UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) Law Class of 2019 Forum

[shineoncrazydiamond]

Just got email as well. Hope this means $$ info coming asap.

[Lawcat11]

Did anyone else just get an email reminding them of the April 15th response deadline? I'm worried that this means that $0 in aid is their final offer for me.

Yep. In response, I sent them a reminder that they haven't released financial aid information yet. Oh, Berkeley.

Maybe this is a sign it will be released later today? Can we speculate wildly on this?

I'm hoping so- although it seems (feel free to correct me) that aid goes up on Cal Central before scholarship letters are emailed, and I'm still showing no aid. I have a feeling it'll be at the end of the week. Let us know what or if they email back!

[wittywitless]

Did anyone else just get an email reminding them of the April 15th response deadline? I'm worried that this means that $0 in aid is their final offer for me.

Yep. In response, I sent them a reminder that they haven't released financial aid information yet. Oh, Berkeley.

Maybe this is a sign it will be released later today? Can we speculate wildly on this?

I'm hoping so- although it seems (feel free to correct me) that aid goes up on Cal Central before scholarship letters are emailed, and I'm still showing no aid. I have a feeling it'll be at the end of the week. Let us know what or if they email back!

Response email was returned insanely quickly: "use "option 2" to preserve a spot until June 1."

No answer or estimate regarding when actual information will be released.

[Lawcat11]

Oh for fuck's sake. I love Berkeley but this seems needlessly passive aggressive.

[archipm]

Did anyone else just get an email reminding them of the April 15th response deadline? I'm worried that this means that $0 in aid is their final offer for me.

I was worried as well, but it does note that using the "tentatively plan to attend" option is ideal if you are waiting for a financial aid award.

[lolRCscrewyou]

Oh for fuck's sake. I love Berkeley but this seems needlessly passive aggressive.

Seriously. They have the nerve to do that before even giving us all the info to allow us to make a decision. Not cool.

[wittywitless]

Oh for fuck's sake. I love Berkeley but this seems needlessly passive aggressive.

Seriously. They have the nerve to do that before even giving us all the info to allow us to make a decision. Not cool.

I think this is just preliminary mental hazing. Y'know, before three full years of it starts.

[wryguy]

I also received the "April 15th Reminder" email and have a big fat $0 in terms of merit aid.

Do you guys also have loan options in your financial aid profile?

[urbanist11]

The reminder email is just if you haven't indicated your preliminary intent to enroll on calcentral

[berek]

The reminder email is just if you haven't indicated your preliminary intent to enroll on calcentral

True, but it's hard to make a decision on that if we're comparing Berk financially with other options.

FWIW - exact same shit happened last year. The Class of 2018 thread is a not-so-nice glimpse into what the next few weeks could look like.

[urbanist11]

The reminder email is just if you haven't indicated your preliminary intent to enroll on calcentral

True, but it's hard to make a decision on that if we're comparing Berk financially with other options.

FWIW - exact same shit happened last year. The Class of 2018 thread is a not-so-nice glimpse into what the next few weeks could look like.

I'm in the same sitation. There's a maybe option and no $ deposit so you can still keep options open

[RationalHeretic23]

The reminder email is just if you haven't indicated your preliminary intent to enroll on calcentral

How am I supposed to make a calculation as to whether I intend to enroll or not when I don't have financial aid information? It seems kind of absurd to expect us to make that decision before we know how much debt we will need to take on.

[archipm]

The reminder email is just if you haven't indicated your preliminary intent to enroll on calcentral

How am I supposed to make a calculation as to whether I intend to enroll or not when I don't have financial aid information? It seems kind of absurd to expect us to make that decision before we know how much debt we will need to take on.

2. "I tentatively plan to attend...." Selecting this option extends your commitment deadline to June 1 at 5:00 p.m. (PDT). However, by June 1, we will require that you declare your final enrollment intent via Calcentral. Use this option if you are awaiting a financial aid award, a decision from another law school, or otherwise just need more time to decide. You will be able to declare your final enrollment intent, either yes or no, at any time before June 1.

[bamb00zled]

Did anyone else just get an email reminding them of the April 15th response deadline? I'm worried that this means that $0 in aid is their final offer for me.

Yep. In response, I sent them a reminder that they haven't released financial aid information yet. Oh, Berkeley.

Maybe this is a sign it will be released later today? Can we speculate wildly on this?

It seems ridiculous to expect a commitment without any communication about fin aid... And since I have a lot of unfounded faith in their sensibleness, I think we should expect an uptick in fin aid communication this week

[KiltedKicker]

So the checklist mentions an "in-house Facebook page" that will be launched on the Cal website. Anyone know what that means? Is it an intranet? Is it actually a Facebook group? When will we get access?

[Lawcat11]

So the checklist mentions an "in-house Facebook page" that will be launched on the Cal website. Anyone know what that means? Is it an intranet? Is it actually a Facebook group? When will we get access?

I don't know, but at ASW a student said that Facebook groups are generally always made by the students and not the administration.

[strodriguez3]

This has probably already been asked (sorry but I couldn't find it and can't remember what the answer was at ASW).

When Boalt matches, it's only for merit aid, correct? If so, does that mean that I would still have a chance of qualifying for more need based on top of an already matched scholarship?

[lolRCscrewyou]

Berk, I love you, you're my top choice, but every time you send an email that doesn't involve scholarship info it makes me want to cheat on you.

[lolRCscrewyou]

Just in case anyone is wondering about matching scholarship stuff, I just heard and got a big fat rejection. Not nice, B...

Dang, that's cold. Sorry to hear that. Did they give you a reason why?

Berkeley whenever they read our apps asking for a matching scholarship:

[lamimi]

I met with financial aid during ASW and got a matching scholarship, so here's the info I have compiled:

When Boalt matches, it may include both merit and need based. For example, they may be using funds from the merit-based matching scholarship AND from need-based grants to complete your match.

If you are only given merit-based aid through matching, you are still considered for need-based aid as long as you are eligible. However, that does not mean you will definitely get both merit-based and need-based aid after matching.

[BerkeleyThrowaway]

Hey future classmates,

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1694890674132760/ (if the link doesn't work for some reason just search for Berkeley Law Class of 2019)

I committed to Boalt today and thought that I would go ahead and be the overeager kid to create a Class of 2019 Facebook group. Talking to the adcomms they said their in-house Facebook page will launch later this month, but that students are usually the ones to create the actual Facebook groups. The in-house Facebook page is used – at least in part – to facilitate finding housemates. I asked one of my friends currently at Boalt to invite other current students, so hopefully that can be another resource for getting questions answered.

Look forward to meeting you in the fall

[pterodactyls]

I met with financial aid during ASW and got a matching scholarship, so here's the info I have compiled:

When Boalt matches, it may include both merit and need based. For example, they may be using funds from the merit-based matching scholarship AND from need-based grants to complete your match.

If you are only given merit-based aid through matching, you are still considered for need-based aid as long as you are eligible. However, that does not mean you will definitely get both merit-based and need-based aid after matching.

Do you think that meeting with financial aid helped your chances at all? Or was it pretty much just giving you information?

[lolRCscrewyou]

Here's hoping that they process Matching Applications quickly........

[lamimi]

I met with financial aid during ASW and got a matching scholarship, so here's the info I have compiled:

When Boalt matches, it may include both merit and need based. For example, they may be using funds from the merit-based matching scholarship AND from need-based grants to complete your match.

If you are only given merit-based aid through matching, you are still considered for need-based aid as long as you are eligible. However, that does not mean you will definitely get both merit-based and need-based aid after matching.

Do you think that meeting with financial aid helped your chances at all? Or was it pretty much just giving you information?

Nah, it was just getting information.

[Juniper11]

Did anyone successfully request an extension of the scholarship acceptance date, and if so, how long did it take for them to get back to you?