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

[taxman14]

anyone request a fee waiver through their online form? how long does it take for them to respond?

Yea I submitted it and no one replied for weeks, so I called the offices and no one replied either, so after a lot of back and forth, they referred me to Grace Mayeda (gmayeda@berkeley.edu). She's the one who handles all fee waiver requests so go through her and after that it took me about two more days. Hope that helps! (FYI: she's out of the office until Oct. 17 so doubtful that she'll get back to you until at least then)

[dietcoke1]

anyone request a fee waiver through their online form? how long does it take for them to respond?

Yea I submitted it and no one replied for weeks, so I called the offices and no one replied either, so after a lot of back and forth, they referred me to Grace Mayeda (gmayeda@berkeley.edu). She's the one who handles all fee waiver requests so go through her and after that it took me about two more days. Hope that helps! (FYI: she's out of the office until Oct. 17 so doubtful that she'll get back to you until at least then)

you probably just saved me a few weeks! thanks!

[taxman14]

anyone request a fee waiver through their online form? how long does it take for them to respond?

Yea I submitted it and no one replied for weeks, so I called the offices and no one replied either, so after a lot of back and forth, they referred me to Grace Mayeda (gmayeda@berkeley.edu). She's the one who handles all fee waiver requests so go through her and after that it took me about two more days. Hope that helps! (FYI: she's out of the office until Oct. 17 so doubtful that she'll get back to you until at least then)

you probably just saved me a few weeks! thanks!

Haha I didn't get why they were so incompetent, but sure thing

[LawschoolHopeful2k16]

anyone request a fee waiver through their online form? how long does it take for them to respond?

Yea I submitted it and no one replied for weeks, so I called the offices and no one replied either, so after a lot of back and forth, they referred me to Grace Mayeda (gmayeda@berkeley.edu). She's the one who handles all fee waiver requests so go through her and after that it took me about two more days. Hope that helps! (FYI: she's out of the office until Oct. 17 so doubtful that she'll get back to you until at least then)

Like you guys, I submitted the online form like a month ago. I emailed asking about it a couple weeks ago and no one responded. But then a week or two later I received an email approving my request. So I guess they're just backed up or something.

[taxman14]

anyone request a fee waiver through their online form? how long does it take for them to respond?

Yea I submitted it and no one replied for weeks, so I called the offices and no one replied either, so after a lot of back and forth, they referred me to Grace Mayeda (gmayeda@berkeley.edu). She's the one who handles all fee waiver requests so go through her and after that it took me about two more days. Hope that helps! (FYI: she's out of the office until Oct. 17 so doubtful that she'll get back to you until at least then)

Like you guys, I submitted the online form like a month ago. I emailed asking about it a couple weeks ago and no one responded. But then a week or two later I received an email approving my request. So I guess they're just backed up or something.

Haha interesting...no one even emailed me back. I had to reach out myself. Was really frustrating - no other school except Columbia has been like this.

[atlantahoo]

finally got a confirmation email saying that my app was under review!

[Strangeland]

Sent my app in 11 days ago, still no email from them saying they at least received it. Do I need to do anything? Lsn shows people go complete fairly quickly

[Helioze]

So how are we feeling about the discontinuation of the matching program?

Herald of Berkeley's financial death spiral or an indication they will pony up for elite students?

[atlantahoo]

Anyone else currently listed as "under review"?

[pretzeltime]

So how are we feeling about the discontinuation of the matching program?

Herald of Berkeley's financial death spiral or an indication they will pony up for elite students?

hoping for the latter, but I suppose we shall be the guinea pigs this year!

[pretzeltime]

Anyone else currently listed as "under review"?

yep. see page 2.

[zeglo]

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[Rubbishdump]

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[proteinshake]

3.89 (lsac gpa, 3.86 from school)/165 non-URM here.

I assume my chances are low, but I am filling out the application to see what happens. Question regarding the socio-economic questionnaire, however: what is meant by "immediate family?" My grandmother and uncle were, and in my uncle's case, definitely still is on food stamps.

parents and siblings is usually what is meant by 'immediate'

[Rubbishdump]

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[proteinshake]

since Berkeley prefers a 4 page personal statement, that would seem like the appropriate place.

[LawschoolHopeful2k16]

Ah. Well, my Mother did have me at 15, but we weren't ever on food stamps as far as I am aware. Is my mother's age, as well as her raising me alone, something that I should emphasize in this application - and if so, where? Both of my grandparents also passed as a result ofdrug use, if that constitutes "diversity."

Granted, this all seems like whining to me, but I lived through it so I might as well profit off it for once, I guess. Sob stories seem to be what people are looking for.

The consensus seems to be that if it shaped you, work it into your personal statement. If it didn't influence how you grew up and the type of person you became, then it's not as helpful to write.

And its especially useful if you can take the hardships you faced and give a concrete example of how you overcame them and the difference it made on your life. So if you did something like create an anti-drug campaign at your high school and then get involved in anti substance abuse programs in college, that would be more worth writing about.

Schools don't want to see that someone had it tougher than others so much as they want to see that the person overcame adversity and became stronger due to it.

[20171lhopeful]

I know Berkeley encourages a longer PS. The thing is I worked on mine for the better part of a year, so I'm really happy with the final product. I really don’t want to add fluff just to make it longer and I don't think there are parts that require further detail. Do you think this will adversely affect me? Did anyone else submit a 2 pager?

[warmcherrysoda]

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[atlantahoo]

I know Berkeley encourages a longer PS. The thing is I worked on mine for the better part of a year, so I'm really happy with the final product. I really don’t want to add fluff just to make it longer and I don't think there are parts that require further detail. Do you think this will adversely affect me? Did anyone else submit a 2 pager?

I submitted 2 pages. My gpa is a bit above median and my lsat quite high for the school, so I guess if I get rejected we'll know why.

Mine was a 2-pager as well, but I also wrote a diversity statement

[warmcherrysoda]

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[cantyoloforever]

Part of my "why x" talked about being conservative; wonder if that will help or hurt my app

[zeglo]

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[poptart123]

Just got an unsolicited fee waiver!

[YoungSimba]

Can anyone help me with some questions I have about the app.... please don't quote, just @simba:

1. For the "Socioeconomic Information" section - knowing I do not come from disadvantage, would it be better to check the box "this section does not apply to me", or fully answer every question on the page (basically confirming I have no hardship)?
2. For the C&F questions, Q1: "1. Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of any offense, excluding minor traffic and parking violations, or is any such charge now pending against you?"... this language is different than other apps. I haven't been arrested or convicted but I have been "charged" with something in the past... how are you all handling this question?
3. I was going to include an addendum for multiple LSAT scores... "If you do not believe that your standardized test score(s) or academic record accurately reflect your ability to succeed in law school, then you may tell us why and share what you believe indicates your potential. (250 word maximum). As per the application instructions, you must attach a copy of your SAT or ACT score report(s) to this essay."... Do I really need to include my SAT report? Where does one obtain an ancient SAT report?

Thanks in advance for the help! I absolutely love Berkeley, but it's a huge reach for me. Hoping to get my app in this week!