Head-to-head · 60 cross-admits
When applicants got into both, 97% chose UCBerkeley. Side-by-side on admissions, costs, and outcomes — sourced from 60 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 USC)
View all-time (203 cross-admits)
Trend · UCBerkeley's share
Lowest cycle
Highest cycle
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 USC
Across 60 applicants admitted to both schools and self-reporting on LSD, 97% enrolled at University of California—Berkeley and 3% at University of Southern California. The split has shifted +5 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 Southern California across admissions data, cost of attendance, and employment outcomes — plus cross-admit decision data from 60 applicants admitted to both.
Based on 60 applicants admitted to both schools, 97% 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 #26 — a gap of 10 positions that often correlates with differences in employment outcomes and peer assessment scores.
Both schools are located in California — University of California—Berkeley in Berkeley and University of Southern California in Los Angeles — meaning graduates often compete in the same regional legal market.
On cost, University of California—Berkeley has lower tuition at $62,532 per year compared to $84,034. Combined with employment rates of 93.6% (UCBerkeley) and 95.5% (USC), prospective students should weigh the cost-to-outcome ratio carefully.
Among cross-admitted applicants, University of Southern California offered a median scholarship of $165,000 compared to $120,000, a difference of $45,000 that may factor into enrollment decisions.