WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[hoos89]

Damn, weekend classes got eaten up. We're still only allowed to enroll in one before next week, right?

[goldeneye]

Damn, weekend classes got eaten up. We're still only allowed to enroll in one before next week, right?

You can only be enrolled in one and waitlisted in one.

Or waitlisted in two, I believe.

[Birdnals]

Damn, weekend classes got eaten up. We're still only allowed to enroll in one before next week, right?

You can only be enrolled in one and waitlisted in one.

Or waitlisted in two, I believe.

Correct. At 7:30 on Tuesday you can try to get in on another weekend class if there are any with spots open still.

ETA: And it looks like there are 12 total weekend class spots left and the 1L's haven't registered yet, so it seems unlikely anybody will be able to take two weekend classes this year.

[hoos89]

This doesn't bode well for my plan to take 3 weekend courses next semester.

[notedgarfigaro]

This doesn't bode well for my plan to take 3 weekend courses next semester.

eh, they'll continue to add more throughout the summer and during the semester.

Though, as someone that did take 3 this semester, it's not as...nice as I thought it would be. It's basically 3 weekends ruined and another 3 semi-ruined. Still better than a semester long substantive class.

[hoos89]

This doesn't bode well for my plan to take 3 weekend courses next semester.

eh, they'll continue to add more throughout the summer and during the semester.

Though, as someone that did take 3 this semester, it's not as...nice as I thought it would be. It's basically 3 weekends ruined and another 3 semi-ruined. Still better than a semester long substantive class.

Given what my schedule will be if I can drop one of my 3 credit courses, I'll take it. I'd only have class from 230-430 on Tuesday and 1-6 on Wednesday. Also maybe the exams for your weekend courses have been worse, but I can't say that either of the ones I've taken have come close to semi-ruining my weekend.

ETA: I just spoke to the registrar. We can only be in one weekend course before the "freeze day" on Monday. That includes waitlisted courses.

[theycallmefoes]

There's been a lot of discussion about 1L/2L employment options in biglaw. What are the options in the STL area for those of us planning to pursue public interest?

Throwing this out there again, because I think it got swallowed up in the other conversations.

[goldeneye]

Never mind-- you are only allowed in one weekend class total, whether it's wait listed or enrolled.

[Birdnals]

There's been a lot of discussion about 1L/2L employment options in biglaw. What are the options in the STL area for those of us planning to pursue public interest?

Throwing this out there again, because I think it got swallowed up in the other conversations.

No personal info on this but every single person I know trying to do summer PI in St. Louis got it. Probably because it is free labor. I have no idea about job prospects after law school though.

There are lots of PI folks though, especially considering the number 1 school of social work is wustl, so there is an above average number of JD/MSW's

[theycallmefoes]

There's been a lot of discussion about 1L/2L employment options in biglaw. What are the options in the STL area for those of us planning to pursue public interest?

Throwing this out there again, because I think it got swallowed up in the other conversations.

No personal info on this but every single person I know trying to do summer PI in St. Louis got it. Probably because it is free labor. I have no idea about job prospects after law school though.

There are lots of PI folks though, especially considering the number 1 school of social work is wustl, so there is an above average number of JD/MSW's

Thanks for the input. If I manage to get a 1L and/or 2L biglaw SA position, how hard would the transition to public interest after graduation be? What if I'm ultimately aiming for NYC?

[Cellar-door]

There's been a lot of discussion about 1L/2L employment options in biglaw. What are the options in the STL area for those of us planning to pursue public interest?

Throwing this out there again, because I think it got swallowed up in the other conversations.

No personal info on this but every single person I know trying to do summer PI in St. Louis got it. Probably because it is free labor. I have no idea about job prospects after law school though.

There are lots of PI folks though, especially considering the number 1 school of social work is wustl, so there is an above average number of JD/MSW's

Thanks for the input. If I manage to get a 1L and/or 2L biglaw SA position, how hard would the transition to public interest after graduation be? What if I'm ultimately aiming for NYC?

It isn't ideal, why do a biglaw SA 2L year unless you want to work biglaw? If you have the grades to get a good 2L SA, you should be going after summer positions in something more connected to the job you want. PI employers like to see a strong commitment to public interest.

NYC is hard from anywhere just because of the volume of applicants is huge. Tough to tell really since I don't know of any data source that gives you both city and type of work.

[theycallmefoes]

It isn't ideal, why do a biglaw SA 2L year unless you want to work biglaw?

Better pay (or, you know, pay in general, considering that so much beginning PI work is unpaid/internships). Try to save a bit of money. Although, before I babble on too much, how much do SAs get paid anyway?

NYC is hard from anywhere just because of the volume of applicants is huge. Tough to tell really since I don't know of any data source that gives you both city and type of work.

That's what I figured. Any insight as to what I can do to make me more competitive for NYC?

[hoos89]

It isn't ideal, why do a biglaw SA 2L year unless you want to work biglaw?

Better pay (or, you know, pay in general, considering that so much beginning PI work is unpaid/internships). Try to save a bit of money. Although, before I babble on too much, how much do SAs get paid anyway?

NYC is hard from anywhere just because of the volume of applicants is huge. Tough to tell really since I don't know of any data source that gives you both city and type of work.

That's what I figured. Any insight as to what I can do to make me more competitive for NYC?

Take a look at the NALP directory. It varies, but NYC market is $3100/week.

[goldeneye]

It isn't ideal, why do a biglaw SA 2L year unless you want to work biglaw?

Better pay (or, you know, pay in general, considering that so much beginning PI work is unpaid/internships). Try to save a bit of money. Although, before I babble on too much, how much do SAs get paid anyway?

NYC is hard from anywhere just because of the volume of applicants is huge. Tough to tell really since I don't know of any data source that gives you both city and type of work.

That's what I figured. Any insight as to what I can do to make me more competitive for NYC?

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

[theycallmefoes]

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

That's a non-starter for me. I already have >$30K in undergrad debt, so WUSTL is the best thing that could possibly happen for me.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

Sweet.

[hoos89]

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

That's a non-starter for me. I already have >$30K in undergrad debt, so WUSTL is the best thing that could possibly happen for me.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

Sweet.

You say that as though you couldn't get a scholly at CCN with a better LSAT, or like $30k is somehow a large amount of debt relative to the average law school graduate. Your shot at big law, and that fat pay check, would be substantially better at those schools.

[theycallmefoes]

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

That's a non-starter for me. I already have >$30K in undergrad debt, so WUSTL is the best thing that could possibly happen for me.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

Sweet.

You say that as though you couldn't get a scholly at CCN with a better LSAT, or like $30k is somehow a large amount of debt relative to the average law school graduate. Your shot at big law, and that fat pay check, would be substantially better at those schools.

Well, I have personal reasons to stay in STL for the time being, and the scholarship cinched it. I also have no intentions of doing biglaw long-term, if at all. I'm only contemplating the possibility of doing an SA position during law school to save up some money, but, ultimately, I'll be doing public interest.

[chuckbass]

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

That's a non-starter for me. I already have >$30K in undergrad debt, so WUSTL is the best thing that could possibly happen for me.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

Sweet.

You say that as though you couldn't get a scholly at CCN with a better LSAT, or like $30k is somehow a large amount of debt relative to the average law school graduate. Your shot at big law, and that fat pay check, would be substantially better at those schools.

Well, I have personal reasons to stay in STL for the time being, and the scholarship cinched it. I also have no intentions of doing biglaw long-term, if at all. I'm only contemplating the possibility of doing an SA position during law school to save up some money, but, ultimately, I'll be doing public interest.

PI positions aren't necessarily easy to get. I'm an 0L, but it seems as though you would be best served working in PI over the summers to build those connections and build your resume towards PI. I feel like an SA may be more of a con than a pro in your case.

[theycallmefoes]

PI positions aren't necessarily easy to get. I'm an 0L, but it seems as though you would be best served working in PI over the summers to build those connections and build your resume towards PI. I feel like an SA may be more of a con than a pro in your case.

I know. That's my primary concern. I know some biglaw firms say that they allow their SAs to participate in pro bono projects, so I thought that may offset the damage a bit. Also, I figured that maybe I could aim for a 1L SA position and then do a PI position after 2L. And throw in a couple extracurriculars, for good measure.

[goldeneye]

PI positions aren't necessarily easy to get. I'm an 0L, but it seems as though you would be best served working in PI over the summers to build those connections and build your resume towards PI. I feel like an SA may be more of a con than a pro in your case.

I know. That's my primary concern. I know some biglaw firms say that they allow their SAs to participate in pro bono projects, so I thought that may offset the damage a bit. Also, I figured that maybe I could aim for a 1L SA position and then do a PI position after 2L. And throw in a couple extracurriculars, for good measure.

few people get 1L summer associate positions

[Cellar-door]

Re-take and go to Columbia or nyu. Sounds harsh but getting to nyc from wustl is not done by many students. There are some, sure, but not many.

That's a non-starter for me. I already have >$30K in undergrad debt, so WUSTL is the best thing that could possibly happen for me.

Summer Associates make prorated first year associate salaries.

Sweet.

You say that as though you couldn't get a scholly at CCN with a better LSAT, or like $30k is somehow a large amount of debt relative to the average law school graduate. Your shot at big law, and that fat pay check, would be substantially better at those schools.

Well, I have personal reasons to stay in STL for the time being, and the scholarship cinched it. I also have no intentions of doing biglaw long-term, if at all. I'm only contemplating the possibility of doing an SA position during law school to save up some money, but, ultimately, I'll be doing public interest.

Yeah, if you want to do public interest then don't do a biglaw SA. The money you earn in the summer even if you get one isn't worth the lost opportunity to improve your credentials for the job you want.
Also 1L SA are practically unicorns. Maybe 6-8 people in your class will get them..... maybe. Likely none of those in NYC, probably 3 or 4 in STL, and a few in other small markets.

[Cellar-door]

Well not surprisingly the 31 seats left in Corporations filled in less than 30 seconds.
I got on as soon as the server refreshed, and I'm still double digits on the waitlist.
Still not too bad considering there are 61 waitlisted.

[sublime]

..

[recliner]

What counts as St. Louis ties for purposes of hiring? Does attending WUSTL also as an undergrad help?

[fl0w]

What counts as St. Louis ties for purposes of hiriing? Does attending WUSTL also as an undergrad help?

as someone who attended wustl as undergrad, worked, then came back for law school...

Unequivocally no. Even though I did, in fact, come back to St. Louis nobody believed I would stay. But hey, they were right.