I finalized my application way before the March 1st deadline and I'm still waiting a decision. Have no idea what to expect at this point.

Hello everyone !

Is anyone still waiting for the admission package they are suppose to send after sending the acceptance email ?
I ve got the admission email a month ago and I have not received any package yet...

I got an email last week and it said that I'm on the waiting list till june!

UCLA with a Dean Scholarship of the maximum amount or Berkeley without any aid? I am into Human Rights. Please help! Thank you!

Since Berkeley is well ranked in this area but not top, I would say take the money and run! They are both excellent schools. There is a HUGE cultural difference between the 2 schools as well.

So if you are getting a full tuition scholarship, or even anything over 20k, then I would definitely go with UCLA over Berkeley. Both are very well regarded school in and outside of the US. For the program, nobody is really going to care too much between say a program 4th and 8th ranked. If it was between 1st and 4th, then I might go for ranking but if not #1 or 2, less of an issue.

California is almost like another country compared to the rest of the US. As a result there is definitely a different cultural attitude and approach to things. UC Berkeley was at the heart of a lot of socialist, communist and Marxist movements in the US. In that area, corporations are often portrayed as villains or evil-doers. So many movements or ideas almost become like a cult there.

If you are familiar with the term "hippy" or "beatnik", they are from that area of California. Read about the UC Berkeley riots in the 1960's. The political views of the students and faculty may be similar or counter to your own. You need to inform yourself and decide. Typically there have been very "militant" forms of expression developed there. In other words their views can be very extreme and they can be very aggressive toward you if you don't share their own views.

About 40-50 years ago, it was an area with the largest student protest in the US against all manner of things. There were riots in the 1960's. Then things became calmer until just recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/us/berkeley-protests.html

Apparently a black person was killed by a white police officer in Missouri after he attacked the police officer. Many people thought the office should haven't shot at the person who attacked him and allegedly tried to kill him (the police officer). Later it became a very divisive issue between black and white people in the US. Then started a campaign of "black lives matter". I read somewhere that at some school in California a dean (I am not sure if it was a dean but a highly placed administrator type person) said that "all lives matter" and then people started yelling and complaining at that person to coerce them to change it to "black lives matter".

I don't want to get into the politics of this but the dean's response seemed reasonable in that all lives should matter. Their point was if you are black, white, yellow, brown, etc., that all lives should matter.

So UC Berkeley has a very deep history of political activism in the US. If the views of the students match yours then you will likely enjoy the place. If you have a different mindset then be aware that you may feel ostracized if you decide to share your views. What you may see are cultural norms for your country may not match up with theirs. It is still a fine university and you could get a great education there even if you don't match their views but you might want to keep them to yourself.

There are 2 main political parties in the US; Democrats and Republicans. I just read an article that if many companies know that you are a "Republican" in the San Francisco area (included Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, etc.) that they won't hire you no matter how well qualified you are. For more info read this. It references the original article.

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2015/04/republicans-in-san-francisco-and-silicon-valley/

USC with Scholarship or UCLA without any aid? I read a lot about it, but still want some help! Anyone? Thank you!

How much aid for USC? Where do you plan to go afterwards?

$25.000 I guess is the maximum..

If you are getting a 20k scholarship or better, I would go with USC over UCLA. They are fairly close in ranking. If someone else is paying your bill then you might be inclined to go to the best school/program you can. Since UCLA is no longer part of the T14 it is even less of an issue.

One thing to keep in mind though. The area around USC is definitely not as nice as UCLA but that can also result in things being less expensive. USC is very conveniently located to the metro system from what I remember. Another plus the Trojan alumni are very loyal and strongly supportive of the school.

Academically I would give the advantage to UCLA but both are very good schools. If this were about undergrad then UCLA is clearly better law seems to be closer.

If you are trying to get employed after school then it seems the advantage of the Trojan (USC) network might be better. There is a long running rivalry between these 2 schools in many areas.

FYI - Princeton review listed "The top 10 schools for Best Alumni Network" are
1. Clemson
2. Dartmouth
3. Stanford
4. Texas A & M
5. Virginia Tech
6. Penn State
7. CMU
8. UVa
9. Cornell
10. Vanderbilt

This was based on undergrads but it can give you an idea of the overall loyalty of the alumni

California is almost like another country compared to the rest of the US. As a result there is definitely a different cultural attitude and approach to things. UC Berkeley was at the heart of a lot of socialist, communist and Marxist movements in the US. In that area, corporations are often portrayed as villains or evil-doers. So many movements or ideas almost become like a cult there.

If you are familiar with the term "hippy" or "beatnik", they are from that area of California. Read about the UC Berkeley riots in the 1960's. The political views of the students and faculty may be similar or counter to your own. You need to inform yourself and decide. Typically there have been very "militant" forms of expression developed there. In other words their views can be very extreme and they can be very aggressive toward you if you don't share their own views.

About 40-50 years ago, it was an area with the largest student protest in the US against all manner of things. There were riots in the 1960's. Then things became calmer until just recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/us/berkeley-protests.html

Apparently a black person was killed by a white police officer in Missouri after he attacked the police officer. Many people thought the office should haven't shot at the person who attacked him and allegedly tried to kill him (the police officer). Later it became a very divisive issue between black and white people in the US. Then started a campaign of "black lives matter". I read somewhere that at some school in California a dean (I am not sure if it was a dean but a highly placed administrator type person) said that "all lives matter" and then people started yelling and complaining at that person to coerce them to change it to "black lives matter".

I don't want to get into the politics of this but the dean's response seemed reasonable in that all lives should matter. Their point was if you are black, white, yellow, brown, etc., that all lives should matter.

So UC Berkeley has a very deep history of political activism in the US. If the views of the students match yours then you will likely enjoy the place. If you have a different mindset then be aware that you may feel ostracized if you decide to share your views. What you may see are cultural norms for your country may not match up with theirs. It is still a fine university and you could get a great education there even if you don't match their views but you might want to keep them to yourself.

There are 2 main political parties in the US; Democrats and Republicans. I just read an article that if many companies know that you are a "Republican" in the San Francisco area (included Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, etc.) that they won't hire you no matter how well qualified you are. For more info read this. It references the original article.

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/2015/04/republicans-in-san-francisco-and-silicon-valley/

What would you choose between Cornell and UCLA?

NapoleonH, I chose Cornell over UCLA. I'm now trying to decide between Cornell and Georgetown.

Wavshrdr
Thank you for your help. I forgot to mention that I plan to join an international organization after the Program. Do you think I should still choose USC?

I really don't see a huge difference between them. Unless UCLA has a program that you specifically can see is much better than at USC, their isn't a huge difference in school rankings.

Either school is very well rated even if not at the absolute top of the law school hierarchy. If it was purely undergrad I might go with UCLA but the law schools are much more closely ranked.

Do you see grads from either of these school in your field in your home country?

Do you see grads from either of these school in your field in your home country?

*** No, I don't know many grads here that attended USA LLM Programs. Unfortunately, mostly, the only ones that I know are specialized in taxation.
I worked for the past 10 years with corporate law and now I am interested in changing to Human Rights.