GULC 1L Taking Questions Forum

[hefferlump]

No, you don't have to apply early to get in to § 3. I got in to Georgetown off the waitlist in late June (which is about the same time that preferences were due) and then off the waitlist for § 3 (it was a rather lucky summer). HOWEVER, quite a few of my friends bargained their way in, by chatting with Dean Cornblatt and telling him that they would only come here if they got in to § 3 and sent him notes reminding him of that promise when it came time to make section requests. So...something to keep in mind.

[Elms]

Any GULC students who commute...

How long is your commute, where do you commute from, and what kind of $ do you pay for rent?

Thanks!

[bilbobaggins]

I am not familiar with the GTown's sections. Why is Section 3 different than others? Can anyone give me any insight?

[bwv812]

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[smaakit]

Any GULC students who commute...

How long is your commute, where do you commute from, and what kind of $ do you pay for rent?

Thanks!

I commute from Cleveland Park. That's six metro stops away from school. So I'd say, door to door, about 30-35 minutes. I live in a studio. The rent is $1241, utilities included.

[chadstew55]

So, I've heard GULC is rather competitve for a T14. Do you feel like there is a lot of competition or is it pretty laid back?

[bwv812]

.

[hefferlump]

I live on Capitol Hill, so I have a 20 minute walk to school. My rent is $1200 for a one bedroom "garden" apartment.

I don't think we're overtly competitive, although I have heard stories about other sections. On the other hand, I think we all really, really want to do well but are able to make sure that doesn't get in the way of our relationships with our classmates.

[smaakit]

In my section (4) everyone wants to do well, but nobody's a jerk about it.

[iwanttogotolawschool]

How is DC? Do you find GULC to be extra political due to its location? (Hard to make comparisons, I know.) What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?

DC is kind of like a New York starter kit. As a native New Yorker, this can be frustrating at times, but overall it is growing on me. I don't think GULC is extra political, but if you ARE politically inclined, it is an awesome place to be because of who you are able to interact with here. Any and every on/off-campus activity you could possibly dream of is represented here, which is one of the benefits of attending a large school.

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?

Gewirz. It is awesome in terms of convenience, it takes 5 minutes tops to get from your room to your class. The downside is that the wireless internet connection is terrible and there are constant water shut-offs/emergencies. Rent is between 1K and 1.3K a month for the various apartment styles, I believe. Most 1Ls live in Gewirz.

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?

Yes. No, I feel like I gain. I love having the opportunity to interact with so many people and having access to such a large alumni base. In addition, while 2 of my 4 classes have about 25 students, I hate smaller classes and am a big fan of sitting in a mammoth lecture hall, so that works out for me.

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)

I would say GULC is very diverse.

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?

The weather is typical East Coast.

How bad is 1Ling so far? ^.^

1L is awesome.

[neskerdoo]

can someone please ban this retard^

[spree234]

So, I've heard GULC is rather competitve for a T14. Do you feel like there is a lot of competition or is it pretty laid back?

I think that it is very laid back. I mean sure there are a couple of people who probably do nothing but study, but you don't see those people for that exact reason and all of the rest of us are normal. We read, but we also go to bars and workout (the gym is amazing and ridiculously convenient) and go into Chinatown and do a whole host of activities. I love my classmates and the great thing about going to a big law school is that there are always tons of people to hang out with and tons of things going on at any given time. This isn't to say that you don't have to study, but there is certainly no lack of community here and even though we are all being placed in a situation where we can't help competing with each other, I don't think that the vast majority of people look at it like that.

*Disclaimer: I'm in Section 3 and we do have a reputation of being less "competitive." But none of my friends from other sections seem hyper-competitive or unhappy with their classmates being so. I think that GULC still has some wierd competitive-reputation hangover from the 80s, when supposedly going to school here was totally different. Back then the law school was just in one building and there were no students living on campus and apparently the atmosphere was completely different...not in a good way. Now, we have 2 libraries, the original building for classrooms & professor offices, the Sport & Fitness Center, and the dorm (Gewirz). However, reputations take a long time to change and from what I have heard, this place really was competitive and had no community atmosphere back in the early 80s. You'd never know it now though, except that sometimes a professor will make a reference to it in acknowlegment of how great of a job the administration has done in changing things around.

[StCuervo]

I was admitted to the part-time program last week.

A few more questions:

* Do you know anything about the part-time program?
* What is the grade distribution like? (e.g. do 80% get Bs or is it 10%As, 10%A-, etc.) Does the grade distribution vary from class to class?
* How common is the use of the Socratic method?
* If you had to choose law schools all over again, would you choose GULC?

Thanks!

[woeisme]

I will now attack you with questions.

How is DC? Do you find GULC to be extra political due to its location? (Hard to make comparisons, I know.) What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?

How bad is 1Ling so far? ^.^

Hm. I'm thinking you'll like a school like Cornell more. Just a thought

[bwv812]

.

[StCuervo]

Thanks bwv812.

Dumb question: What is "section 3"?

The reason I did PT is that I have a wife and family so I need to keep my current job (and income) while I go to school. If nothing changes, the odds that I transfer to FT are slim. There is a chance that my wife might get a high paying job next year and, if she does, I will certainly think about transferring to FT just to finish up faster. So it is good to know that option would be available.

You aren't the first person to tell me the school is stingy with aid and that is something I will certainly be thinking about when making my decision. It would be nice to go to a great school like GT but with in-state-tuition at Mason, which just down the street from me, I'm not sure where I would get the most "bang for the buck."

Thanks again for answering my questions.

[bwv812]

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[Paichka]

Do any of the 1Ls live farther afield from DC? I'm considering getting a townhouse in Hoodbridge to be near my folks (free babysitting), and then taking the VRE in every day.

[monochrome]

... the main gripe most women have with the school is the policy on reproductive rights and health care. That comes out of the Catholic tradition and I think it might be a reason why people aren't particularly chatty about it.

could you [or anyone else] elaborate?

[iagolives]

Hey,

Do you know if Curriculum B is looked upon differently (favorably or otherwise) by employers/summer jobs b/c it is rather unorthodox?

[bwv812]

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[bwv812]

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[hefferlump]

Ok, answers from me:

1) Living far afield: I know of a few 1Ls who commute from Baltimore and there are quite a few outside of the District, like in Silver Spring. So, it's do-able.

2) Reproductive things: Not covering the pill is the big one, but many of the women I've talked with kind of distrust the entire student health system out of the fear that we'll be looked down upon for taking it or for, you know, engaging in activities for which it is designed. It certainly makes me not want to go to student health for anything reproductive-related. The administration has also made life extremely difficult over the years for the student pro-choice group and continues to refuse to fund them.

3) Section 3...is awesome: I've heard that § 3 can take some explaining (like, "what on earth is 'Bargain, Exchange, and Liability?' and why didn't you take torts?"), but that it doesn't really affect your prospects. I know that it seems like every GULC alum I run into was in § 3 and they're all doing the kinds of things I'm interested in!

[GULC2011]

I live about 25-30 minutes away and love it.

School insurance doesnt technically cover the pill, but any doctor you ask will fix that. I have yet to meet someone that wants it and doesnt have coverage under school insurance.

[jim_23ffflm]

Do you know anybody who has gotten a C+ or below in any course?

Do you know any one who is at the bottom of the class? If so, how are they taking it?

The usual jabber about the internet is that you have to do pretty well at GULC to get any kind of job. Having worked at law firms in and around DC, that doesn't seem true to me. In fact, I worked for a vault 100 firm that was positively salivating over a JD candidate from GULC with a 3.0. Granted he had other qualifications that made him exceptional, but I'm just curious as to what the students think about being in the bottom of the class.

I've also noticed that DC firms (BIGLAW and other) are filled with grads from lower tier DC law schools who don't have "cum laude" attached to their JDs. Surely somebody in the middle of the class at George Mason, all other things being equal, is less attractive than somebody in the lower middle at GULC, no? I would think so. After all, the clients only notice where you got your JD. They never see how well you did getting it.