Some 264 new Boalt students began their law school education on Monday, August 22, with overall credentials that include 12 Ph.D.’s, 40 master’s degrees, five Fulbright Fellowships, and a host of other distinguished awards. Members of the entering class have diverse backgrounds and past careers as company founders, engineers, securities and financial analysts, intercollegiate debaters, community volunteers, a Navy SEAL and a hula teacher.
Coming to Berkeley from 38 different states of origin and eight foreign countries, Boalt’s first-year students, who will graduate in 2008, received undergraduate degrees in 75 majors and attended 94 undergraduate institutions. Women make up 58 percent of the class, and 30 percent of the students are people of color. They were selected from among 7,535 applicants.
“We experienced another highly competitive applicant pool this year that included far more people than we could accommodate,” said Boalt Admissions Director Edward Tom. “The entering class of 2005 is all the more remarkable for having survived a very thorough and rigorous selection process. I am confident each one of them will carry on Boalt’s tradition of excellence and service.”
The start of the fall semester followed a three-day orientation last week that featured a lunch with faculty, tours of the library and other school locations, and introductory meetings with small group sections and writing instructors.
“I’ve been really impressed with the staff, faculty and especially the students. People just seem super friendly,” said Jenny Rosloff, a 22-year-old student from Bethesda, Md., whose academic interests focus on civil liberties and constitutional law.
Chia-Chi Li, a 24-year-old student from Seattle, was drawn to Boalt largely because of its top-rated program in intellectual property and the opportunity to work within the Bay Area’s large Asian-American community. “It was the right environment to pursue my interests,” said Li, who graduated from the University of Washington in 2003 with degrees in computer science and philosophy.