Berkeley 2010 Forum

[triplecats]

Got the "Under review" today! here's hoping and good luck to all.

Mine too . . . anyone know what kind of timeframe until notification that creates . . . the status checker says they notify as soon as a decision is made on a rolling basis I assume . . . is that true, or do they in practice really wait until Dec/Jan?

The first people last year heard around Nov 25th/26th, and they applied in early-to-mid October. So... it's possible they really do notify ASAP. Does Berkeley call, email, or snail mail?

[crackberry]

Got the "Under review" today! here's hoping and good luck to all.

Mine too . . . anyone know what kind of timeframe until notification that creates . . . the status checker says they notify as soon as a decision is made on a rolling basis I assume . . . is that true, or do they in practice really wait until Dec/Jan?

The first people last year heard around Nov 25th/26th, and they applied in early-to-mid October. So... it's possible they really do notify ASAP. Does Berkeley call, email, or snail mail?

I believe it's a mix of calls and emails. They specifically say on their app or website (I forget which) that they do not send snail mail packets to preserve resources (hippies).

[johnstuartmill]

DAMMIT I LOVE YOU BERKELEY WHY CAN'T YOU BE AN LSAT WHORE INSTEAD OF A GPA WHORE AHHHHHHHH
...
But seriously, Berkeley, come on.

[triplecats]

Got the "Under review" today! here's hoping and good luck to all.

Mine too . . . anyone know what kind of timeframe until notification that creates . . . the status checker says they notify as soon as a decision is made on a rolling basis I assume . . . is that true, or do they in practice really wait until Dec/Jan?

The first people last year heard around Nov 25th/26th, and they applied in early-to-mid October. So... it's possible they really do notify ASAP. Does Berkeley call, email, or snail mail?

I believe it's a mix of calls and emails. They specifically say on their app or website (I forget which) that they do not send snail mail packets to preserve resources (hippies).

Interesting. I wonder if they send viewbooks; I've never seen one.

Btw, johnstuartmill, I will trade you .15 of my GPA for 1.5 LSAT points. Other options may be considered.

[bilbobaggins]

Well, since you asked so nicely:

1. The students are unbelievable. Only a few douchebags and generally friendly and fun. There is a good social atmosphere and a good collegial work atmosphere. People share notes, outlines, talk about class, invite you to study groups, etc.
2. The grading system - It lowers stress levels and competitiveness. P = JD is a great mantra.
3. Professors - I like 3 out of my 4. All of them are nice, one just doesn't reign in the few gunners as much as I'd like.
4. The fact that our gunners are basically benign. Sure, they're there, but they aren't really assholes to other students. They just like to talk all of the time.
5. Location, weather, etc. 20 minute drive to SF, 30 minute BART ride. An hour from the beach, hiking, wine country. An hour flight from LA, Vegas, Portland. It's relatively nice all year round. Berkeley has great food, a relatively good nightlife for a college town and a lot of cultural stuff going on.

Here's all I'll say about Berk - Stanford:

I didn't apply to Stanford. I have no idea if I would've. I know people who decided to come here instead.

What I do know is Palo Alto sucks. It's way harder/more of a pain to get to SF and it's much smaller/yuppier than Berkeley (way fewer bars). These are secondary arguments (and I won't do any back and forth on this point, because I have no desire to argue about S v. B., but as someone who's lived in Palo Alto, I would never want to be stuck there for 3 years, Harvard would be a better choice).

[worldtraveler]

I'm also at Berkeley and loving it. The people here are really, really nice and also incredibly smart. It's the only time I've ever been around tons of smart people without a high douchebag factor.
I know every school talks about how students help each other out, but I think we're a bit above and beyond here. One other 1L paid for my books because my credit card was stolen and my bank was being an idiot, and then just trusted me to pay her back. People are insanely nice.
I also have yet to see a major gunner. Perhaps they are in other sections, but mine does not have one.

[Saya]

I'm also at Berkeley and loving it. The people here are really, really nice and also incredibly smart. It's the only time I've ever been around tons of smart people without a high douchebag factor.
I know every school talks about how students help each other out, but I think we're a bit above and beyond here. One other 1L paid for my books because my credit card was stolen and my bank was being an idiot, and then just trusted me to pay her back. People are insanely nice.
I also have yet to see a major gunner. Perhaps they are in other sections, but mine does not have one.

You make me want to go there even more now.

[Kronk]

I will +1 on Berkeley being cooler than Palo Alto. I really enjoyed my time at Berkeley this summer (to the point where I almost didn't apply to anywhere in CCN because I'd rather attend Berkeley).

That said, I'd still rather got to SCHOOL in Stanford, even though I think the student body would be much cooler at Cal. But the city is awesome.

[Legacy316]

Can someone run the Berkeley grading system by me real quick.

[gymboree]

Grading system as I understand it is as follows: there are no letter grades.

10% - HH: High Honors
30% - H: Honors
60% - P: Pass

Everybody wins. Reminds me of Wharton's system. Back in the day the mantra was 19 P's = 100 G's.

[worldtraveler]

Grading system as I understand it is as follows: there are no letter grades.

10% - HH: High Honors
30% - H: Honors
60% - P: Pass

Everybody wins. Reminds me of Wharton's system. Back in the day the mantra was 19 P's = 100 G's.

There is also a sub-pass if you really screw up. If you get one first semester it just shows up as a P. Some classes are also P/F.

[Legacy316]

Grading system as I understand it is as follows: there are no letter grades.

10% - HH: High Honors
30% - H: Honors
60% - P: Pass

Everybody wins. Reminds me of Wharton's system. Back in the day the mantra was 19 P's = 100 G's.

Cool, so I take it that they don't rank then?

[Kronk]

Oh, and to the person that said that the first person heard on November 25th, that's actually not the case. The first call (according to Dean Tom) went out on 11-04-08. The second one on LSN is 11-13-08.

[clint4law]

As a fellow Berkley lover i wanted to ask you guys a couple questions about the app:
1) How did you sign each individual page if you submitted the app electronically?
2) Do you think ignoring pages 4-6 can hurt my chances (pages about race and socioeconomic questionnaire)?

Thanks.

[crackberry]

What I do know is Palo Alto sucks. It's way harder/more of a pain to get to SF and it's much smaller/yuppier than Berkeley (way fewer bars). These are secondary arguments (and I won't do any back and forth on this point, because I have no desire to argue about S v. B., but as someone who's lived in Palo Alto, I would never want to be stuck there for 3 years, Harvard would be a better choice).

This is absolutely true. No question about it. I went to Stanford UG and my friends and I went to Berkeley as much as we could. That said, Palo Alto has better weather (not quite as hot), a more picturesque campus and better facilities (gyms, pools, golf course, etc.). To be honest, it's kind of a toss-up for me, but given that I went to Stanford UG and SLS is better than Boalt, the choice is clear to me.

[emilybeth]

Grading system as I understand it is as follows: there are no letter grades.

10% - HH: High Honors
30% - H: Honors
60% - P: Pass

Everybody wins. Reminds me of Wharton's system. Back in the day the mantra was 19 P's = 100 G's.

Cool, so I take it that they don't rank then?

they do rank, actually, but it's kind of complicated (and i'm not sure if i have an accurate understanding, so WT or BB please feel free to correct me). but basically, they rank based on your combination of HH/H/P, and then they only disclose rankings to students applying for clerkships, who need the rank for the application.

it's also an honour code violation to talk about your rank with other students (right? i certainly didn't pay attention during orientation).

but regardless, the no-grades thing is a huge relief for days/weeks when the stress is overwhelming. p's get jd's...

[Legacy316]

Man I think I'm in love with Berkeley.

[Rotor]

they do rank, actually, but it's kind of complicated (and i'm not sure if i have an accurate understanding, so WT or BB please feel free to correct me). but basically, they rank based on your combination of HH/H/P, and then they only disclose rankings to students applying for clerkships, who need the rank for the application.

it's also an honour code violation to talk about your rank with other students (right? i certainly didn't pay attention during orientation).

but regardless, the no-grades thing is a huge relief for days/weeks when the stress is overwhelming. p's get jd's...

EB. This is the way I understand it too.

To the question about notifications: last year, early accepts got calls. Once the season got in full swing, though, Dean Tom had to do it by email.

And for all the applicants, good luck. I'll also +1 everything that BB & WT said.

[clint4law]

As a fellow Berkley lover i wanted to ask you guys a couple questions about the app:
1) How did you sign each individual page if you submitted the app electronically?
2) Do you think ignoring pages 4-6 can hurt my chances (pages about race and socioeconomic questionnaire)?

Thanks.

bump...can someone please help me with my app. questions? Thanks

[triplecats]

Re: "signing" the application, I just put the date on the line next to it. It seemed like the most sensible way to go about it.

With regard to ignoring pages 4-6, I suspect it will "hurt" to the extent that being an exceedingly socioeconomically "normal" applicant would; Berkeley will probably assume you are white, under 30, have no children/dependents, speak English as a 1st language, have middle to upper-middle class parents, and a few other things. It may hurt a little because you are not willing to disclose the information: they may assume the socioeconomic "worst", that you grew up in a rich family for example and do not want to reveal it to them because you fear it may hurt your app.

Other opinions welcome, though, on whether ignoring it will hurt your app. I can't imagine leaving it blank would look good, but how serious it is I have no idea.

[crackberry]

I can't imagine it "hurts" anymore than telling the truth does. I didn't fill out the socioeconomic form on page 6 but I filled out 4 and 5. Same was true for me for UCLA.

[clint4law]

Re: "signing" the application, I just put the date on the line next to it. It seemed like the most sensible way to go about it.

With regard to ignoring pages 4-6, I suspect it will "hurt" to the extent that being an exceedingly socioeconomically "normal" applicant would; Berkeley will probably assume you are white, under 30, have no children/dependents, speak English as a 1st language, have middle to upper-middle class parents, and a few other things. It may hurt a little because you are not willing to disclose the information: they may assume the socioeconomic "worst", that you grew up in a rich family for example and do not want to reveal it to them because you fear it may hurt your app.

Other opinions welcome, though, on whether ignoring it will hurt your app. I can't imagine leaving it blank would look good, but how serious it is I have no idea.

good point....leaving it blank may leave them with lots of misconceptions

[thalassocrat]

Interesting. I wonder if they send viewbooks; I've never seen one.

Btw, johnstuartmill, I will trade you .15 of my GPA for 1.5 LSAT points. Other options may be considered.

I saw on their website that you can request one. I don't know if they'll send them out unrequested, though, like some other schools have.

I went complete as of yesterday, but I'm not overly optimistic. Seems like it's hit or miss with my numbers, possibly based on when you submitted and socioeconomic factors.

[tintin]

Interesting. I wonder if they send viewbooks; I've never seen one.

Btw, johnstuartmill, I will trade you .15 of my GPA for 1.5 LSAT points. Other options may be considered.

I saw on their website that you can request one. I don't know if they'll send them out unrequested, though, like some other schools have.

I went complete as of yesterday, but I'm not overly optimistic. Seems like it's hit or miss with my numbers, possibly based on when you submitted and socioeconomic factors.

I got the viewbook- pretty nice, though you can tell they try not to show too much of the actual law school buildings, haha.

Berkeley is my #1 choice, I think I have maybe a 50/50 shot of getting in. 168/3.9, I wrote the 4 pager essay indicating why Berkeley would be a dream come true for me. I also got targeted letters. I'm really hoping that this will show them how much I want to go there!!

I'm surprised they start notifying people so early, also. My status check indicates that as of today I'm complete...I wonder when I'll go under review?? eek.

[triplecats]

Interesting. I wonder if they send viewbooks; I've never seen one.

Btw, johnstuartmill, I will trade you .15 of my GPA for 1.5 LSAT points. Other options may be considered.

I saw on their website that you can request one. I don't know if they'll send them out unrequested, though, like some other schools have.

I went complete as of yesterday, but I'm not overly optimistic. Seems like it's hit or miss with my numbers, possibly based on when you submitted and socioeconomic factors.

I got the viewbook- pretty nice, though you can tell they try not to show too much of the actual law school buildings, haha.

Berkeley is my #1 choice, I think I have maybe a 50/50 shot of getting in. 168/3.9, I wrote the 4 pager essay indicating why Berkeley would be a dream come true for me. I also got targeted letters. I'm really hoping that this will show them how much I want to go there!!

I'm surprised they start notifying people so early, also. My status check indicates that as of today I'm complete...I wonder when I'll go under review?? eek.

I "only" wrote a 3rd page... I thought it would be silly if I wrote a super-focused 2 page personal statement followed by 2 fluffier pages about why Berkeley. I can only hope the adcomm agrees with my editorial decision, as UC-B is my 1st choice too (before finances, anyway). My guess for you, tintin, is you'll go under review in mid-November and you will get a decision by the end of it. Then you can go on a nice long vacation to Tibet.


What's going on with the actual law buildings that they try not to show them? Is the massive construction still underway?