BU 1L Taking Q's Forum

[username99]

Happy to answer BU questions...

[desiballa21]

Hey, thanks for taking Qs..

Why'd you pick BU and what schools did you pick it over?

Hearing anything about employment prospects?

[username99]

Picked BU over most of the schools in its rankings range for a few reasons. First, and mainly, $$$$$. They were cheaper to begin with and were far more generous. I also liked the atmosphere better than some others (and still do) and I liked that it was the second best school in a big market (Harvard being the first, and a lot of those students will leave Boston to go to NY/DC/Anywhere they want.

But I'm very glad I picked it.

As far as employment prospects, I think it's doing better than some similarly ranked schools, but that's all through word of mouth. The 3Ls I know are doing just fine, whereas that's not the case among my friends at even slightly higher ranked schools. But again, this is by word of mouth, not statistics.

[landla]

1. What can you tell us that you would have wanted to know before attending? (Sorry for sounding like an interview question - I'm really curious!)

2. What is the student life like? I've heard it is much more friendly now that its reputation (and as it likely was in the past), but how is it anecdotally, do people seem to be friends outside of law/classes?

3. Are the professors approachable outside of class? I hear great things about how they are teaching, etc., but how are they with connections, mentoring, and that sort of thing?

4. How much time does it seem that most (of the better, if possible) students put into classwork and studying, understanding that this increases dramatically at finals? I realize this varies based upon student, but it seems that some schools have students that work basically 24/7, others 5 hours per day, and then everything in between (not on hard data, clearly). I'm just curious, since that would seem to correlate both to the type of student and the type of professor typical of a school.

5. How is the career services department? Any information on OCI, job prospects, and the like? (Also, do you know where to find information on Boston midlaw? That might be dumb, but I'm honestly not sure where to find it.)

6. I know you may or may not know about this, but I'm interested in international corporate work (which a lot of corporate work at least touches but focusing in certain aspects that really are an issue for transnational companies). Do you know how the BU network is internationally or anything else at the school that might be of benefit in this area? (I've looked into this a bit, but it would be great to hear about anything students know of or thoughts.)

Obviously, feel free to answer none, any, or all of these - or just talk about anything else! I'd really just like to get as much information about BU as possible, particularly from the student perspective.

Thanks in advance!

[YourCaptain]

starbucks or dd?

[username99]

1. What can you tell us that you would have wanted to know before attending? (Sorry for sounding like an interview question - I'm really curious!)

I knew mostly everything going in and can't say I was shocked by anything. But I will say that even though you know how hard it is going to be, it's even harder (that's what she said?). It's really f'ing hard and everyone - without exception - is really, really smart. So even though you will surely be prepared to bust your ass, you will not fully realize until you get here (or there, or wherever you go) how difficult law school actually is. For BU specifically, I can't say much has surprised me (at least negatively).

I have not had a problem w/ this, but many friends of mine would answer this question by saying to be proactive about jobs (even for 1L summer) and not to rely in any way on CDO. CDO provides guidance, not miracles.

2. What is the student life like? I've heard it is much more friendly now that its reputation (and as it likely was in the past), but how is it anecdotally, do people seem to be friends outside of law/classes?

It's friendly. It's competitive - it's law school! - but the students are generally supportive of each other. People are friends outside of class. If you miss a class, someone will give you their notes. This was a concern of mine, but I like mostly everyone.

3. Are the professors approachable outside of class? I hear great things about how they are teaching, etc., but how are they with connections, mentoring, and that sort of thing?

They are very approachable and willing to help. Some more than others, of course. But they are very, very approachable. I can't really speak to the level of help they'll provide with teaching/mentoring yet.

4. How much time does it seem that most (of the better, if possible) students put into classwork and studying, understanding that this increases dramatically at finals? I realize this varies based upon student, but it seems that some schools have students that work basically 24/7, others 5 hours per day, and then everything in between (not on hard data, clearly). I'm just curious, since that would seem to correlate both to the type of student and the type of professor typical of a school.

Depends on the student. Students here work a ton. There's a balance to be found, for sure, but I have yet to find it!

5. How is the career services department? Any information on OCI, job prospects, and the like? (Also, do you know where to find information on Boston midlaw? That might be dumb, but I'm honestly not sure where to find it.)

See my comment above. I haven't had much experience with them, but friends of mine have been less than impressed. I think the main thing no matter where you go is to realize that you are in charge of your own job hunt and need to be very proactive. CDO seems eager to help, but I doubt any CDO is able to handle the situation facing today's graduates.

6. I know you may or may not know about this, but I'm interested in international corporate work (which a lot of corporate work at least touches but focusing in certain aspects that really are an issue for transnational companies). Do you know how the BU network is internationally or anything else at the school that might be of benefit in this area? (I've looked into this a bit, but it would be great to hear about anything students know of or thoughts.)

I have no idea. I am a simple man. Or woman, to preserve anonymity on this board. But yeah, I have no clue.

[username99]

starbucks or dd?

DD.

[landla]

starbucks or dd?

DD.

This makes me trust your opinion more.

Thanks for answering my prior questions!