Head-to-head · 30 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 93% chose UCBerkeley. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 30 self-reported decisions and ABA 509 filings.
Choice, not ranking
These are decisions, not opinions. Scholarship offers, location, intended practice, and personal fit are all priced into the split.
Cross-admit decision
Chose UCBerkeley
Median scholarship (chose UCBerkeley)
Median scholarship (chose UWashington)
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Trend · UCBerkeley's share
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Admissions
Rankings, LSAT/GPA, acceptance & yield 2025 ABA 509
Financial
Sticker price, scholarships, and debt burden 2025 ABA 509
Employment & outcomes
Post-graduation placement and bar passage 2024 ABA Employment
Cross-admit by cycle
How preferences shifted over recent cyclesRelated comparisons
Other popular cross-admit matchups
Overview
About UCBerkeley vs UWashington
Across 30 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 93% enrolled at University of California—Berkeley and 7% at University of Washington. The split has shifted +20 points across the tracked cycles.
These numbers reflect every factor that goes into a real decision: scholarship offers, geographic preference, intended practice area, and fit. Choosing one school doesn't mean it's "better" — it means the pool of cross-admits, weighing their options, ended up there more often. Pair this with the scholarship distribution and employment outcomes above for full context.
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Detailed comparison narrative
This page compares University of California—Berkeley and University of Washington across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 30 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 30 applicants admitted to both schools, 93% chose to attend University of California—Berkeley. This cross-admit data reflects real enrollment decisions from verified law school applicants on LSD.Law.
In the U.S. News rankings, University of California—Berkeley is ranked #16 compared to #52 — a gap of 36 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
There is a meaningful difference in admissions competitiveness: University of California—Berkeley has a median LSAT of 170 compared to 165, a gap of 5 points. This suggests applicants to University of California—Berkeley face a more competitive admissions pool.
University of California—Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California, while University of Washington is in Seattle, Washington. Regional placement matters: graduates tend to find employment near their law school, so location should factor into your decision alongside rankings and cost.
Employment outcomes differ substantially: University of California—Berkeley places 52.2% of graduates into large law firm positions, compared to 15.8% for the other school. This 36 percentage point gap is significant for applicants targeting BigLaw careers.
On cost, University of Washington has lower tuition at $45,927 per year compared to $62,532. Combined with employment rates of 93.6% (UCBerkeley) and 90.1% (UWashington), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.
Among cross-admitted applicants, University of California—Berkeley offered a median scholarship of $127,500 compared to $49,500, a difference of $78,000 that may factor into enrollment decisions.