Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[IHeartIthaca]

Seems like these kinds of threads are popular. Fire away

Obviously, I don't know much about law school yet, and can't tell you how to succeed, but I'll tell you what I can.

[h_frog_88]

Cornell is one of the schools that I am most interested in... what made you choose it? What do you think of Ithaca so far? Lastly, do students really study as much as the statistics suggest?

Thanks!

[cfishy305]

if you dont mind...

what were your numbers and URM?

[IHeartIthaca]

Cornell is one of the schools that I am most interested in... what made you choose it?

Among other things, it was the highest-ranked school I got into, I loved the campus and scenery when I came to visit it, and the library is a great place to spend a day. Seriously, never underestimate the importance of the library's reading room--that's where you spend most of your waking hours, so you want it to be nice.

What do you think of Ithaca so far?

As my username suggests, I'm crazy about it. The area right around campus, Collegetown, has lots of pretty good restaurants and bars, including Collegetown Bagels, at which every law student eats at least 4 meals a week--very high quality bagel sandwiches. Ithaca in general is truly beautiful, though--on the way from the bagel shop to the law school, you cross this stone bridge over a big gorge with rapids and waterfalls. There's obviously a lot of effort to keep the town clean and pristine--it actually reminds me of that place where the elves lived in the Lord of the Rings movies--very idyllic.

Lastly, do students really study as much as the statistics suggest?

Some do, some don't. Law school is a lot of work--no matter what. I wouldn't imagine it's significantly different anywhere else. I'd say that in order to do a really thorough job on your class preparation and be absolutely prepared for all the impossible questions the profs could throw at you, you need to study 6-8 hours a day, but most people fumble a bit when called on, and it's no big deal. I've been putting in about 3-4 hours a day on average, and feel like I understand the material to some degree, and can participate relatively intelligently in discussions.

In any case, there's a pretty active social life on and off campus, especially on the weekends. We have to celebrate the end of the weeks with vigor and gusto. The atmosphere is very laid back despite all the hours we put in at the library--apparently pretty much everyone gets a B+ and gets on a journal if they want (we have a class of 200, and 120 spaces available in journals, and allegedly a good number of people don't want to do journals, so the odds are in your favor). So there's no real reason to be competitive (though of course there's one dude who just keeps his hand raised through every class, and causes lots of eye rolling--there'll always be one).

if you dont mind...

what were your numbers and URM?

I won't be too specific, but I'll say within one point of the published median LSAT and slightly above the 75% mark for GPA, non-URM.

[gnahapet]

Did you write a Why Cornell statement? If so, about what? How long?

I am very interested in studying international law and so Cornell would be a great place for me, among other reasons (the environment, the cooperative atmosphere). And I just wonder if that matters to ad com at all. I am in there on stats, i think. GPA makes it a little iffy, but I my PS will make up for it, so I just wonder if the IL thing matters...

thinking about loud...

[IHeartIthaca]

I did write a why-cornell statement, and talked about international law--now I'm even a member of the international law society. no idea whether it had any impact or not on my application. why not write the optional essays? it takes all of thirty minutes.

[neskerdoo]

Do you wish you were in section A because it's more awesomer than the others?

[joonbug]

Do you wish you were in section A because it's more awesomer than the others?

I can answer that.

Section A to Section B --> Ohio State to USC last night.

[Ryduce]

What's the access like for someone who wants to go fishing in thier spare time?

[IHeartIthaca]

What's the access like for someone who wants to go fishing in thier spare time?

I don't know what the local regulations are, but there are plenty of rivers and lakes in the area--lake Cayuga is the big one, and there's a smaller lake on the north side of campus.

[neskerdoo]

ahem

[IHeartIthaca]

ahem

Well, I can't tell whether section A is any better than the others, since I haven't both been in section A and another section.

[neskerdoo]

are your classmates invited to help you answer questions in this thread?

[LeahNic]

Personally I am fond of section A. And the free pizza at every meeting.

[Darth Topher]

very cool thread

i would love to go there in the future

[kn6542]

Personally I am fond of section A. And the free pizza at every meeting.

I think I've eaten more pizza cheese in the last 3 weeks than I had in the previous year. And it's reasonably good pizza, too (considering that it's free).

[IHeartIthaca]

are your classmates invited to help you answer questions in this thread?

of course--I thought these forums were supposed to be a free-for-all anyway.

[lollypotter]

The no laptops in class thing has actually made me hesitate to apply. How does this work in practice?

[kn6542]

The no laptops in class thing has actually made me hesitate to apply. How does this work in practice?

There's only one prof, as far as I know, who does that. You'd have him for one semester. It's hardly a reason not to apply.

[xdistak]

There are just one or two profs that have banned laptops. There's spotty internet in a few of the classrooms. A surprising number of people choose to take notes by hand instead of with a laptop. I'd guess nobody cares.

[kn6542]

There are just one or two profs that have banned laptops. There's spotty internet in a few of the classrooms. A surprising number of people choose to take notes by hand instead of with a laptop. I'd guess nobody cares.

Yeah, I plan on tearing a piece of slate off the side of the gorge and scratching my notes onto it with limestone for Summers' class.

[fsohn]

I don't find taking notes by hand in ConLaw to be such a terrible thing. Frankly, I don't take very good notes even when I'm typing, so the only real advantage for me is not having to sift through pages from various notepads at the end of the week and trying to figure out what my chicken-scratch says. And not having the internet in class is at least for me a good thing. I'd certainly be checking my email and shopping when people go off on tangents, or a hypothetical is just plain boring.

[woeisme]

Hi gang! I know who OP is


nesker, how can section A be the best? Isn't that the one with all the weird kids?

[Concord72]

ok im in hs and i got a question about class selection. Does every1 take all the same classes thru law school or do u take a core set and then take chosen specialized classes? What i want to kno is when and how do u choose wat type of law u wanna specialize in. like for example, if i wanna do sports law, is there a special class i gotta go to for that?

[kn6542]

Hi gang! I know who OP is


nesker, how can section A be the best? Isn't that the one with all the weird kids?

They only seem weird to you because their superior intelligence is difficult for you to understand.