Berkeley 2010 Forum

[rorystewart]

What does FR stand for, please?

[savesthedayajb]

What does FR stand for, please?

Faculty Review

[danidancer]

i wasn't implying that anyone would want to live there, or even should live there. i am just saying there are cheaper options in NYC for a bit of a sacrifice. someone w/ a housing budget of $700 a month can find something reasonable with roommates in a less desirable area.

that said, at some other top schools you can basically live in luxury close to campus. that is a nice benefit, although one i don't particularly care about.

A "bit" of sacrifice? I would not want to live in that apartment, and I have lived in some very rough areas. For all intents and purposes, that is not a reasonable option. I couldn't care less about luxury; I do care, however, about safety. The previous poster who said not to malign Bed Stuy is right...it's not a bad place through and through. But you've got to know where to go (and a $700 apartment probably isn't one of those places).

No matter how you couch it, there's no denying that COL in NY is absolutely higher than Berkeley. If you really want, I could show you $450 apartments in Oakland (closer the Berkeley than Bed Stuy is to NYU) that few TLS-ers would want to live in, either. Yes you technically "can" live in NY for $700/month...but with almost all housing opportunities anywhere, you generally get what you pay for.

FWIW, I'm in a great 2-bedroom in Astoria for $1450 a month. Granted, it's still a commute to all the NYC schools, but it's quite convenient and a really nice neighborhood.

[calicocat]

Anyone get any emails today? I just got here.

[Veritas]

Anyone get any emails today? I just got here.

no

[calicocat]

Anyone get any emails today? I just got here.

no

Tnx Ver

[hopefulincal]

Anyone get any emails today? I just got here.

no

Tnx Ver

This lovefest between you two is happening in too many threads. As the saying goes, "Get a room, please."

[kittenmittons]

Anyone get any emails today? I just got here.

no

Tnx Ver

This lovefest between you two is happening in too many threads. As the saying goes, "Get a room, please."

Canadians have to stick together. It's all they have after we pwned them in the French & Indian War. Leave them be

[calicocat]

Canadians have to stick together. It's all they have after we pwned them in the French & Indian War. Leave them be

lol km.

[radgrad]

Hey- if we need to update our file, does anyone know if it's better to send an email to admissions@ or to send a snail mail letter?

[Saya]

Hey- if we need to update our file, does anyone know if it's better to send an email to admissions@ or to send a snail mail letter?

+2, please.

[bilbobaggins]

i wasn't implying that anyone would want to live there, or even should live there. i am just saying there are cheaper options in NYC for a bit of a sacrifice. someone w/ a housing budget of $700 a month can find something reasonable with roommates in a less desirable area.

that said, at some other top schools you can basically live in luxury close to campus. that is a nice benefit, although one i don't particularly care about.

A "bit" of sacrifice? I would not want to live in that apartment, and I have lived in some very rough areas. For all intents and purposes, that is not a reasonable option. I couldn't care less about luxury; I do care, however, about safety. The previous poster who said not to malign Bed Stuy is right...it's not a bad place through and through. But you've got to know where to go (and a $700 apartment probably isn't one of those places).

No matter how you couch it, there's no denying that COL in NY is absolutely higher than Berkeley. If you really want, I could show you $450 apartments in Oakland (closer the Berkeley than Bed Stuy is to NYU) that few TLS-ers would want to live in, either. Yes you technically "can" live in NY for $700/month...but with almost all housing opportunities anywhere, you generally get what you pay for.

It's true. Apples to apples, the Bay Area can go lower than NYC within a similar proximity/neighborhood quality. I know some parts of Oakland and Richmond where you can get rooms for super, super cheap.

[Reedie]

I don't think the original point was that Berkeley is now a rip-off compared to other top schools. I think the point is that Berkeley's advantage of being by far the best deal among the top 10 or so law schools in the nation is eroding. No doubt Berkeley will still get plenty of strong students, but I would expect this to have SOME negative affect on their yields.

And for the record: I love Berkeley and the Bay Area.

[rorystewart]

Is an email informing one that his/her app is in FR a necessary condition for acceptance?

Is status checker = "In Review" the same thing?

[ConMan345]

FWIW, I no longer considered going to Berkeley because of the tuition hikes. What people largely overlook is that, while the price is going to market, the cost is going to be considerably higher given that Berkeley gives much less grant money (median yearly grant at Harvard: ~$18,000, median grant at Berkeley: ~$8000, I think).

This is only the up front money. Don't forget to compare the back end for LRAP if your career asperations make LRAP likely. Half of the tuition increase is designated for improving the FINAID (considering more than just LRAP, too, FWIW. Just not sure how much and exact modalities).

The other half of the increase is to keep up the faculty growth and quality, facility improvements, etc.

So instead of getting a top private caliber education at public prices, you'd be getting a top private caliber education at a comparable (or slightly lower cost). What more can you ask for? Do you get pissed off when you go to the Porsche dealership and they won't sell you a 911 for the price of a Kia just because Porsches used to cost less than $15k back in the day?

As to the increase in FinAid, that's certainly a valid point, though the lack of information as to how it will shake out isn't helping Berk's case when I go to crunch the numbers. In any case, I can't imagine the median grant doubling....

As to the car analogy and TripleK's incredulity, why I no longer consider Berkeley isn't because my expectations weren't met, I understand perfectly and accept the circumstances which brought about the increase; rather, for a large number of reasons about which we could quibble, Berkeley was a really great car for a great price, while other, higher ranked schools were really, really great cars for market price. Now, if the prices are the same (I'm not particularly interested in LRAP), who would still pay for the former over the latter?

I'm a pretty special case given where I fall in the admissions game, but I have to imagine Berkeley is going to lose out....

FWIW, a Berkeley alumnus I know said he wouldn't have gone to Berkeley had the cost been what it's going to be (he chose it over Stanford).

[ConMan345]

I don't think the original point was that Berkeley is now a rip-off compared to other top schools. I think the point is that Berkeley's advantage of being by far the best deal among the top 10 or so law schools in the nation is eroding. No doubt Berkeley will still get plenty of strong students, but I would expect this to have SOME negative affect on their yields.

And for the record: I love Berkeley and the Bay Area.

haha, what he said.

[englawyer]

Is an email informing one that his/her app is in FR a necessary condition for acceptance?

Is status checker = "In Review" the same thing?

no.

the best case scenario is AR (administrative review) where the admissions office gives you an admit. this is the case for most of their acceptances.

the second best case scenario is FR. this means you still have a shot if the faculty committee likes your app.

other than that..things aren't looking good. you wont get an email for AR, just an acceptance. every acceptance so far has been AR.

[texasgirl22]

so if we didn't get an FR email and we submitted a few months ago, we're out? damn.

[Vegas_Rebel]

Is an email informing one that his/her app is in FR a necessary condition for acceptance?

Is status checker = "In Review" the same thing?

no.

the best case scenario is AR (administrative review) where the admissions office gives you an admit. this is the case for most of their acceptances.

the second best case scenario is FR. this means you still have a shot if the faculty committee likes your app.

other than that..things aren't looking good. you wont get an email for AR, just an acceptance. every acceptance so far has been AR.

My checker simply says "Your file is Under Review", and has for about two months. Is there any way to tell which pile I'm in?

[calicocat]

My checker simply says "Your file is Under Review", and has for about two months. Is there any way to tell which pile I'm in?

Same with mine. As far as I can tell:

No FR email = Berk doesn't have time to tell you you're rejected so you're still UR. Come back to the pessimism thread now..

[thalassocrat]

so if we didn't get an FR email and we submitted a few months ago, we're out? damn.

We don't quite know yet, I think, but it's making a lot of us in this boat nervous. Hopefully we'll learn soon however it goes.

[Veritas]

This lovefest between you two is happening in too many threads. As the saying goes, "Get a room, please."

Canadians have to stick together. It's all they have after we pwned them in the French & Indian War. Leave them be

I am NOT Canadian. I'm British, thank you VERY much

<3 Oli

[SanBun]

This lovefest between you two is happening in too many threads. As the saying goes, "Get a room, please."

Canadians have to stick together. It's all they have after we pwned them in the French & Indian War. Leave them be

I am NOT Canadian. I'm British, thank you VERY much

<3 Oli

veritas i love British people!

i've confessed my love to you before but you didn't seem to notice. I also love Butters.

I'm also a girl and much more attractive than my Rilke avatar.

[Saya]

[strike]I don't think he has eyes for anyone else after seeing Oli's picture. lol[/strike]

Edit - nevermind. Guys will be guys.

More on topic, is anyone (FR) sending in a LOCI? Or does that look bad?

[Veritas]

This lovefest between you two is happening in too many threads. As the saying goes, "Get a room, please."

Canadians have to stick together. It's all they have after we pwned them in the French & Indian War. Leave them be

I am NOT Canadian. I'm British, thank you VERY much

<3 Oli

veritas i love British people!

i've confessed my love to you before but you didn't seem to notice. I also love Butters.

I'm also a girl and much more attractive than my Rilke avatar.

you're a girl??

hai pop pop cheerio. I'm like a real life version of Butters, fyi.