Ask a scholar, cynic, optimist, and Harvard Law bound Cal student

[untermensch]

<p>

1.) Are you in Harvard law right now? If so, is it significantly more difficult than Berkeley, a little more difficult, or about the same?

Yes. Law school is an entirely different monster. Most notably, the work load is much more significant. Outlining is the devil!</p>

<p>

2.) Do you feel as if Berkeley has made you a stronger student at Harvard law? Even though Harvard Law does admit from a myriad of colleges, do you feel as if you’re at an advantage because you’ve gone to Berkeley (a much tougher school when juxtaposed to say, Cal State Chico)

Not really. I was always pessimistic about the education that Berkeley gave me. And besides, at a school like Harvard, they’re only admitting students who are among the brightest at their respective colleges, so the school gap you’re imagining doesn’t feel as significant.</p>

<p>

3.) For someone who is more of a hard worker than someone who has natural intelligence, do you think it would be possible to score 170 + on the lsat after maybe 6-7 months of practice?

The LSAT can be learned, and beaten. That said, you wouldn’t be able to teach a mule to score 170+ on the LSAT. Hard work will make for substantial score increases, but the top scores require some natural aptitude. </p>

<p>

4.) Were you confident about your acceptance to Harvard? If so, what GPA/LSAT combination would you believe is the minimum to have a great chance at Harvard. (I understand that Harvard’s admission process is significantly more predictable than Yale’s or Stanford’s?)

It’s hard to be confident about admission to Harvard. That said, a 3.9+/175+ is typically considered a “lock.” You’re absolutely correct about Harvard vs. Stanford/Yale. Admissions tend to be “predictable” at HLS whereas Stanford/Yale are considered to be “black box” schools, where nobody can predict their own admittance.</p>

[gobears10]

<p>When did you start studying the lsat? How many months before did you start studying the lsat? How many hours a day did you study it(when you were most intense about studying it), and how did you manage to balance it while still acing your classes at Berkeley?</p>

<p>And I don’t know if this has been asked, but what types of ECs did you have?</p>

[inspiration93]

<p>Is it true that it is very difficult to graduate in 4 years at Cal? What is the graduation rate like?</p>

[untermensch]

<p>

When did you start studying the lsat? How many months before did you start studying the lsat? How many hours a day did you study it(when you were most intense about studying it), and how did you manage to balance it while still acing your classes at Berkeley?</p>

<p>And I don’t know if this has been asked, but what types of ECs did you have?

</p>

<p>I took the Sept/October administration, so I started studying in May when I got out for summer Junior year. I studied all the way up to the test pretty consistently. 5 days a week/3-5 hours a day.</p>

<p>I think vague info about my ECs is somewhere in this thread, but PM me if you want specifics. They weren’t wildly exceptional by any means.</p>

<p>

Is it true that it is very difficult to graduate in 4 years at Cal? What is the graduation rate like?

Difficult to graduate in four years? No way. I have a few friends who did/are doing it in 3 and I’ve heard of doing it in 2-2.5.</p>

[JelloBiafra]

<p>is hls anything similar to legally blonde’s rendition?</p>

[untermensch]

<p>No, it isn’t.</p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>Re: engineering or science major to law school</p>

<p>Wouldn’t that be useful if one were interested in a type of law where engineering and/or science knowledge is useful (e.g. intellectual property law, environmental law)?</p>

[untermensch]

<p>IP law is known as the general exception.</p>

[gobears10]

<p>When did you write your personal statements? During the summer prior to your senior year when you were concurrently studying for the lsat? </p>

<p>How many law schools did you apply to? Did you have to write different statements for each one, or was there a standard application? </p>

<p>Also, since you applied before your senior year finished, did the law schools care about your senior grades? (I’ve heard that they do request fall semester senior year if those grades are available, but do they care about spring semester too?)</p>

[untermensch]

<p>

When did you write your personal statements? During the summer prior to your senior year when you were concurrently studying for the lsat?

</p>

<p>Yes, I wrote my first draft in mid/late July. I edited only a little bit until I took the LSAT, but revised it extensively while I was waiting for my scores.</p>

<p>

How many law schools did you apply to? Did you have to write different statements for each one, or was there a standard application?

</p>

<p>I blanketed the T14 for the most part, barring a few exceptions I knew I wouldn’t attend. There’s a standard app, but some schools have supplemental essays (like Yale).</p>

<p>

Also, since you applied before your senior year finished, did the law schools care about your senior grades? (I’ve heard that they do request fall semester senior year if those grades are available, but do they care about spring semester too?)

</p>

<p>I wasn’t hassled about them.</p>

[CCjuniortransfer]

<p>Before you started studying for the LSAT, did you take a pre-test without any studying to see where you placed, score wise? Do you even think this is a good idea, because if one were to score say below the average test score, wouldn’t it discourage someone to do their best on the test? I would view it as a slap in the face, a clear message that I have no natural aptitude for the field in which I intend to enter.</p>