University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Forum

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hamboy81

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Waitlisted

Post by hamboy81 » Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:16 am

Hey, can someone please help me out, I have just been waitlisted for Mcgeorge. I applied right at the deadline so I heard back from them really late (plus I took a feb. LSAT) I REALLY want to go to Mcgeorge my #'s are 154/3.2. I was suprised when they waitlisted me, but now I want to know if theres any hope I will actually get in.

I am going abroad in 10 days and my parents will be here in my place, is there anyway I can find out sooner if I have a realistic chance. Will calling and showing that I really want to go help?

Please give me any advice I have never done this stuff before!
Thanks

dannyk1101

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Post by dannyk1101 » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:54 am

HAMBOY - YES! calling admissions will definitely help. Reiterating your interest in attending the school definitely has a bearing on their decision. A nice phone call really goes a long way I think, especially if you can speak with someone who is directly involved in the waitlist process. So call them and see what else you can do. Perhaps you can submit additional rec letters or maybe an update on what you've been up to this summer. Is there anything that has changed since you submitted your application?? Seriously, this is the time to make phone calls and sell yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.. =)

Have hope dude! Several people on this thread have gotten in off the waiting list, including myself...

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Matokah

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Post by Matokah » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:22 am

dannyk: Hey there! No luck with the roommate situation yet. If I can't find one, I'm going to be posting an ad on craigslist around November to December to see if I can get some bites that way. I can't screen people if I put an ad up now, so I figure I'll just wait it out.

Yeah, it would be cool to sit in on a class taught by a supreme court justice, but something tells me I wouldn't enjoy my visit. While I liked Vienna, I had a pretty negative experience with a roommate that has sort of messed with my feelings towards studying abroad in Austria. I'd love to visit, but I don't want to go with a group of people to take a class. The Israel trip, on the other hand, looks really interesting to me.

Lastly, I'll be on the rafting trip, so sign up and join me! I'm trying to meet some people before classes start, darnit!

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gypsy

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Post by gypsy » Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:34 pm

Any 30-somethings out there attending McGeorge? :)

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OregonGirl07

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Post by OregonGirl07 » Tue Jun 19, 2007 2:49 pm

Matokah, how far is the condo from campus? Because I was talking to my sisters fiance last night, who is from that area, and he said with a car the traffic really isn't that bad.

Danny, I am starting my journey in Coos Bay so I don't think we would hit the same spot until around Roseburg. I think I am leaving like the 2nd of August and doing the drive in a day since my birthday is the 1st.

I am thinking about the rafting trip. I haven't heard anything official on it yet since I just got my admissions packet last Thursday.

Hamboy, call and talk to Adam Barrett. He is super nice and really helpful with all that stuff.

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adupe

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Hosuing

Post by adupe » Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:25 pm

Hey everyone. I was just admitted off the waitlist last week (YAY), so now I need all the info I can find about housing and jobs (I'm attending the night program). I would really like to live with another law student. Anyone have suggestions about the best places to live? I'll be up to visit at the end of this month and would like a headstart on looking at places.

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Matokah

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Post by Matokah » Wed Jun 20, 2007 12:18 am

Oregongirl: The condo's in Arden and if memory serves me correctly, it took me about 10-15 minutes to get there (and that was with me screwing up the mapquest directions and deciding to make my own, different directions. :P). I don't know how familiar you are with Sacramento, but it's off Howe which seems to be a major street that has a bunch of mainstream restaurants on it. The complex is gated and was quiet when I visited (I like the location inside the complex, because it's near the back which I assume makes it quieter). If you want more details, feel free to PM me. I can also give you some info on some of the other apartment complexes I looked at (but they're all in Arden. . .I figure skate and Arden's halfway between McGeorge and the rink. . .didn't want to live too close to campus since the area is kind of sketchy I've been told).

adupe: Congrats on getting off the waitlist! From what I've been told, most people tend to want to live in the midtown area of Sacramento which I don't know much about. I'm choosing Arden which is east of downtown (and I assume also east of midtown).

I, too, want to live with another law student if at all possible, but I picked the place I want to live when I visited in May. I figured I'd either end up meeting up with a law student to share the place with or just have to figure out how to fill up 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on my own.

I can't really help in regards to jobs since I live in Minneapolis. . .what are you looking for in particular? I planned on picking up a part-time job at some point, but I'll likely teach skating lessons, something I know how to do fairly well.

Congrats again! Hamboy: Maybe that means good news for you is around the corner!

aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:26 pm

I was on campus yesterday (taking a really boring summer class - Professional Responsibility, lol) and there was a big car crash on a side street. All these cops and all lol. But yeah, the area is a little rough. But not that bad. Its not Detroit lol. And as you have been to the campus, its beautiful and it doesn't exude that bad area feel.

During first y ear registration/orientation stuff, the campus security chief comes to talk to your class to make you feel safe. As I am sure you know, McG has its own security force - their own little squad cars. They are there 24/7. But I would definitely not want to live in Oak Park.

Arden is a good area, there is Arden Fair mall there and tons of other stuff. Midtown is an area near downtown/the Capitol mall. This is where they have an opera house, the capitol building, govt stuff - all very neat and pretty looking. Midtown is an extension of this area, with a lot of froo froo apartments and condos in a city style.

by the way - it has been so hot here. Death by heat ! ugh lol

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gypsy

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Post by gypsy » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:39 pm

Adupe: I found a pretty nice place in Arden called Cottage Bell Apts. They may have some availabilities. They're phone number is (916) 925-0707. I also heard midtown is a hip part of town, so you might want to look there, too.

good luck! :-D

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prettypithy

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Mcgeorge vs. Loyola

Post by prettypithy » Fri Jun 22, 2007 2:20 am

Hello all,

I've been lurking forever but am now finding myself in a position that prompts me to solicit your advice. I've accepted at McGeorge with 25K (yay) and am in the process of finding housing...when suddenly, out of the blue, Loyola Law School in L.A appears through the mist waving an acceptance letter (not sure about the money yet). I applied late, in fact I missed the FT deadline and applied for PT, but have been offered FT anyway. I'm happy, proud excited...but I also feel its pretty late to change my plans so drastically. A little background: I live in the Bay Area now but I'm no stranger to L.A as I'm also a Bruin. I'm not overly fond of L.A but I know how to get around and have a lot of friends there. I don't want to lend too much credence to the rankings but the disparity between the schools is kind of prominent. I'm the only one who can make this decision but I was wondering if anyone else had to make this tie breaker. I followed the Herzchen Mcgeorge vs. Davis decision, I was hoping for some similar advice. Thanks for any and all replies.

aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Fri Jun 22, 2007 2:58 am

This is to the latest poster about Loyola. It all depends where you want to practice. If you want to practice in LA go to Loyola, if you want to practice up north go to McGeorge. There is actually a very small difference in the rankings - Loyola is ranked 66, not a big difference from McGeorge (as a number of schools are ranked the same number around here).

Furthermore if you go to LA you will have to compete with USC and UCLA grads who are graduating from much higher ranked schools. Whereas McGeorge has little in the way of competition besides UCD.

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OregonGirl07

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Post by OregonGirl07 » Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:19 pm

Thanks for all the help with the housing guys. I am still trying to figure it all out. I may end up posting with the school and see if I can find a roommate since I'm not sure how early I am going to be able to get down there in order to find an apartment.

Congrats to everyone else who got off the waitlist!!

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herzchen

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Post by herzchen » Fri Jun 22, 2007 5:30 pm

prettypithy,

a friend of mine just graduated from loyola and definitely notices how 'all over LA' loyola alumni are -- including in the DA's office where she worked for a while during school.

i don't suppose there's a magical solution to choosing btw. the two schools, but $25K/year is pretty nice!

do you think you'd enjoy living in sac? and have you visited the loyola campus?
i, a fellow bruin, knew i didn't want to go back to so cal for law school so i didn't even apply to loyola, but they seem to give some generous merit scholarships so i'm curious what, if anything, they'll offer you... did you tell them what mcgeorge offered? you might wanna.

yes, there is a diff in rankings and mcgeorge only moved up to the top 100 a few years ago; so outside of its region, it won't be as well known as some of these other tier 2-ish CA schools.
but you don't sound like you necessarily want to wind up living in so cal, in which case i'd base my decision more on which school, location etc. appealed to me in terms of the 3 years that lie directly ahead (if i were you). as well as comparing what i'd be paying for each. and if you're already interested in any specific areas of law, it might be worth taking into consideration what each school's offerings are in those areas.

for the record, i *do* think that you can transport a degree from mcg outside of the sac area if you do well in school and are willing to put effort into a job search and market yourself! coming from either school may obligate you to take the competition more seriously for certain kinds of jobs since there are several top-20 schools in CA whose grads will make it in the door more easily.

btw, i think it warrants mentioning that grads from bay area schools are also sometimes in the market for sacto area jobs, as are grads from so cal schools, so i think it's a bit misleading to say that mcgeorge has a lock on jobs in its particular nor cal region besides the existence of davis. but still, the connections to gov't and alumni network *are* there. surely some mcgeorge grads work in so cal as well.... just not as many.

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aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:10 pm

I agree with herzchen, sorry for my oversimplification ;D. Job markets are always complicated.


So I am not looking forward to my classes next year. Hopefully I'll get out of one through law review... but I have to take Evidence, Constitutional Law, Business Associations, Community Property.. and maybe something else. I want to start my electives ;/

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herzchen

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Post by herzchen » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:10 am

aldicarb, how many of those classes are req'd? evidence and... ? i guess some you could take in either 2L or 3L, eh?

it does seem like you should be able to take electives from now on.
what about spring semester?

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Matokah

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Post by Matokah » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:21 pm

I've heard that McGeorge does require a lot more courses into 2L than most other schools. At first this sort of turned me off from the school, but I've also heard this is the reason for their fairly decent bar passage rate. Hey, I figure if taking a few more required courses is going to help me pass the bar, bring on the extra required classes! :)

In other news, my loans are still "in process" through THE. aldicarb: do you know if the loan request form that goes to Pacific is required before they'll approve loans? I haven't had a chance to send mine in yet.

aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:36 pm

First year required courses: Civ Pro, Torts, Property, Crim Law (1 semester), Legal Process (research and writing), Contracts. All are a year long except crim law.


2nd Year required: Evidence, Con Law, Business Associations, Appellate Advocacy (or can do law review to replace this). These are all year long courses.


2nd year OR beyond required: Remedies (1 sem), Wills and Trusts (1 sem), Community Property (1 sem), Professional Responsibility (1 sem), Crim Procedure (1 sem)

Indeed every single one of those required courses is on the bar exam and many schools don't require them, but I would be nervous just relying on Barbri when I could have taken a class. It also gives you a broad foundation in many areas of the law to see what you would like to do and it sort of covers your bases. It actually surprises me that many schools wouldn't require some of these basic courses - such as Remedies and Business Associations (i.e. corporations), and evidence. They are all crucial to 90 percent of law practiced. Particularly evidence and remedies.



Matokah - dont worry about the loan request form, you dont really need to turn it in until school starts.

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aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:45 pm

I was just looking at Santa Clara Law's page and found this. They require only the core courses from first year + Con law + prof. responsibility. but HIGHLY recommend:

Business Organizations, Wills and Trusts, Remedies, Community Prop, Criminal Procedure. All on the bar

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herzchen

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Post by herzchen » Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:27 pm

I've heard that McGeorge does require a lot more courses into 2L than most other schools. At first this sort of turned me off from the school, but I've also heard this is the reason for their fairly decent bar passage rate.
yeah, i wouldn't have had a huge prob with it either. at the same time, though, it's not like all or most law schools with medium-high-ish bar passage rates require as many courses after 1L, so dunno quite what to think. ::shrug::.

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herzchen

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Post by herzchen » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:06 pm

a lull is definitely excusable, but i hope it's not the case that i, the last poster, inadvertently killed this thread!!...

:roll:

meanwhile (not that y'all asked or umm care) i'm having major landlady drama and moving out of my host island-nation on monday after nearly 2 years.

oh, and i've been attempting to correspond semi-faithfully with the director of my law school's financial aid office as well as the uni registrar/residency officer (a classically poopy, incompetent, ambivalent bureaucrat, i surmise)--i'd hate for some small negligence or lack of action/follow-up/*CLOSE MONITORING* on my part to spell the ruin of my plans to borrow my way through law school starting in august! eep.

k, back to some streaming of good ole 'all things considered,' freaking out, and other dubiously useful activities.

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Post by McGeorge06 » Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:47 pm

I am a recent McGeorge grad, and I wanted to tell you a few things the admission office won't - the positives and the negatives.

First, the positives: the campus is great; the library is great; the faculty has many great professors. The staff and the administration are generally nice and caring people, not mindless bureaucrats as intimated above. In fact, I found the responsiveness of the faculty and the staff quite refreshing after my experiences at a UC as un undergrad.

Now, the negatives: your career, and your starting pay versus your monthly loan payments. Some facts: your monthly loan payments can be as high as $1000+, while the average first-year McGeorge grad brings in about $45k a year, or $2800 after taxes. Prepare for several years of poverty AFTER law school. This scenario can be avoided IF you are in the top 10% of your class and you interview well. I repeat, if you don't make to the top of the class, you will struggle. McGeorge grads who are not at the top of the class have a difficult time finding work. Half to 2/3 of your class will be left unemployed, applying to non-legal jobs, and wondering how they're going to make rent the first few months.

The breakdown of the starting salaries is approximately this: 3-5 people from your class will be making $100k+, another 20-30 $70-100k, and everyone else will be eating mac and cheese. Don't be one of those people. This is true of most 2nd and 3rd tier law schools.

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herzchen

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Post by herzchen » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:31 am

while i'm pleased if what i wrote prompted mcgeorge06 and/or others to post here in general, i'd like to respond for the record to the charge laid at my door:
The staff and the administration are generally nice and caring people, not mindless bureaucrats as intimated above.
as the peeps who've been reading/posting here semi-regularly already know (-no- condescension implied!), i'm not going to mcgeorge this fall after all.
why am i posting here, then, you might wonder? well, that's b/c i ALMOST opted to go to mcgeorge -- before changing plans; b/c after visiting, i liked mcgeorge; cuz i now have some buddies on this thread; and finally, since i'm going to attend a school in very close geographic proximity and am a likely future colleague of y'all's! ;-)

oh, and i was an undergrad at a UC too so i do know how their bureaucracy can be *in general*...
Last edited by herzchen on Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

McGeorge06

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Post by McGeorge06 » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:55 am

Herzchen, I did not mean to malign you in any way, and I hope you understand that. I have nothing but sympathy and prayers for anyone who is starting law school. I wish you the best of luck, and may you never be charged with anything, especially at your door :)

aldicarb

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Post by aldicarb » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:19 am

this is in reply to mcgeorge06. The situation is nothing like you are making it out to be. Where are you getting all of your data besides gossip? 2004 stats for employment are far better than you are making out and that was a few years ago.

McGeorge06

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Post by McGeorge06 » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:44 am

Aldicarb, you can take the posted 04 posted CDO data as gospel, or you can ask the 06 class (and now, the 07 class, who are doing pretty crappy as well). Come to campus and ask around. Better yet, get the email addresses of the 06 graduating class and see if most people are happy with their careers.

You can't even check the validity of the CDO data. I bet if you asked for each individual salary survey report, they would refuse on privacy grounds (and with good reason). In essence, you are relying on data released by an institution with a clear conflict of interest, whose methodology and data cannot be verified.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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