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I applied to a set of schools with UG populations of varying size/significance:

U Cincinnati (In, first one!)
Washington & Lee
University of Oregon
Penn State
Villanova
Lewis & Clark

I am worried, however, that the schools with larger undergrad populations won't be what I'm looking for. I've really enjoyed my time in undergrad, and don't necessarily have anything against the younger students, but I am kind of ready for a more mature, focused lifestyle (important to note more mature not absolutely mature/focued. I still want to have fun).

So I suppose my question is, with schools like Cincy, Oregon, and Penn State, do the UG populations have any affect on the life of a law student? Am I going to have to put up with sorority girls yapping on their phones in the libraries? Will I be awoken night after night by drunken Sophomores stumbling home from parties? I've struggled with the frustrations of going to a school with a huge UG population for long enough, and I'm not sure if I want to endure it for another three years.

mattymatt wrote:I applied to a set of schools with UG populations of varying size/significance:

U Cincinnati (In, first one!)
Washington & Lee
University of Oregon
Penn State
Villanova
Lewis & Clark

I am worried, however, that the schools with larger undergrad populations won't be what I'm looking for. I've really enjoyed my time in undergrad, and don't necessarily have anything against the younger students, but I am kind of ready for a more mature, focused lifestyle (important to note more mature not absolutely mature/focued. I still want to have fun).

So I suppose my question is, with schools like Cincy, Oregon, and Penn State, do the UG populations have any affect on the life of a law student? Am I going to have to put up with sorority girls yapping on their phones in the libraries? Will I be awoken night after night by drunken Sophomores stumbling home from parties? I've struggled with the frustrations of going to a school with a huge UG population for long enough, and I'm not sure if I want to endure it for another three years.

I hope that even at the schools with a larger UG presence (since I'm going to UVA) one can isolate themselves a good deal from it, being that you will be so absorbed with work and spend most of your time in the law school, at the law library, with law students, etc.

Why are you talking as if the UG population, or at least the parts of it that are annoying to you, are unavoidable?

Because, to a certain extent they are, right? I mean, if you attend a school with 30,000+ undergraduates, you'll have to deal with them eventually.

For instance, I know a 3L at U of O, and when talking with him about his experience, he mentioned how his frequent run-ins with the UG population have affected his time there. He mentioned mostly logistical aspects (on campus parking, housing, etc.) I know that I won't be forced to interact or socialize with them, but at certain times, it will be unavoidable.

I'm simply wondering if anyone has any insight regarding the interactions between graduate/professional students and undergrads at some of the schools I mentioned, or schools of similar size/composition.

I went to Cincy for undergrad and lived just off campus. The closer you get to campus the noisier your evenings will be. But since there is a plehtora of cheap housing nearby, finding a quiet and inexpensive area isn't too difficult.

I also just heard a This Amercan Life episode about the partying at Penn State. Hilarious. It's called #1 Party School. You may want to ceck it out.

Good to know about both schools.

As naive as it may sound, I had no idea that Penn State had that reputation.

I'm listening to the episode right now, and Sarah Koenig has got to be the most wretched woman ever. To be fair, I get where she's coming from, I really do. Not everyone is a college student, and most college students really do need to be more considerate. but when you live next to a University you need to have a little tolerance for this kind of thing. I get just as frustrated as the next person, but come on lady. Hassling kids to pick up a paper plate? Deal with it. I'll bet she's the type that calls the cops on a party at 10:30 on a Friday.

I was born in State College to professors and went to Penn State UG and then lived there and started my family there...in the 90's. The UG population in town, out of town, even FAR out of town is unavoidable. With the new law school at UP you should be able to mostly avoid during school hours. But in your daily travels you will come into contact with noisy UG students. They occupy just about every apartment complex...although if you decide on going I could recommend some locations that are a little more quiet...my parents still live in town.

If you are looking for something different than your UG experience, smaller, more intimate psu might not be it, although I can't say for certain regarding the law school. Like someone said...#1 party school. Not sure if it still is, but when I was there it had the largest Greek system in the country. You should visit any school you are considering because the environment does need to be tolerable at minimum.

sarahd wrote:I was born in State College to professors and went to Penn State UG and then lived there and started my family there...in the 90's. The UG population in town, out of town, even FAR out of town is unavoidable. With the new law school at UP you should be able to mostly avoid during school hours. But in your daily travels you will come into contact with noisy UG students. They occupy just about every apartment complex...although if you decide on going I could recommend some locations that are a little more quiet...my parents still live in town.

If you are looking for something different than your UG experience, smaller, more intimate psu might not be it, although I can't say for certain regarding the law school. Like someone said...#1 party school. Not sure if it still is, but when I was there it had the largest Greek system in the country. You should visit any school you are considering because the environment does need to be tolerable at minimum.

The quantity and quality of the bullshit in this post is spectacular.

SoxyPirate wrote:

sarahd wrote:I was born in State College to professors and went to Penn State UG and then lived there and started my family there...in the 90's. The UG population in town, out of town, even FAR out of town is unavoidable. With the new law school at UP you should be able to mostly avoid during school hours. But in your daily travels you will come into contact with noisy UG students. They occupy just about every apartment complex...although if you decide on going I could recommend some locations that are a little more quiet...my parents still live in town.

If you are looking for something different than your UG experience, smaller, more intimate psu might not be it, although I can't say for certain regarding the law school. Like someone said...#1 party school. Not sure if it still is, but when I was there it had the largest Greek system in the country. You should visit any school you are considering because the environment does need to be tolerable at minimum.

The quantity and quality of the bullshit in this post is spectacular.

Awesome, Soxy! Thanks for your help, really informative and responsive to my question.

SoxyPirate wrote: The quantity and quality of the bullshit in this post is spectacular.

BS that I was born in the hospital on the hill with cows in the front yard?
BS that I grew up there?
BS that I went to school there?
BS that the school is a huge party school?
BS that the school has a large or the largest greek system?
BS that my parents are still there?
BS that UG literally occupy every corner of town and then some during the semester?

I was responding as someone who knows what the town is like for non-UG, adult persons. I visit at least 3-4 times per year and I do know what the town has been like for the last 34 years...since my first memories of living in Nittany Gardens when my parents were just starting their careers. All the way to living in Park Forest as an adult starting my family. You, if you are attending the UP campus, have a single semester's perspective and if you could offer some true perspective to the OP it would be helpful. I clarified that I was not sure about how much one would have run-ins with UG while attending the new law school and certainly not during the school day as well as stating I was unsure about the intimacy with regards to the law school. But the evenings and weekends...UG population is everywhere and it is a LARGE school.

I get the need to comment on my uneducated post because you certainly know more than I as a 4 month resident of State College , but claiming my info is BS and then not offering the non-BS info is certainly quite helpful and mature. You are an arrogant SOB with zero reason to be so.

sarahd wrote:

SoxyPirate wrote: The quantity and quality of the bullshit in this post is spectacular.

BS that I was born in the hospital on the hill with cows in the front yard?
BS that I grew up there?
BS that I went to school there?
BS that the school is a huge party school?
BS that the school has a large or the largest greek system?
BS that my parents are still there?
BS that UG literally occupy every corner of town and then some during the semester?

I was responding as someone who knows what the town is like for non-UG, adult persons. I visit at least 3-4 times per year and I do know what the town has been like for the last 34 years...since my first memories of living in Nittany Gardens when my parents were just starting their careers. All the way to living in Park Forest as an adult starting my family. You, if you are attending the UP campus, have a single semester's perspective and if you could offer some true perspective to the OP it would be helpful. I clarified that I was not sure about how much one would have run-ins with UG while attending the new law school and certainly not during the school day as well as stating I was unsure about the intimacy with regards to the law school. But the evenings and weekends...UG population is everywhere and it is a LARGE school.

I get the need to comment on my uneducated post because you certainly know more than I as a 4 month resident of State College , but claiming my info is BS and then not offering the non-BS info is certainly quite helpful and mature. You are an arrogant SOB with zero reason to be so.

Such a thoughtful reply to such a thoughtless comment. You get it.