Michigan 1Ls/2Ls/3Ls taking questions Forum

[existenz]

I highly recommend the LC if you want to make a lot of friends. I put up with the dining hall but have a large social circle as a result.

Plus the apartments are gonna be totally remodeled next year. Definitely worthwhile unless you really can't stand not having your own kitchen or you are antisocial.

[BuckinghamB]

Question for 2Ls/3Ls: Do most professors wait until the Jan. 25th deadline to release grades or do some do it earlier? Haven't started checking yet, but when I do I'd rather it not be in vain. I had Uhlmann (crim), Krier (prop), and Whitman (torts) if that changes anyone's answers. Thanks!

[Entchen]

Question for 2Ls/3Ls: Do most professors wait until the Jan. 25th deadline to release grades or do some do it earlier? Haven't started checking yet, but when I do I'd rather it not be in vain. I had Uhlmann (crim), Krier (prop), and Whitman (torts) if that changes anyone's answers. Thanks!

Usually before, but not so early as now -- I might start checking when you get back to school. Or don't, cause facebook will explode and let you know when grades are up anyway.

Krier took the longest of all my professors last year, even though his exam was multiple choice.

[BuckinghamB]

Question for 2Ls/3Ls: Do most professors wait until the Jan. 25th deadline to release grades or do some do it earlier? Haven't started checking yet, but when I do I'd rather it not be in vain. I had Uhlmann (crim), Krier (prop), and Whitman (torts) if that changes anyone's answers. Thanks!

Usually before, but not so early as now -- I might start checking when you get back to school. Or don't, cause facebook will explode and let you know when grades are up anyway.

Krier took the longest of all my professors last year, even though his exam was multiple choice.

Ha, yeah I had a feeling Krier would take longer than he should. Thanks for the info.

[Big Slammu]

I'm drawn to living in the LC primarily because of its fantastic location. As a California girl, I am not ready at all for a Michigan winter and the prospect of trudging through a lot of snow on my way to class is a bit daunting to say the least...

As far as appartments go, I've seen some advertised as a 5 minute walk to the law quad. How doable is that in heavy winter? And are there really appartments that close or is this a gross exaggeration?

As someone who went to umich for undergrad, I would be lying if I said there weren't some days that were really freaking cold. But the important thing is to be equipped for the weather, and you'll be more than fine. If you're just wearing a North Face fleece and a hoodie in -7 wind chill, OK yeah you're going to be miserable. Just think of the Winter as a time to expand your wardrobe and style a bit

I also think on the whole however, the "cold dark winters where you want to x yourself" in Michigan are overplayed. It's not any different from what you'd see in Boston and NYC, and the west side of the state is what really gets pounded by lake effect snow. January and February are typically the only really "oh my god I'm cold months"; by St. Patrick's Day the past few years we were having Sunny and 55-65 degree weather pretty regularly (which made for pretty epic St. Patrick's days I might add). I also think spring, summer and fall all have really nice feels, especially on a campus as beautiful as Michigan's.

[curious66]

thanks this is helpful. I was accepted (much to my delight in November!) -- the "cold" is is the biggest concern for me at Michigan. How is Ann Arbor --everyone I talk to you insists that it is nothing like Detroit etc.

[AreJay711]

thanks this is helpful. I was accepted (much to my delight in November!) -- the "cold" is is the biggest concern for me at Michigan. How is Ann Arbor --everyone I talk to you insists that it is nothing like Detroit etc.

I was actually surprised how busy Ann Arbor was. I was expecting it to be like Williamsburg (William and Mary) or Lexington (Washington and Lee). Outside of the student neighborhoods it is very nice and while there is a lot catering to undergrads, up town there are plenty of things for grad students and professionals (there are some tech companies like Google that have offices). I would suggest scoping out an apartment before signing a lease because many of them cater to students and don't have nice appliances and the owners skimp on things like any concept of design to squeeze more people in. That's not a problem if you look for it. The coolest thing about the city is that you can walk everywhere you want to go and is full of shit that someone in their mid-20's would want to go to. You should really try to visit an admitted students weekend.

As for the cold: I see that is is cold this past week but I'm calling bullshit. It's not that cold. Essentially, you have to throw on a hat and gloves in addition to a coat, maybe a scarf.

[WhoAmI]

Have any of you taken Prof. Parson's international environmental law class? He's teaching it at UCLA this spring and I'm thinking of taking it. How was it, and how did he grade? It looks like we will be below the enrollment threshold for a forced curve.

[Big Slammu]

thanks this is helpful. I was accepted (much to my delight in November!) -- the "cold" is is the biggest concern for me at Michigan. How is Ann Arbor --everyone I talk to you insists that it is nothing like Detroit etc.

Ann Arbor is nothing like Detroit. I second pretty much everything AreJay said. I'm biased but A2 is a pretty god damn awesome place, and it's where I'll be hoping to setup shop permanently in the future. There's good reason it's been named as one of the best places to live in America.

Aside from the low COL compared to major cities, you still have a good variety of nightlife options, all kinds of awesome resturaunts, one of America's major art fairs in the summer, a solid music scene (Gil Gilberto recently played in the concert hall there for example), and the cream of the crop when it comes to college sports experiences if you're into that-football, basketball, hockey all have pretty great traditions. Detroit is also about 45 min away if you need to hop down to see some act/show/sporting event down there (Detroit obviously still has major issues, but the downtown/midtown/Greektown areas still have a lot to offer).

Obviously you're not going to have the glitz and glamor of a Manhattan in A2, but it has a helluva lot to offer and would recommend taking advantage of an ASW trip to see if it appreals to you.

[UnamSanctam]

Don't worry about the cold. Winters (except the last two) are brutal, but the real killer is wind. I went to UG where we had nothing to block the wind and I wanted to die. AA has more around to block wind. You'll be fine.

[curious66]

thanks for all the great info here. I am planning on visiting on Admitted students weekend towards the end of March .. currently thinking of staying in LC for the first year (they sound very very nice!!).

[haveahat]

By St. Patrick's Day the past few years we were having Sunny and 55-65 degree weather pretty regularly (which made for pretty epic St. Patrick's days I might add). I also think spring, summer and fall all have really nice feels, especially on a campus as beautiful as Michigan's.

Just as a point of reference, it was 54 and sunny here (CA) yesterday and I wore one of my biggest jackets. I think I'm gonna need to toughen up a little (a lot) and invest in some warmer stuff.

[anela00]

Does anyone have any advice on writing the Darrow essay?

[Da1andOnlyPharo]

One more question:

Summer start?!?

-More competitive people? (Than in fall-start sections)?
-Any real advantage? (Assuming high, so-so, and low grades)?
-Anything and everything else - Wisdom - you'd like to impact would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Can someone address this?

[jfish]

One more question:

Summer start?!?

-More competitive people? (Than in fall-start sections)?
-Any real advantage? (Assuming high, so-so, and low grades)?
-Anything and everything else - Wisdom - you'd like to impact would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Can someone address this?

I did summer start and I really enjoyed it! Not sure if anyone can answer whether summer starters, as a whole, are more competitive than any of the fall starters, but I didn't feel like anyone was gunning. Hustling, maybe, but that's life. I think, as a group, we might be more cohesive than any of the other sections. AA is pretty empty in the summer, so I basically only saw summer starters the entire time, and it's easier to go out in large groups.

I'm pretty sure grades are curved for each class, so you get the same distribution in summer and fall starter sections. I've heard summer starters have the advantage of having a third semester of (hopefully higher) grades to show employers at OCI, but haven't gone through it yet. I guess it's nice to send potential 1L summer employers a transcript of two grades right now. I think the biggest academic advantage to summer start is the low course-load. We only took two doctrinal classes and Legal Practice, without any clubs/organizations to distract us. It's a really nice way to ease into law school, especially if you've been out of school for a while.

Hope this helps; I'd be happy to answer more questions if you PM me!

[AreJay711]

One more question:

Summer start?!?

-More competitive people? (Than in fall-start sections)?
-Any real advantage? (Assuming high, so-so, and low grades)?
-Anything and everything else - Wisdom - you'd like to impact would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Can someone address this?

Sure. My summer starter class was notoriously hardworking actually (not asshole gunnerish though). It wasn't terrible and we had our shit together in the fall which was nice. If there is an advantage it comes from a semester of higher grades. You'll still be going with 1L intensity while everyone else is out in 2L or 3L land. There could be an advantage for getting to apply for clerkships earlier but I'm not sure it helps. I'm not sure I have any wisdom lol.

[zoidberg86]

Hi current students, thanks so much for answering all of these questions -

I just booked my travel for the ASW on March 21 - 24. I'm really looking forward to visiting Ann Arbor and seeing Michigan (just hopefully it'll be a little warmer in March)! Any recommendations or thoughts on what I have to do while I'm there? I'm staying through Sunday, so I'll have time to explore beyond the scheduled time the law school has for us. I also want to look for housing - any recommendations on the best way to navigate that?

Thanks again!

[californiauser]

How is the food they serve in the LC? Pretty healthy? Are there option everyday?

[Rdubs]

How is the food they serve in the LC? Pretty healthy? Are there option everyday?

Because they are remodeling, the food is probably going to get a bit of an upgrade as well, so I'm betting it will be pretty good and will include healthy options.

[jrthor10]

Can anyone comment on need-based financial aid at Michigan? Admissions says there will be a screener application/form going up on the ASW in February. Does anyone have any idea how likely need-based aid is especially since Mich doesn't consider your parents' financial situation?

Thanks in advance!

[Sammy841]

Can anyone comment on need-based financial aid at Michigan? Admissions says there will be a screener application/form going up on the ASW in February. Does anyone have any idea how likely need-based aid is especially since Mich doesn't consider your parents' financial situation?

Thanks in advance!

I can say that they really seemed to take into account family situations/parental capacity to help even though they don't ask for their financial info. In the comments section, I wrote about why my parents couldn't contribute (both work manual labor jobs), and I think it made a difference. I received more financial aid from Michigan than any other similarly ranked law school. It's enough to make a dent, and you get more if you end up doing PI your second summer.

[Joan Hollaway]

How is the food they serve in the LC? Pretty healthy? Are there option everyday?

Because they are remodeling, the food is probably going to get a bit of an upgrade as well, so I'm betting it will be pretty good and will include healthy options.

I'm not really sure that a given unless they said it would happen. OP if you PM me I can email you a copy of a weekly menu from my 1L year. In addition to the items on the menu they have a fresh salad bar, two soups a day, and sandwich making station.

[demarco5]

Can any summer starters address looking for jobs that begin in the winter rather than when most law school graduates start jobs? What about clerkships? I don't want to have six months of dead time in between my last semester and when my job starts - one of the appeals of summer start is getting to start working sooner. Has anyone seen this come up as an issue for summer starters? Thanks!!!

[dislikeCeltics]

Hey guys!

I'm a summer starter and have a question about housing. Should I find a 12 month lease that begins in May, so I don't have to worry about moving again between the summer/fall semester? Or would you guys recommend I just sublease for the summer, get a feel for the campus, and find a new place that begins its 12 month lease in August?

p.s. only looking for 1 bedroom. if yall would recommend any locations for a 1br, reasonable price, that would be excellent.

Thanks!

[Rdubs]

I'd say you would be better off subleasing for the summer. It would probably be less expensive, and it would let you get a feel for the area. There are lots of options around, all of them offer different pros and cons, and being able to spend a bit of time exploring everything before you make a 12 month commitment might be the way to go. That said, a lot of places will already be full by the time you would be wanting to sign another lease, so you might have to look a little harder than if you just signed a 12 month starting in May.

Hey guys!

I'm a summer starter and have a question about housing. Should I find a 12 month lease that begins in May, so I don't have to worry about moving again between the summer/fall semester? Or would you guys recommend I just sublease for the summer, get a feel for the campus, and find a new place that begins its 12 month lease in August?

p.s. only looking for 1 bedroom. if yall would recommend any locations for a 1br, reasonable price, that would be excellent.

Thanks!