I'm nervous about that aid disappearing even though I don't anticipate my family and I making significantly more money in the next two years. Sorry if this is super convoluted and sounds like major first world problems but if anyone has any advice that'd be great

I'm in exactly the same position as you: waitlisted at Harvard and Stanford. I'm trying to figure out what to give Harvard for the last date I can remain on the waitlist...I want to say mid August, i.e., just prior to Berkeley's orientation, but the wording of the June 1st commitment form is freaking me out!

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[thebigspoon]

i think today is the deposit deadline for most schools right? what is everyone doing? especially those of us who haven't gotten any money yet? =/

[SaintFond]

i think today is the deposit deadline for most schools right? what is everyone doing? especially those of us who haven't gotten any money yet? =/

I'm playing the seat deposit game with Berkeley and 1 other school. Thank you Berkeley for your "good faith" tentative acceptance!

[DBishops]

I bet Berkeley waits until May 15th to see if you deposited to the school you told them to match. If so, they probably match, if not, ....

[catwomangirl]

I bet Berkeley waits until May 15th to see if you deposited to the school you told them to match. If so, they probably match, if not, ....

But if you deposit at other schools, isn't it binding unless you're admitted off the waitlist elsewhere?

[DBishops]

I bet Berkeley waits until May 15th to see if you deposited to the school you told them to match. If so, they probably match, if not, ....

But if you deposit at other schools, isn't it binding unless you're admitted off the waitlist elsewhere?

Not at most. There are some that make you withdraw from everywhere else. But I don't believe the deposit binds you to anything. Anybody know?

[SaintFond]

I bet Berkeley waits until May 15th to see if you deposited to the school you told them to match. If so, they probably match, if not, ....

But if you deposit at other schools, isn't it binding unless you're admitted off the waitlist elsewhere?

Not at most. There are some that make you withdraw from everywhere else. But I don't believe the deposit binds you to anything. Anybody know?

I called the three schools I am considering (UCLA, Cornell and Berkeley) and asked about this very issue. They all told me that the 1st deposit is not binding, though they would prefer (obviously) that you tell them if you aren't going to attend so they can let people in off the wait list.

The only schools I KNOW of offhand who threaten to revoke their offers if you have multiple deposits are NYU, Columbia and...Virginia I think? And again, even then, I don't know how much bite there is behind their bark.

However, with that said, they may try and give you an angry phone call or e-mail or something regardless after May 15th to check and see whether you are serious about attending.

[daniac]

Hello all, not sure if this is the place to post about it, but -- why the hell not, right? I'm looking for a roommate for the upcoming academic year. Like many of you, I will be a 1L in the fall. I'm a girl, a Cal alum, lived in the co-ops at Berkeley for two years so I'm used to / fond of all sorts of stuff (backyard campfires, wine-swilling at odd hours of the morning, trips to Yosemite, spontaneous dance parties, debating politics & world events in rising voices). I'm clean and friendly, people tell me I'm a fun gal, I'm hell-bent on doing P.I. upon graduation, I write fiction, I cook and bake, I like friends and new people. Am planning on studying hard but am also planning on enjoying my time outside of law school. Hopefully those two goals don't turn out to be mutually exclusive.

If any of this sounds promising, PM me and we'll continue our friendly chitchat there. If not, disregard.

PS. I'm also waiting on the matching scholarship committee. Called them and they were wishy-washy about things. In the meantime, my other school's deposit deadline has already passed. Sigh.

[Genki]

Just wanted to report that I received a matching scholarship last week. Received the scholarship offer on Tuesday April 24. The only gave me a week to accept it by committing to Berkeley and withdrawing from all other schools I was accepted to by May 1.

[poe]

Just wanted to report that I received a matching scholarship last week. Received the scholarship offer on Tuesday April 24. The only gave me a week to accept it by committing to Berkeley and withdrawing from all other schools I was accepted to by May 1.

*jealous*

[catwomangirl]

So no new word this week on scholarships, matching or otherwise?

[Virgil777]

deleted

[catwomangirl]

So no new word this week on scholarships, matching or otherwise?

Nothing here. Although I did get a sweet scholarship today from a top-20 law school I WITHDREW from months ago...

Haha that's like the spy in Austin Powers II who just won't die.

[poe]

Anyone else put in an application for International House? It really seems like the most convenient option - right next to the law school, has its own library, meal plan included, etc. And it could be nice to be part of a community that isn't 100% law students, lol.

My only concern is that I'll be out-of-place as a non-international student.

[SaintFond]

Anyone else put in an application for International House? It really seems like the most convenient option - right next to the law school, has its own library, meal plan included, etc. And it could be nice to be part of a community that isn't 100% law students, lol.

My only concern is that I'll be out-of-place as a non-international student.

I used to work there in dining services when I was at Berkeley for UG.

I hear the rooms aren't anything special, but you're right, it's convenient. Plus you get to meet and fraternize with a lot of nice people and they have activities and themed dinners all the time.

I'd say it's worth it if you can afford it.

[donmai910]

On the other hand, those who are waitlisting you might be annoyed if you have already accepted admission to a school, though it's unclear whether they would ever take retaliatory action.

Can someone explain the logic behind this? How could they even feign annoyance/anger with someone for not risking everything on the minuscule chance of getting off a waitlist??

[poe]

Anyone else put in an application for International House? It really seems like the most convenient option - right next to the law school, has its own library, meal plan included, etc. And it could be nice to be part of a community that isn't 100% law students, lol.

My only concern is that I'll be out-of-place as a non-international student.

I used to work there in dining services when I was at Berkeley for UG.

I hear the rooms aren't anything special, but you're right, it's convenient. Plus you get to meet and fraternize with a lot of nice people and they have activities and themed dinners all the time.

I'd say it's worth it if you can afford it.

Did you get any sense for how many of the residents there are non-international?