Fordham 1L Taking Questions Forum

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nygrrrl

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nygrrrl » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:00 pm

Gemini wrote:Exam questions:

Are there a lot of sample exams to take? Are most 1L classes open book exams?

Also, I vaguely recall Fordham discussing some new class 1L's will be taking to "better prepare" us for using law in the "real world." Anyone know what I'm talking about?
My first two (crim and contracts) were open note/book. My second two (torts and property) were closed. There were many sample exams for 2 of the classes, few for the other two. LOL. (Don't worry - I'll give you everything I have!) There is a new class - I have to check on what exactly what it is but think it's similar to the 1L course offered at Harvard. Will try to research that, this weekend.

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Gemini

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Gemini » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:03 pm

Oh man, that's gotta be tough to not have a lot of exams to practice with.

Fordham probably gets visiting professors like every other school. Obviously, there wont be any exams available. Would the professor give you some of his/her own previous exams if you ask them?

And thanks, nygrrrl!

Whatcha up to this summer? Feel free to PM me if that info is private. :)

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nicole88

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by nicole88 » Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:47 am

Hi everyone, can anyone tell us what the 1L class schedule is like? Thanks!

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Aurora

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Aurora » Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:48 pm

Has anyone participated in the study abroad program in Ghana? (I have to admit it is one of my main reasons for wanting to come to Fordham :)

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by OnceUponAMemo » Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:34 pm

Aurora wrote:Has anyone participated in the study abroad program in Ghana? (I have to admit it is one of my main reasons for wanting to come to Fordham :)
A friend of mine who is currently a 3L did it after her 1st summer and absolutely raved about it. Said it was the best thing she had ever done and was pretty mad at me when I said I wasn't going. Clearly anecdotal, but supposed to be terrific. Plus the courses are supposed to be pretty easy A's so you can get a little gpa bump.

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NYC Law

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:56 pm

OnceUponAMemo wrote:
Aurora wrote:Has anyone participated in the study abroad program in Ghana? (I have to admit it is one of my main reasons for wanting to come to Fordham :)
A friend of mine who is currently a 3L did it after her 1st summer and absolutely raved about it. Said it was the best thing she had ever done and was pretty mad at me when I said I wasn't going. Clearly anecdotal, but supposed to be terrific. Plus the courses are supposed to be pretty easy A's so you can get a little gpa bump.
Would it be pretty awful to do something like that 1L summer instead of working? Or do employers not really care since work is so hard to come by anyway right now?

Also, know anyone who's doing the Joint Degree in Euro-Law (with 3L in France)?

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aaaaaah

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by aaaaaah » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:14 am

Does anyone know when spring loans are dispersed? Trying to figure out if I should be budgeting through Dec or Jan. Thanks.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Gemini » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:30 am

aaaaaah wrote:Does anyone know when spring loans are dispersed? Trying to figure out if I should be budgeting through Dec or Jan. Thanks.
Interested in this as well.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by OnceUponAMemo » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:27 pm

Just a couple weeks away and I hope everyone is handling the heat wave ok.

Book lists have been uploaded now for upper level courses and they might have been for first year courses as well. You can see which books have been assigned for your class before getting a syllabus by looking up the course numbers on the library website:

--LinkRemoved--

You can find course numbers on my.fordham, hit the student tab, then banner self-service, then student, then registration, then student detail schedule.

Just about the price questions from earlier (might be other thread, I can't remember), my books for this semester were $320. Some were new and some used. Yours will probably be a bit more, but if you buy used hopefully won't break the bank.

About NYC law's question regarding 1L summer abroad: The school says, and for this I believe them, most employers won't care at all. Part of that though is that the abroad programs have internships that you do in conjunction with class. This lets you get some legal experience and have something to fall back on during interviews. A lot of people that go abroad also will do an externship during the fall semester when they get back and can speak to that during interviews. About the France 3L program, I don't know anything about it except that when I was at orientation, someone asked about it and the reply explained the program was very competitive.

Also, loans in the spring were dispersed in a more timely manner than loans in the fall this past year. I don't know the exact day they came in, but I think it was the first week of school. Either way, I would try to budget through February on your Fall loan disbursement. Fordham's registrar and bursar are a mess and I would not want to count on them to get money by a certain date.

Also, most 2Ls, myself included, are in the midst of OCI prep and if anyone has questions, I am happy to try and answer them. We submitted bids a couple weeks ago and find out our screening interviews on August 12th. OCI will be occurring during your orientation from Wednesday August 17th through August 24th.

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aaaaaah

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by aaaaaah » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:50 pm

Thanks, OnceUponAMemo! That is all incredibly useful information. My schedule hasn't posted yet, but I will definitely take advantage of the library link when it does.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:17 pm

Thank you! Good luck with OCI!!!

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Strange » Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:22 am

NYC Law wrote:One thing to consider is a sizable chunk of Fordham grads seem to get non-NLJ250 jobs that still pay six figures (see lawschooltransparency.com). About 25% got NLJ 250 jobs in 2009, but a total of 40-50% got jobs starting at at least $145k (94% reporting salary info).
Could someone from Fordham or anyone, elaborate on this? What kind of jobs are these that aren't biglaw but still pay that much? Or are those salary figures just not reliable? I noticed this discrepancy too, and Fordham is on my list so I'm really interested in more info. Thanks!

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Bronx Bum » Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:16 pm

Strange wrote:
NYC Law wrote:One thing to consider is a sizable chunk of Fordham grads seem to get non-NLJ250 jobs that still pay six figures (see lawschooltransparency.com). About 25% got NLJ 250 jobs in 2009, but a total of 40-50% got jobs starting at at least $145k (94% reporting salary info).
Could someone from Fordham or anyone, elaborate on this? What kind of jobs are these that aren't biglaw but still pay that much? Or are those salary figures just not reliable? I noticed this discrepancy too, and Fordham is on my list so I'm really interested in more info. Thanks!

I'd be seriously shocked if 40-50% of Fordham grads get $100k. Not likely. More like 30% if lucky.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrAnon » Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:22 pm

Strange wrote:
NYC Law wrote:One thing to consider is a sizable chunk of Fordham grads seem to get non-NLJ250 jobs that still pay six figures (see lawschooltransparency.com). About 25% got NLJ 250 jobs in 2009, but a total of 40-50% got jobs starting at at least $145k (94% reporting salary info).
Could someone from Fordham or anyone, elaborate on this? What kind of jobs are these that aren't biglaw but still pay that much? Or are those salary figures just not reliable? I noticed this discrepancy too, and Fordham is on my list so I'm really interested in more info. Thanks!

Please link to exactly where you are seeing this. I don't think this is true at all. I know tons of unemployed before graduation. Turning that around to a six figure job after the bar seems remote.

From what I see, 67% of private practice employed individuals reported salary. 51% of the entire class reported a biglaw salary. Hmmmm.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:29 pm

MrAnon wrote:
Strange wrote:
NYC Law wrote:One thing to consider is a sizable chunk of Fordham grads seem to get non-NLJ250 jobs that still pay six figures (see lawschooltransparency.com). About 25% got NLJ 250 jobs in 2009, but a total of 40-50% got jobs starting at at least $145k (94% reporting salary info).
Could someone from Fordham or anyone, elaborate on this? What kind of jobs are these that aren't biglaw but still pay that much? Or are those salary figures just not reliable? I noticed this discrepancy too, and Fordham is on my list so I'm really interested in more info. Thanks!

Please link to exactly where you are seeing this. I don't think this is true at all. I know tons of unemployed before graduation. Turning that around to a six figure job after the bar seems remote.

From what I see, 67% of private practice employed individuals reported salary. 51% of the entire class reported a biglaw salary. Hmmmm.
The data referenced is for c/o 2009 - 70% went into Private Practice and 94% reported salaries, 25% percentile being $145k. After you do the math to weed out the unemployed's, part-time employeds, etc it comes out to about 40% making at least $145k. It's acknowledged c/o 2010/2011 will be much worse though.

See: http://www.lawschooltransparency.com

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by MrAnon » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:13 pm

NYC Law wrote:
MrAnon wrote:
Strange wrote:
NYC Law wrote:One thing to consider is a sizable chunk of Fordham grads seem to get non-NLJ250 jobs that still pay six figures (see lawschooltransparency.com). About 25% got NLJ 250 jobs in 2009, but a total of 40-50% got jobs starting at at least $145k (94% reporting salary info).
Could someone from Fordham or anyone, elaborate on this? What kind of jobs are these that aren't biglaw but still pay that much? Or are those salary figures just not reliable? I noticed this discrepancy too, and Fordham is on my list so I'm really interested in more info. Thanks!

Please link to exactly where you are seeing this. I don't think this is true at all. I know tons of unemployed before graduation. Turning that around to a six figure job after the bar seems remote.

From what I see, 67% of private practice employed individuals reported salary. 51% of the entire class reported a biglaw salary. Hmmmm.
The data referenced is for c/o 2009 - 70% went into Private Practice and 94% reported salaries, 25% percentile being $145k. After you do the math to weed out the unemployed's, part-time employeds, etc it comes out to about 40% making at least $145k. It's acknowledged c/o 2010/2011 will be much worse though.

See: http://www.lawschooltransparency.com

Keep in mind that many NLJ250 firms don't even pay that much. Its hard to fathom firms outside of the NLJ250 doing so. If you want to find out what 3Ls are doing you have to ask them at graduation.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:24 pm

MrAnon wrote: Keep in mind that many NLJ250 firms don't even pay that much. Its hard to fathom firms outside of the NLJ250 doing so. If you want to find out what 3Ls are doing you have to ask them at graduation.
Pretty much every NALP firm I saw regardless of size starts at six figures. I think I saw one total that starts at 90 (and it had like 4 lawyers). But again, it's likely a much lower # now, this isn't too unfathomable for c/o 2009 considering right before ITE 1/2 the class was good for big law.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Strange » Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:12 pm

Thanks for the discussion guys. Eagerly await more incoming info about how Fordham law grads are doing this year in the job market!

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Bronx Bum » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:48 pm

Also, I would say that 25% of biglaw is deceiving. If 25% of the class gets biglaw, I would say only 10% get it based on law school merits i.e. top grades, LR.

The rest are people who have an extensive background in something of value to the firm (like finance or IP) to go along with mediocre grades or people with serious connections. I say this only because a lot of people come in thinking that 25% biglaw means they can come in with mediocre grades in the 15-25% range without a great background and still land biglaw. People straight from UG with a soft academic background would probably need to fight for dear life to fall within that 10% grade range (possibly lower) to get biglaw based on academics alone. After that, it's who you know and your background.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Stringer6 » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:56 pm

Bronx Bum wrote:Also, I would say that 25% of biglaw is deceiving. If 25% of the class gets biglaw, I would say only 10% get it based on law school merits i.e. top grades, LR.

The rest are people who have an extensive background in something of value to the firm (like finance or IP) to go along with mediocre grades or people with serious connections. I say this only because a lot of people come in thinking that 25% biglaw means they can come in with mediocre grades in the 15-25% range without a great background and still land biglaw. People straight from UG with a soft academic background would probably need to fight for dear life to fall within that 10% grade range (possibly lower) to get biglaw based on academics alone. After that, it's who you know and your background.
do you go to fordham?

bolded sounds like trolling.

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NYC Law

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:00 pm

Bronx Bum is a certified troll, take everything he says with a grain of salt. His advice around here is about as credited as MTal's.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Bronx Bum » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:02 pm

Yes, I do. You only have 10, 25 and 33% cutoffs so you have to estimate. I'm only approx. 15-20% myself. I'm in the evening and work full time so I do OCI next year, but if I had to chance myself in OCI without work experience, I'd be fucked. Even with my (minimal) work experience, I don't like my chances at all for OCI based on talking to upperclassmen, the Fordham community, and dealing with attorneys with my job.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Bronx Bum » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:04 pm

NYC Law wrote:Bronx Bum is a certified troll, take everything he says with a grain of salt. His advice around here is about as credited as MTal's.
LOL you haven't stepped foot in Fordham yet, but what I say is incorrect. Ok, right. You're a 0L telling people who go to Fordham about the % of people that make six figures...hmm.
Last edited by Bronx Bum on Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by NYC Law » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:05 pm

Bronx Bum wrote:
NYC Law wrote:Bronx Bum is a certified troll, take everything he says with a grain of salt. His advice around here is about as credited as MTal's.
LOL you haven't stepped foot in Fordham yet, but what I say is incorrect. Ok, right.
I thought you were taking a year off for the sole purpose of avoiding this "shit hole"?

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Re: Fordham 1L Taking Questions

Post by Stringer6 » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:05 pm

Bronx Bum wrote:Yes, I do. You only have 10, 25 and 33% cutoffs so you have to estimate. I'm only approx. 15-20% myself. I'm in the evening and work full time so I do OCI next year, but if I had to chance myself in OCI without work experience, I'd be fucked. Even with my (minimal) work experience, I don't like my chances at all for OCI based on talking to upperclassmen, the Fordham community, and dealing with attorneys with my job.
hm. well good luck. fwiw, every student i talked to when i went to the school said otherwise.

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