GW Class of 2013 Forum

(housing, friendships, future exams, all things 2013)
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sibley

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:29 am

bullfighter wrote:
lawschoolftw wrote:Is anyone deffinately living in the Aston next fall??
I will be in the Aston. fun to not worry about housing.
I've got to see it.. and make my final choice... but am considering it. Location is nice and close. it's a little pricey but the apts aren't too small for studios....

who's going to hang out with me on friday?

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:21 pm

i'm so screwed. Anyone know how I can get from BWI (8:02am) to Lerner Hall (by 9:45am) without paying for a private car to drop me off? ughhh
my mom was all "you'll save money by flying because you won't have to pay for a hotel" save money my ass!

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by umichgrad » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:26 pm

sibley wrote:i'm so screwed. Anyone know how I can get from BWI (8:02am) to Lerner Hall (by 9:45am) without paying for a private car to drop me off? ughhh
my mom was all "you'll save money by flying because you won't have to pay for a hotel" save money my ass!
MARC?

sibley

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:39 pm

umichgrad wrote:
sibley wrote:i'm so screwed. Anyone know how I can get from BWI (8:02am) to Lerner Hall (by 9:45am) without paying for a private car to drop me off? ughhh
my mom was all "you'll save money by flying because you won't have to pay for a hotel" save money my ass!
MARC?
2 hours.

Amrak + 2mile cab ride =$22
Oh actually I could do the same with Marc... either one I might miss the 8am train and have to take the 9am one, but if I did and then took a cab to the airport I think I'd only be 10 minutes late. No, Amtrak's a little faster. OK! So Amtrak to Union Station, cab to Lerner. that'll work right? and I'll only get there maybe 10 minutes late?...
Last edited by sibley on Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

umichgrad

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by umichgrad » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:42 pm

sibley wrote:
umichgrad wrote:
sibley wrote:i'm so screwed. Anyone know how I can get from BWI (8:02am) to Lerner Hall (by 9:45am) without paying for a private car to drop me off? ughhh
my mom was all "you'll save money by flying because you won't have to pay for a hotel" save money my ass!
MARC?
2 hours.

as far as i know, that's the only way to do it on the cheap. Amtrak goes but it's probably expensive.

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sibley

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:45 pm

umichgrad wrote:
sibley wrote:
umichgrad wrote:
sibley wrote:i'm so screwed. Anyone know how I can get from BWI (8:02am) to Lerner Hall (by 9:45am) without paying for a private car to drop me off? ughhh
my mom was all "you'll save money by flying because you won't have to pay for a hotel" save money my ass!
MARC?
2 hours.

as far as i know, that's the only way to do it on the cheap. Amtrak goes but it's probably expensive.
sorry, I started editing right after I submitted but then my boss came over so I was talking with him. Amtrak's $13 which isn't terrible.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by minuit » Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:37 am

Who else loved Preview Day besides me??

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ryguy

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by ryguy » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:10 am

What did you love about it? What state are you from?

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by muggie » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:26 am

minuit wrote:Who else loved Preview Day besides me??
I know I did!! I put down my deposit a couple weeks ago, but yesterday reassured me that I definitely made the right decision!
ryguy wrote:What did you love about it? What state are you from?
The faculty & current/fellow prospective students are some of the friendliest people I have ever met, the facilities are up-to-date(& have nice views of the city from the windows) & the opportunities being in the city are countless. The career development office seems reliable and knowledgeable, which definitely is a huge asset IMO. The best part was the "GW community" though... the professors, deans & current students that came up to us to chat were genuinely friendly, not fake & too pushy with how great they think GW is. I love it! :D

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by minuit » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:46 am

ryguy wrote:What did you love about it? What state are you from?
I am from Florida (I didn't meet anyone else from Florida, most people I met came from the New England area - a lot of Maryland folks!).

First off, everyone was extremely nice. This was to be expected, but it went above and beyond that. When we broke into small groups to get tours of the law school, for example, I heard my two tour guides talking about classes (one was a 3L and the other was a 1L) and the 3L realized that the 1L had the same professor as she had during her 1L year. She immediately offered to give the 1L her outline for the class, to which he happily accepted. The little stuff like that - a school can tell you they are nice, but do you witness it in their own interactions? At GW, I did.

Additionally, the law school facilities are gorgeous, in my opinion. The inside looks recently renovated, and everything is sophisticated and handsome looking - from the library, the study areas, the chairs, the lecture halls, etc. Aesthetics are important to me because I don't want to spend most of my time in an ugly place! I also went to FSU's preview day and while the inside of that building is nice and professional looking, it's not on par with GW.

The professors all seem wonderful. At the end of the day there was a huge reception, with free beer and wine. Tons of professors and current students were there mingling with us prospectives, and it was honestly a great time. I made friends with some current 2Ls who are hilarious and nice, and I talked to several professors who were all laid back and yet very intelligent. The current students seemed to adore the professors, and they told us about some of the major cases that the professors have been involved in at the Supreme Court and such.

The opportunities available in going to a school in DC are immense. Everyone already knows that during the summer, all of the other top schools have lots of students vying for positions in DC. The rest of the year, though, is when GW can dominate the market in DC. as someone said to me, lawyers and agencies don't stop having work during the school year, they still have the work and need the people, and we are those people! We get placement in the summer, but in the fall and spring, too.

The career prospects - GOOD. I went to the career development and clerkships seminar and received an entire list of the firms that participate in OCI. It's absolutely immense, there are several hundred firms on the list from at least 35 states. A lot of of the time on TLS people say GW is approaching a regional school, and I am certain that this perspective is from a process of self-selecting into the area rather than not having the opportunity to practice elsewhere. For firms that don't participate in OCI, but that you are interested in, the career office sets up regional interviews with all of the employers you are looking into and sets up a day of interviewing at a nice hotel in the area, and all those students who would like to can fly out there and participate on location. They do all the legwork - you just have to get to the interview. The office also released to us the unpublished 2009 stats, and from the people who responded (i think 70% of the class), 93% were employed at graduation and the average salary was approximately $140,000.

Also - for those interested in PI, it's a great school for that. I'm interested in PI, and any reservations I had about opportunities, LRAP, etc, have been erased. If you have any specific questions about PI, feel free to PM me and I can get out the notes that I wrote during the seminar. There's two specific career counselors who focus on this stuff, one focuses on purely PI and the other on purely government. What else... location! GW has a great location in the city. It's less than a 10 minute walk to the White House (I did that yesterday) and it's right next to the IMF and World Bank. The Foggy Bottom metro stop is a 5-7 minute walk from the school, it's not bad at all. I didn't go on the tour of the Aston, but I hear that it's all single studio-style apartments, with some of them being bigger than others.

There's probably a lot that I am missing, but I'm just writing this off the top of my head. If anyone has anything to add, please do!! For two last examples, the career office says that the Department of Justice has three schools that it actively selects and chooses from: Harvard, Georgetown, and GW. Additionally, the PI counselor told us that at the combined G-town and GW public interest fair this spring, all the groups and firms involved continued to comment on how well prepared the GW students were. Basically, I had a few reservations (mostly formed from reading TLS), and I am feeling very confident in GW now.

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ryguy

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by ryguy » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:56 am

Thanks Minuit!!! Your insight is very helpful. I have decided on GW. It is a better fit for me than Fordham (which I constantly worried about). I didn't care for the student panel at Fordham (dog & pony show) and I was worried about the administration.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by gwgirl » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:08 pm

I also loved the Preview Day. I'm also a current GW undergrad student so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. Can't wait for next year!

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Sun Apr 11, 2010 12:25 am

I liked it a lot too... bought a tshirt =D

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by lawschoolftw » Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:14 am

sibley wrote:I liked it a lot too... bought a tshirt =D
I loved it as well. Went to go buy a sweatshirt on Saturday, all they had were smalls, so i went to buy a tshirt, onlly xxl's. Oh well.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by caleng » Sun Apr 11, 2010 2:20 pm

I was really impressed by GW at preview day and it looks like I'll be going there over a slightly higher scholarship at a school ranked a little higher (my LSN profile gives it away). Here are my thoughts on the day...

I'm really interested in IP, but I was worried that my BS in engineering wouldn't be enough to get me a job. After talking to about 5 people (faculty and current students), I was reassured that GW connections in IP, along with my BS and technical knowledge, would be very beneficial when trying to break into IP litigation. Note: I realize my interests may change in school, but I don't think it hurts to look into prospects for IP now.

The law school buildings are beautiful, inside and out. I can see myself taking classes there fore 3 years without any problems. I love the fact that the buildings are attached on the second floor so I can go from one to the other without having to step outside in the winter (I've never spent a winter outside California and these are the sort of things I think about).

I was incredibly impressed by the faculty. The fact that the Dean of IP was around and willing to talk to perspective students during the reception was a big help and beyond that, the fact that there even IS a Dean of an IP program is almost unheard of. I also got to talk candidly to a new professor about my two remaining school choices and he told me that he was actually deciding between the same two schools to teach. He told me his reasons for picking GW and they went right along with my pros for the school. They included the obvious such as location, industry connections, etc. but also included "less important" factors such as ease of transportation to and from LA (we are both moving from LA and have family connections to the area).

The location is amazing. I walked around the area yesterday and was blown away by the proximity to the institutions where law is actually made. No other school (GTown included) can boast of a better location.

Most importantly: I actually really liked the people. I stayed a little later than most at the reception talking to/drinking with some 2Ls and 3Ls and got a lot more insight into how they act when they're not just mentoring. Yes, they work hard as law students. But they also really seem to enjoy themselves. I could go to another school and hate life and possibly start out in my law career already burned out. Or I could enjoy myself, live in an awesome city, and still have a good name behind me when it's time to start looking for a job. Thanks, I'll take the second option.

P.S. I visited the Aston. It felt l little dormier than I would have liked, but honestly I'm used to having no personal space so even the small rooms seemed huge to me. I would much rather take the free housing offer at the Aston rather than worrying about finding a place when I'm across the country finishing up school.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by sibley » Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:44 pm

lawschoolftw wrote:
sibley wrote:I liked it a lot too... bought a tshirt =D
I loved it as well. Went to go buy a sweatshirt on Saturday, all they had were smalls, so i went to buy a tshirt, onlly xxl's. Oh well.
one of the student groups (I think that sidewalk/citywalk/whatever group) was selling some for a fundraiser for $15 each. I didn't buy one from them,but they had a ton.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by redbutton » Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:50 pm

minuit wrote:
ryguy wrote:What did you love about it? What state are you from?
I am from Florida (I didn't meet anyone else from Florida, most people I met came from the New England area - a lot of Maryland folks!).

First off, everyone was extremely nice. This was to be expected, but it went above and beyond that. When we broke into small groups to get tours of the law school, for example, I heard my two tour guides talking about classes (one was a 3L and the other was a 1L) and the 3L realized that the 1L had the same professor as she had during her 1L year. She immediately offered to give the 1L her outline for the class, to which he happily accepted. The little stuff like that - a school can tell you they are nice, but do you witness it in their own interactions? At GW, I did.

Additionally, the law school facilities are gorgeous, in my opinion. The inside looks recently renovated, and everything is sophisticated and handsome looking - from the library, the study areas, the chairs, the lecture halls, etc. Aesthetics are important to me because I don't want to spend most of my time in an ugly place! I also went to FSU's preview day and while the inside of that building is nice and professional looking, it's not on par with GW.

The professors all seem wonderful. At the end of the day there was a huge reception, with free beer and wine. Tons of professors and current students were there mingling with us prospectives, and it was honestly a great time. I made friends with some current 2Ls who are hilarious and nice, and I talked to several professors who were all laid back and yet very intelligent. The current students seemed to adore the professors, and they told us about some of the major cases that the professors have been involved in at the Supreme Court and such.

The opportunities available in going to a school in DC are immense. Everyone already knows that during the summer, all of the other top schools have lots of students vying for positions in DC. The rest of the year, though, is when GW can dominate the market in DC. as someone said to me, lawyers and agencies don't stop having work during the school year, they still have the work and need the people, and we are those people! We get placement in the summer, but in the fall and spring, too.

The career prospects - GOOD. I went to the career development and clerkships seminar and received an entire list of the firms that participate in OCI. It's absolutely immense, there are several hundred firms on the list from at least 35 states. A lot of of the time on TLS people say GW is approaching a regional school, and I am certain that this perspective is from a process of self-selecting into the area rather than not having the opportunity to practice elsewhere. For firms that don't participate in OCI, but that you are interested in, the career office sets up regional interviews with all of the employers you are looking into and sets up a day of interviewing at a nice hotel in the area, and all those students who would like to can fly out there and participate on location. They do all the legwork - you just have to get to the interview. The office also released to us the unpublished 2009 stats, and from the people who responded (i think 70% of the class), 93% were employed at graduation and the average salary was approximately $140,000.

Also - for those interested in PI, it's a great school for that. I'm interested in PI, and any reservations I had about opportunities, LRAP, etc, have been erased. If you have any specific questions about PI, feel free to PM me and I can get out the notes that I wrote during the seminar. There's two specific career counselors who focus on this stuff, one focuses on purely PI and the other on purely government. What else... location! GW has a great location in the city. It's less than a 10 minute walk to the White House (I did that yesterday) and it's right next to the IMF and World Bank. The Foggy Bottom metro stop is a 5-7 minute walk from the school, it's not bad at all. I didn't go on the tour of the Aston, but I hear that it's all single studio-style apartments, with some of them being bigger than others.

There's probably a lot that I am missing, but I'm just writing this off the top of my head. If anyone has anything to add, please do!! For two last examples, the career office says that the Department of Justice has three schools that it actively selects and chooses from: Harvard, Georgetown, and GW. Additionally, the PI counselor told us that at the combined G-town and GW public interest fair this spring, all the groups and firms involved continued to comment on how well prepared the GW students were. Basically, I had a few reservations (mostly formed from reading TLS), and I am feeling very confident in GW now.

I was at the accepted students day too and just wanted to say that I also observed everything that ryguy did. For those of you who are considering GW but weren't able to make it on Friday...the school is thoroughly impressive. I've been bored at many accepted student events so far, but was honestly enjoying myself the whole (long) time (from 9:30am-7:30pm) at GW!

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umichgrad

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by umichgrad » Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:42 am

+1, it was outstanding.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by imisscollege » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:11 am

I want to ask the biggest proponents of GW, if you had sticker at gw vs. a half ride at BC and liked both Boston and DC equally, would you say that GW is good enough to justify going despite the cost?

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by umichgrad » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:17 am

imisscollege wrote:I want to ask the biggest proponents of GW, if you had sticker at gw vs. a half ride at BC and liked both Boston and DC equally, would you say that GW is good enough to justify going despite the cost?

unequivocally yes. One of the professors I spoke with at GW preview day was comparing schools (talking about what would, according to him, actually constitute a 'hard' decision). He mentioned HYS obviously, Northwestern and Michigan for their solid record of high-quality placement, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, and BU for their strong faculty, and William and Mary for the strength of a particular program (I think in Constitutional Scholarship?). Places by which he was not impressed? BC (lack of quality faculty), Fordham, GULC (thinks they over-promise and under-deliver), and Illinois.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by gwgirl » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:18 am

lawschoolftw wrote:Unless I get off the WL at Cornell (and even then it would be a hell of a decision) I will be at GW next year. I still dono if a t14 is worth it at sticker compared to GWU with $$$. Anyway I'm pretty set on GW right now.
I'm choosing GW with $$$ over UVA and Georgetown sticker. I personally don't think the advantage you'll get at t14 is worth the extra $210,000 at 6-8% interest.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by gwgirl » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:21 am

imisscollege wrote:I want to ask the biggest proponents of GW, if you had sticker at gw vs. a half ride at BC and liked both Boston and DC equally, would you say that GW is good enough to justify going despite the cost?
It's definitely good enough to justify going, as in I don't think you'll regret it and think it wasn't worth your money later. BUT if you like DC and Boston equally (and presumably like the schools equally?) why wouldn't you choose the money and lighten your debt load? UNLESS of course you want to end up in DC after law school...then you might want to be at GW for the internship/work opportunities during the school year.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by lawschoolftw » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:21 am

sibley wrote:
lawschoolftw wrote:
sibley wrote:I liked it a lot too... bought a tshirt =D
I loved it as well. Went to go buy a sweatshirt on Saturday, all they had were smalls, so i went to buy a tshirt, onlly xxl's. Oh well.
one of the student groups (I think that sidewalk/citywalk/whatever group) was selling some for a fundraiser for $15 each. I didn't buy one from them,but they had a ton.

Now that just makes me even angrier. lol

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by imisscollege » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:44 am

gwgirl wrote:
imisscollege wrote:I want to ask the biggest proponents of GW, if you had sticker at gw vs. a half ride at BC and liked both Boston and DC equally, would you say that GW is good enough to justify going despite the cost?
It's definitely good enough to justify going, as in I don't think you'll regret it and think it wasn't worth your money later. BUT if you like DC and Boston equally (and presumably like the schools equally?) why wouldn't you choose the money and lighten your debt load? UNLESS of course you want to end up in DC after law school...then you might want to be at GW for the internship/work opportunities during the school year.
That's basically where I'm at now...I am leaning towards choosing the money and lightening debt etc. And I even like Boston a bit better...but I really do love the different work-for-credit options that one can get through GW. Most people I have asked advice from has said that arguably from UT and up (and certainly from USC/Wash U and up through BC) they are all peer schools and what i should do is think about which city/scholly combo is the best assuming all schools are ranked and regarded the same. I put down the deposit at BC already but it's nice to have an extra couple weeks to think about GW.

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Re: GW Class of 2013

Post by td6624 » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:11 pm

I was at Preview Day Friday too, and I'm 100% sold.

(I'm not 100% sold on the Aston, but I'm doin' it anyway. heh. Convenience, ftw. And honestly, it's not terrible. Just imagine a really nice one bedroom, and then take out the bedroom. By no means ideal...but the location is AWESOME [not just in relation to the law school, but to DuPont and Georgetown...and other places]. So I guess I'll be living with some of you guys.)

It came down to GW and Vandy (with a little more money at GW), but now it's really not even a difficult decision. Anything that could be said about Vandy that might put it ahead in my mind is more than canceled out by being in DC. I loved it. Not only because of the opportunities it offers (which are awesome, of course), but also because it just seemed like a really, really good place to live at this point in my life.

I don't have much to add to what everyone else already said. But I'm getting my deposit in soon, and I'm really, really excited.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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