Pepperdine 2012 Forum

[shelle]

Does anyone know how strict they are about not letting guests of the opposite sex stay? apparently there aren't even security guards in the dorms?

[lrd]

Does anyone know how strict they are about not letting guests of the opposite sex stay? apparently there aren't even security guards in the dorms?

I'm not sure how strict they are, but overall I have to imagine you're only inconveniencing yourself by staying there... why not live somewhere off campus where you don't even have to contemplate such problems? Plus, security guards or not I think you have to keep in mind some of the people staying in the dorms will take the rules more literally than others...

[shelle]

It's just the convenience of being on campus with proximity classes for the first year. Living on the beach in Malibu is obviously really expensive, so until it makes more sense to move a little further away from campus because of internships and such, I will be dealing with the rules of the dorms.

[egosumcignus]

In reply to the poster who asked the question about a reading list, there isn't a reading list and I don't know that one would be terribly helpful. I've heard of one or two 1Ls (from last year) who read all their 1L books before starting, but I can't imagine that even that would be very helpful. Until you've been through about three weeks of classes, you won't have a firm grasp of what it is you're supposed to be getting out of the reading. Further, all professors teach the course differently, and skip different sections and/or cases. So, you could end up confusing yourself by reading extra material, especially if the case is “bad law” or a “hospital case.” If you were absolutely desperate to get a head start on your courses, you could get hold of an old syllabus (you should have a Westlaw password by now, which will give you access to TWEN, where many of the course sites from up to a year ago are still accessible) and an outline (check Docstoc or Outline Depot or ask a friend) and try to teach yourself the material that way. Really, though, a better use of your time would be to relax, make sure all your loose ends (financial or otherwise) are tied up, and psych yourself up for your first year. Remember that everyone is going to be floundering a bit for those first three weeks or so (even if they don't admit it) and the most important thing you'll be learning in the beginning is how to learn in law school. That statement may get an eye roll from you now, but you'll see what I mean once you start.

In reply to the poster who asked the question about a legal writing book, Pepperdine should have sent you a book titled English for Lawyers (or something like that). At any rate, they sent it to us when I started (two years ago), and I believe that they sent it out again last year. I never read it (and I had never taken a legal writing course before), but some might find it helpful. Really, they're very good at teaching you all you need to know, and part of earning a good grade in any law school course is acclimating yourself to the professor and what he or she wants. As a side note, Pepperdine has a very rigorous legal writing program and I’ve been pleased with the training I’ve received in that subject.

I hope all that was helpful. I’ll be checking this board over the next week (before Orientation) to see if anyone has any questions. After that, I’ll just see you all at Orientation. I’ll be wearing one of the Peer Mentor baseball Ts

[papercranes]

I worked with a USC student this past summer, and she only had to do one semester of legal writing

this is not true.

We do a full year.

[egosumcignus]

Papercranes,

I apologize for getting it wrong. Perhaps I'm mixing her up with one of the other summers. I definitely didn't intend to mislead and will edit my post and update it after I talk to her again. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[savagedm]

I scanned down to the end of page one and decided to reply to the post regarding "Christian Values" and the whole support bans on abortion and the like:

I am choosing to apply to Pepperdine even though I do not really agree with these "values". I learned in UG that you could do one of two things on test day/papers when it came to classes:

1) Tell them what you truly believe, regardless of what the professor instructed before and more often than not you will not receive a higher grade on the particular assignment.

-OR-

2) Tell them what they want to hear, pretend to espouse whatever it is they want you to and you will do well in the class, receive a higher grade than the rest of the pack who tried to demonstrate their own unique and beautiful minds. Down the road if you continue this trend, you may now find yourself in that position of power and you can preach your values to a bunch of people and if they dont agree, well then they don't make the cut.

See the pattern?

Play their games until you are in a position to make them or others play yours.

[sunny12]

fortunately, tests and papers test your knowledge of the law and your ability to present it, not what your values or feelings happen to be...

[egosumcignus]

There seems to be a lot of confusion (still) regarding Pepperdine's Response to Mission Essay (RME). I believe it was thoroughly discussed in some of the earlier posts in this thread, but since I know that it can be tedious sifting through all those pages, I'll address it here. First, I want to quote what I feel was the most accurate post on the topic:

Well, it is a Christian school.

But for those who are not Christian, if I understand correctly they really don't shove it down your throat or anything, it's a really open and accepting university.

The statement isn't that bad. A lot of people respond to the mission statement without even touching upon religion. Bolded below is the key to their mission statement and when they say Christian values they mean living life and practicing with good judgment and morals. I do believe, most law schools, if not all, share a common theme, they just don't always specify it.

Lastly, this is basically another place for you to show another avenue of yourself and your writing abilities. You can be creative and weave a diversity statement into the mix or just another concept about yourself. It's just another essay to sell your application to the adcomms.


Response to Mission Statement

Each applicant must respond to the Pepperdine University's Mission Statement, which is:

Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.

The School of Law seeks to further this mission, and encourages adherence to the highest moral and ethical standards.

How would you expect to contribute to this environment or identify with this mission? An applicant's file will not be considered complete, and thus will not be reviewed without a response to the mission.

The text quoted above was the text of the prompt as it appeared when I applied. The language of the prompt has since changed, in what appears to be an attempt to make the prompt even more palatable to those people who might otherwise misunderstand its purpose. The new text is as follows:

Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership. The School of Law's mission encourages adherence to the highest moral and ethical standards. The school invites applications and
welcomes students from all faith backgrounds.

On a separate sheet or an electronic attachment, please respond to the mission statement

My RME focused on how I admired my mother’s ethical and moral practice of the law and wanted to be like her and stated a desire to attend Pepperdine in order to be with a community of like-minded individuals. That’s it. As the quoted post says, I didn’t even touch on religion. When I think about it, the RME is a lot like Pepperdine itself. If you want to express your religion/spirituality, it gives you the opportunity to do so in an accepting and welcoming environment (more so than I would imagine is possible at most law schools). However, if you don’t, or if you aren’t religious or spiritual, the environment is just as welcoming and accepting. I have no idea how the school has managed to strike and maintain that balance, but I will be forever grateful for it.

As for the poster who’s talking about playing games, there tends to be a minimum of game-playing here. We’d rather just focus our energy on learning the material and it’s usually much nicer to be friends with, rather than adversarial toward, your classmates. Pepperdine is the sort of place where, when you miss a class, people will come and offer you their notes before you have to ask. We’re competitive, but in a cooperative way.

[tania]

anyone looking for a roommate for next year? I'll be starting at the law school, and would love to meet someone in the same position that wants to live off campus... it can be a lot cheaper than on campus when sharing apartments. I'm finishing up undergrad at Pepp right now so I have a good idea of where to live/what apartments to look at, but was hoping to live with people also going to the law school so that we'd have the same schedules/school demands... Anyone know where else is good to look for roommates? Figured I'd start early:)