|
Social Life Survey |
| Full-Time Law Program |
Boalt bills itself as a stress-free environment, an assertion that most
certainly can be correct. As I discussed above in the Careers section,
however, the non-intensity of the school's culture is emphasized unduly
and a bit of a facade. Those who buy into the "P=JD" mentality are
likely to receive many unwelcome surprises--in the form of rejection
letters--during recruiting season.
Still, Boalt students may generally be described as friendly, although
the disparate interests of many of the students and the relatively
large size of the incoming class (270) lends itself to the formation of
several cliques. A fair number of students, the "gunners" referred to
above (or those who aspire to such status), often isolate themselves
from the school social scene entirely. The school attempts to promote
classwide and schoolwide social activities, such as mixers put on by
the Students' Association and the weekly "Bar Review" at a Berkeley
watering hole, but students tend to forgo such events to divine their
own social lives. This is due in part by the school's proximity to San
Francisco, which is just across San Francisco Bay and a 20-minute drive
on a night that's light on traffic. The school also admits a fair
number of "nontraditional" students who tend to be married and
uninterested in the law school social scene. In addition, although
Boalt Hall is located in a corner of the U.C. Berkeley campus, many law
students commisserate with the school's great many grad students who
are pursuing other programs.
Berkeley itself, and the East Bay communities which surround it, are
devoid of a lively nightlife. Oakland/San Leandro/Hayward is to the
south of the school and, due to economic depression and other factors,
has almost no nightlife. The sole exception is Oakland's Rockridge
district, which has a fair number of graduate students and young
professionals partaking in its bar scene. Richmond and Albany,
Berkeley's neighbors to the north, merely have a few college-type bars
such as Albatross and Club Mallard. Each may be aptly characterized as
a dive bar. Berkeley is bounded to the east by the Berkeley Hills, and
the communities on the other side (Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, and
Concord, among others) are relatively sleepy suburbs and bedroom
communities, accessible only via a relatively long drive through a
tunnel.
Berkeley itself has a typical college-type nightlife, characterized by
small bars such as Jupiter and Henry's. Most students eschew Berkeley,
and the East Bay altogether, and head to San Francisco on the
weekends. San Francisco, of course, is one of the most exciting places
in the country and defies easy description here.
Dating at Boalt is virtually nonexistent, and to the extent that it
does occur, is typically kept under wraps. The school does not have
any type of legal fraternity or sorority, although this is made up for
to great extent by the school's myriad journals and organizations.
Most of these groups sponsor various activities throughout the school
year, ranging from simple house parties to board excursions to
destinations such as Tahoe or Yosemite. Such organizations and clubs
are too numerous to count, although applicants to the school are
advised to find information regarding them on the school's Web page; I
can assure any prospective Boaltie that, in a rare instance of
forthrightness, each of the organizations listed therein actually exist
and are, for the most part, very inclusive and active in the school.
The bottom line is that Boalt is generally a social environment for
those that seek it. This can serve as a significant distraction from
academics, however, as most searches for fun take place across the bay
in San Francisco.
|
|
University of California - Berkeley (Boalt Hall) Admission & Application Surveys
