Inside scoop
Ethan Madore
Berkeley is different. It has a very strong, very independent brand that really has nothing to do with the rest of the T14. Berkeley is public, progressive, and for as much as they do put out plenty of traditionally career-minded lawyers, the general Berkeley brand is an extremely valuable asset to its law school. Of all T14 schools, Berkeley and Michigan are the two schools that most like to be loved by applicants. At Berkeley, that takes the form of an application that looks pretty different than other schools’. If you’re applying to Berkeley, you’re going to need to jump through a few Berkeley-specific hoops. Doing it with a smile is part of the test.
Admissions stats
LSAT vs GPA
Based on 2025 data from ABA
Projected from 7Sage applicants
Based on 2025 data from ABA
Your chances
Trends
Based on data from ABA
Based on data from US News and World Report
Based on data from ABA
Based on data from ABA
Why Berkeley
Ethan Madore
There’s a bit of a conflicting duality to Berkeley’s appeal. First, it’s Berkeley: the famous capital of 20th-century campus progressivism. Second, it’s a hop, skip, and jump or two away from Silicon Valley and so connected to New Tech and all of its disruptive, innovative power. Most of its applicants are at least somewhat attracted by one or the other. Some brave few applicants are interested in both, privately asking themselves the question: can we still really think of tech as ‘progressive?’.
If you want a law school with a strong identity and great outcomes, often of the more traditional kind than its reputation would imply, UCB is likely a strong fit.
Employment
Based on 2024 data from ABA
Based on 2024 data from ABA
Tuition & costs
Demographics
Out of 1008 students in 2024, 60% were women, and 54% were racial or ethnic minorities.
Based on 2024 data from ABA
Yes, admission to Berkeley is highly competitive. For the 2025 application cycle, the Berkeley acceptance rate was 14.84%.
To be a competitive applicant at Berkeley, you should aim for an LSAT score around the median of 170 and a GPA of 3.92. The middle 50% of accepted students scored between 167 and 172 on the LSAT.
For the 2025 academic year, Berkeley tuition is $62,532 for full-time students. When factoring in the cost of living and additional fees, the total estimated cost of attendance is $107,232 per year.
Yes, Berkeley is a highly regarded institution. It is currently ranked #16 in the U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools rankings for 2026.