Merit Aid at Berkeley? Forum

[Tangerine Gleam]

I would like to hear anecdotes about folks who have received some amount of merit at at Berkeley. I know the school does NOT give much merit aid (and more need-based aid), but how often do they make exceptions?

Also, what about the merit matching program? Berkeley encourages admitted students to submit copies of merit offers from other T14 schools (minus Northwestern), but how often does this ever work? I've heard that it doesn't work often.

Discuss!

[catharsis]

tag

[johndhi]

How is need-based aid defined, anyways? Don't ALL of us not have jobs (zero income)?

[jackgrf]

i don't think berkeley gives a lot of merit aid. from what i've heard, the matching program rarely matches.

[knola002]

How is need-based aid defined, anyways? Don't ALL of us not have jobs (zero income)?

I have heard that parents are expected to chip in until the child is 26, regardless of dependent status. That said, I don't remember where I heard this, so it's not the most credible answer you will be getting.

[Tangerine Gleam]

Of course...but some students will be entering law school with years of undergrad debt under their belts, and/or perhaps from a financially disadvantaged background. Others will be coming into law school from well-paying jobs with money in the bank...and/or perhaps wealthy parents willing to foot some (or all) of the tuition bill.

The spectrum of "need" is thus broad. None of us will be able to pay for law school AS IT HAPPENS, but there's a big difference for those entering school with loads of debt, loads of savings, and everything in between.

The system is obviously problematic...but also necessary.

[rundoxierun]

Im interested in this as well.. Ill be applying next cycle, berkeley is my dream choice, but im not willing to pay close to sticker at ANY school ITE

[23fulltimecowboys]

+1 on interested to know anything/everything people can share

[doomswitched]

Yes, there is merit aid, but it is mostly for 2Ls and 3Ls. Yes, matching scholarships happen. Fellow TLSer Saradsun got one. I think (just speculating) the problem the past few years is that the higher ranked schools are NYU and Columbia, both of whom are stingy with aid amounts, so there is little point in submitting a match from them. This should be different now and in the future where nonresident tuition is much closer to their rates. (I'm still speculating on this.) With Berkeley's increase in ranking, the applications have become more competitive because more people want to come here and more people are admitted to other T14s.

Almost everyone gets some need based aid, so the chances that you would pay sticker are small. You can also get a tuition reduction for 2L and 3L by serving as teaching assistants for 1L classes. You also get paid for doing that, so it's not a bad deal at all.

[23fulltimecowboys]

thanks, doom

[Tangerine Gleam]

Hmm, I wonder if I should apply for need-based aid, then? I normally wouldn't consider it, simply because I have a supportive full-time job and a (very little) bit of savings in the bank. That said, for all intents and purposes, I have $0 available to spend on law school and will need every possible dollar in loan form. Is Boalt more generous than normal when it comes to merit aid?

[doomswitched]

Hmm, I wonder if I should apply for need-based aid, then? I normally wouldn't consider it, simply because I have a supportive full-time job and a (very little) bit of savings in the bank. That said, for all intents and purposes, I have $0 available to spend on law school and will need every possible dollar in loan form. Is Boalt more generous than normal when it comes to merit aid?

Not to my knowledge. In the past, you could count on large tuition discounts compared to peer schools, so there was a built in "scholarship/grant." Now the built in savings will only be about $10K. Perhaps the merit aid will change now with the new tuition structure.