Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

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cantexplaingottago

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by cantexplaingottago » Tue May 23, 2017 9:26 pm

cornell2020 wrote:I'm probably getting an unfurnished place... what's the best option for furniture?
There are two Reuse centers in Ithaca--tons of super cheap furniture of varying quality, and the selection changes daily. There's also a massive junk sale in Helen Newman gym at the beginning of the year. The thrift stores in the area other than the Reuse places are crap and generally overpriced. If you have the ability to, buy some flatpacked stuff at Ikea and bring it with you.

counttoten

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by counttoten » Tue May 23, 2017 10:14 pm

Rubbishdump wrote:How late do the buses run to and from campus?
Depends on the day of the week and where you're coming from. I know on Friday/Saturday there are buses from the commons to campus until around 2am.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by uhwrestler » Wed May 24, 2017 5:18 pm

has anyone rented a room or mini studio at the commons studios in downtown ithaca?
the room is pretty cheap compared to most studios in ithaca
i was wondering what the catch was

any reviews particularly is the water consistently warm, is the winter heating good, and any rodent or bug problems?

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tyrant_flycatcher

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by tyrant_flycatcher » Thu May 25, 2017 8:58 am

uhwrestler wrote:has anyone rented a room or mini studio at the commons studios in downtown ithaca?
the room is pretty cheap compared to most studios in ithaca
i was wondering what the catch was

any reviews particularly is the water consistently warm, is the winter heating good, and any rodent or bug problems?
Idk where these studios are, but they could be loud, very loud, especially if they're next to / above places like Moonies

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the lsat failure

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by the lsat failure » Thu May 25, 2017 2:43 pm

Anyone know what's going on with Maplewood Park renovations? They say that the complex will be open to tenants/grad students beginning Fall 2018, but I was wondering if that was looking to be true for those at the law school currently. If so, it would be nice as I am looking to apply for law school this upcoming cycle, and Cornell is my top choice!

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Pompeii » Fri May 26, 2017 1:48 pm

I'm Cornell bound this fall and am very excited! I am planning my travel home and am wondering if any activities/assignments happen during the Fall Break (10/8-10/15). Will I be okay traveling home during that time or should I hang around Ithaca? I don't want to miss anything that may be required but I also don't want to wait to book travel. Thanks!

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Fri May 26, 2017 8:12 pm

the lsat failure wrote:Anyone know what's going on with Maplewood Park renovations? They say that the complex will be open to tenants/grad students beginning Fall 2018, but I was wondering if that was looking to be true for those at the law school currently. If so, it would be nice as I am looking to apply for law school this upcoming cycle, and Cornell is my top choice!
I have no idea what the status of construction is, but I'll just point out that very few law students lived there previously because you could usually get something nicer or closer to the law school for the same price. Maybe that will change after the renovations if it turns out to be both nice and affordable, but in any case, I wouldn't sweat it if it's not ready.
Pompeii wrote:I'm Cornell bound this fall and am very excited! I am planning my travel home and am wondering if any activities/assignments happen during the Fall Break (10/8-10/15). Will I be okay traveling home during that time or should I hang around Ithaca? I don't want to miss anything that may be required but I also don't want to wait to book travel. Thanks!
You'll be ok going home. Nothing happens over Fall Break. You'll have a memo due right beforehand, so you don't have anything to do during it. Most 1Ls use this time to start outlining their classes, but you can do that from home. I'd say most of the 1Ls go home for at least part of Fall Break.

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cantexplaingottago

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by cantexplaingottago » Fri Jun 02, 2017 3:32 pm

Asking here because I suspect rising 3Ls and alumni sub to this thread:

The professors teaching Biz Orgs in 2017-18 are Whitehead, Hockett, Rachlinski, and Gramitto Ricci. Do you have any advice on which one to aim for?

Also, is Sherwin really that bad? She's teaching Trusts & Estates in the fall.

Finally, for Admin: Farina or Stiglitz?

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runthetrap1990

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by runthetrap1990 » Fri Jun 02, 2017 4:33 pm

cantexplaingottago wrote:Asking here because I suspect rising 3Ls and alumni sub to this thread:

The professors teaching Biz Orgs in 2017-18 are Whitehead, Hockett, Rachlinski, and Gramitto Ricci. Do you have any advice on which one to aim for?

Also, is Sherwin really that bad? She's teaching Trusts & Estates in the fall.

Finally, for Admin: Farina or Stiglitz?
For BizOrgs - I took Hockett and would not recommend. You'll miss a lot of days of lecture that are then made up later on in the semester, you'll likely fail to get through all the material (a lot of which is really important), and overall his lectures tend to be a bit all over the place. His curve, I've heard, is pretty A- heavy, but he doesn't give out As/A+s, which can be rough. General consensus seems to be that Whitehead is the go to for BizOrgs, although I could see Rachlinski making it interesting—he's an energetic lecturer (he's never taught it while I was at school). That said, I know his exams are kind of tough. If I were in your position, I'd just take Whitehead BizOrgs and never look back.

For T&E - I had Sherwin for 1L property. She wasn't great, but I also didn't think she was that bad either. Wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't be against it. Her curve is generally good, and I didn't find her exams to be crazy (although, her property essay was rather tort like, so a bit of a typing test).

For Admin: I had Farina. It's hit and miss with her. I happened to like the class a lot, and I liked her, but I had plenty of friends who were not a fan of the class at all. The exam is a typing test/knowledge dump, so if that's your style, you may be in better shape taking it over Stiglitz. I've heard Stiglitz has gotten a lot better since the horror stories I had heard during 1L year. The class, in general, is pretty ConLaw heavy, so just be ready for that (it was a bit of a surprise to me).

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Fri Jun 02, 2017 5:33 pm

Took Whitehead for BizOrgs. Would recommend. But also make sure you have "the" outline.

Taking BizOrgs, T&E, and Admin in one semester sounds like a snoozefest to me personally, but I guess that's why I never took T&E or Admin*.

*Dropped Admin after a week in 2015, then dropped it again after a day in 2016.

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cantexplaingottago

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by cantexplaingottago » Fri Jun 02, 2017 5:57 pm

Lavitz wrote:Took Whitehead for BizOrgs. Would recommend. But also make sure you have "the" outline.

Taking BizOrgs, T&E, and Admin in one semester sounds like a snoozefest to me personally, but I guess that's why I never took T&E or Admin*.

*Dropped Admin after a week in 2015, then dropped it again after a day in 2016.
As I'm sure you know, the school recommends we all take admin. You're saying it's not necessary? Because if at all possible, I'd like to avoid it. It sounds incredibly boring and I read somewhere that it isn't even covered on the bar exam.

runinthefront

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by runinthefront » Fri Jun 02, 2017 6:09 pm

cantexplaingottago wrote:
Lavitz wrote:Took Whitehead for BizOrgs. Would recommend. But also make sure you have "the" outline.

Taking BizOrgs, T&E, and Admin in one semester sounds like a snoozefest to me personally, but I guess that's why I never took T&E or Admin*.

*Dropped Admin after a week in 2015, then dropped it again after a day in 2016.
As I'm sure you know, the school recommends we all take admin. You're saying it's not necessary? Because if at all possible, I'd like to avoid it. It sounds incredibly boring and I read somewhere that it isn't even covered on the bar exam.
You shouldn't take classes because the school "recommends" them. Most people won't take Tax. Probably half of your class won't take Admin. People interested in PI won't take BusinessOrgs, by and large.

Admin is definitely boring, and it's hard to see the forest through the trees at first, but once you finish it you realize how much you've learned and how much administrative law affects your everyday world. I would recommend it, especially to anyone interested in litigation, clerking, or working for a government agency--or to anyone interested in separation-of-powers stuff. Doesn't matter whether you take Farina/Stiglitz. Admin is an inherently difficult subject no matter who is teaching it.

You also shouldn't pick classes based on whether it's covered on the bar exam. Just take classes you're interested in/think will help you in practice.
Last edited by runinthefront on Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:06 pm

cantexplaingottago wrote:
Lavitz wrote:Took Whitehead for BizOrgs. Would recommend. But also make sure you have "the" outline.

Taking BizOrgs, T&E, and Admin in one semester sounds like a snoozefest to me personally, but I guess that's why I never took T&E or Admin*.

*Dropped Admin after a week in 2015, then dropped it again after a day in 2016.
As I'm sure you know, the school recommends we all take admin. You're saying it's not necessary? Because if at all possible, I'd like to avoid it. It sounds incredibly boring and I read somewhere that it isn't even covered on the bar exam.
Yeah, I do know, which is why I decided to mention that I never took Admin. I had a feeling some of you were just taking these classes because the law school "recommends them."

But, as runinthefront pointed out, you absolutely do not have to take these "recommended" classes. I didn't take Admin or Tax. At least for litigators, Tax is completely useless.

And I have yet to see any downsides to having skipped Admin. I remember everyone at Cornell insisting that I should take Admin if I was going to clerk. Yet no judges I interviewed with ever cared that I hadn't taken Admin, and I've made it through an entire term with maybe one admin case popping up, and it was easy to learn on the fly. It's probably helpful if you're clerking in the DC Circuit or if you want to work for a government agency, and I'm sure a lot of the info is nice to know in general, but it's definitely not a necessary class. You can also pick up some of the basic admin concepts in Legislation or FedCourts if you take either of those, which were much more interesting, at least to me.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by stuffs » Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:55 pm

People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:25 pm

stuffs wrote:People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?
Keep current state's registration. Don't have to change it bc you're a student. I looked it up when I got there, haha. I personally chose to change mine bc it was registered in a city where I was paying property tax on my car :roll:.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by stuffs » Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:51 pm

hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?
Keep current state's registration. Don't have to change it bc you're a student. I looked it up when I got there, haha. I personally chose to change mine bc it was registered in a city where I was paying property tax on my car :roll:.
Awesome - thanks!

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:15 pm

stuffs wrote:
hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?
Keep current state's registration. Don't have to change it bc you're a student. I looked it up when I got there, haha. I personally chose to change mine bc it was registered in a city where I was paying property tax on my car :roll:.
Awesome - thanks!
Sure thing. Feel free to PM w other questions.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by capnobvious123 » Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:57 pm

hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:
hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?
Keep current state's registration. Don't have to change it bc you're a student. I looked it up when I got there, haha. I personally chose to change mine bc it was registered in a city where I was paying property tax on my car :roll:.
Awesome - thanks!
Sure thing. Feel free to PM w other questions.
Following up on this, do SO's usually have to change registration, given they're not students?

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Sat Jun 17, 2017 3:50 pm

capnobvious123 wrote:
hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:
hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
stuffs wrote:People who bring their cars from our of state to Ithaca, do you keep your current state's registration or register your car in NY?
Keep current state's registration. Don't have to change it bc you're a student. I looked it up when I got there, haha. I personally chose to change mine bc it was registered in a city where I was paying property tax on my car :roll:.
Awesome - thanks!
Sure thing. Feel free to PM w other questions.
Following up on this, do SO's usually have to change registration, given they're not students?
I believe so, yes.

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charles117

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by charles117 » Tue Jun 20, 2017 4:00 pm

.
Last edited by charles117 on Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Tue Jun 20, 2017 4:10 pm

charles117 wrote:anyone know anything about this Academic Orientation Program (held Sunday, August 6 – Friday, August 11) that starts a week before the actual student orientation?
Yes. Feel free to PM me any questions.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by no exit » Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:59 pm

Anyone willing to offer updated insight re: 1L summer internships? I know getting a 1L SA is a long shot, but is finding other paid work (e.g., in house internship at a F500/some other company) also very rare? Are most students who want to be in NYC for the summer able to find internships there? Is there any networking that can/should be done early on in 1L to help secure an internship for the summer?

Thanks in advance!

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by JustMe83 » Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:21 pm

no exit wrote:Anyone willing to offer updated insight re: 1L summer internships? I know getting a 1L SA is a long shot, but is finding other paid work (e.g., in house internship at a F500/some other company) also very rare? Are most students who want to be in NYC for the summer able to find internships there? Is there any networking that can/should be done early on in 1L to help secure an internship for the summer?

Thanks in advance!
The school will fund virtually any unpaid internship, and most of the people I know who had 'paid' jobs made about the same amount of money. If you apply to a lot of places there's pretty much no way you won't find somewhere that is willing to accept your free labor. That said, if you aren't eligible for the funding for whatever reason (i.e., not a US citizen) the paid jobs can be pretty hard to come by, but it is pretty easy to get a school-paid gig as a research assistant over the summer, and you can usually work remotely.

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by counttoten » Sat Jul 08, 2017 8:02 pm

no exit wrote:Anyone willing to offer updated insight re: 1L summer internships? I know getting a 1L SA is a long shot, but is finding other paid work (e.g., in house internship at a F500/some other company) also very rare? Are most students who want to be in NYC for the summer able to find internships there? Is there any networking that can/should be done early on in 1L to help secure an internship for the summer?

Thanks in advance!
Don't worry about early networking opportunities. Nationally, summer hiring for 1Ls isn't allowed (or, technically, really strongly discouraged) to start until December 1. http://www.nalp.org/fulltextofnalpprinc ... dstandards - Section V.D.2

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by freekick » Sun Jul 09, 2017 10:32 am

Incoming 1L.

Would be really helpful if someone could talk about how Asian international students (i.e. those on the F1 visa) fare at the AJF. Apart from general comments, would appreciate insight into the following:
- How much of a problem is the need for visa sponsorship? Deal-breaker?
- I understand that firms with large international practices (White & Case, Freshfields, Shearman etc) would​ be more receptive. In that case, is the job hunt then limited to these firms?
- In practice, is the work visa issue tied to grades in that the better your grades, the more willing a firm is to sponsor you?
- If one wants, can one do domestic litigation or does it have to be 'international' corp/lit practice?
- Is striking out a big risk solely account of need for visa sponsorship regardless of good grades?

Also:
- Since non-citizens cannot be paid for federal jobs, has anyone found an unpaid federal clerkship, either at the district court or CoA level?

Happy to do this via PM if that's what you would prefer. Many thanks in advance.

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