Top Law Schools

For me, no TLS = no Berkeley Law so I'm here to help out should anyone have a q or two.

do you know people that got in with lower numbers but have amazing experiences, etc?

favorite and least favorite things about UCB?

competitive?

thanks so much...

Quality of life in Berkeley?

I've heard conflicting things. I know the city of Berkeley is extremely liberal, but folks have told me the school/law school aren't noticeably more liberal than any other law school. Opinion on that?

Opportunities for married students/students with families?

How is the University Village, Albany? Is it hard to get to campus via bike/UC shuttle? Is it nice?

Have you met Lilly-Ann, the old crazy morbidly obese lady who operates the Campanile elevator yet?

If not, I highly recommend a trip. According to her, she has a Ph.D. from Stanford, speaks 5 languages including Farsi (for which the CIA very much wanted her services after 9/11, but she turned them down to keep operating the elevator at the Campanile), and has discovered more than 1 new species of fish.

muddywaters wrote:do you know people that got in with lower numbers but have amazing experiences, etc?

favorite and least favorite things about UCB?

competitive?

thanks so much...

I've met a few people who are several points below the 25th, their experiences aren't amazing, but they tend to typically be the most sociable, humble, non-douchebag and generally the most awesome people in the class. Most everyone else is 166+ though.

Cute undergrad population, gently slopping uphill walk to Boalt

Everywhere, most people will say, here at X school, we aren't as competitive as they are at those other schools.

Here at Boalt, I think we are possibly just as competitive as students at other schools, the PHHH grading system just makes it seem less competitive to the people who were already planning to be slackers.

ndnlawdc wrote:Quality of life in Berkeley?

I've heard conflicting things. I know the city of Berkeley is extremely liberal, but folks have told me the school/law school aren't noticeably more liberal than any other law school. Opinion on that?

Opportunities for married students/students with families?

How is the University Village, Albany? Is it hard to get to campus via bike/UC shuttle? Is it nice?

Kind of ghetto on southside, better in northside, but expensive. If you have a family its pretty crappy what with people getting shot occasionally (on southside)

Opportunities for married students/students with families = University Village. UV is amazing, It was just finished this summer and it is pristine. 30-40 mins via AC Transit / Shuttle to Boalt front door. AC Transit can be a pain though.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:Have you met Lilly-Ann, the old crazy morbidly obese lady who operates the Campanile elevator yet?

If not, I highly recommend a trip. According to her, she has a Ph.D. from Stanford, speaks 5 languages including Farsi (for which the CIA very much wanted her services after 9/11, but she turned them down to keep operating the elevator at the Campanile), and has discovered more than 1 new species of fish.

Boalt students do not dare wander onto the undergrad campus, it is so big and confusing and we have no time to lose.

Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

ndnlawdc wrote:Quality of life in Berkeley?

I've heard conflicting things. I know the city of Berkeley is extremely liberal, but folks have told me the school/law school aren't noticeably more liberal than any other law school. Opinion on that?

Opportunities for married students/students with families?

How is the University Village, Albany? Is it hard to get to campus via bike/UC shuttle? Is it nice?

mike4488 wrote:Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

My wife wants to know if UC apartments have dishwashers.

Thanks for the response. I'm not super conservative, nor am I used to living around conservatives (I live in DC now), but a friend told me Berkeley is just... out there. We'll see.

Thanks again.

ndnlawdc wrote:

mike4488 wrote:Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

My wife wants to know if UC apartments have dishwashers.

Thanks for the response. I'm not super conservative, nor am I used to living around conservatives (I live in DC now), but a friend told me Berkeley is just... out there. We'll see.

Thanks again.

Forget UC apartments. Save money. Live amongst hippies and graduate students. I'm telling you, the key to enjoying Berkeley is to live on the North side of campus. No loud frats next door, no undergrads yakking on your porch, just peace, quiet, and access to all the tasty eateries along Shattuck. And my apartment on Ridge Rd. had a dishwasher and was 30 yards from campus instead of driving distance.

I think most people would agree that Berkeley is way less "tin foil hat" liberal as it used to be. The undergrad population is borderline conservative.

I feel like the word Berkeley has become a meme meaning super liberal, and since the 70s or so this has become increasingly less the case. That's not to say the campus isn't full of liberal crazies (I was called a murderer in an environmental science course because I ate a sandwich one time), but this is sadly par for the course for almost any major university nowadays. Even though Sproul Plaza is full of left-wing whackjobs, these are often not even people associated with UC Berkeley in any way other than standing on the property (this is especially crucial to remember when considering the brainwashed LaRouche people and the obnoxious guys selling copies of the Socialist Worker). As a matter of fact, the largest student group (though they may have been overtaken by the Korean Baptists, another generally right wing bunch) is the Berkeley College Republicans (but it should be noted that the BCR kids tend to be as annoying as the hippies).

How do you have time to save the world from terrorism and keep up with your law school studies?

Opportunities for married students/students with families = University Village. UV is amazing, It was just finished this summer and it is pristine. 30-40 mins via AC Transit / Shuttle to Boalt front door. AC Transit can be a pain though.

Dude, check out nextbus.com. Instead of the all-but-useless schedule posted at actransit/on bus stops, nextbus.com uses GPS to track when the next bus will come to the stop you want. I believe the site was started by some Berkeley grad students.

mike4488 wrote:Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

ndnlawdc wrote:Quality of life in Berkeley?

I've heard conflicting things. I know the city of Berkeley is extremely liberal, but folks have told me the school/law school aren't noticeably more liberal than any other law school. Opinion on that?

Opportunities for married students/students with families?

How is the University Village, Albany? Is it hard to get to campus via bike/UC shuttle? Is it nice?

No, they don't. This was actually are biggest concern moving in. We have never lived without a dishwasher. However, it really isn't that bad. At least we got used to it and don't even notice anymore.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:

ndnlawdc wrote:

mike4488 wrote:Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

My wife wants to know if UC apartments have dishwashers.

Thanks for the response. I'm not super conservative, nor am I used to living around conservatives (I live in DC now), but a friend told me Berkeley is just... out there. We'll see.

Thanks again.

Forget UC apartments. Save money. Live amongst hippies and graduate students. I'm telling you, the key to enjoying Berkeley is to live on the North side of campus. No loud frats next door, no undergrads yakking on your porch, just peace, quiet, and access to all the tasty eateries along Shattuck. And my apartment on Ridge Rd. had a dishwasher and was 30 yards from campus instead of driving distance.

On that note there is definitely a major difference between living in University Village and living Berkeley. UV has a much more suburbanish feel to it, in my opinion. We like it though. However, next year we are planning to move into north Berkeley to be walking distance to school, and be more in the mix of things that way. Also, there are some great eateries within walking distance that way. However, there are also some pretty good restaurants within walking distance from UV. The only problem is that they pretty much are all Asian.

Re: Delicious Northside food, I sacrificed way too much of my money and good health to LaVal's Pizza.

I've never been to LaVals. Is it worth bothering to shlep to northside when I could just go to Cheeseboard?

SoftBoiledLife wrote:Have you met Lilly-Ann, the old crazy morbidly obese lady who operates the Campanile elevator yet?

If not, I highly recommend a trip. According to her, she has a Ph.D. from Stanford, speaks 5 languages including Farsi (for which the CIA very much wanted her services after 9/11, but she turned them down to keep operating the elevator at the Campanile), and has discovered more than 1 new species of fish.

Haha I love her. She's told me she's Frisian every time I've gone up.

How does the pass/fail grading system work with employers at UC berkely... I know Yale has the same system, but I figure everyone that goes to Yale can work wherever they want so grades wouldn't matter there, how does this work for UC berkley?.. I know they have "honors," which appears to be like an "A" based on some things I read from the school but 40% of people are in that boat... Doesn't seem like much of a break down. Do they have any class ranking there? Does everyone just get jobs wherever they want when they graduate?... I mean 60% of the class would fall into the "pass" section of the class, so, in terms of employment, would it just not matter whether you are the person that did the worst in your graduating class or are a person that was at 59%, and would you even know where you fall?

Does the person that is dead last out of the graduating class still get a great high paying job working wherever he wants?

XxSpyKEx wrote:How does the pass/fail grading system work with employers at UC berkely... I know Yale has the same system, but I figure everyone that goes to Yale can work wherever they want so grades wouldn't matter there, how does this work for UC berkley?.. I know they have "honors," which appears to be like an "A" based on some things I read from the school but 40% of people are in that boat... Doesn't seem like much of a break down. Do they have any class ranking there? Does everyone just get jobs wherever they want when they graduate?... I mean 60% of the class would fall into the "pass" section of the class, so, in terms of employment, would it just not matter whether you are the person that did the worst in your graduating class or are a person that was at 59%, and would you even know where you fall?

Does the person that is dead last out of the graduating class still get a great high paying job working wherever he wants?

The name of the school is Berkeley.

Class rank will not be disclosed to employers through the school. It is also a honor code violation to disclose it yourself for any purpose other than applying for clerkships or other academic positions.

Does everyone just get jobs wherever they want when they graduate?

Does the person that is dead last out of the graduating class still get a great high paying job working wherever he wants?

This quote and the rest of your questions lead me to believe that you haven't done enough research on law schools. You also seem to be lacking a little in common sense. Even at YLS, HMS, HBS most people don't get great high paying jobs where ever they want. Perhaps you need a sugar daddy? Law school is no golden ticket.

mike4488 wrote:Well, I'm a married student who is living at University Village in Albany and am also conservative so maybe I could chime in. Well, first I think Univ. Village is a great place. There are tons of kids running around, pretty easy to get to school (30 mins. max I would say. usually prob. 20-25) on the bus. I think it's about a little less than a 10 minute drive if you would do it on your own. The rent isn't too bad and the apartments are very well maintained. Also, it is on a month to month basis so you won't have problems leaving if you don't like it.

Also, I think the quality of life is awesome. I'm fairly conservative and don't find Berkeley to be overly liberal at all. At least the campus/law school. I haven't spent that much time out in the town. I think most people at Berkeley are liberal but they are the respectful sort. I find it to be a super exciting place as a conservative because listening to the other viewpoint is constantly refining why you believe what you believe or maybe you learn something new and change your mind on something. The key I would point out though is the respect people here have for different viewpoints. Again, I am talking about the campus in general and not the town because I am not as familiar with that, but it truly is a great place.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

I'm going to have to disagree with my fellow boaltie on this point. I have to say that there are a few professors teaching 1st year classes who cannot go a single class without some liberal remark, or comment which presupposes that everyone is for Obama.

I am for Obama, and I am a "liberal", but I can't stand it when professors bring snide politically charged remarks into the classroom. But then again if the real conservative isn't bothered by this, I suppose I really shouldn't complain either..

JackBauer wrote: Class rank will not be disclosed to employers through the school. It is also a honor code violation to disclose it yourself for any purpose other than applying for clerkships or other academic positions.

JackBauer wrote: Even at YLS, HMS, HBS most people don't get great high paying jobs where ever they want. Perhaps you need a sugar daddy? Law school is no golden ticket.

So how do employers go about hiring Berkley (yeah I spelled it wrong again, now what?)? In addition, if it is true that you can't disclose class rank, what is anyone's motivation for getting anything better than a just a "pass" in all your classes?... This also suggests that people that are at the bottom of the class are just as likely to get high paying jobs as people that graduate at the way top... This makes little sense being that at most schools grades are basically the most important thing that employers are looking at.

So how do employers go about hiring Berkley (yeah I spelled it wrong again, now what?)?

Now what? Well, now you are going to have to get your answers like every else. Should you ever decide to do the due diligence it takes to get into good schools rather than insulting students at school you are supposedly interested in and expecting them to answer your questions, you may actually have a shot.

GFY

JackBauer wrote: rather than insulting students at school you are supposedly interested in and expecting them to answer your questions, you may actually have a shot.

Don't cry. YLB.

Okay I'll bite.
You mentioned students below the 25% in LSAT, but what about GPA? Have you met many who have a competitive LSAT, but their grades are lower? How low?

Also, how is the rental market for houses? My wife and I are expecting our 5th in January, we've resigned to the fact that we'll have to give up somethings, but selling our house and moving into a 3 bedroom apt. is hard to swallow, since our kids won't have as much freedom to run in and out.

Thanks to all the other questions and answers so far, very informative.

phaedrus78 wrote:Okay I'll bite.
You mentioned students below the 25% in LSAT, but what about GPA? Have you met many who have a competitive LSAT, but their grades are lower? How low?

Also, how is the rental market for houses? My wife and I are expecting our 5th in January, we've resigned to the fact that we'll have to give up somethings, but selling our house and moving into a 3 bedroom apt. is hard to swallow, since our kids won't have as much freedom to run in and out.

Thanks to all the other questions and answers so far, very informative.

GPA I've seen as low as 3.5 paired with a 167. High lsat splitters are really rare I think.

It is non existent in the places that I would consider it suitable to have a family. I would not want my kids to be harassed by drunken undergrads so anyone near the campus is outside the question. I think University Village has been mentioned many many times in this thread, it is your best bet. It has so many many other families and kids running around and every time I'm there I see some people having a barbecue outside. Real Leave it to Beaver- like.