Boston College (BC) 3L Taking Questions Forum

[Gemini]

I know I can't rely on this BUT:

If someone at BC law does reallly, really well their 1L year, does BC offer them extra merit aid? I know some schools do that, so I was wondering if BC does it too. And if so, does anyone know what you need to qualify?

I wouldn't go unless you are willing to pay what you already would have to at this moment; but with that said you'd probably need a transfer acceptance to a T6 to get them to budge in my uninformed opinion. Even if they said no to that you could transfer.

But really, I doubt there is a percentile cut off. It is probably a case by case thing.

Er, I can't really take this as truth if you say you are "uninformed"...

I'll probably end up calling financial aid tomorrow to ask them anyway.

[sullidop]

Apologies if this has already been answered. I was wondering what form exams generally take? I realize this is professor specific, but how many closed book exams can one expect first year and in what subjects?

My 1L year, I had:

4 in class, open book exams
1 in class, closed book exams
2 take home exams

Was the closed book exam from Albert? On the up side, since they grade on the curve everyone's at the same disadvantage.

[sullidop]

I know I can't rely on this BUT:

If someone at BC law does reallly, really well their 1L year, does BC offer them extra merit aid? I know some schools do that, so I was wondering if BC does it too. And if so, does anyone know what you need to qualify?

I wouldn't go unless you are willing to pay what you already would have to at this moment; but with that said you'd probably need a transfer acceptance to a T6 to get them to budge in my uninformed opinion. Even if they said no to that you could transfer.

But really, I doubt there is a percentile cut off. It is probably a case by case thing.

Er, I can't really take this as truth if you say you are "uninformed"...

I'll probably end up calling financial aid tomorrow to ask them anyway.

BC does give extra merit aid to people who do very well...but only if they ask. I echo the above, you really can't count on it.

[JusticeHarlan]

Apologies if this has already been answered. I was wondering what form exams generally take? I realize this is professor specific, but how many closed book exams can one expect first year and in what subjects?

My 1L year, I had:

4 in class, open book exams
1 in class, closed book exams
2 take home exams

Was the closed book exam from Albert? On the up side, since they grade on the curve everyone's at the same disadvantage.

Albert and Brown both did closed book, I think that's the only closed books I heard of this year.

The point about the curve is absolutely credited.

[sullidop]

Apologies if this has already been answered. I was wondering what form exams generally take? I realize this is professor specific, but how many closed book exams can one expect first year and in what subjects?

My 1L year, I had:

4 in class, open book exams
1 in class, closed book exams
2 take home exams

Was the closed book exam from Albert? On the up side, since they grade on the curve everyone's at the same disadvantage.

Albert and Brown both did closed book, I think that's the only closed books I heard of this year.

The point about the curve is absolutely credited.

Geeze. Completely closed book 1L exams are rough stuff. It's not tough on the GPA, but you end up dedicating too much time to studying because you psych yourself out.

[spencer1888]

This is probably the worst time to be asking this, but somehow it hasn't occurred to me 'till now. It's generally agreed upon that BC places ~35% of the class into big law, right. So does this necessarily mean TOP 35%? Or is there some other factor that is well represented in the student body that allows a good chunk of students below top third to ultimately land a firm job? This is kinda freaking me out as BC does substantially out-place its ranking.

[sullidop]

This is probably the worst time to be asking this, but somehow it hasn't occurred to me 'till now. It's generally agreed upon that BC places ~35% of the class into big law, right. So does this necessarily mean TOP 35%? Or is there some other factor that is well represented in the student body that allows a good chunk of students below top third to ultimately land a firm job? This is kinda freaking me out as BC does substantially out-place its ranking.

Figuring in clerkships and ppl that just don't want nlj250 firms we're talking about the top 40-45% of students that have this option. Firms only care about gpa, school, interview performance, and somewhat prior WE. No need to panic about a phantom attribute that you may or may not possess.

[spencer1888]

This is probably the worst time to be asking this, but somehow it hasn't occurred to me 'till now. It's generally agreed upon that BC places ~35% of the class into big law, right. So does this necessarily mean TOP 35%? Or is there some other factor that is well represented in the student body that allows a good chunk of students below top third to ultimately land a firm job? This is kinda freaking me out as BC does substantially out-place its ranking.

Figuring in clerkships and ppl that just don't want nlj250 firms we're talking about the top 40-45% of students that have this option. Firms only care about gpa, school, interview performance, and somewhat prior WE. No need to panic about a phantom attribute that you may or may not possess.

I really appreciate your input here and I don't mean to be confrontational, but aren't those numbers a little optimistic? Those are the kind of numbers BC saw during the peak... is it really that high now?

Regarding the "x" factor, I was thinking along the lines of rich/prep kids (for which BC is known) possibly having gigs lined up. Then again, what do I know?

[sullidop]

This is probably the worst time to be asking this, but somehow it hasn't occurred to me 'till now. It's generally agreed upon that BC places ~35% of the class into big law, right. So does this necessarily mean TOP 35%? Or is there some other factor that is well represented in the student body that allows a good chunk of students below top third to ultimately land a firm job? This is kinda freaking me out as BC does substantially out-place its ranking.

Figuring in clerkships and ppl that just don't want nlj250 firms we're talking about the top 40-45% of students that have this option. Firms only care about gpa, school, interview performance, and somewhat prior WE. No need to panic about a phantom attribute that you may or may not possess.

I really appreciate your input here and I don't mean to be confrontational, but aren't those numbers a little optimistic? Those are the kind of numbers BC saw during the peak... is it really that high now?

Regarding the "x" factor, I was thinking along the lines of rich/prep kids (for which BC is known) possibly having gigs lined up. Then again, what do I know?

I think it's realistic to say that those kids will have a good shot at biglaw, it's never a guarantee.
BC's definitely known for being laid back and even bro-ish, but I don't think there are tons of rich kids running around whose parents have a job locked in for them after graduation. While there are always one or two, I'd challenge that generalization. That's probably more of an undergrad thing, if at all.

[sandwichday]

Where do most people eat lunch? Is there a designated communal eating space, or do most students find their own space to eat? Do most people brown-bag it or buy from the dining hall/somewhere else? Also, is there access to a fridge anywhere? I'm looking to painlessly save some $$ by bringing my lunch every day, but I don't know if that's practical.

Thanks!!

[zonto]

I'll brown bag it with you and eat either outside or at the food hub place with all the undergrads. We can people-watch and gloat in all the money we're saving.

(Made my own lunches for school/work since I was 16 and have never regretted it!)

[alumniguy]

Where do most people eat lunch? Is there a designated communal eating space, or do most students find their own space to eat? Do most people brown-bag it or buy from the dining hall/somewhere else? Also, is there access to a fridge anywhere? I'm looking to painlessly save some $$ by bringing my lunch every day, but I don't know if that's practical.

Thanks!!

Most people eat lunch at the law school, in Stuart Hall (the dining hall) or the Yellow Room (adjacent to Stuart). Some people bring there own, others buy. There is a microwave, but no fridge. You'll have to wait until 2nd/3rd year for fridge access as many student groups have fridges (journals, LSA, etc.), unless you sign up for a club that has access as a 1L.

[agw5034]

So what does that first week of Law School look like? What happens during orientation (are we actually doing classwork or is it a meet-and-greet, familiarize ourselves with the facilities kind of thing)? When is our actual first day of classes? And how much work should we expect to have that first week (do most professors ease you in for the first couple days or do they all get after it right away)? Like a lot of 1L's that have recently secured housing, my lease starts on September 1st, so there's a good chance I'm going to be couch-surfing/in a hotel for those first couple days. With that in mind I just wanted to get a realistic expectation of what kind of workload I'll be dealing with as I try to move-in, buy furniture, get settled, etc, on that first weekend.

Sorry, lots of questions...I'd just like to have an idea of how I should plan that move-in process.

[sullidop]

So what does that first week of Law School look like? What happens during orientation (are we actually doing classwork or is it a meet-and-greet, familiarize ourselves with the facilities kind of thing)? When is our actual first day of classes? And how much work should we expect to have that first week (do most professors ease you in for the first couple days or do they all get after it right away)? Like a lot of 1L's that have recently secured housing, my lease starts on September 1st, so there's a good chance I'm going to be couch-surfing/in a hotel for those first couple days. With that in mind I just wanted to get a realistic expectation of what kind of workload I'll be dealing with as I try to move-in, buy furniture, get settled, etc, on that first weekend.

Sorry, lots of questions...I'd just like to have an idea of how I should plan that move-in process.

Orientation is mostly the meet and greet thing. There will be some awkward social events but nothing like the forced ice breakers in college. Usually they have the dean and professors speak, introduce you to the library and westlaw/lexis, the president of the law students association will try to be funny, etc. There's a bar review one night which you should definitely go to.
I don't know exactly when you'll start class, but the professors will definitely ease you into it. Fact: it will take you 30-50 minutes to read your first case...so you'll only have 1-3 of them per class (if at all) for the first class. Generally, the professors gradually escalate the reading so you'll begin to hit stride in mid October. I wouldn't worry too much about the first week or so, professor will expect next to nothing from you.

[Perch]

I'm sure someone has asked this before, but do Macs seem to be compatible? I had one throughout college and want to get a new one for school.

Also, would you all recommend we buy through the bookstore? The very nice guy at the law school bookstore told me I should since it comes preloaded with certain software.

[HWS08]

I'll brown bag it with you and eat either outside or at the food hub place with all the undergrads. We can people-watch and gloat in all the money we're saving.

(Made my own lunches for school/work since I was 16 and have never regretted it!)

I'll join you guys! Actually, I bet there will be quite a few people who are doing this.

[sullidop]

I'm sure someone has asked this before, but do Macs seem to be compatible? I had one throughout college and want to get a new one for school.

Also, would you all recommend we buy through the bookstore? The very nice guy at the law school bookstore told me I should since it comes preloaded with certain software.

Macs are definitely compatible (Examsoft now runs on osx); I have a 13" mbp and love it. The only issue is that some journals have a template that is not mac compatible, so you have to boot into windows and run it from there. This isn't a big deal because BC will install XP for free and we can download office for windows and mac from http://www.bc.edu/software.

I'm not sure what the pricing deal is with the bookstore, so you might want to comparison shop (esp with the back to school promotion that apple is currently doing). In re coming loaded with certain software, I'm pretty sure that's bs because, again, IT services will install XP on your computer and we can download office for free. Sounds like someone's trying to drum up sales.

As an aside, I'd wait a little bit before buying a new mac because OSX Lion should come out at the end of this week and they'll be updating internal components of the macbook and macbook air sometime over the summer.

[sullidop]

I'll brown bag it with you and eat either outside or at the food hub place with all the undergrads. We can people-watch and gloat in all the money we're saving.

(Made my own lunches for school/work since I was 16 and have never regretted it!)

I'll join you guys! Actually, I bet there will be quite a few people who are doing this.

Sadly I think I'll be joining the party as well. There's only so many times you can overpay for pre-prepared food.

[caligirl07]

If you have access to a car, would you recommend bringing it? My view was I just didn't want to bring one, since they're expensive to maintain and a general pain, plus driving in Boston doesn't seem like much fun. I suppose I would bring one if there was an "advantage" (ie. the ability to get to campus quickly for whatever it is you might need that speed for), but I guess I never even considered that.

Plan out a bit more time and relax on the T/shuttle?

Yea, this is probably what I'll end up doing. How late does the BC shuttle work during the school year?

Right now, I'm looking at Brighton, near the Washington St. T line, because I see that there is a supermarket right there, lol... Is it obvious that being close to a source of food is important to me, lolllll???

I believe till 2 am, and then after that you can apparently call for a pick up from the shuttle service...sulli, please correct me since I'm surely wrong. The problem with that is the T shuts down...

edit: maybe I'm starting to see the advantage of a car? If you don't stick to alumniguy's advice of working 9-7, it could get hairy.

Would I bring a car? It depends. If you can legitimately afford to have it and can afford a dedicated parking spot, then yes I would bring it. It doesn't mean you have to drive it every day, but I imagine that it does improve your QoL having a car. For me though personally, (i) I didn't have a car before law school and (ii) I couldn't really afford it living off of loans. Boston, in my opinion, is a city where most people own cars. Unless you are living downtown, cars are a benefit.

I think you guys are overestimating the amount of work that law school entails. There will be relatively few, if any nights that require working past midnight, when the T stops running. Perhaps if you are awful at time management, you'll end up working later more often. I would say that I never *had* to work past the time when the law library closed except for possibly finals. Those few times do not require you to have a car though. You can get a number of taxi rides for less than the amount of money it would cost you to have a car with you all year.

As a 1L I lived closer to the main campus, near the Brighton campus. My 2L and 3L year I lived near Washington/Comm Ave. There was a big QoL difference between these two spots. Washington/Comm Ave location affords you the ability to do many more things without a car and cuts the amount of commuting time significantly (e.g., getting groceries - either walk to Whole Foods or take the B line 3 or 4 stops to Packards Corner and go to the Shaw department store). There is also a Zip Car location right on Washington Street near the Whole Foods, which allowed me to rent cars and go to Target or Ikea when needed. There was a gym close to Washington Street that I joined as well. I also found the commute to law school to be only slightly longer from Washington Street stop on the B Line.

I agree with this. Having a car is nice (I wouldn't live without one), but it's not absolutely necessary your 1L year. You’re at school most of the day so as long as you live near the main campus or can easily get to the main campus (B line or C line) to catch the bus to the law campus, you’ll be fine. I also knew people who lived off the D line and got off at the Newton Centre stop. It’s a nice walk (about 4 blocks from Newton Centre to the law school) when it’s good weather. I would frequently walk from school to the Starbucks at Newton Centre because, as you’ll soon all learn, the coffee at school is absolutely horrendous. If the weather is not so nice you can easily hop on the 52 bus towards Watertown yard which drops off across the street from the law campus.

Although having a car is heavenly, parking spots in the Allston/Brighton/Cleveland Circle area are really expensive. I think the cheapest I’ve seen is about $125/month for a single tandem spot (which you’d have to coordinate coming and going with your roommate who would park either in front or behind you). The majority of people I know who own cars live further out in the ‘burbs such as Newton, Watertown, Natick or Waltham. Keep in mind parking permits at BC are pretty pricey too and they won’t let you park for free on the neighboring streets (which is completely legal, but causes nasty notices from school and neighbors).

[JusticeHarlan]

Keep in mind parking permits at BC are pretty pricey too.

Permits are $259 for the whole year. Not free, but pretty reasonable.

[sullidop]

Keep in mind parking permits at BC are pretty pricey too.

Permits are $259 for the whole year. Not free, but pretty reasonable.

Reasonable for the northeast/urban. I fondly remember registration fees of $5 or less at other law schools.

[loblaw]

I am considering living in Medford and driving to campus. Do you think this would be a problem traffic-wise? It's about a 20 minute drive without traffic--does it get terrible in the mornings? Also, it's about a $30 cab ride back from the city. I know I won't have a ton of time to socialize, but do you think it would inhibit my ability to attend socials/events? Thanks for any advice.

[sullidop]

I am considering living in Medford and driving to campus. Do you think this would be a problem traffic-wise? It's about a 20 minute drive without traffic--does it get terrible in the mornings? Also, it's about a $30 cab ride back from the city. I know I won't have a ton of time to socialize, but do you think it would inhibit my ability to attend socials/events? Thanks for any advice.

I wouldn't worry about getting into the city because you could just take the commuter rail, but driving to BCLS will be a pain. Your options will be to take 93 to 90 and get off in Newton (30-35 min-ish during rush hours with speedpass) or backroad it the whole way (God knows how long). What's all the way out in Medford? SO?

[loblaw]

I am considering living in Medford and driving to campus. Do you think this would be a problem traffic-wise? It's about a 20 minute drive without traffic--does it get terrible in the mornings? Also, it's about a $30 cab ride back from the city. I know I won't have a ton of time to socialize, but do you think it would inhibit my ability to attend socials/events? Thanks for any advice.

I wouldn't worry about getting into the city because you could just take the commuter rail, but driving to BCLS will be a pain. Your options will be to take 93 to 90 and get off in Newton (30-35 min-ish during rush hours with speedpass) or backroad it the whole way (God knows how long). What's all the way out in Medford? SO?

Yup, s/o. I found a place in Back Bay that would be a bit more expensive for me but has access to both green and orange, so I could take the T to both school and boyfriend. He's incredibly helpful and awesome, so I think it'd be good in that respect, but it might be too drastic of a change to take on during 1L, and obviously the commuting situation is far from ideal. Do you think Back Bay is too far from school? I know the green line is iffy, and I'd be way back at the Arlington stop. Mapquest says school is 15 minutes away from the Back Bay apt driving via I-90.

[alumniguy]

Yup, s/o. I found a place in Back Bay that would be a bit more expensive for me but has access to both green and orange, so I could take the T to both school and boyfriend. He's incredibly helpful and awesome, so I think it'd be good in that respect, but it might be too drastic of a change to take on during 1L, and obviously the commuting situation is far from ideal. Do you think Back Bay is too far from school? I know the green line is iffy, and I'd be way back at the Arlington stop. Mapquest says school is 15 minutes away from the Back Bay apt driving via I-90.

Back Bay isn't necessarily too far from school, especially considering the Medford alternative. It is obviously going to take you longer than if you lived in Cleveland Circle, but given the fact that you take the B,C or D lines, you're only looking at maybe 15 additional minutes each morning. It sounds like you'll want to make the Cleveland Circle to Newton Campus express bus in the mornings (although the D line to Newton Centre and then walking/59 bus (I think) to the law school would also work out - probably a better evening plan given the need to change buses at the main campus).

While I don't think living in Medford is necessarily a bad idea, I think you will be either (i) limiting the social experience that BC offers or (ii) need to commit to hassle of commuting and spending additional money on cab fares on a somewhat regular basis. There tends to be quite a few events throughout the year (bar reviews, boat cruise, law prom, informal friend dinners/drinks) and for me, living that far from the law school would most certainly inhibit me from attending many of those functions. If you think that you can compel yourself to attend these functions despite the long commutes to your residence, then you should be fine.

With that said, I think the social aspect of BC is one of the best things about the school and you should definitely factor that into your decision making process. I personally would suggest Back Bay as it is one of the best parts of Boston.