Fordham 1L Taking Questions Forum

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rockthelaw

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Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by rockthelaw » Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:48 pm

Alright, I've been in school about a month now. Ask away! I'll also try to pull together a bunch of older threads with info about Fordham in the near future.

I'm fairly certain some of my colleagues will jump in and answer questions as well (I'm looking at you, HEP and nygrrrl!).

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H. E. Pennypacker

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by H. E. Pennypacker » Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:52 pm

Ditto. I'm a PTer, for those you thinking of going that route...

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nygrrrl

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:00 pm

I'm in, too. Also a PTer, w/job & family. Ask away! (And thanks for starting this, Sqvirrel! Good idea!)

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by jazzman » Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:51 am

What is the projected completion date for the new building?

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H. E. Pennypacker

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by H. E. Pennypacker » Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:30 pm

jazzman wrote:What is the projected completion date for the new building?
As far as I can tell, Phase 1 of the Lincoln Center Campus development, which includes the new Law Building, is scheduled to be done around 2014, but I can't say for sure if this is still accurate.

http://www.fordham.edu/fordhamuplans/proposal.html

If I can find anything to the contrary, I will let you know.

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mwkelley

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by mwkelley » Sun Oct 31, 2010 11:57 am

For those who are PT'ers, would you mind giving your LSAT/GPA (new to the site... not sure if it is listed anywhere)? Also, when did you apply? Have you felt estranged from the FT group as a PT'er?

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nygrrrl

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:36 pm

mwkelley wrote:For those who are PT'ers, would you mind giving your LSAT/GPA (new to the site... not sure if it is listed anywhere)? Also, when did you apply? Have you felt estranged from the FT group as a PT'er?
My LSAT was median, my gpa below median - but my numbers are completely non-representational: I'm a total nontrad, out of school for >10 years and my work experience weighed pretty heavily in my favor.
My application was complete on November 16th, as I recall... and as for feeling estranged, well - they're separate programs, so no. I have friends in both the day and hybrid programs - we're all Fordham Law students, we just go to classes at different times of the day (and night!) The only area where I feel there might be some separation/estrangement is between the students who work FT and those who don't - for those of us holding down jobs, it can be tough to make time to hang out, play, etc... but it's totally doable if you make it a priority.

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rockthelaw

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by rockthelaw » Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:28 pm

mwkelley wrote:For those who are PT'ers, would you mind giving your LSAT/GPA (new to the site... not sure if it is listed anywhere)? Also, when did you apply? Have you felt estranged from the FT group as a PT'er?
Check out http://law.fordham.edu/admissions/admissions.htm for FT and PT medians.

PT medians there are listed as 164, 3.5. Last year they were 163, 3.4. The increase is due to the shrinking of the PT program in response to USNEWS taking into account PT scores in overall medians.

While I'm FT, I've gathered from meeting PT students that a large number have at least part time jobs. Many have full time jobs. Some have no jobs at all and (presumably) are gunning for top of their section (totally lame). To be honest, the only time I see PT kids (unless I'm actively going to hang out with of the awesome folks that are PT) is when they're leaving class or heading to the library at 9p.m. Like nygrrrl said, FT and PT are different programs on different schedules, but it's not like the FT crowd actively looks down on the PT crowd. We're all Fordham students and there's a mutual respect for everyone that attends our school. Naturally, though, kids end up hanging out with the other people in their section. That's just law school.

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H. E. Pennypacker

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by H. E. Pennypacker » Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:27 am

rockthelaw wrote:
mwkelley wrote:For those who are PT'ers, would you mind giving your LSAT/GPA (new to the site... not sure if it is listed anywhere)? Also, when did you apply? Have you felt estranged from the FT group as a PT'er?
Check out http://law.fordham.edu/admissions/admissions.htm for FT and PT medians.

PT medians there are listed as 164, 3.5. Last year they were 163, 3.4. The increase is due to the shrinking of the PT program in response to USNEWS taking into account PT scores in overall medians.

While I'm FT, I've gathered from meeting PT students that a large number have at least part time jobs. Many have full time jobs. Some have no jobs at all and (presumably) are gunning for top of their section (totally lame). To be honest, the only time I see PT kids (unless I'm actively going to hang out with of the awesome folks that are PT) is when they're leaving class or heading to the library at 9p.m. Like nygrrrl said, FT and PT are different programs on different schedules, but it's not like the FT crowd actively looks down on the PT crowd. We're all Fordham students and there's a mutual respect for everyone that attends our school. Naturally, though, kids end up hanging out with the other people in their section. That's just law school.

Then how come you said I couldn't make direct eye contact with you???


I had a 164, 3.2. I work abour 25 hrs a week, which is just enough to keep me busy without getting overwhelmed. Rock is right though, you end up hanging out mostly with people from your section, simply because they're the ones you have all your classes with. There are def opportunites to meet FT students, especially if you are active in extracurriculars / bar reviews. I think all three of us applied very early on, in late Oct or early Nov.

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nygrrrl

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:51 am

H. E. Pennypacker wrote: Then how come you said I couldn't make direct eye contact with you???
lol - that's so weird. He said basically the same thing to me. (<3 Sqvirrel! This reminds me, we need to go out again before exam crunch. Bar review? :mrgreen: )

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by masterthearts » Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:45 pm

the fordham app asks me to list all the law schools I have applied to or intend to apply to. does this mean I need to list all 20 schools! I hope not! I think this is none of their business. this question should be optional..why do they ask this? I want to leave this blank!

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrSoOoFLy » Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:49 am

masterthearts wrote:the fordham app asks me to list all the law schools I have applied to or intend to apply to. does this mean I need to list all 20 schools! I hope not! I think this is none of their business. this question should be optional..why do they ask this? I want to leave this blank!
Most apps ask you to name around 6 schools... On my app, I put all the schools higher than Fordham I applied to-no idea why.

It's not like they ask you about your choices or read anything into it.

Just be honest.

Good luck to you and I hope to see you at Fordham next year.




Hey H.E., I just purchased the Emanuel Crunchtime outline for Ks. I got it for the flow charts which are pretty awesome. Maybe you should take a look at it.

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rockthelaw

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by rockthelaw » Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:34 am

masterthearts wrote:the fordham app asks me to list all the law schools I have applied to or intend to apply to. does this mean I need to list all 20 schools! I hope not! I think this is none of their business. this question should be optional..why do they ask this? I want to leave this blank!
I think there are a few reasons Fordham asks for this: 1) Law school admissions offices from different schools communicate with each other. For example, if applicant X applies to school A early decision, and also to schools B and C, AND gets accepted to all 3, AND doesn't withdraw his acceptances from B and C, he's breaking the early decision contract he signed with A. Schools generally want to know when their applicants are sleazy. 2) While this isn't a huge factor, if you're applying to Fordham with numbers well above median (170+, 3.85+) and you have only t-14 schools listed as alternatives, Fordham might hold your application until they're certain that you want to come to Fordham. That helps protect their yield, and keeps open spots for students who really want to attend.

Ultimately, though, just be honest and play the game.

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H. E. Pennypacker

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by H. E. Pennypacker » Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:51 am

MrSoOoFLy wrote:



Hey H.E., I just purchased the Emanuel Crunchtime outline for Ks. I got it for the flow charts which are pretty awesome. Maybe you should take a look at it.
Are you suggesting I don't already have a mastery of all things contracts? How dare you.

do they have it in the bookstore???

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nygrrrl

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:05 am

H. E. Pennypacker wrote:
MrSoOoFLy wrote:



Hey H.E., I just purchased the Emanuel Crunchtime outline for Ks. I got it for the flow charts which are pretty awesome. Maybe you should take a look at it.
Are you suggesting I don't already have a mastery of all things contracts? How dare you.

do they have it in the bookstore???
:lol:

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by doing_it_in_a_car » Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:17 am

Is there an inferiority complex among Fordham students, given the superior rankings of neighboring Columbia and NYU (maybe even Cornell)? Have you seen many Fordham 3Ls panicking to find legal employment? As a splitter who wants to practice in NYC, I'm seriously considering Fordham in addition to the bottom of the T-14 (Georgetown, Cornell), any insights you can provide me with regard to Fordham competitiveness would be greatly appreciated!
edit: corrected NYC
Last edited by doing_it_in_a_car on Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

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MrSoOoFLy

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrSoOoFLy » Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:16 pm

doing_it_in_a_car wrote:Is there an inferiority complex among Fordham students, given the superior rankings of neighboring Columbia and NYU (maybe even Cornell)? Have you seen many Fordham 3Ls panicking to find legal employment? As a splitter who wants to practice in NYU, I'm seriously considering Fordham in addition to the bottom of the T-14 (Georgetown, Cornell), any insights you can provide me with regard to Fordham competitiveness would be greatly appreciated!
Listen the job market sucks; no matter which way you cut it, placements have been down across the board. That being said, Fordham has an immensely STRONG and ACTIVE alumni network and a TON of networking opportunities. No matter which law school you attend, it's YOU that'll have to actually do the leg work and impress employers. Many 3Ls tell me that Fordham grads are sometimes given preference over NYU and Columbia grads because of our practical knowledge (most Fordham grads do numerous internships/externships, have real working experience, are quality drafters, and have magnetic personalities -- keep in mind I'm kinda biased and I assume they are as well lol). My first day at Fordham, I was worried about the pecking order in the NYC market-I haven't thought about it since. I'm extremely, and I mean EXTREMELY happy and comfortable at Fordham. My classmates are seriously the most amazing people I've met in my life and are just GENUINELY nice people. I've heard the horror stories of passing out wrong outlines, or not sharing notes, or just being antisocial--DEFINITELY not Fordham. Grant it, there's the one gunner who no one likes but other than that, extremely extremely likable class. IF Fordham is the third choice, Columbia then NYU, I'd gladly take that and have an "enjoyable" law school experience [for some reason, Cornell doesn't get a lot of love]

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrSoOoFLy » Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:21 pm

H. E. Pennypacker wrote:
MrSoOoFLy wrote:



Hey H.E., I just purchased the Emanuel Crunchtime outline for Ks. I got it for the flow charts which are pretty awesome. Maybe you should take a look at it.
Are you suggesting I don't already have a mastery of all things contracts? How dare you.

do they have it in the bookstore???
Unwarranted assumption brah

I don't know if they have it in the bookstore, I bought it off amazon. On amazon, you can browse through the first few pages; check out the flow chart, looks money. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073556 ... ss_product

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by doing_it_in_a_car » Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:24 pm

Thanks for the advice, MrSoFly. I think I actually would do better in an encouraging, positive environment rather than a harsh, adversarial one. Sigh more thinking ahead...

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Thu Nov 04, 2010 11:50 pm

doing_it_in_a_car wrote:Thanks for the advice, MrSoFly. I think I actually would do better in an encouraging, positive environment rather than a harsh, adversarial one. Sigh more thinking ahead...
I agree completely with Mr.SoOoFly on this one - I've been blown away by the supportive community at Fordham. The professors and administration are incredibly helpful and available, and our fellow students? Mr. Fly sort of summed it up: this is an amazing group of people and I now fully understand why the Alumni network is so strong. The job market? Yeah. It sucks. That's true everywhere. Mind you, I won't be going for Big Law... but I'm not overwhelmingly worried (and I don't know any 2 or 3Ls who are freaking out, either.) It is what it is... and given what it is? There's no place I'd rather be, than here. (That sounds terribly rainbows and unicorns, I know. Obviously, I'm biased as well... but there is something very special about this school.)

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by whymeohgodno » Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:16 am

nygrrrl wrote:
doing_it_in_a_car wrote:Thanks for the advice, MrSoFly. I think I actually would do better in an encouraging, positive environment rather than a harsh, adversarial one. Sigh more thinking ahead...
I agree completely with Mr.SoOoFly on this one - I've been blown away by the supportive community at Fordham. The professors and administration are incredibly helpful and available, and our fellow students? Mr. Fly sort of summed it up: this is an amazing group of people and I now fully understand why the Alumni network is so strong. The job market? Yeah. It sucks. That's true everywhere. Mind you, I won't be going for Big Law... but I'm not overwhelmingly worried (and I don't know any 2 or 3Ls who are freaking out, either.) It is what it is... and given what it is? There's no place I'd rather be, than here. (That sounds terribly rainbows and unicorns, I know. Obviously, I'm biased as well... but there is something very special about this school.)
Just wondering since you aren't going for biglaw, I'm assuming you got $$$ to fordham?

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:25 am

whymeohgodno wrote:
nygrrrl wrote:
doing_it_in_a_car wrote:Thanks for the advice, MrSoFly. I think I actually would do better in an encouraging, positive environment rather than a harsh, adversarial one. Sigh more thinking ahead...
I agree completely with Mr.SoOoFly on this one - I've been blown away by the supportive community at Fordham. The professors and administration are incredibly helpful and available, and our fellow students? Mr. Fly sort of summed it up: this is an amazing group of people and I now fully understand why the Alumni network is so strong. The job market? Yeah. It sucks. That's true everywhere. Mind you, I won't be going for Big Law... but I'm not overwhelmingly worried (and I don't know any 2 or 3Ls who are freaking out, either.) It is what it is... and given what it is? There's no place I'd rather be, than here. (That sounds terribly rainbows and unicorns, I know. Obviously, I'm biased as well... but there is something very special about this school.)
Just wondering since you aren't going for biglaw, I'm assuming you got $$$ to fordham?
I did not. I saved up for a long time and am keeping my FT job (I'm in the Evening/PT program.)

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by rockthelaw » Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:34 am

whymeohgodno wrote: Just wondering since you aren't going for biglaw, I'm assuming you got $$$ to fordham?
While you may have had a different reason for posting this, I'm assuming for sake of argument that you're concerned about the cost of law school, or have read a bunch of hardcore TLS gunners saying things like, "Law school isn't worth it if you have to pay for it," and found solace in their points.

I know that TLS' main motto is: Go to HLS at all costs, maybe CCN, the rest of the t-14 with a scholarship, and maybe a tier 1 school with full-or-close-to-full scholarship. This mentality is fine for a number of people (one thing to keep in mind about the TLS community is that it is a FRACTION of the actual law school community), however this is not how the majority of students look at law school. Yes, we can argue about the utility of paying X number of dollars for a degree AND taking out loans to pay for it DESPITE the possibility that you will have a difficult time paying back said loans. I'd even concede that this is a fair and highly persuasive argument not to go to law school if your main focus is the economic return. While I'm not suggesting this shouldn't be a factor in your decision, I am stating that many people have very different reasons for attending law school.

Some people come to law school because they really want to be lawyers. Some attend because their family will pay for it. Some attend because they want to change careers. Some attend simply because they don't have anything better to do, or think this is the last and only way they'll ever be successful. And yes, some people attend because they've convinced themselves that by reading 6 casebooks, writing 6 exams, and doing 4 legal writing assignments that they're guaranteed a 160k starting salary and a life of luxury.

The point is, everybody has their own motivation for attending law school. Some people have unrealistic goals (ex.: attending Fordham guarantees you a spot at a V50 firm, or that a JD will guarantee them at least some prestigious job), and later in their law school and professional careers they might struggle to comprehend how they so grossly exaggerated their expectations. But, in general, the people I've met are aware of the economic situation, know that it's tough to get the job they want straight out of school, but are optimistic that they can work hard and establish themselves in the world at some point. The degree is really only the start of your career. You actually have to make it work, whether you land big firm job, a position with a small shop, a government position, or, hell, you decide at the last minute to open up a bar with your buddy who just got his MBA.

In the end, you have to work hard to achieve your goals. If the money issue really wears on you, don't make the investment. Outside of a very narrow range of schools, law school does not guarantee you any set salaries. It's up to you to decide whether, for you, it's worth the time and money to be a lawyer whether or not you've got a nice office and motions to file on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. I know people are baffled that after 7 years of higher education, you might only be making 50k while working 70 hour weeks. But, you know the score. So, you can make the choice.

Of course this doesn't really say anything good or bad about Fordham, but I'll leave that to nygrrrl since she's Fordham's best cheerleader!

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:35 pm

rockthelaw wrote: Of course this doesn't really say anything good or bad about Fordham, but I'll leave that to nygrrrl since she's Fordham's best cheerleader!
LOL - and I will leave THAT role to Opera Soprano! - but thanks, Rock. You put that all wonderfully.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrSoOoFLy » Fri Nov 05, 2010 4:40 pm

Am I the only one who doesn't read really long posts?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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