NYU 2Ls taking questions Forum

[JamMasterJ]

yeah dude 250K seems a little scary IMO

[Sinatra]

Not sure if this has been asked but how difficult would it be to purchase a unit that is located in UWS? If accepted to NYU/Columbia we'd like to purchase a place but I have no idea how likely or reasonable it is to assume we could. I'm sure a great deal depends on the down payment, credit, etc.

down payment req is generally 1/5th of the cost. So for something around 1 million, you need 200K.

So look at this: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/821296-c ... e-new-york

for more info on what your costs are going to be, such as monthly taxes/maintenance fees (depending on the type of unit they may be bundled together). I'm sure there are also fees for brokers on both ends, as well as some sort of credit requirement.

tyft. Although that is definitely more expensive that what I can afford lol. I was looking at some sponsor units that were around 250k, meaning I'd need about 37,500 for a down payment. I would hope to pay it off within seven years (big assumption of making biglaw salary after graduation) and turn around and sell it to make that money back.

What the hell can you buy on the UWS for $250k?

Honestly I wouldn't do it while in law school. You don't know for sure what your income will be after school. Maintenance/common charges plus mortgage means that buying is usually more expensive than renting in NYC. Plus most co-ops, at least, are probably reluctant to sell to someone without significant income. All this depends to some extent on whether you have an SO who can prop up your financials. But buying in NYC is a luxury, not something your average person does, particularly your average grad student.

http://www.trulia.com/property/30641947 ... 25#photo-7
http://www.trulia.com/property/31174335 ... k-NY-10024

I found these along with some others earlier today. My SO would be supporting us while I attend school and by next year we should have ~40k saved for a decent down payment. Obviously nothing is set in stone, I'm just trying to weigh my options at this point. Coming from a small mountain-west town with a population of roughly 7,000, I'm sure things are quite different. I never knew buying is a luxury in NYC.

[dixiecupdrinking]

http://www.trulia.com/property/30641947 ... 25#photo-7
http://www.trulia.com/property/31174335 ... k-NY-10024

I found these along with some others earlier today. My wife would be supporting us while I attend school and by next year we should have ~40k saved for a decent down payment. Obviously nothing is set in stone, I'm just trying to weigh my options at this point. Coming from a small mountain-west town with a population of roughly 7,000, I'm sure things are quite different. I never knew buying is a luxury in NYC.

The first one looks okay, though absolutely miniscule for two people. Looks like the second one is occupied by a rent-controlled tenant, i.e. you would be purchasing it as a long-term investment so that when the tenant dies you could eventually move in. There might be some stuff out there for that price, but for a comfortable place for a couple on the UWS I think you'd want to double your price, for a start.

I would really advise you not to purchase anything. Renting is the norm in NYC for even upper-middle class, white collar people. It is a major cultural difference from most places in the U.S.

[bailey8078]

Anyone know about the rugby club or when it will start/how competitive they are/ what level of commitment is required?

[dj_roomba]

Winter break is on Dec 21... until Jan 21??

is that correct? http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/fi ... lendar.pdf

A month off seems like a long time. I heard it was 2 weeks at our school..

is this correct?

[Detrox]

Winter break is on Dec 21... until Jan 21??

is that correct? http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/fi ... lendar.pdf

A month off seems like a long time. I heard it was 2 weeks at our school..

is this correct?

It's correct. You'll need at least a week to stop having finals nightmares, then the 3 weeks until you do it all over again won't seem so long.

[chadbrochill]

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[ssteiner]

Hello everyone!

I'm a 1L, feeling pretty lost at the moment.

I'm taking Civ Pro with Geoffrey Miller, Contracts with Barry Adler, and Torts with Alan O Sykes.

If anyone can speak to these professors or direct me to someone who is familiar, I'd love to find out more about what I should be studying, what supplements are recommended, etc.

Feel free to PM me, thanks so much!

I haven't had any of those professors so can't really speak to them, but I wanted to let you know that at this point in the semester it's perfectly natural to feel lost. I know that I felt way out of my league at this point in the semester. Take deep breaths and remember to hit up all the mixers that you can for free food/alcohol. Just remember that it's only September. Hang in there, things will get clearer.

[dj_roomba]

Public interest for back up = doable?

I'm pretty much biglaw or bust. Well, "bust" means I'd rather work in public interest than nothing.

My strategy is pretty much try to get a 2L firm job, but work in PI for 1L so I have that "experience".
If I strike out OCI, I can fall back on 1L PI.

Can someone point out the holes in my plan?

[mr. wednesday]

Public interest for back up = doable?

I'm pretty much biglaw or bust. Well, "bust" means I'd rather work in public interest than nothing.

My strategy is pretty much try to get a 2L firm job, but work in PI for 1L so I have that "experience".
If I strike out OCI, I can fall back on 1L PI.

Can someone point out the holes in my plan?

Biggest issue is most PI is more competitive than biglaw. There are people crafting their entire résumé and law school experience to PI and they will get a job over you.

If you want a good fallback, start volunteering, interning during the school year, doing clinics (probably not until spring of 1L or 2L though) to build a background, and pick an area with crossover to biglaw. Gov't is sometimes a good crossover but again, more competitive than biglaw. A 2L biglaw summer won't totally sink you, though, the way it would with many PI places.

[JamMasterJ]

Public interest for back up = doable?

I'm pretty much biglaw or bust. Well, "bust" means I'd rather work in public interest than nothing.

My strategy is pretty much try to get a 2L firm job, but work in PI for 1L so I have that "experience".
If I strike out OCI, I can fall back on 1L PI.

Can someone point out the holes in my plan?

PI isn't super grade selective outside of a few things (ACLU etc) but it is incredibly resume-selective. People with the background will crush you. Government is more doable without the background, though obviously SEC and the like are pretty selective.

[americanman]

For 1L summer can you get a non PI job easily? I see 2/3rds go PI. Why?

[ssteiner]

For 1L summer can you get a non PI job easily? I see 2/3rds go PI. Why?

What type of non-PI job? Research assistant, sure- a lot of Professors look for RAs. That's what I did this past summer. Other than that? I have several friends who landed in-house gigs, but not a ton. Most of the ones who got those jobs had work experience in similar fields. Judicial internships happen- I know a few people who did those, but their grades were on the higher end. And it's incredibly difficult to land a 1L summer associate position unless you have top grades or get a diversity scholarship, or maybe if it's a more regional market that you have ties to. That being said, it does happen.

[sinfiery]

Yeah, getting a 1L SA is seemingly very tough impossible in this post 2008 economy. This essentially seems like the very last chance we get to do something, anything (law related), without worrying about the constraints of what it will imply for our future job situation. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity and am really glad NYU provides this grant.

[02889]

For 1L summer can you get a non PI job easily? I see 2/3rds go PI. Why?

What type of non-PI job? Research assistant, sure- a lot of Professors look for RAs. That's what I did this past summer. Other than that? I have several friends who landed in-house gigs, but not a ton. Most of the ones who got those jobs had work experience in similar fields. Judicial internships happen- I know a few people who did those, but their grades were on the higher end. And it's incredibly difficult to land a 1L summer associate position unless you have top grades or get a diversity scholarship, or maybe if it's a more regional market that you have ties to. That being said, it does happen.

Are research assistants paid? And if so, if you don't mind my asking, how much? Can people secure RA positions during their 1L year? And, last question, do people do part-time RA work during the summer in addition to something else if the professor is amenable?

[ssteiner]

For 1L summer can you get a non PI job easily? I see 2/3rds go PI. Why?

What type of non-PI job? Research assistant, sure- a lot of Professors look for RAs. That's what I did this past summer. Other than that? I have several friends who landed in-house gigs, but not a ton. Most of the ones who got those jobs had work experience in similar fields. Judicial internships happen- I know a few people who did those, but their grades were on the higher end. And it's incredibly difficult to land a 1L summer associate position unless you have top grades or get a diversity scholarship, or maybe if it's a more regional market that you have ties to. That being said, it does happen.

Are research assistants paid? And if so, if you don't mind my asking, how much? Can people secure RA positions during their 1L year? And, last question, do people do part-time RA work during the summer in addition to something else if the professor is amenable?

RA work is paid $12/hour, so you wind up making roughly the same or a little more than a PI job. It's certainly possible to do the work part-time during the summer, depending on the professor. Some professors specifically ask for part-time work. I wouldn't recommend pairing part-time RA work with a PI position, though- you need a certain # of hours at the PI job to meet the stipend requirements. Plenty of people pair up part-time work for two professors, however. There are also opportunities to continue part-time throughout the year after the summer, if the professor is interested. That's something I'm doing.

I haven't heard of 1Ls finding RA jobs during the year (and honestly you should be focusing on school).

[02889]

For 1L summer can you get a non PI job easily? I see 2/3rds go PI. Why?

What type of non-PI job? Research assistant, sure- a lot of Professors look for RAs. That's what I did this past summer. Other than that? I have several friends who landed in-house gigs, but not a ton. Most of the ones who got those jobs had work experience in similar fields. Judicial internships happen- I know a few people who did those, but their grades were on the higher end. And it's incredibly difficult to land a 1L summer associate position unless you have top grades or get a diversity scholarship, or maybe if it's a more regional market that you have ties to. That being said, it does happen.

Are research assistants paid? And if so, if you don't mind my asking, how much? Can people secure RA positions during their 1L year? And, last question, do people do part-time RA work during the summer in addition to something else if the professor is amenable?

RA work is paid $12/hour, so you wind up making roughly the same or a little more than a PI job. It's certainly possible to do the work part-time during the summer, depending on the professor. Some professors specifically ask for part-time work. I wouldn't recommend pairing part-time RA work with a PI position, though- you need a certain # of hours at the PI job to meet the stipend requirements. Plenty of people pair up part-time work for two professors, however. There are also opportunities to continue part-time throughout the year after the summer, if the professor is interested. That's something I'm doing.

I haven't heard of 1Ls finding RA jobs during the year (and honestly you should be focusing on school).

Thanks for the info! Would you recommend not doing a part-time RA and a PI simultaneously during the summer because it would end up taking up a lot of nights and weekends and it would be kind of crappy in that sense, or because you think it just wouldn't really be possible to manage both given time commitments?

[ssteiner]

Thanks for the info! Would you recommend not doing a part-time RA and a PI simultaneously during the summer because it would end up taking up a lot of nights and weekends and it would be kind of crappy in that sense, or because you think it just wouldn't really be possible to manage both given time commitments?

Honestly I wouldn't recommend it. You really should try to enjoy the summer, it's a wonderful thing to have free nights and weekends again for three months. Plus, if you're planning on doing EIW, firm research is really going to cut into your time. I'm also fairly certain you're not supposed to take a full-time PI job and an additional part-time job, because of overtime laws, and the school isn't willing to pay overtime salary for the RA job.

[xlawschoolhopefulx]

Thanks for the info! Would you recommend not doing a part-time RA and a PI simultaneously during the summer because it would end up taking up a lot of nights and weekends and it would be kind of crappy in that sense, or because you think it just wouldn't really be possible to manage both given time commitments?

Honestly I wouldn't recommend it. You really should try to enjoy the summer, it's a wonderful thing to have free nights and weekends again for three months. Plus, if you're planning on doing EIW, firm research is really going to cut into your time. I'm also fairly certain you're not supposed to take a full-time PI job and an additional part-time job, because of overtime laws, and the school isn't willing to pay overtime salary for the RA job.

I personally have worked as an RA since January of my 1L year (and continued to do so during the summer while also working FT at a PI org.). My two cents:

I am so happy I started working, even as a 1L. Fostering that kind of relationship with a leader in their field is wonderful and makes for great recommendations (for the summer and beyond). I also found that since I was a little busier I was better at scheduling my time and being productive during the day. Plus a little extra spending money definitely doesn't hurt.

As for working PT doing research while working FT- NYU was fully aware that I did this and never mentioned any issue with OT or payment. I personally did not mind doing both at the same time- my research was extremely flexible and I was able to do some while commuting to work and on the weekends. That being said, I have other friends who did both and absolutely hated it because they were literally constantly working. Basically, it depends entirely on the flexibility of the research (i.e. can you do it from home? Do you have to be at the school? Do you have to meet with the professor often?) as well as the number of hours they are expecting you to dedicate each week to their project.

Hope this helps.

[californiauser]

Thinking of visiting NYU this week. Does anyone know the protocol for visiting? Should I just walk around the law quad?

[Jacq2212]

Thinking of visiting NYU this week. Does anyone know the protocol for visiting? Should I just walk around the law quad?

You can go to Wilf hall and tell them you want to visit and they will give you a visitor's pass to roam around and show you class schedules so you can go sit in on a class

[californiauser]

Thinking of visiting NYU this week. Does anyone know the protocol for visiting? Should I just walk around the law quad?

You can go to Wilf hall and tell them you want to visit and they will give you a visitor's pass to roam around and show you class schedules so you can go sit in on a class

Cool, thanks!

[TheJanitor6203]

Could anyone tell me if there is family housing available through the school? I'm married with 2 kids. I was originally just planning to live in the city somewhere but after reading about finding an apartment in NYC it sounds like a daunting task.

[JamMasterJ]

Could anyone tell me if there is family housing available through the school? I'm married with 2 kids. I was originally just planning to live in the city somewhere but after reading about finding an apartment in NYC it sounds like a daunting task.

There is. A few families with kids live on campus

[TheJanitor6203]

Could anyone tell me if there is family housing available through the school? I'm married with 2 kids. I was originally just planning to live in the city somewhere but after reading about finding an apartment in NYC it sounds like a daunting task.

There is. A few families with kids live on campus

Do you know what buildings they're in so I can check them out?