UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) Law Class of 2019 Forum

[lolRCscrewyou]

OMG this is crazy. May not hear until June now?!

[RationalHeretic23]

OMG this is crazy. May not hear until June now?!

They said in the email that they expect to be through all of the matching scholarship applications by the end of April.

[lolRCscrewyou]

OMG this is crazy. May not hear until June now?!

They said in the email that they expect to be through all of the matching scholarship applications by the end of April.

I actually didn't get the email, only reading what other people have posted. Even still, the end of April is ridiculous. They are aware of other school's deadlines and are choosing to ignore it. They are my top choice, but this really speaks to how considerate they are.............

[Lawcat11]

I can't believe that this is what we were waiting for all day. I think that they are stringing us along because they have limited funds and hope that we'll just be forced to withdraw from other schools and go to Berkeley regardless of the cost.

[archipm]

Got a need based rejection too, which is confusing to me because I am poor af, considered independent from my parents, and my parents are poor af too. Other schools did not have trouble determining this. Berkeley WHY

[lolRCscrewyou]

What time did you all get these emails? Just so we know if they all got sent out at once or if they are sending them out in waves and there still may be more to come.

[RationalHeretic23]

What time did you all get these emails? Just so we know if they all got sent out at once or if they are sending them out in waves and there still may be more to come.

I got mine at 6:20 Pacific Time

[archipm]

What time did you all get these emails? Just so we know if they all got sent out at once or if they are sending them out in waves and there still may be more to come.

6pm PST

[Lawcat11]

What time did you all get these emails? Just so we know if they all got sent out at once or if they are sending them out in waves and there still may be more to come.

9:22pm EST

[berek]

So, definitely a need wave today, but did anyone hear more about matching/general merit decisions? Sent in a NeedAccess but am not expecting much/anything on that end from Boalt; really getting antsy about merit (though my matching app wasn't acknowledged until 3/29).

[GMW77]

Got the need based rejection 9:30pm EST. That's it. Berkeley is off the table. As much as I love CA and Boalt, I'd still like to go to a law school that shows at least a shred of respect to admitted students.

[skimmilk]

Was this really a need-based wave though? It seems like they have sent out rejections, but has anyone had a grant offer sent to them yet?

[RationalHeretic23]

So, definitely a need wave today, but did anyone hear more about matching/general merit decisions? Sent in a NeedAccess but am not expecting much/anything on that end from Boalt; really getting antsy about merit (though my matching app wasn't acknowledged until 3/29).

The email briefly discussed this. Here is the entire email:

"Dear RationalHeretic23:

Thank you for applying for the Boalt Hall Need-Based Grant program. After careful consideration of your application information, I regret to inform you that you have not been awarded a grant.

At this time, admitted students are still being considered for our merit-based scholarships. For the general merit pool, awards are made on a rolling basis and we anticipate that all or nearly all offers will be made by the end of April. Scholarship recipients will be notified via email. We do not routinely send out scholarship “deny” letters as it is possible that we will make more offers up until June 1st.

The Matching Scholarship review process is underway. Decisions (awarding you a Matching Scholarship, or notifying you that you have not been selected for a Match) are sent via email. While we try to be aware of your deadlines at other schools, we cannot guarantee you a response by another school’s commitment or deposit deadline. Your patience throughout this process is appreciated.

Your current financial aid offer is available for your review at CalCentral under MyFinances.

Berkeley Law offers all students who submit a FAFSA and who are eligible U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents student loans up to the cost of attendance (student budget) minus all other financial aid they have been offered. Other resources include summer public interest fellowships and Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP). You should also refer to the checklist on our website.

If you have any questions, please contact the Financial Aid Office at financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu.

If you have questions about LRAP, please contact lrap@law.berkeley.edu."

[wryguy]

No update for merit scholarship or need-based application.

I'm losing it a bit here.

How am I supposed to make a decision by the 15th when I don't know where I'm going to stand financially???

[RationalHeretic23]

No update for merit scholarship or need-based application.

I'm losing it a bit here.

How am I supposed to make a decision by the 15th when I don't know where I'm going to stand financially???

You are justified in losing it but the deadline on the 15th is just a tentative intent to enroll, and they said you should select this if you are still waiting on financial aid.

[lolRCscrewyou]

No update for merit scholarship or need-based application.

I'm losing it a bit here.

How am I supposed to make a decision by the 15th when I don't know where I'm going to stand financially???

You are justified in losing it but the deadline on the 15th is just a tentative intent to enroll, and they said you should select this if you are still waiting on financial aid.

It's not so much Berkeley that is the issue, it is other schools that have binding agreements. Yes, we can submit a tentative intent to enroll but other schools do not have this option. If we deposit elsewhere and they have a binding agreement, then we have to withdraw from Berk anyways. THAT is the issue. If they werent binding it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but that's why this process is extremely stressful.

[Lawcat11]

Does depositing elsewhere and then declaring tentative intent count as double depositing, though? I mean, if Berkeley does come through with the money after, you could withdraw from the other school and then declare final intent at Berkeley. You would have to eat a deposit, though, which makes me mad.

[RationalHeretic23]

No update for merit scholarship or need-based application.

I'm losing it a bit here.

How am I supposed to make a decision by the 15th when I don't know where I'm going to stand financially???

You are justified in losing it but the deadline on the 15th is just a tentative intent to enroll, and they said you should select this if you are still waiting on financial aid.

It's not so much Berkeley that is the issue, it is other schools that have binding agreements. Yes, we can submit a tentative intent to enroll but other schools do not have this option. If we deposit elsewhere and they have a binding agreement, then we have to withdraw from Berk anyways. THAT is the issue. If they werent binding it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but that's why this process is extremely stressful.

Oh.... Yeah that is a really good point. Damn I definitely didn't think of that

[RationalHeretic23]

Does depositing elsewhere and then declaring tentative intent count as double depositing, though? I mean, if Berkeley does come through with the money after, you could withdraw from the other school and then declare final intent at Berkeley. You would have to eat a deposit, though, which makes me mad.

The thing is, when you submit a deposit at another school, you have to certify that you've withdrawn your application from every other school.

[crescentstars]

Does depositing elsewhere and then declaring tentative intent count as double depositing, though? I mean, if Berkeley does come through with the money after, you could withdraw from the other school and then declare final intent at Berkeley. You would have to eat a deposit, though, which makes me mad.

The general language I've seen at most schools goes like "if you accept our offer of admission, you must withdraw from all other schools that have offered you admission." I'm pretty sure this means that we would have to withdraw from Berkeley if we chose to deposit elsewhere.

ETA: ninja'd lol

[IcarusOnWheels]

Okay can someone clarify this for me...scholarship (non-matching) are "made on a rolling basis."

A rolling basis based off of what? When you were admitted? When FAFSA/NeedAccess were submitted? I haven't seen any information about it anywhere. Is it just that they release them in waves?

[slippin_jimmy]

I thought I withdrew recently but was sent the financial aid information so. Not really sure if I did it wrong or they're inundated and haven't actually processed my withdrawal yet.

[Pikapika]

Also denied for need-based aid... was not entirely surprised by this or anything (even though I am an independent and currently have a net worth majorly in the negatives) but one can hope...

[sudijajd]

Also denied for need-based aid... was not entirely surprised by this or anything (even though I am an independent and currently have a net worth majorly in the negatives) but one can hope...

Sorry to hear! Did you get the e-mail yesterday evening as well? You're the second person who is independent to be denied need based aid, which doesn't make too much sense, especially if your net worth is limited. I went through a long process to get classified as independent and have not heard anything since they approved my independence

[Lawcat11]

Also denied for need-based aid... was not entirely surprised by this or anything (even though I am an independent and currently have a net worth majorly in the negatives) but one can hope...

Sorry to hear! Did you get the e-mail yesterday evening as well? You're the second person who is independent to be denied need based aid, which doesn't make too much sense, especially if your net worth is limited. I went through a long process to get classified as independent and have not heard anything since they approved my independence

If you haven't heard anything, I think that's a good sign since last night was only rejections.