Hi,
I have been admitted at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of Virginia for an LLM and I am trying to take the best decision for my future, therefore it would be very useful for me to hear the opinions of all of you.
I am interested in International Law and Human Rights Law in particular.
I received a very generous scholaship from UVA, that it's hard to refuse, and they are always very kind, they show that if I will study at UVA they will take care of me in the best way.
The biggest problem that I am facing right now is that my boyfriend will move to the US with me, but he will not attend a Master. His intention is to improve his english and to attend a certificate. Our final plan is to try to find a good job in the US and, if this will not be possible, to come back in Europe with a valuable academic and/or professional experience.
In Berkeley it seems easier to find even an english school in order to get a student visa, that in Charlottesville seems impossible to find.
These are the main elements for making my choice.
At last, since the deadline for enrolling at Berkeley Law is tomorrow, I was wondering if it would be allowed to pay the sit deposit and then just refuse the admission losing that money but without other consequences. I wouldn't be happy and feel good in doing this but I am trying to figure out how to solve this problems and I have strong issues in getting in touch with the Office of Berkeley Law.
Thanks to all of you for the suggestions that you will give me.

If your interested in International Law and Human Rights I would choose UVA. UVA is well known for their public policy programs.

Regarding your other issue, Berkeley is near a San Francisco but don't think is within a walking distance, it can take at least 30 minutes to go by public transport so if his plan is to study english I think he can enroll in UVA, I am pretty sure there are english programs available, specially in a big public university like UVA.

Here is a very well respected English school that has offices across the US. They are very well respected and the courses are designed for people that are VERY SERIOUS about learning English. They do extensive testing and then put you in the appropriate level from beginner all they way up to college English.

If you pass the higher levels many schools will use this as a basis of admission instead of TOEFL.

http://www.els.edu/en/DiscoverELS/ELSExperience

I don't know if there are any locations near where you will be but you can look.

As for losing your deposit, that is all that will happen. However if you go for UVA and have a scholarship and don't attend. That scholarship is NOT given to someone else so you have unfairly cheated someone out of potential financial assistance.

Thank you very much for your answers, I really appreciate your suggestions.
@Wavshrdr thanks for giving me the name of the english school, that kind of seriousness is exactly what my boyfriend is looking for. Unfortunately there are no venus of it in Charlottesville, but of course we are still keep looking. About the scholarship if I will not attend the UVA I will be extremely careful to do everything correctly in order to let that another student receives it. Thank you for pointing out something so important.

You could contact ELS and see if they can recommend another school in the area you plan on going to school. ELS is clearly the leader from what I've seen in the US that has a national presence and located in many states.

I have seen their coursework and it is very challenging as you increase. They do a lot in all areas with reading, writing and public speaking as well. They have an intensive program that is about 30-40 hours of class each week! They do a great job on the placement tests as well and speak to students as well as the test to try and place them more accurately.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Just a little update. There are no english classes provided at UVA that gives the possibility of getting a student visa. We looked crazily for an english school in Charlottesville but there is no chance for the visa. I read that Berkeley is very good and it is also well know inside and outside the US. This is important in order to have a small chance of staying in the US after the LLM. But I am getting crazy because I feel very bad to refuse such a scholarship, which really makes the difference in the choice between two schools that are, in my eyes, almost equivalent in their high level of education.