Boalt student taking questions about Boalt, law school in general, work, etc.

[snikrep]

Do they really match scholarship offers from other schools in the T14 taking into account COL?

[kuokuo]

Hey Ruskie, thanks for taking questions. i'm going to ask possibly a stupid question, but bear with me 

How easy is it to get back and forth between SF and Berkeley without a car? how easy is it to survive without a car, especially for things like grocery shopping? I noticed the housing prices are really high.. i lived in a different college town that supposedly had high living costs but berkeley seems to be topping it. is it possible to find studios/1 bedrooms for less than, say, 850 a month, and have them be tolerable? not sure what i mean by tolerable, but.. yeah that's all. lol

I went to CAL for undergrad and I think it's pretty easy to get back and forth between SF and Berkeley.  You can take the bus into the city or take Bart.  Seriously, I wouldn't want to take a car into SF...parking is tough unless you're willing to pay a decent amount. In general, you can get around pretty well with public transportation.  The buses also can get you fairly close to the two local Safeways (Grocery stores for non Norcal people).  Plus there is an Andronicos (think Whole Foods like grocery store) located on Telegraph Ave. 

850 may be on the low end of apts and will be hard to find...(although you will find some studios at that range).  In terms of whether they are tolerable or not...I remember looking at a studio that had prime location for 900...but stunk like bad B.O. and had a few broken windows. Of course...this was across the street from campus and the further away you live from CAL, the cheaper places become. 

If you can get a car, you could live in one of the surrounding cities (emeryville comes to mind) and commute to CAL.  You'll get newer accommodations for a better price. 


 The secret really is to get in with some sort of organization/club and have someone "grandfather" you into an apt in the areas where Berkeley still has some form of rent control.  I had a friend paying 800 for a 2 bedroom a few blocks from campus.  Once he left, they raised the rent to 2300.     

[Perrin79]

I'm a 1L at Boalt (sans car), and it's pretty difficult to get around without one.  I live down in South Berkeley -- it's pretty easy to take the bus up to campus, but getting anywhere else is a nightmare.  If you're not going to have a car, shoot for North Berkeley (as close to campus as you can get), or maybe somewhere near the shops on College.  A decent studio would prolly run around 900 or so, but look early, because the landlords jack up the rents bigtime round August. 

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Do they really match scholarship offers from other schools in the T14 taking into account COL?

I don't think they take into account the COL, but they make sure that you are no more indebted by going to Boalt than by going to say, NYU.  Tuition at NYU is higher and if NYU gave you a full ride, Boalt wouldn't match that exact amount, they would just give you a full tide to Boalt.  Does that make sense?

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Hey Ruskie, thanks for taking questions. i'm going to ask possibly a stupid question, but bear with me 

How easy is it to get back and forth between SF and Berkeley without a car? how easy is it to survive without a car, especially for things like grocery shopping? I noticed the housing prices are really high.. i lived in a different college town that supposedly had high living costs but berkeley seems to be topping it. is it possible to find studios/1 bedrooms for less than, say, 850 a month, and have them be tolerable? not sure what i mean by tolerable, but.. yeah that's all. lol

I went to CAL for undergrad and I think it's pretty easy to get back and forth between SF and Berkeley.  You can take the bus into the city or take Bart.  Seriously, I wouldn't want to take a car into SF...parking is tough unless you're willing to pay a decent amount. In general, you can get around pretty well with public transportation.  The buses also can get you fairly close to the two local Safeways (Grocery stores for non Norcal people).  Plus there is an Andronicos (think Whole Foods like grocery store) located on Telegraph Ave. 

850 may be on the low end of apts and will be hard to find...(although you will find some studios at that range).  In terms of whether they are tolerable or not...I remember looking at a studio that had prime location for 900...but stunk like bad B.O. and had a few broken windows. Of course...this was across the street from campus and the further away you live from CAL, the cheaper places become. 

If you can get a car, you could live in one of the surrounding cities (emeryville comes to mind) and commute to CAL.  You'll get newer accommodations for a better price. 


 The secret really is to get in with some sort of organization/club and have someone "grandfather" you into an apt in the areas where Berkeley still has some form of rent control.  I had a friend paying 800 for a 2 bedroom a few blocks from campus.  Once he left, they raised the rent to 2300.     

I would have to say that if you are used to having a car, the Bay Area public transportation is less than tolerable.  I came to the Bay in June before my 1L year and tried to live without a car.  I actually didn't get a car until August.  It was a huge pain in the ass.  It took me 1 hour on BART and a bus to get to my dentist's office, to which I now drive in 7 minutes.  Grocery shopping is also a pain in the ass because you have to go more often since you can't carry as much at one time as you would be able to if you could just load up your trunk.  At the very least, I think those who are used to having their own car should get one of those scooters. 

[wingless]

Could you say what percentage of students at Boalt have technical/science PhDs?
Does the doctorate help them landing biglaw summer jobs in their 1L and 2L years?

Thanks in advance.

[sea dream]

thanks to everyone that replied to my questions about SF and Berkeley!

[snowbird]

Do students at Berkeley pronounce it the way the general population pronounces it, or "Barkley," the was the philosopher it was named after pronouced it?

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Could you say what percentage of students at Boalt have technical/science PhDs?
Does the doctorate help them landing biglaw summer jobs in their 1L and 2L years?

Thanks in advance.

I'm sorry but I don't have those stats on hand.  I think some of this information might be included in the class profiles on the Admissions webpage. 

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Do students at Berkeley pronounce it the way the general population pronounces it, or "Barkley," the was the philosopher it was named after pronouced it?

Most people who go there don't call it any variation of "Berkeley" at all.  Undergrads call it "Cal" which I find terribly annoying for some reason, and law students say they go to "Boalt."  I am used to calling it Boalt now, but I have to remember to use "Berkeley" when I do east coast interviews.