WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

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thexfactor

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by thexfactor » Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:24 am

JCougar wrote:I know all 0Ls only want to hear about jobs, but 1Ls really have no idea until they go through OCI themselves.

But I can say that the list of firms that still OCI here after the economic crash come from all around the nation. WUSTL is more national than it gets credit for. It doesn't get as many national firms as the T14, but if you go here and you do reasonably well (top 33%) you will have a shot (it's definitely not guaranteed ITE) in any region of the country you want, provided you can convince firms that you have a reason to want to stay there. There's still a handful of NY firms, DC firms, CA firms, and TX firms to chose from. There's even multiple firms from OR, WA, FL, ATL, and Boston. There's two from CO, quite a few from Milwaukee, and then there's a handful of midlaw firms from the more medium-sized cities around the southern Midwest...a lot from KY, IN, TN, etc. And of course there's a bunch from Chicago.

But you have to do well, and you can't slack off.

With that said, life here is pretty enjoyable, and St. Louis is really cheap for as big of a city as it is. And the campus is absolutely beautiful. People here (both at WUSTL and the city in general) are noticeably super-friendly, and the chicks around town think WUSTL is like Harvard or something. It's pretty easy to get some numbers if you go to WUSTL law. I'd much rather be here (if you simply count the city alone) than in South Bend, Urbana-Champaign, Iowa City, Nashville, Charlottesville, Durham, Ithaca, Atlanta, etc. It's not a booming cosmopolitan metropolis, but it holds its own in having fun things to do: TONS of museums, Forest Park (right next to campus), three major professional sports teams (well, two and a half, considering the Rams), some beautiful theaters, and enough of a nightlife to keep a law student busy and not bored. You could also double your living expenses by living in DC, Chicago, NY, LA, etc...but you should be asking yourself, "Is it really worth it to take out an extra $10,000 in loans per year to live in a city like that while I am a law student?" For some people, it might be.

Job-prospect-wise, though, it's pretty comparable with the other schools ranked between 19 and 25. It's more similar to this group than it is to the group ranked 15-18, although WUSTL is more national than the other, similarly-ranked Midwestern schools like Minnesota and Illinois. But it's a pretty nice place to live.
Agreed... it s like a poor man s vandy.....

The only thing that is a negative is that the numbers are ucla/vandy quality, but the placement of biglaw/midlaw as a whole is below schools like bu/bc/fordham....
Worst of both worlds. There is stiff competition, yet there is also a lack of acknowledgement from the overall legal community.

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chrisbru

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by chrisbru » Thu Dec 09, 2010 5:35 pm

tag

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Law Sauce

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by Law Sauce » Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:42 am

When did scholarship info come out last year/how soon did you know your scholarship info after you got accepted?

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myq

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by myq » Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:44 pm

Law Sauce wrote:When did scholarship info come out last year/how soon did you know your scholarship info after you got accepted?
I got my e-mail February 25th, which is around when most other people found out I think.

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Law Sauce

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by Law Sauce » Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:04 pm

ok cool thanks

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jwaters

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by jwaters » Thu Dec 16, 2010 5:56 pm

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Last edited by jwaters on Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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JCougar

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by JCougar » Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:32 pm

jwaters wrote:How many (if any) of your classmates have you heard about getting jobs in the south? I'm a resident of TN and would like to get a job in Nashville if possible. What about other cities like Louisville, Birmingham, Memphis, etc.? Do any firms from these areas come to OCI or would you mostly be left to doing your own legwork?
This might help you out some: --LinkRemoved--

If you go down to the "Campus Interviews" menu and select WUSTL, you can see where the firms are coming from.

There's actually three firms from Louisville, and two from Lexington (which seems like a lot to me given their size). There's a couple of TN firms as well.

But campus interviews aren't the only way to get jobs...we have a lot of regional interview programs across the country, including one in Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some TN firms at that one.

I haven't seen or heard anything about Birmingham, though.

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jwaters

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by jwaters » Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:09 pm

Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.

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JCougar

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by JCougar » Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:26 pm

jwaters wrote:Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.
You'll get a scholarship if the numbers in your profile are accurate.

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jwaters

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by jwaters » Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:51 pm

JCougar wrote:
jwaters wrote:Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.
You'll get a scholarship if the numbers in your profile are accurate.
Yeah they're accurate, my GPA is actually a tad bit higher than in my profile. According to last year's LSN I can expect about 30k total. Do the scholarships come with grade/rank requirements?

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JCougar

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by JCougar » Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:57 pm

jwaters wrote:
JCougar wrote:
jwaters wrote:Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.
You'll get a scholarship if the numbers in your profile are accurate.
Yeah they're accurate, my GPA is actually a tad bit higher than in my profile. According to last year's LSN I can expect about 30k total. Do the scholarships come with grade/rank requirements?
None of the ones I've heard of have any requirements...except for if you basically flunk out.

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180orbust

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by 180orbust » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:33 am

jwaters wrote:
JCougar wrote:
jwaters wrote:Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.
You'll get a scholarship if the numbers in your profile are accurate.
Yeah they're accurate, my GPA is actually a tad bit higher than in my profile. According to last year's LSN I can expect about 30k total. Do the scholarships come with grade/rank requirements?
I had lower numbers than you, applied later than you, and was offered 66k (2 years ago, not sure if their standards have changed). I recommend re-taking the LSAT; I increased my score by 3 points, and they gave me an extra $30k.

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TatteredDignity

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by TatteredDignity » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:03 pm

Romo-

How often do you come across splitters in your class (I'm assuming they are branded on their forehead as such in orientation :wink: ). If you know of any, how are they handling it?

I don't even know that I'll get in (175, 2.5), but I'm curious how many of these types of people there will be (given WUSTL's) notoriety for admitting splitters, and how they tend to fare.

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by krad » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:08 pm

180orbust wrote:
jwaters wrote:
JCougar wrote:
jwaters wrote:Thanks a lot. There were firms on there from Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga. I would love to go to WUSTL but I just don't know if I can justify taking out so much debt.
You'll get a scholarship if the numbers in your profile are accurate.
Yeah they're accurate, my GPA is actually a tad bit higher than in my profile. According to last year's LSN I can expect about 30k total. Do the scholarships come with grade/rank requirements?
I had lower numbers than you, applied later than you, and was offered 66k (2 years ago, not sure if their standards have changed). I recommend re-taking the LSAT; I increased my score by 3 points, and they gave me an extra $30k.
Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...

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JCougar

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by JCougar » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:35 pm

krad wrote: Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...
I retook in February and scored 6 points higher than my previous score, which is what allowed me to get into WUSTL. I studied for only maybe three days for my retake.

I was just a lot less nervous, so I had much better focus. But even at that time, I hadn't been admitted to any of my target schools. If you're already in at WUSTL, the pressure would really be off if you decided to retake. It costs like $100, but it could possibly get you tens of thousands of more scholarship money if you improve by only a couple points.

I'd do it if I were you.

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Post by emorystud2010 » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:36 pm

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krad

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by krad » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:44 pm

JCougar wrote:
krad wrote: Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...
I retook in February and scored 6 points higher than my previous score, which is what allowed me to get into WUSTL. I studied for only maybe three days for my retake.

I was just a lot less nervous, so I had much better focus. But even at that time, I hadn't been admitted to any of my target schools. If you're already in at WUSTL, the pressure would really be off if you decided to retake. It costs like $100, but it could possibly get you tens of thousands of more scholarship money if you improve by only a couple points.

I'd do it if I were you.
Dude congrats! I will definitely keep this in mind.

I would love to hear anyone's summarized thoughts on WUSTL placing in CA and CO... I've been looking and continue to look ITT and around TLS, but wondering if anyone has any 'in summary' comments. Thanks in advance!

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JCougar

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by JCougar » Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:59 pm

krad wrote:
JCougar wrote:
krad wrote: Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...
I retook in February and scored 6 points higher than my previous score, which is what allowed me to get into WUSTL. I studied for only maybe three days for my retake.

I was just a lot less nervous, so I had much better focus. But even at that time, I hadn't been admitted to any of my target schools. If you're already in at WUSTL, the pressure would really be off if you decided to retake. It costs like $100, but it could possibly get you tens of thousands of more scholarship money if you improve by only a couple points.

I'd do it if I were you.
Dude congrats! I will definitely keep this in mind.

I would love to hear anyone's summarized thoughts on WUSTL placing in CA and CO... I've been looking and continue to look ITT and around TLS, but wondering if anyone has any 'in summary' comments. Thanks in advance!
I won't do OCI for about 8 more months, but, as I linked to on another thread (whoops...that was this thread!), you can check out which firms/offices interview on campus at WUSTL:

--LinkRemoved--

If you go down to the "campus interviews" menu and select WUSTL, you can see that there's quite a few CA firms, and two CO firms. This data is about a year old, and not every office of every firm has positions open each year (I believe), but it should give you a rough estimate of the number of firms that show up at OCI, and what part of the country those firms are from.

Also, WUSTL has a regional interview program in CA (I think it's in Los Angeles) where students interested in working in CA fly out (or return home) to interview with a group of firms. These firms are NOT included in the OCI numbers -- they are in addition to them.

Here's the list of CA offices:

BRYAN CAVE LLP - IRVINE Irvine CA
BRYAN CAVE LLP - LOS ANGELES Los Angeles CA
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. Palo Alto CA
JONES DAY - LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES CA
JONES DAY - SILICON VALLEY PALO ALTO CA
JONES DAY - IRVINE IRVINE CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - LOS ANGELES Los Angeles CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SAN DIEGO San Diego CA
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P. SAN FRANCISCO CA
Winston & Strawn LLP San Francisco CA
JONES DAY - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO CA
Ropes & Gray LLP San Francisco/Palo Alto CA
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P. IRVINE CA
JONES DAY - SAN DIEGO San Diego CA
Ropes & Gray LLP Palo Alto/San Francisco CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SILICON VALLEY Palo Alto CA
BRYAN CAVE LLP - SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco CA

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by romothesavior » Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:10 pm

0LNewbie wrote:Romo-

How often do you come across splitters in your class (I'm assuming they are branded on their forehead as such in orientation :wink: ). If you know of any, how are they handling it?

I don't even know that I'll get in (175, 2.5), but I'm curious how many of these types of people there will be (given WUSTL's) notoriety for admitting splitters, and how they tend to fare.
I don't really know many people's LSATs scores, so its not something we talk about often. I only know a few people's because I know their TLS user name and we've talked on here. Of the few splitters who I do know, none have seemed to have any trouble, nor do they seem to have a distinct advantage. A lot of them are just really smart people who screwed around in undergrad and got bad grades, or they had a hard major or something. But law school really levels the playing field for a lot of people, so I don't think it helps or hurts in any way.

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by krad » Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:41 pm

JCougar wrote:
krad wrote:
JCougar wrote:
krad wrote: Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...
I retook in February and scored 6 points higher than my previous score, which is what allowed me to get into WUSTL. I studied for only maybe three days for my retake.

I was just a lot less nervous, so I had much better focus. But even at that time, I hadn't been admitted to any of my target schools. If you're already in at WUSTL, the pressure would really be off if you decided to retake. It costs like $100, but it could possibly get you tens of thousands of more scholarship money if you improve by only a couple points.

I'd do it if I were you.
Dude congrats! I will definitely keep this in mind.

I would love to hear anyone's summarized thoughts on WUSTL placing in CA and CO... I've been looking and continue to look ITT and around TLS, but wondering if anyone has any 'in summary' comments. Thanks in advance!
I won't do OCI for about 8 more months, but, as I linked to on another thread (whoops...that was this thread!), you can check out which firms/offices interview on campus at WUSTL:

--LinkRemoved--

If you go down to the "campus interviews" menu and select WUSTL, you can see that there's quite a few CA firms, and two CO firms. This data is about a year old, and not every office of every firm has positions open each year (I believe), but it should give you a rough estimate of the number of firms that show up at OCI, and what part of the country those firms are from.

Also, WUSTL has a regional interview program in CA (I think it's in Los Angeles) where students interested in working in CA fly out (or return home) to interview with a group of firms. These firms are NOT included in the OCI numbers -- they are in addition to them.

Here's the list of CA offices:

BRYAN CAVE LLP - IRVINE Irvine CA
BRYAN CAVE LLP - LOS ANGELES Los Angeles CA
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. Palo Alto CA
JONES DAY - LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES CA
JONES DAY - SILICON VALLEY PALO ALTO CA
JONES DAY - IRVINE IRVINE CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - LOS ANGELES Los Angeles CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SAN DIEGO San Diego CA
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P. SAN FRANCISCO CA
Winston & Strawn LLP San Francisco CA
JONES DAY - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO CA
Ropes & Gray LLP San Francisco/Palo Alto CA
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P. IRVINE CA
JONES DAY - SAN DIEGO San Diego CA
Ropes & Gray LLP Palo Alto/San Francisco CA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP - SILICON VALLEY Palo Alto CA
BRYAN CAVE LLP - SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco CA
Jcoug you are the best. Thanks for the insider (maybe?) info about that CA regional interview program! I'm not from CA but spent UG in SoCal and worked out there as well. I'd like to have CA as a potential option post-LS, so I appreciate it.

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by chrisbru » Fri Dec 17, 2010 6:31 pm

romothesavior wrote: I don't really know many people's LSATs scores, so its not something we talk about often. I only know a few people's because I know their TLS user name and we've talked on here. Of the few splitters who I do know, none have seemed to have any trouble, nor do they seem to have a distinct advantage. A lot of them are just really smart people who screwed around in undergrad and got bad grades, or they had a hard major or something. But law school really levels the playing field for a lot of people, so I don't think it helps or hurts in any way.

TITCR :D

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by TatteredDignity » Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:47 pm

chrisbru wrote:
romothesavior wrote: I don't really know many people's LSATs scores, so its not something we talk about often. I only know a few people's because I know their TLS user name and we've talked on here. Of the few splitters who I do know, none have seemed to have any trouble, nor do they seem to have a distinct advantage. A lot of them are just really smart people who screwed around in undergrad and got bad grades, or they had a hard major or something. But law school really levels the playing field for a lot of people, so I don't think it helps or hurts in any way.

TITCR :D
I heard a crazy theory a while back that because there were so many people at WUSTL with LSATs that would normally put them at a much higher school but they screwed around in undergrad, the competition was fiercer. I guess you would have to buy into the idea that the LSAT is decently predictive. And from what you're telling me, this theory is debunked.

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180orbust

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by 180orbust » Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:21 am

krad wrote:
180orbust wrote: I had lower numbers than you, applied later than you, and was offered 66k (2 years ago, not sure if their standards have changed). I recommend re-taking the LSAT; I increased my score by 3 points, and they gave me an extra $30k.
Did you take Feb? Did you study as hard as the first time(s) around? I've been thinking about this since I've got a 168 right now and an acceptance from WUSTL in hand. Plus I'm thinking it may help if I get WL at other schools...
Actually, I took it in June. This also got me off the waitlist (with $$) at Vandy. I studied just as hard the 2nd time, but I studied SMARTER. Which means that I focused more on understanding my mistakes and the reason why an answer was correct than on trying to do as many practice tests as possible. I highly recommend re-taking. All you have to lose is the LSAT registration fee, and a decent shot at increasing your scholarship by tens of thousands of dollars. You don't have to be a poker player to appreciate that betting $130 on a $30,000 pot is a no-brainer.

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by romothesavior » Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:53 pm

0LNewbie wrote: I heard a crazy theory a while back that because there were so many people at WUSTL with LSATs that would normally put them at a much higher school but they screwed around in undergrad, the competition was fiercer. I guess you would have to buy into the idea that the LSAT is decently predictive. And from what you're telling me, this theory is debunked.
If by "fierce" you just mean everyone is pretty smart and it makes getting good grades hard, then absolutely.

If by "fierce" you mean cutthroat, then no way. WUSTL couldn't possibly be any more laid back.

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TatteredDignity

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Re: WUSTL 1L Taking Questions

Post by TatteredDignity » Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:19 pm

You're right, fierce wasn't the best word. I'm glad to hear that people are chill.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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