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Hey everyone,

I'll be applying very early next cycle and would love to know my chances of getting into Boalt, as well as all other California law schools and T-30. Any advice and/or suggestions are appreciated. I saw a post that had similar stats with URM status, but was curious about my chances, especially since I cannot provide a tribal affiliation card.

URM 3.2/171
African American & Native American female - no tribal affiliation, however I have worked in various Native American communities (I'm approximately a quarter Native American coming from both my mother and father, however we're having difficulty obtaining birth and death certificates that specify what tribe).

Softs:
- Collegiate scholarship athlete (Division I)
- Work experience ~ 20 hours a week for a year
- Member of a couple organizations on campus
- Volunteered for a food pantry/soup kitchen ~ 100 hours
- Volunteered for Habitat for Humanity ~ 150 hours
- Three Native American reservation trips (one week each)

Also, I will have a letter of recommendation from a partner at a Big Law firm in Southern California who attended Berkeley for undergraduate and law school. Will this help?

probably in at Berkeley you should apply to hys

dr123 wrote:probably in at Berkeley you should apply to hys

This... and that's without even mentioning you're Native American.

I think when you eventually fill out your application you should try not dwell on proving your tribal ancestry; rather, you should define your native heritage through kinship (the way most tribes traditionally established tribal ancestry), and community involvement. I think the admissions committee can tell the difference between a person who actually belongs to a native tribe by way of connection, and a person who is justing trying to use their ethnic background for admissions leverage. That being said, I really wish you the best, and I hope you get in.

I don't see why above posters are so confident. I realize OP is a URM with a LSAT score that is probably 99.99th percentile for URM's but his GPA is low and Berkeley is probably one of the few schools that will outright reject people just because of softs.

FiveSermon wrote:I don't see why above posters are so confident. I realize OP is a URM with a LSAT score that is probably 99.99th percentile for URM's but his GPA is low and Berkeley is probably one of the few schools that will outright reject people just because of softs.

This is silly. You aren't 1/10,000 for URMs, but your LSAT is excellent, and your GPA, while not stellar, is not below many who get accepted to many top schools.

I wouldn't be confident for HYS, but you should feel solid for getting at least one of CCN. Boalt, for all its great aspects, isn't kind to low GPAs, even those from URMs, so I would try hard to get Berkeley but be okay with winding up at another school.

The above advice is assuming you are applying next cycle. This cycle, even with excellent numbers, you'll face an uphill battle.

Kretzy wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:I don't see why above posters are so confident. I realize OP is a URM with a LSAT score that is probably 99.99th percentile for URM's but his GPA is low and Berkeley is probably one of the few schools that will outright reject people just because of softs.

This is silly. You aren't 1/10,000 for URMs, but your LSAT is excellent, and your GPA, while not stellar, is not below many who get accepted to many top schools.

I wouldn't be confident for HYS, but you should feel solid for getting at least one of CCN. Boalt, for all its great aspects, isn't kind to low GPAs, even those from URMs, so I would try hard to get Berkeley but be okay with winding up at another school.

The above advice is assuming you are applying next cycle. This cycle, even with excellent numbers, you'll face an uphill battle.

Ugh. Kretzy because of your avatar I ended up reading this whole post in a Ryan Renolds voice. Haha.

Thanks for all of your advice. What about UCLA, USC, UCD and UCI? For out of state, Michigan, Cornell, Northwestern and Fordham? Also, since I haven't graduated yet, it is possible for me to raise my GPA if I continue on the track that I'm on. Assuming I do, I could probably achieve a 3.3-3.4, which is not a significant increase.

anteater711 wrote:Thanks for all of your advice. What about UCLA, USC, UCD and UCI? For out of state, Michigan, Cornell, Northwestern and Fordham? Also, since I haven't graduated yet, it is possible for me to raise my GPA if I continue on the track that I'm on. Assuming I do, I could probably achieve a 3.3-3.4, which is not a significant increase.

What the above posters are trying to tell you is that UCLA, USC, UCD, UCI and Fordham are dead to you now. Cornell and Northwestern should only be considered if they throw a lot of money at you. Michigan is approaching the ballpark you want to play in. Blanket the T14 and see what you get.

As Kretzy says, Berkeley is actually one of the harder admits in that bunch because they don't like low GPAs, but given the interesting nature of the personal statement you can write, Dean Tom might take a shine to your app.

Also:

anteater711 wrote:Also, I will have a letter of recommendation from a partner at a Big Law firm in Southern California who attended Berkeley for undergraduate and law school. Will this help?

This will not help, unless the recommender has directly supervised you for an extended period of time. Since you're coming straight from undergrad, you need recommendations from your professors.

Thank you for your responses. I will blanket the T14, but shouldn't I add safety schools? Plus, I would really like to stay in California (I'm a resident) so I was thinking of applying to all Top 100 California schools. I would consider out of state only if accepted to a Top 20, maybe Top 30 (with money).