Vandy 2L taking questions Forum

[arklaw13]

Sorry to bump, but can anyone chime in on any good Contracts supplements (I have Bressman if that matters)?

Thanks!

Does he use the George casebook? I really found that casebook to be the most useful out of all my 1L casebooks. I found contracts to be the easiest to learn just from the cases. I generally recommend against using supplements unless there is something specific you don't understand, in which case you should first see I you can get your prof to explain it during office hours.

You're just a week in, so I would really try to stick things out without supplements. If you find that you're still needing extra reading, ask Bressman what he would suggest. Who knows, he may have read some of them.

[rahulg91]

Sorry to bump, but can anyone chime in on any good Contracts supplements (I have Bressman if that matters)?

Thanks!

Does he use the George casebook? I really found that casebook to be the most useful out of all my 1L casebooks. I found contracts to be the easiest to learn just from the cases. I generally recommend against using supplements unless there is something specific you don't understand, in which case you should first see I you can get your prof to explain it during office hours.

You're just a week in, so I would really try to stick things out without supplements. If you find that you're still needing extra reading, ask Bressman what he would suggest. Who knows, he may have read some of them.

Yeah it's the George supplement. I guess I'll hold off then, only a week in but it seems confusing, hoping it'll clear up as the term goes on.

[jk148706]

Sorry to bump, but can anyone chime in on any good Contracts supplements (I have Bressman if that matters)?

Thanks!

Does he use the George casebook? I really found that casebook to be the most useful out of all my 1L casebooks. I found contracts to be the easiest to learn just from the cases. I generally recommend against using supplements unless there is something specific you don't understand, in which case you should first see I you can get your prof to explain it during office hours.

You're just a week in, so I would really try to stick things out without supplements. If you find that you're still needing extra reading, ask Bressman what he would suggest. Who knows, he may have read some of them.

Yeah it's the George supplement. I guess I'll hold off then, only a week in but it seems confusing, hoping it'll clear up as the term goes on.

Dude, I'm also confused in that class. Hoping it clears up later.

[arklaw13]

Thanks!

Does he use the George casebook? I really found that casebook to be the most useful out of all my 1L casebooks. I found contracts to be the easiest to learn just from the cases. I generally recommend against using supplements unless there is something specific you don't understand, in which case you should first see I you can get your prof to explain it during office hours.

You're just a week in, so I would really try to stick things out without supplements. If you find that you're still needing extra reading, ask Bressman what he would suggest. Who knows, he may have read some of them.

Yeah it's the George supplement. I guess I'll hold off then, only a week in but it seems confusing, hoping it'll clear up as the term goes on.

Dude, I'm also confused in that class. Hoping it clears up later.

Nothing will really make sense at first. In fact, I didn't understand some classes at all until the week before the exam (see e.g. civil procedure). A lot of times the pieces don't make sense until everything is in place at the end.

I didn't mention this, but Glannon's E&E for civpro is golden. My rule about avoiding supplements does not apply to civpro lol.

In any case, all of this is just my perspective. I'm sure many people did well and relied heavily on supplements. I did extremely well and never used anything other than Glannon' E&E, and didn't necessarily understand everything right at first, especially in some classes.

[jk148706]

Nothing will really make sense at first. In fact, I didn't understand some classes at all until the week before the exam (see e.g. civil procedure). A lot of times the pieces don't make sense until everything is in place at the end.

I didn't mention this, but Glannon's E&E for civpro is golden. My rule about avoiding supplements does not apply to civpro lol.

In any case, all of this is just my perspective. I'm sure many people did well and relied heavily on supplements. I did extremely well and never used anything other than Glannon' E&E, and didn't necessarily understand everything right at first, especially in some classes.

Assuming, based on what you've said, you were an office hours guy.. did that prove to be helpful?

[arklaw13]

Nothing will really make sense at first. In fact, I didn't understand some classes at all until the week before the exam (see e.g. civil procedure). A lot of times the pieces don't make sense until everything is in place at the end.

I didn't mention this, but Glannon's E&E for civpro is golden. My rule about avoiding supplements does not apply to civpro lol.

In any case, all of this is just my perspective. I'm sure many people did well and relied heavily on supplements. I did extremely well and never used anything other than Glannon' E&E, and didn't necessarily understand everything right at first, especially in some classes.

Assuming, based on what you've said, you were an office hours guy.. did that prove to be helpful?

Haha, actually, I only went to office hours once, found it to be unhelpful, and never went again. However, I went during the first week of class and asked a stupid, pointless question. I'm hoping to get into the whole office hour thing this year.

I think time was what really helped me understand things. Read the cases, don't worry about the facts so much, and try to learn the rule that the case stands for. If you can understand what the rule is and why it makes sense, then don't worry about too much more until a bit later in the semester. At least for me, classes never make sense completely until the end.

[jleighg]

Any advice in choosing an elective? Thinking of taking arbitration or corporations instead of con law...
Are any of those choices "better" in terms of boosting gpa? Also I understand that corporations is a pre-req for several courses so that may be another reason to put off taking con law. Prof. O'Hara O'Connor teachers arbitration, and Prof. Amanda Rose teaches corporations. ConLaw is taught by either Prof. Blumstein or Prof. Mikos.

Any input would be appreciated!

[arklaw13]

Any advice in choosing an elective? Thinking of taking arbitration or corporations instead of con law...
Are any of those choices "better" in terms of boosting gpa? Also I understand that corporations is a pre-req for several courses so that may be another reason to put off taking con law. Prof. O'Hara O'Connor teachers arbitration, and Prof. Amanda Rose teaches corporations. ConLaw is taught by either Prof. Blumstein or Prof. Mikos.

Any input would be appreciated!

I took arbitration with O'Hara and would highly recommend it if you're interested in the subject at all.

Corporations is a prerequisite for a lot of courses and would be worth taking if you want to do the law and business certificate. Don't know about Rose.

Con law always tends to be the fallback. There aren't many courses that require it as a prereq, though, ago there isn't much harm in waiting.

For gpa boosting arbitration would be a good choice. When I took it it was mostly 3Ls who didn't care that much about grades anymore. The class was also very small. Con law will be mostly 1Ls who obviously still care, with a few 2Ls who also care. On the other hand, a bigger class means the curve is somewhat more predictable.

[jleighg]

Any advice in choosing an elective? Thinking of taking arbitration or corporations instead of con law...
Are any of those choices "better" in terms of boosting gpa? Also I understand that corporations is a pre-req for several courses so that may be another reason to put off taking con law. Prof. O'Hara O'Connor teachers arbitration, and Prof. Amanda Rose teaches corporations. ConLaw is taught by either Prof. Blumstein or Prof. Mikos.

Any input would be appreciated!

I took arbitration with O'Hara and would highly recommend it if you're interested in the subject at all.

Corporations is a prerequisite for a lot of courses and would be worth taking if you want to do the law and business certificate. Don't know about Rose.

Con law always tends to be the fallback. There aren't many courses that require it as a prereq, though, ago there isn't much harm in waiting.

For gpa boosting arbitration would be a good choice. When I took it it was mostly 3Ls who didn't care that much about grades anymore. The class was also very small. Con law will be mostly 1Ls who obviously still care, with a few 2Ls who also care. On the other hand, a bigger class means the curve is somewhat more predictable.

thanks so much! very helpful

[jk148706]

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[arklaw13]

not super worried about it, but just curious -- does anyone know when grades typically come out?

Varies by prof. Legal writing is usually out about two weeks after exams. My exam grades ranged from New Year's eve, to the day that grades were due. I'd expect most back around a week before they're due. They're due 30 days after the end of exams.

[Winston1984]

Do you happen to know grade cut-offs for some firms in Southern markets? Or does each region kinda have a grade cut-off that's similar among all the firms? Thanks for taking questions!

[arklaw13]

Do you happen to know grade cut-offs for some firms in Southern markets? Or does each region kinda have a grade cut-off that's similar among all the firms? Thanks for taking questions!

It's hard to know what the actual grade cutoff is because most of the ones posted on symplicity during OCI are pretty low. Only a couple had pretty high cutoffs, sherrard & roe only takes top 10%, and lightfoot in B'ham has a high cutoff for 1Ls, maybe 20%. The rest are mostly about fit and ties.

Do you have a particular city in mind? I might be able to remember more if I knew the cities you were interested in.

[Winston1984]

Do you happen to know grade cut-offs for some firms in Southern markets? Or does each region kinda have a grade cut-off that's similar among all the firms? Thanks for taking questions!

It's hard to know what the actual grade cutoff is because most of the ones posted on symplicity during OCI are pretty low. Only a couple had pretty high cutoffs, sherrard & roe only takes top 10%, and lightfoot in B'ham has a high cutoff for 1Ls, maybe 20%. The rest are mostly about fit and ties.

Do you have a particular city in mind? I might be able to remember more if I knew the cities you were interested in.

Pmed

[keekztresq]

What is the atmosphere/culture like at Vandy? Do people party/drink a lot, or is the social scene more laid back? Would you say it's cut throat and competitive?

[arklaw13]

What is the atmosphere/culture like at Vandy? Do people party/drink a lot, or is the social scene more laid back? Would you say it's cut throat and competitive?

Party scene is definitely there. Nashville has a good bar scene which most students seem to take advantage of. I'm married and boring, so I'm not the best person to comment on it.

My experience has been the extreme opposite of cut throat/competitive. For the most part, everyone here is chill as fuck. I've heard horror stories about other schools, most of which is probably exaggerated, but I have yet to experience anything that could be deemed story-worthy.

[jk148706]

What is the atmosphere/culture like at Vandy? Do people party/drink a lot, or is the social scene more laid back? Would you say it's cut throat and competitive?

Party scene is definitely there. Nashville has a good bar scene which most students seem to take advantage of. I'm married and boring, so I'm not the best person to comment on it.

My experience has been the extreme opposite of cut throat/competitive. For the most part, everyone here is chill as fuck. I've heard horror stories about other schools, most of which is probably exaggerated, but I have yet to experience anything that could be deemed story-worthy.

Agree with this.

If you want to party, there are plenty of opportunities. If you don't, you don't have to.

And I have never seen any cutthroat competitiveness. Sure, ppl want to do well. But everyone I know is friendly and will share notes/outlines, etc.

[keekztresq]

Thanks! How do you like career services there? Do you find that people are struggling to find jobs/internships? How do OCIs work?

[keekztresq]

Also, what can I expect as far as scholarship money goes? I'm a "splitter"- GPA above the 75th percentile, LSAT at 25th percentile...

[wolfie_m.]

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[arklaw13]

Thanks! How do you like career services there? Do you find that people are struggling to find jobs/internships? How do OCIs work?

1. PM me.

2. It (obviously) depends on the market you're targeting, your interviewing skills, your grades, and any personal resume quirks. A lot of people I know have gotten good jobs, but each person needs to compare the LST numbers with the price for himself or herself. Vandy is strong for the Southeast and TX. NY and DC are definitely in play. I probably wouldn't attend Vandy in the hopes of targeting Chicago or California, though. (Reasonable minds may differ.)

3. Employers pick half of their slots, and the rest are by lottery based on what you rank them. There were 80-90 employers this last cycle, I think (not counting Vandy job fairs). I've forgotten how many employers we could rank.

All of the above is accurate. Definitely the Chicago and California comments as well. I know a few who got into each of those markets, but most people struggled.

As far as OCI, I think we could bid 30 if I remember right. To be more specific, an employer will have a certain number of slots, usually 19 per room they book. You submit your resume/transcript through symplicity and bid every employer you're interested in from 1 to 30. They pick either 9 or 10 of their screener interviews (if they have 19 slots, for example) from everyone who bid them. The remaining slots are given to everyone who ranked them 1, then 2, then 3 until there are no more slots left.

[arklaw13]

Also, what can I expect as far as scholarship money goes? I'm a "splitter"- GPA above the 75th percentile, LSAT at 25th percentile...

Only way to have a decent guess is to look at LSN from last cycle. They're usually pretty formulaic about it so you should be able to get a decent idea.

[jk148706]

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[canon1845]

1. Is it realistic to go to Vandy targetting NYC biglaw?

2. What does being median at Vandy mean for that student in the 2L OCI? Is he or she screwed for biglaw?

3. Are there any foreign students, who had their UG outside of North America, at Vandy? If so how do they fare?

Thanks!

[jk148706]

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