Top Law Schools

So where did YOU fall McGeorge06?

I'm wondering if you were in the bottom of the class and maybe you're a little bitter about the post grad realities that were never told to you before you began law school? I hardly think someone who graduated at the top with a 6 figure salary would come on this thread to talk about these harsh realities. boohoo. Perhaps you regret you didn't work harder. But that's just my guess...

I think the simple truth is that yeah, grades fucking matter in law school. Especially when you're at a 2nd, 3rd tier school. I think we all know that. And given that this thread is mostly a group of incoming first years, I hardly think your dissuasive, "watch what you're getting yourself into" bullshit is what we care to hear right now.

I for one am so thankful and excited to begin at McGeorge. I'm gonna work my ass off and be at the top. I'm beyond ready. Who's with me????

I've been in touch with both current and former McGeorge students (one'll be a 3L this year, one transfered after 1L to UC Davis, and one graduated this year and will begin work at a medium-sized firm after he passes the bar). I know my sample is small, but all 3 (even the transfer student!) had nothing but good things to say about McGeorge. They did stress that high grades and good interview skills will determine whether or not a big firm comes up with a job offer for you, and all three said finding paid summer work is nearly impossible, but they were all very positive about their experiences at McGeorge and told me law school is what you make of it. Study your butt off, learn the law, interview well, network, network, network!

I'm personally really nervous about starting school up this August, but I know I'm going to study my butt off. Networking, it seems, is half the battle in getting a job anyway.

And on a different topic, I found a roommate! And I can't believe I've only got a month left before I go out to Sacramento and leave my life in MN behind.

On a happier note, I passed my Junior moves in the field figure skating test last weekend. One more test to go and this 10 year journey of becoming a gold medal moves skater will be over (let's just not mention that I still have 3 more freestyle levels to go before I'm done with that aspect of skating. ).

mcgeorge06, I DO come to campus. I just finished my first year at McGeorge. I can't believe you are accusing the school of fudging its employment data. That is absolutely ludicrous. You could say that teh school is also making up their LSAT acceptance range and other numbers. Riiight. Doing something like that would be completely unethical. Their methodology is unreliable? How else does one obtain employment info than through surveys sent to graduates?? By the way, I am sure your data is very scientific, right? Maybe you should have tried harder in law school so you wouldn't have to struggle. The situation you describe is prevalent at any school except for the Top 14 national schools. Of course the bottom half is going to have difficulty getting the top jobs, this is nothing unique about McGeorge.

If you do well you will not have a problem getting a job in the region - the alumni base for McGeorge is huge. I don't know what this guys problem is, but I detect a hint of personal bitterness.


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To matokah: yep its difficult getting a paid job as a 1L (summer) - thats why I decided to do the RA thing, you get paid work study at a decent 15/an hour. 2L summer you can do OCI and get a paid firm job.


By the way, I found out today that I received two scholarships for next year due to academic achievement in my first year - studying does pay off financially as well as academically ;]

aldicarb: Would it be a bad idea to study abroad during my 1L summer? Whittier has an Israel program that I'd like to take advantage of, because I'm interested in working in that country at some point.

Maybe I could do an RA gig for the first part of the summer and then the study abroad at the end? I'm not sure.

Congrats on those scholarships, by the way! Did you have to apply, or were they offered freely? Either way, that's wonderful, and I can only hope to do just as well when I get to law school.

I have to agree with Aldicarb, I've lived in davis (next to Sac) and got my undergrad at Sac state over the last 6 years and have heard many things about McGeorge, none of which falls in the vicinity of how dire McGeorge 06 as made it out to be. I know 8 people or so that have graduated from there and a few current students too. None of them were in the top but also none were in the bottom. McGeorge has a good reputation and although they are only recently tier 1 it is a good school. Outside of the top 15 schools class rank is always going to be very important hence why everyone speaks of how competitive law school is. There is a large flux of lawyers and job hunting will be competitive as well. While you might not be making big bucks right off the bat you won't be living on mac and cheese. McGeorge06 you should be ashamed of yourself for scaring people like this. Law School is like any other professional school you get what you put into it. Think about it people, why would a graduate bother to type on a thread like this. There are other motives at work.

Anyway get ready for school peeps its creepin up. I stopped working at one job this week and finish bartending in two more. I can't wait to be done bartending. Hey McGeorge whats your real name so I can ask the other people you graduated with if you even went here.

Also for anyone still looking at the housing situations, I've moved up to midtown about 3 months ago and like it alot. Theres is lots of stuff to do nearby and plenty of places to eat. There are all types of people so its usually fairly entertaining as well. If anyone has questions about Sac and the surrounding areas of ca feel free to PM me I have lived round here for a while now.

Can any current students give me a ballpark GPA for staying in the top third. I guess in order to keep my scholarship I have to stay above it, and my wallet just told me it really wants me to keep the scholarship, so I wanna do my best to oblige its request

good question, JarrettN, and i'd also second matokah's question for aldicarb about whether scholarship *applications* for these 2L bonuses were involved; and if so, when they were submitted / how demanding they were.

YAY about the skating accomplishment and securing of a roommate, matokah!

aldicarb, congrats on your achievement & scholarships. w00t!

a couple things:
1)

although they are only recently tier 1 it is a good school

-->while i have no qualms about the 'good school' label, that's wrong on the ranking; mcgeorge recently moved up to the bottom of tier 2, not tier 1!

2) Jarr, do you have any buddies who are current or former king hall students?!
a couple of peeps w/whom i went to h.s. are current students and i know a couple of '81 graduates(!) but haven't found much of a UCD law community online so far... i realize that our #'s our smaller though, and that mcgeorge is cool.
-and- that at davis, i'll be living in a smaller city w/students generally commuting from shorter distances, attending class in a single 'intimate' building (heh), etc...

Hey again guys. Glad you are all settling in for a whole new experience ;D. In terms of my 2L scholarships, one was applied for, the other was automatic w/out application. The named scholarship I did an application through McGeorge's website - it required a typed biography, interest in the legal profession, a resume, and a few other short questions. It was also awarded based on academic merit/financial need.

The academic achievement scholarship was awarded automatically.

In terms of staying in the top 1/3rd, its hard to say exactly, as each year and class is different... but maybe 3.10-3.2?

I'm still waiting to hear on the other ones I applied to and what my exact class rank is. Oh and to matokah plenty of people study abroad 2L summer, I just chose not to. It is just going to cost you more money ;d and most of the time the programs are short enough to split your time.

Yeah I know a lot of former and a few current king hall students, the bar I work at in davis is freq. by them on thurs nights.

Davis is a cool little town, you will have a lot of fun there. PM if you have any questions.

Oh yeah and my mistake on the tier comments, that is what I had meant to say recently tier 2, but still moving up. Davis is top 50 i believe so congrats on getting into King Hall. I have prior issues with the UC which is why I chose McGeorge but the people I know that went to King liked it, my ex just graduated last semester from there and she had good things to say.

Hey everyone, I have my seat deposit to McGeorge for August 2007 as well. Although I am still waiting on a few wait lists. Has anyone looked into housing around Sacramento?

If you guys already commented on this - sorry haha I was too lazy to thumb through 20 pages of this thread.

JarrettN-
Do you work @Sophia's?! I was there one Thurs. night in March and it seemed pretty hoppin' (you know, for Davis!).
Maybe some of my McGeorge buddies will come down one night for drinks. Haha, but probably I'd likelier go to Sac, I *suppose*...
I grew up in Davis but haven't lived there since graduating from high school, and neither of my parents have lived there since early 2001.

Sejal, welcome. I know we're on the 9th page of this thread but if you skim through a few of the pages in reverse order or search the entire forum for "mcgeorge housing," you will indeed find some posts on that subject! People aren't nec. likely to repeat everything ad infinitum.

Oops.

Perfect herzchen haha Clearly, I am a newb. Are you a current McGeorge student or incoming 1L?

Yeah I work @ Sophia's, at least for another couple of weeks. If anyone is in the area and looking for a chill place with a healthy selection of booze feel free to stop by. Decent music as well.

So where did YOU fall McGeorge06?

I'm wondering if you were in the bottom of the class and maybe you're a little bitter about the post grad realities that were never told to you before you began law school? I hardly think someone who graduated at the top with a 6 figure salary would come on this thread to talk about these harsh realities. boohoo. Perhaps you regret you didn't work harder. But that's just my guess...

I think the simple truth is that yeah, grades fucking matter in law school. Especially when you're at a 2nd, 3rd tier school. I think we all know that. And given that this thread is mostly a group of incoming first years, I hardly think your dissuasive, "watch what you're getting yourself into" bullshit is what we care to hear right now.

I for one am so thankful and excited to begin at McGeorge. I'm gonna work my ass off and be at the top. I'm beyond ready. Who's with me????

Wow, you're a real asshole, Mr. Internet Warrior. Is this the way you treat people in real life? If so, you will need a lot of help.

I guess every 1L class has a few idiots like you.

He was just trying to stick up for all of us who are entering. It's hard enough to start our first year without all the other stuff, I really don't think it's something that any of us need right now.

I'm nervous about starting law school but I am prepared to work as hard as I need to in order to be successful.

Hey Everyone,

I was accepted off the wait list earlier this week . So, I need to find an apartment / a room mate and fast. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks!

MCGEORGE06 -

yeah i suppose i was a bit harsh with what i said. i apologize. i guess it just felt like you were bursting our bubble for no good reason.

anyways, i wish you the best of luck in your career.

Hey ashleyshac congrats on your acceptance! I'm in the same boat with roommate finding/housing. But herzchen pointed out that (and if you scroll a few threads down) there is a tip to just search "McGeorge Housing" in the search forum tool bar.

I would also call the housing office - they are really helpful and have a lot of information of near by housing and roommate searches, etc. [/b]

ashleyshac and Sejal: Hey there and congrats on both of your acceptances!!

Definitely call housing as Sejal suggested. Housing also has a roommate list (you can fill it out, too, for the best results) so you can peruse the questionnaire everyone wrote up and find a person who matches your tastes. I actually just solidified my roomate through that search option, so it worked great for me.

Where are you both coming from? If you're from out of area like I am (I'm coming from MN), it can be difficult to find housing. If you're interested in the Arden area, I found two fairly nice complexes that were my back-ups in case the condo I wanted to rent fell through. I'd be happy to give you information on them if you'd like. I don't know too much about other areas of town (I would've honestly loved to live in downtown, but it was way too expensive on a student budget).

&, of course, congrats again!! We have a nice big group going on here it seems!

Does anyone know when we get our email accounts and sections assigned to us, by any chance? Is it during orientation?

Also, who all is going on the rafting trip? I lost track!

I want my email account (and section info) too! But I know that I won't get the latter til orientation -- and probably not the former til then, either. ::whines:: i prolly shouldn't get ahead of myself w/these worries though...

Sejal, no worries and I hope the housing office helps you out in the housing search or that other sources prove fruitful!
And to answer your question, I'm an incoming 1L at Davis.

Also if your trying to get some housing research done craigslist.com or it might be .org is a great resource. you can keywrd in the neighborhood your looking for and a lot of the ads have pics. Also a great resource for decent used furniture.

The arden area is a great place to live if your looking for newer apartment complex type living. The only thing is make sure you are cool with being a commuter as nothing in that area is really in walking distance, whereas midtown/downtown has things within walking distance and everything else reachable via lightrail. For anyone that is looking for apartment complexs (a la office space) Arden and perhaps the Greenhaven/Pocket area are the best places to search. Natomas is a good idea too very new lots of strip mall type shopping but a little further out than most places.

No rafting trip for me matokah, I did go on the middle fork last weekend though, its a lot of fun for those of you considering it.

Once everone is in town we should meet up at a pub for a beer or two and get the networkin started early.

You guys won't be getting your McGeorge e-mail accounts or section assignments until the day you go in to register which is earlyish August. You get to fill out a couple forms, get a packet, take a picture, get a parking pass, etc.

Also, did they mail you guys the supplement book thing that has a couple practice cases in it that you need to brief for orientation week? That was fun, I remember that .. lol, actually not really ;d

aldicarb: I haven't received that mailing yet, but I hope I get it soon. It sounds like fun (of course, when we're required to do 4,000/week it might get old real quickly ).

Thanks for the info on emails and sections.

I have another random question for you. I keep hearing about this exam software (examsoft?), and I'm wondering where we purchase it? Does the IT department put it on our computer, or is it something purchased through the bookstore?

We should definitely meet up before classes. I'm a strong proponent of networking as soon as possible!