UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[sojuteacher]

I know there is a thread that covers this question more generally (and is kind of useless), but since I will be attending this fall, is there any reading you would recommend doing beforehand? Any specific subjects to read up on.

Also, this is of course way in advance, but re housing -- do you know any 1ls that stay in the graduate dorm and how their experiences have been ? I haven't lived in a dorm in a long, long time, so I'm just a bit nostalgic.

Thanks

[California Babe]

I know there is a thread that covers this question more generally (and is kind of useless), but since I will be attending this fall, is there any reading you would recommend doing beforehand? Any specific subjects to read up on.

Also, this is of course way in advance, but re housing -- do you know any 1ls that stay in the graduate dorm and how their experiences have been ? I haven't lived in a dorm in a long, long time, so I'm just a bit nostalgic.

Thanks

As far as the dorm goes I have spoken to one person that lives in the dorm and he or she likes it just fine. They don't really like not having their own furniture and not living somewhere that they can comfortably invite people over to, but for his or her first year I think he or she is content with the decision. Not having to have your own furniture might be a plus for some people.

I'm not going to comment on what you should read before law school but I have no idea. Getting to Maybe is good to read and I read that before I came. There are a lot of awesome places to eat in this city so you should read about those.

[Rand M.]

I know there is a thread that covers this question more generally (and is kind of useless), but since I will be attending this fall, is there any reading you would recommend doing beforehand? Any specific subjects to read up on.

Also, this is of course way in advance, but re housing -- do you know any 1ls that stay in the graduate dorm and how their experiences have been ? I haven't lived in a dorm in a long, long time, so I'm just a bit nostalgic.

Thanks

I live in the sort of grad student dorm. It's not so bad. I hadn't lived in a dorm-style setting since freshman year, so it was an adjustment. I was mostly concerned with living as close as possible. It meant a lot to me to be within a couple blocks of the school. It's nothing to rave about, but its getting the job done. I'm a bare essentials kind of guy though, so YMMV. It's everything I need, but it may not be for you. There are certainly nicer places to live throughout Hyde Park.

There is nothing I would recommend reading. Read for leisure. Read what you like. If you are just dying to dip your toes, read some basic Coase Theorem and Law and Econ materials; check out the Becker-Posner blog for a sense of how econ can be applied everywhere. But really, just enjoy the time off. If you care about exams, try to get a hold of LEEWS. While it may not be something you want to adopt wholesale, it's a great way to start to think about how you should structure exam answers.

[funkyturds]

I will echo Rand M's advice. LEEWS and GTM won't be too helpful for your Civ Pro and Elements exams so I don't think you should worry about reading anything before school. If you want to look at something short, I'd recommend Delaney's book.

[thecilent]

I know there is a thread that covers this question more generally (and is kind of useless), but since I will be attending this fall, is there any reading you would recommend doing beforehand? Any specific subjects to read up on.

Also, this is of course way in advance, but re housing -- do you know any 1ls that stay in the graduate dorm and how their experiences have been ? I haven't lived in a dorm in a long, long time, so I'm just a bit nostalgic.

Thanks

I live in the sort of grad student dorm. It's not so bad. I hadn't lived in a dorm-style setting since freshman year, so it was an adjustment. I was mostly concerned with living as close as possible. It meant a lot to me to be within a couple blocks of the school. It's nothing to rave about, but its getting the job done. I'm a bare essentials kind of guy though, so YMMV. It's everything I need, but it may not be for you. There are certainly nicer places to live throughout Hyde Park.

Is the grad housing cheaper?

[Rand M.]

I know there is a thread that covers this question more generally (and is kind of useless), but since I will be attending this fall, is there any reading you would recommend doing beforehand? Any specific subjects to read up on.

Also, this is of course way in advance, but re housing -- do you know any 1ls that stay in the graduate dorm and how their experiences have been ? I haven't lived in a dorm in a long, long time, so I'm just a bit nostalgic.

Thanks

I live in the sort of grad student dorm. It's not so bad. I hadn't lived in a dorm-style setting since freshman year, so it was an adjustment. I was mostly concerned with living as close as possible. It meant a lot to me to be within a couple blocks of the school. It's nothing to rave about, but its getting the job done. I'm a bare essentials kind of guy though, so YMMV. It's everything I need, but it may not be for you. There are certainly nicer places to live throughout Hyde Park.

Is the grad housing cheaper?

Generally, yes. There are two University owned buildings--New Grad and one on Drexel I think--that are both cheaper than the Regents kinda options. Both of these are within 5 min. walking distance door to door of the law school. There are probably options that are just as cheap (cheaper ?) if you configure them with roommates and what not, but generally, they're the cheapest options. The University owns quite a few buildings in Hyde Park, so if you'd like to live in something they own, you have several options. Generally though, Regents, Algonquin, etc. are quite a bit nicer than these. The tradeoffs being price and distance. A sizable chuck of our 1L class lives in Regents, and for some, that has an allure in itself. You just have to visit places and decide what is important to you. Admissions will arrange for you to see whatever you want at ASW if you express interest. If you know what is important to you, there will most likely be an option that will stand out.

[thecilent]

Cool. Thanks

[Sentry]

Is there a UChicago/Northwestern bball game similar to the NYU vs. Columbia Dean's Cup?

[Holly Golightly]

Emma,

When are you going to come up north and hang out, hmmm?

[Emma.]

Emma,

When are you going to come up north and hang out, hmmm?

I suck. I'm out of town til the 1st so I'm going to miss your NYE party too!

[trudat15]

What banks are convenient for the area? Chase just told me that theyre going to start charging me $10 a month for checking unless I meet certain criteria I most certainly will not meet. So I figure it's a good time to checking account shop.

[Dany]

What banks are convenient for the area? Chase just told me that theyre going to start charging me $10 a month for checking unless I meet certain criteria I most certainly will not meet. So I figure it's a good time to checking account shop.

Oh this is a great question. Also curious.

[funkyturds]

Citi

[Emma.]

Citi

This. We get free banking, there's a branch on campus, and there's a Citi ATM inside the law school building.

[soupisgood]

Tagged

Btw Em, is that you?? Anyone other TTCers at UChi?

[Emma.]

Tagged

Btw Em, is that you?? Anyone other TTCers at UChi?

Hey!

Yeah there is FancyPants, JGG, and me...

[soupisgood]

Tagged

Btw Em, is that you?? Anyone other TTCers at UChi?

Hey!

Yeah there is FancyPants, JGG, and me...

Just noticed my massive grammar fail in the first post.

That's awesome Hopefully I'll run into some of you guys!

[bigkahuna2020]

Hyde Park is definitely lacking in great bars and restaurants but people have been doing a good job at finding ways to make their own fun.

Boo I love the Cove

[sojuteacher]

For any of you 1Ls -- do you plan on working in the clinics at all?

Mandel and the Mental Health Project both seem very tempting (especially the mental health project). Anything I can do to help my chances before law school?

I'm teaching English in Korea now -- but part of me is thinking about doing an internship/volunteering at a legal aid clinic somewhere to help the resume.

One other question-- I have family in West Rojers Park/Lincolnwood area -- would it be worth the commute to save cash? I dont want to miss out on the area opportunities as a 1L though.

[Emma.]

Tagged

Btw Em, is that you?? Anyone other TTCers at UChi?

Hey!

Yeah there is FancyPants, JGG, and me...

Just noticed my massive grammar fail in the first post.

That's awesome Hopefully I'll run into some of you guys!

I just saw you got in ED. Congrats! You'll be seeing us for sure. Chicago is a pretty tight community and you'll bump into almost everyone sooner or later in the Green Lounge.

[California Babe]

For any of you 1Ls -- do you plan on working in the clinics at all?

Mandel and the Mental Health Project both seem very tempting (especially the mental health project). Anything I can do to help my chances before law school?

I'm teaching English in Korea now -- but part of me is thinking about doing an internship/volunteering at a legal aid clinic somewhere to help the resume.

Clinic placements are done by lottery so you don't need to worry about beefing up the resume to get in.

One other question-- I have family in West Rojers Park/Lincolnwood area -- would it be worth the commute to save cash? I dont want to miss out on the area opportunities as a 1L though.

I don't think anyone who lives outside of Hyde Park feels like they are missing out on anything in the area. I can't imagine what you'd be missing out on - most of the real fun happens outside of Hyde Park anyway.

[JollyGreenGiant]

Tagged

Btw Em, is that you?? Anyone other TTCers at UChi?

Hey!

Yeah there is FancyPants, JGG, and me...

Just noticed my massive grammar fail in the first post.

That's awesome Hopefully I'll run into some of you guys!

Congrats Soup! See you in the fall (or ASW)!

[soupisgood]

Thanks Em+JGG <3 I'm hopefully making it out to ASW; hopefully we can meet up then!

[Sentry]

What cable/internet provider to you use? I really don't want to have to deal with TWC again.

[California Babe]

What cable/internet provider to you use? I really don't want to have to deal with TWC again.

I use Comcast for cable/internet. I think Regents gives law students free wifi and a lot of the students use Direct TV for cable.