University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law Admission
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law Undergraduate Program
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law Application

The Facts

The University of California, Berkeley is a rather large, public institution located in the appropriately titled town of Berkeley, California. The university itself has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 25,000 students, however, the university's Boalt Hall School of Law is significantly smaller, and is home to about 880 graduate law students. The average age of enrollment is around 25, and it is fairly rare for students to enter directly from undergraduate school. The school of law is perhaps best known for its internship, externship and clerkship opportunities, as well as for its connections within the legal world. The school offers degrees in the LLM, JSD, as well as the PhD in jurisprudence and social policy. The school also has a wide range of joint degrees including the JD/MBA, JD/PhD in economics, JD/MBA in busines, JD/MA in Asian studies, JD/MA in international area studies, JD/MCP in city and regional planning, JD/MJ in journalism, JD/MPP in public policy, JD/MSW in social welfare, JD/MA and JD/PhD in information management systems, JD/PhD in history, as well as the JD/MS in energy and resources. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of business law and economics, comparative legal studies, corporation securities law, environmental law, intellectual property law, international law, law and technology, as well as social justice.

Admission to the University of California's School of Law is extremely competitive among the many students who apply. Last year, over 7,700 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 770 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 270 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average LSAT score ranging from 161 to 168, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.8. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and as of yet, there is no early applications program in place.

The Boalt Hall School of Law has 166 faculty members, and students are in agreement when it comes to their availability and devotion to their students. The school has a rather manageable student to faculty ratio of 14:1, and the small class sizes allow for plenty of interaction between students and their professors.

Employment Facts

Over 99% of the most recent graduating class were able to find jobs within a few months of receiving their degrees, and they also had an average starting salary of about $100,000. Students are always being recruited by hundreds of employers that include national firms, multinational corporations, public interest groups, as well as governmental agencies.

What's Good

"The faculty here is unlike any other; they're accessible and open to all types of people and opinions."

"There is actually a surprising amount of graduate financial aid available to us."

"San Francisco is fairly close by, and it has plenty of chances to network within the legal community."

What's Bad

"There really needs to be more on campus graduate housing. The area is just way too expensive."

"The administration has to deal with a very large student body, and the graduate students seem to be last on their agenda."

"The really good internships can be pretty competitive to get; you really have to fight your way into them."

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