If you are confident that Berkeley Law is your top choice for transfer admissions and would attend if admitted, we encourage you to apply for our binding early decision (BED) for the transfer program. Although there is no advantage in the admission process, we will consider your particular interest in Berkeley Law, as evidenced by your binding early decision application.
Applying for BED comes with several essential requirements and things to consider. You are required to carefully review and complete this BED Decision Transfer Information and Certification Form. You must upload this completed form with your application on LSAC.org. Failure to do so will result in your application being held as incomplete and ineligible for review.
Part One: APPLICATION STAGE
You understand that:
- There is no application fee for binding early decisions for transfer applications.
- You must apply by March 14, 2025. We recommend you submit your application on or around February 28, 2025, to ensure it is complete by the application deadline. Decisions are released on April 7, 2025.
- If you have taken the GRE for admission to law school, you must send all valid scores via ETS to Berkeley Law (school code is 4818). All valid scores must be received by March 14, 2025.
- If you have taken the GMAT for admission to law school, you must send your score via GMAC to Berkeley Law (school code is N2V-3S-66) and fill out our supplemental GMAT form. All valid scores must be received by March 14, 2025.
- The application requirements for BED are the same as those for regular decision with the exception that your current law school transcript that includes fall term grades and a signed copy of the last page of this BED Information and Certification Form (submitted via LSAC.org) is required for your BED transfer application to be considered complete.
- Incomplete BED transfer applications will not be transferred to the regular decision pool. Suppose your early decision transfer application still needs to be completed by the stated deadline, but you wish to be considered for a regular decision. In that case, you must contact the admissions office via email at admissions@law.berkeley.edu to change your application type. Incomplete BED transfer applications do not automatically become regular transfer decision applications. If we do not hear from you, you may simply be denied based on the incomplete application.
- Under this program, you may not apply to any other binding early decision transfer program during the same admissions cycle. You may only apply to regular transfer programs while your BED application is still outstanding. If your application is “rolled over” to the regular admission pool after March 14, 2025, you can then apply to other BED transfer programs.
- You understand that information about all non-BED financial aid (e.g., gift aid, federal loan, or other aid eligibility and awards etc.) will not be available until well after you are required to commit to Berkeley Law. You should assume you will only receive the $30,000 BED award.
- The U.C. Regents set Berkeley Law and U.C. Berkeley law tuition and fees. Fees are subject to change without notice and may be at any time. Once registered and enrolled, you will be responsible for all required law school, campus, and other fees.
- Failure to honor any of these commitments may result in your admission and/or gift aid offer revocation. Such a revocation would be final for the 2025-2026 cycle (i.e., you could not then be reconsidered in the regular transfer admission program), but you would be permitted to reapply in a future year.
Part Two: DECISION STAGE (AFTER ADMISSION THROUGH BED, IF APPLICABLE):
You understand that:
- You will be notified of your admission (either in writing via email, through the Applicant Status Online (ASO), or over the phone) by the end of the day on April 7, 2025. It is your responsibility to take steps to ensure that you receive communication from our offices in a timely manner.
- Upon admission through BED, you will be required to immediately withdraw all of your other law school transfer applications regardless of whether or not you received a final admission decision from that school.
- Upon admission through BED, you may not initiate any new transfer applications (binding or otherwise).
- Upon admission, you must commit to matriculating at Berkeley Law in the upcoming fall by emailing your Statement of Intent to Register by April 9, 2025. Further instructions will be sent upon admission.
- If you do not have access to your email or an internet-connected device at that time, you must designate (in writing) an authorized signatory or person with whom we may communicate about your decision and related requirements. You mustemail admissions @ law.berkeley.edu by March 14, 2025.
- You may not request to defer an early decision offer except in extraordinary and unforeseeable personal circumstances and only with prior written approval from the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. The deadline for such requests is usually in June of each year.
- You will receive a minimum of $30,000 in gift aid (distributed equally over a maximum of four (4) semesters while enrolled in the Berkeley Law J.D. program, meeting other requirements such as maintenance of Satisfactory Academic Progress, paying Berkeley Law PDST, etc.). This amount of gift aid is comparable to the average award made to the entering 2L transfer class that began their J.D. program in the Fall of 2024.
- Your eligibility for enrollment and the gift aid associated with BED is contingent upon receipt of your timely commitment to attend, signed Gift Aid Acceptance Agreement, and fulfillment of all other terms and conditions for admission and financial aid (e.g., submission of a final transcript showing degree conferred, maintenance of similar academic performance if still in school, an ongoing duty to inform us of changes to your responses in the Character and Fitness section of the application, eligibility to receive California state aid, etc.).
- After admission, you will be invited to submit the Supplemental Gift Aid Application, which may be considered for need-based aid. Need-based aid will be provided in addition to the $30,000 BED award if awarded. However, eligibility for need-based aid is not guaranteed, regardless of the anticipated level of need.
- You can be considered for any other aid program that all the other class members are eligible for. For example, you can apply for Continuing Student Scholarships as a rising 3L student, and if selected, these will be awarded in addition to the BED award. You can also apply for summer Edley Grants, LRAP, etc.
- Suppose you receive an outside scholarship or grant. In that case, that aid will be posted to your financial aid account in addition to your BED award so long as the combined two do not exceed your total Cost of Attendance for that academic year. If your awards exceed COA and you are not eligible for a Cost of Attendance Adjustment, your BED award may be reduced to accommodate the other (non-Berkeley Law) award.
- As a committed student, you can apply for on-campus housing earlier than many other admitted students once the application opens in February. However, on-campus housing is not guaranteed.
- You can plan, and rest assured that a seat will be reserved for you in next fall’s class.
Part Three: IN GENERAL
You understand that:
- By submitting a BED application, you are permitting us to share your application, decision, and commitment status with other law schools if we suspect you committed to more than one school, including in a situation where another school contacts us to suggest that they believe you are double-committed. This does not necessarily mean we would revoke your offer of admission, and we are under no obligation to withdraw your application based on another school’s preference or request that we do so. However, we may contact you for clarification and reserve the right to revoke your offer of admission if we determine that you violated the terms of this Certification Form or those of the certification included with the application itself (including by omitting relevant information). We do not share information about who has applied for admission to Berkeley Law – BED or otherwise – with any other law school. Nor will we ask you where else you have applied.
- Admission through the BED program is contingent upon proof of satisfactory completion of the entire first-year curriculum. If admitted, a final transcript that includes final spring term grades must be provided to our office before classes begin in the fall. If you do not successfully complete your entire first-year curriculum, we reserve the right to revoke your offer of admission and/or gift aid.
- Generally, this BED Information and Certification Form supplements rather than replaces the certification statement you signed with the admission application.
- Failure to honor any of these commitments may result in your admission and/or gift aid offer revocation. Such a revocation would be final for the 2025-26 cycle (i.e., you could not then be reconsidered in the regular transfer admission program), but you would be permitted to reapply in a future year.
Part Four: IF NOT ADMITTED THROUGH BED
You understand that:
- Your application will be “rolled over” to regular decision and evaluated again as part of the regular transfer applicant pool upon receipt of your spring grades without prejudice. Every year, we aim to have all decisions transmitted to applicants by July 1.
- You are, at that point only, released from your commitment to enroll at Berkeley Law if admitted.
- If your application is “rolled over” to the regular decision pool after April 7, 2025, you may apply to another binding program.
Click here to download the BED Certification Form.
You must upload the completed form on LSAC.org along with your application.