UC Berkeley School of Law C/O 2020 Applicants (2016-2017) Forum

[emlaw03]

I don't understand why they can't send an email saying "at this time we cannot offer you any merit aid" instead of keeping us in the dark[/quote]

Because law school admissions is quite possibly the most tedious and uncertain process I have ever encountered. #ghostedbyschoolsfor6mos[/quote]
Well. That just plain stinks.[/quote]

can someone call and confirm that they are done with merit aid for now? i already called late last week so i dont want to seem desperate -- even tho I am[/quote]

At ASW she said if you don't receive anything in 7-10 days (10 days was yesterday) then you can assume you're not being offered anything at this time.

I think they're open to negotiation though since that's what they did in the past[/quote]

I just contacted admissions and they said that I am still under consideration. No decision made either way. Just an FYI.[/quote]

Who did you speak with? I was told all decisions have gone out as of now.

[jackstraw92]

Berkeley has not updated their website since ending the matching scholarship program, and the information on how to apply for scholarship reconsideration seems outdated, with the email still being matching@law.berkeley.edu. Anyone have any insight on this front?

They explained this at ASW - the matching scholarship program has ended but it's basically been replaced by the "scholarship reconsideration" process, which still uses the same matching@law.berkeley.edu email account. It was pretty clear they expect that admits will attach peer offers when they make reconsideration requests, and you have to give a specific amount of aid you're asking for.

[LawTweet]

I don't understand why they can't send an email saying "at this time we cannot offer you any merit aid" instead of keeping us in the dark

Because law school admissions is quite possibly the most tedious and uncertain process I have ever encountered. #ghostedbyschoolsfor6mos[/quote]
Well. That just plain stinks.[/quote]

can someone call and confirm that they are done with merit aid for now? i already called late last week so i dont want to seem desperate -- even tho I am[/quote]

At ASW she said if you don't receive anything in 7-10 days (10 days was yesterday) then you can assume you're not being offered anything at this time.

I think they're open to negotiation though since that's what they did in the past[/quote]

I just contacted admissions and they said that I am still under consideration. No decision made either way. Just an FYI.[/quote]

Who did you speak with? I was told all decisions have gone out as of now.[/quote]

I just emailed the admissions office and got a response.

[emlaw03]

I just emailed the admissions office and got a response.[/quote]

Ugh. They're the worst. I spoke with the financial aid office over the phone and specifically asked if not receiving any merit notifications meant at this time we weren't receiving anything. She said yes. Did the admissions tell you when they would conclude?

[Litt1tUp]

I just emailed the admissions office and got a response.

Ugh. They're the worst. I spoke with the financial aid office over the phone and specifically asked if not receiving any merit notifications meant at this time we weren't receiving anything. She said yes. Did the admissions tell you when they would conclude?[/quote]

+1 also was told I'm under consideration

[calpolisci2016]

I just emailed the admissions office and got a response.

Ugh. They're the worst. I spoke with the financial aid office over the phone and specifically asked if not receiving any merit notifications meant at this time we weren't receiving anything. She said yes. Did the admissions tell you when they would conclude?[/quote]

I feel like all of this inconsistency is a negotiating tactic designed to weaken your will to negotiate and to sow confusion so that applicants don't get an information advantage. Ugh.

[LawTweet]

Honestly the administrative nightmare that Berkeley seems to be makes me somewhat hesitant to continue seriously consider the school.

[Rigo]

How many Berkeley applicants does it take to fix a broken quote?

[big_willy_style_333]

Confirmed. Berk is the biggest dumpster fire in the T13 right now.

[LawTweet]

Latest response I got from admissions:

"We will notify everyone once the scholarship awarding process has concluded. We do not transmit individual notifications."

[Rigo]

Confirmed. Berk is the biggest dumpster fire in the T13 right now.

Cornell makin a play to jump it this year.

[treetops_rising]

Honestly the administrative nightmare that Berkeley seems to be makes me somewhat hesitant to continue seriously consider the school.

+1

[annazork]

Emailed Admissions this:
"Good morning,
I was wondering if I am still being considered for financial aid in the form of merit-based scholarships at this point in the admissions cycle. If so, when should I expect an update? I am weighing my options as the deadlines to commit to school or job opportunities approach. "

Just got this back (really quickly btw):
"The scholarship review process has begun and multiple rounds of awards will continue through the spring. We regret that we are not able to provide an exact date when you will hear beyond this nor and amount, however. Rest assured we are working on it as we have many worthy candidates."

What do folks think as far as sending in a request via the matching aid email now/soon/like end of the week or or waiting until we hear back?

[Litt1tUp]

So here is what I was told by a student at Berkeley who asked for me this morning because I didn't want to bombard them with constant emails -

- Some Admitted Students have been reviewed and it's been decided to not give them offers.
- They are telling students to assume they won't receive aid in order for us to prepare for the worst.
- Some Admitted Students are being reviewed right now and offers should just keep flowing through the next few weeks.
- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

I'm planning on clicking tentatively accepting a spot in there class on cal central and if I don't receive anything by June, then I'll withdraw.

[annazork]

So here is what I was told by a student at Berkeley who asked for me this morning because I didn't want to bombard them with constant emails -

- Some Admitted Students have been reviewed and it's been decided to not give them offers.
- They are telling students to assume they won't receive aid in order for us to prepare for the worst.
- Some Admitted Students are being reviewed right now and offers should just keep flowing through the next few weeks.
- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

I'm planning on clicking tentatively accepting a spot in there class on cal central and if I don't receive anything by June, then I'll withdraw.

Good call. I am going to the admitted students reception tonight here in DC, anyone else going? Would love to meet up and stress out about this in person with people in similar situations haha.
I'm not sure if there will be admins there, but maybe it will come up in conversation? definitely am trying not to push it, and ride this out. I can always reapply next year with better numbers.

[chandhi]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

[gargleblaster]

So here is what I was told by a student at Berkeley who asked for me this morning because I didn't want to bombard them with constant emails -

- Some Admitted Students have been reviewed and it's been decided to not give them offers.
- They are telling students to assume they won't receive aid in order for us to prepare for the worst.
- Some Admitted Students are being reviewed right now and offers should just keep flowing through the next few weeks.
- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

I'm planning on clicking tentatively accepting a spot in there class on cal central and if I don't receive anything by June, then I'll withdraw.

Same - no reason not to just wait it out

[Litt1tUp]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

This is for scholarships, id assume after a certain amount of withdrawals, they'd make offers to the waitlist.

[chandhi]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

This is for scholarships, id assume after a certain amount of withdrawals, they'd make offers to the waitlist.

And people who haven't heard back yet AKA me lol. Thanks!!

[AllHailKingMao]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

This is for scholarships, id assume after a certain amount of withdrawals, they'd make offers to the waitlist.

And people who haven't heard back yet AKA me lol. Thanks!!

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

[chandhi]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

This is for scholarships, id assume after a certain amount of withdrawals, they'd make offers to the waitlist.

And people who haven't heard back yet AKA me lol. Thanks!!

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

No I haven't heard back regarding admission haha I'm still UR

[AllHailKingMao]

- As people withdraw, it allows them to make additional offers that they might be holding off on.

Is this just for schollys or also offers of admission?

This is for scholarships, id assume after a certain amount of withdrawals, they'd make offers to the waitlist.

And people who haven't heard back yet AKA me lol. Thanks!!

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

No I haven't heard back regarding admission haha I'm still UR

Oh, sorry-- didn't mean it in regards to you. I meant in general, if you've been admitted but haven't heard back regarding need/merit aid, does that mean that you're getting a generous offer of $0?

[xtremenite]

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

Seems to be unconfirmed. Some people in this thread saying the FA office said no aid, others saying the process is still ongoing.

[annazork]

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

Seems to be unconfirmed. Some people in this thread saying the FA office said no aid, others saying the process is still ongoing.

I went to the admitted students reception last night, and they basically said that they are still considering people for aid if you haven't been emailed yet. I also noticed that a large majority of people there were in the same boat -- not having heard about merit yet. So don't totally give up!

[LawTweet]

So (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) if you haven't heard back regarding merit or need based aid, you're likely getting $0?

Seems to be unconfirmed. Some people in this thread saying the FA office said no aid, others saying the process is still ongoing.

I went to the admitted students reception last night, and they basically said that they are still considering people for aid if you haven't been emailed yet. I also noticed that a large majority of people there were in the same boat -- not having heard about merit yet. So don't totally give up!

After reaching out a few times to Berkeley they finally sent me an unofficial award. They said official awards will be emailed on Friday (though I have no idea if that is all or some awards).