You won't know what section you are in, and what classes you will take, until a week or two before classes. You can then buy the relevant casebooks, hornbooks, and supplements.

Thanks!!

There's an excellent housing guide on the admitted students website. You can apply for the McAllister waitlist. There are about 50 people on it though, so your odds are kinda slim. You might also try applying for UCSF's Mission Bay housing.

I'm a transfer student, but I will be looking for a roommate if Mission Bay doesn't pan out. If you're interested, send me a message. I'm looking for a good blend of convenience and affordability.

Did anyone apply for California residency under the exception clause? This is the one where if you were in high school for at least 3 years in california and earned your diploma from a california high school that you are qualified for in-state tuition. I'm confused as to whether you submit the form first and then apply for the exception as there is nothing on the forms that asks for information for the exception.

Has anyone who applied for the Patino Fellowship heard anything yet? I haven't heard a peep since I applied back in May.

Does anyone know if all 1Ls have class on Friday? Or do some luck out and only go M-TH?

In four weeks we'll have started orientation!

Hastings 2L taking questions for a bit since I'm bored at work.

I'll bite. How is your experience so far at Hastings? Workload, lifestyle, etc

And the obligatory one: how do you feel about employement chances af Hastings and what is your experience in general on that topic? Also, how was the 2l internship process?

I really enjoy Hastings so far. I won't whitewash it and say it is perfect, but overall it is a good experience so far. If you want to live/work in the Bay area (and can't get Berkeley) I think this is the best choice of school.

Workload: this depends on your perspective. Compared to most if not all undergrads, workload is substantially heavier. Compared to some careers prior to law school (my case) it is pretty light. More importantly, the nature of the work is different. The readings are often dense, time consuming and require a high degree of memorization. Also, be wary of your LWR and Moot Court classes; they can become huge time sucks but it is important that you do well in them.

Lifestyle: San Francisco is a fun city. People at the school are generally friendly and you will find a good group no matter your personality. I go to the beach, parks, restaurants, bars, and occassionally camping/hiking outside the city. I also hit up a few museums (First Thursdays at the Academy of Sciences is cool; you can drink at the museum at night). It is probably easier and definitely cheaper to not have a car here. For some people, this is a big change. I haven't had a car for almost a decade, so it wasn't really an issue for me. SF has pretty much anything you could be interested in.

Employment Chances: If you are in the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the class, you have a reasonable shot at securing good employment (not necessarily $160K biglaw, but a decent gig doing something that is within the locus of your interests). Bottom half, it will definitely be a struggle I think. Hastings has excellent placement as far as the SF market goes. However, the SF market is VERY small. If you are willing to branch out to other markets (Sacramento, Silicon Valley, LA, OC, San Diego) then you definitely increase your chances of landing a firm job. If you are interested in Public Interest work, Hastings has a fantastic LRAP program. The school also places well with DAs and PDs throughout California. If you are interested in work outside CA, it gets more difficult the farther East you travel. Southwest/Northwest, placement is respectable. East Coast = difficult.

2L Internship Process: Everyone I know got a job. Most actually enjoy it. Definitely start applying on 12/1 to judges if that interests you. However, don't get discouraged; it can take a while to find a job. People found jobs ranging from December through May, with most getting one around March. A lot of classmates are working for judges (Northern District, CA state courts, Bankruptcy court, and even 9th circuit). Many are at federal govt agencies. Some are at firms (though mostly smaller firms for 1L summer). And a few are even working in house. As for getting paid, dont expect it as very few people are paid.

i was excited, but now i'm dreading it a bit.

that's 4 weeks to prepare for the grind.

Does this apply to all internships or just clerkships? I expect clerkships to pay little to nothing but for the vast majority of 2L's to work in the private sector for little to nothing is very depressing.

All internships. What is worse, Hastings does not allow you to get credit for 1L summer internships so you are essentially slave labor. It is, in fact, depressing.

Well, at least now I have a very strong incentive to do a clerkship or public interest.

P.S. How do you pay for living without an income? More loans?

Most people use more loans/have rich familes (this applies to a surprisingly high number of people). Personally, I had substantial savings before school, which will be not so substantial after school...

rising 3L here. don't really have time to give a general overview, but wanted to chime in. i would recommend incoming 1Ls to take every opportunity to get to know upperclassmen and practicing attorneys. most 1Ls don't fully comprehend the value of networking until later in the year, but it is absolutely key in this market. the fact that i joined student orgs, got to know 2Ls and 3Ls, and went to a variety of networking events helped me score interviews and get awesome, paying jobs both 1L and 2L summer.

pm me if you have questions

my appeal to keep my own health insurance has been approved.. yipee. so excited that we got our orientation schedules and we'll be finding out about our classes soon!

so we get out class schedules this friday?

i don't know what to think with orientation and the like nearing so quickly...

Checking in again. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Have a blast at orientation. Tip: Check in, then feel free to skip everything. It's worthless.

Also, ahem, I'mhappytosellbooksifyouwantotPMme: I have Prince/Knapp contracts and Little/Diamond crim.

My transcript was sent in mid-June, but webadvisor still has it as missing. Does anyone else have this problem?

Mine showed up as received just a few days ago. There was a hold up because it took a while for my degree to get posted on the transcript. I would maybe call the school or instituion that sent your transcript to make sure it was sent out.

Might be interested in a few days.

What about Study Aids for our first year courses?

The official bookstore website section on study aids (http://uchastings.edu/bookstore/study-aids.html) lists over 20 examples and says that there are up to 200 titles to choose from. Do you think it is necessary/advisable to purchase study aids other than those that the professors require/recommend?

Perhaps it is an issue of personal preference in which some students purchase a lot more study aids than others? If so, how would one know what study aids will work best for that particular individual? Do you have any recommendations or advice in this area? Much appreciated.

Oh yeah, I may well want to buy books from you too.

ahhh! some of my schedule is already posted. I'm in section 5! I also have class at 9:40 on Friday.. damn, there goes my dream of no class on Fridays.

just checked. i'm in section 2. class everyday, too.