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"In DC" as they plan on working there when they graduate. I'm not into government work, but from what I gather most government agencies haven't made offers to students yet.

lishi wrote:"In DC" as they plan on working there when they graduate. I'm not into government work, but from what I gather most government agencies haven't made offers to students yet.

Oh, was hoping to hear stories of grads being offered jobs in DC. I want to be in DC after graduation too.

NCtoDC wrote:

lishi wrote:"In DC" as they plan on working there when they graduate. I'm not into government work, but from what I gather most government agencies haven't made offers to students yet.

Oh, was hoping to hear stories of grads being offered jobs in DC. I want to be in DC after graduation too.

If you want DC Wake isnt your best bet.. Wake is a great school, but not for DC placement

BlueDiamond wrote:

NCtoDC wrote:

lishi wrote:"In DC" as they plan on working there when they graduate. I'm not into government work, but from what I gather most government agencies haven't made offers to students yet.

Oh, was hoping to hear stories of grads being offered jobs in DC. I want to be in DC after graduation too.

If you want DC Wake isnt your best bet.. Wake is a great school, but not for DC placement

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately I got WL at George Mason(withdrew), and no scholly at U of Maryland(withdrew). I am still holding out hope for W&M. It won't be the end of the world if I can't get in to DC/No. VA, but it is my goal.

NCtoDC wrote:

BlueDiamond wrote:

NCtoDC wrote:

lishi wrote:"In DC" as they plan on working there when they graduate. I'm not into government work, but from what I gather most government agencies haven't made offers to students yet.

Oh, was hoping to hear stories of grads being offered jobs in DC. I want to be in DC after graduation too.

If you want DC Wake isnt your best bet.. Wake is a great school, but not for DC placement

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately I got WL at George Mason(withdrew), and no scholly at U of Maryland(withdrew). I am still holding out hope for W&M. It won't be the end of the world if I can't get in to DC/No. VA, but it is my goal.

Maryland hasnt made scholly offers to everyone yet.. they make them in April.. NEVER withdraw.. and good luck with W&M. but congrats on Wake as well

I emailed them and asked about it and they said that people are selected for the leadership scholar interview program upon admission and that if I hadn't received the invite I could write a letter urging the committee to consider me. The cost of living, coupled with the small amounts they are known to give, and I am out of state, made it not worth it. Also, I don't have the money to put down on multiple schools' seat deposits to wait and see IF I get a scholly from them.

At any rate, I am very pleased with Wake, they were my top choice after GMU.

Anyone know the extent of how regional Wake is? I am not entirely sure where I want to practice after graduation, other than the SE most definitely. It's likely I will end up back in Florida.. would Wake carry well into the state if I tried?

I personally don't agree with what some other posters on here say about a Wake degree only being good in North Carolina. I'm going to California, and didn't have a problem finding summer jobs out there if I wanted. I know students that are graduating/have graduated and have jobs around the country. I mean there aren't going to be a lot of OCI options for West Coast firms, but there are plenty of OCI jobs for people in the south/mid-west.

Also, a lot of people expect Career Services to hold their hand the entire time. Career Services is good to look over your application materials and help connect you with fellow lawyers, but you have to put in the vast amount of the work. It's certainly not easy, but getting a job in North Carolina isn't "easy" either.

Lishi, what steps did you take to get those jobs in CA and what do you feel helped you - was it connections to the area you had already, connections you made through Wake alumni out there, resume mailings, a bit of everything?

I'm not looking for Cali specifically, but I'd love to be able to work in the Northeast coming from Wake.

I researched firms on my own seeing which ones had practice areas I was interested in. Then I just started sending my resume and cover letter to them. Wake teaches about "informational interviews" which I hadn't heard of but seem to be helpful. I talked with some Wake alum that are in CA, and they were able to set me up with other attorneys who I just sat and talked to. But some of those attorneys then recommended me to others, and some offered to interview me when I graduate (since most firms do not hire a year in advance - despite the misconception that all firms do). So I found it was just about networking.

I am from California, so my connection is much more obvious, but if you aren't from CA and want to work there I just think people want to believe that CA is actually where you want to be. Not just part of your random search/mass mailings.

lishi wrote:Also, a lot of people expect Career Services to hold their hand the entire time. Career Services is good to look over your application materials and help connect you with fellow lawyers, but you have to put in the vast amount of the work. It's certainly not easy, but getting a job in North Carolina isn't "easy" either.

I very much agree with lishi about this. While OCI is very much southeast dominated, we have students going everywhere. I know of three students off the top of my head with V50 jobs lined up in Texas. The whole "no one has heard of Wake outside of NC, and the degree doesn't carry" really is overstated, and usually comes from people who 1) don't go to Wake, or 2) didn't put enough of their own time in to the job hunt. It's rough out there for everyone right now, but the idea that the degree is useless outside of NC really isn't true. Because the school is so small, I have found that Wake alums will bend over backwards for current Wake students. You just have to be the one to reach out and find some alums in the area you are interested.

Does Wake section stack?

No. I at least know the scholarship students are pretty much evenly spread across the four different sections. Also, I believe our top 10% is pretty evenly spread as well, one section dominated a little more. But there was still room for others.

Hey guys,

Could you talk about social life in Winstom-Salem? What do you normally do during your freetime/weekends? I come from a really small undergraduate, and I want a place with a lot more outlets than just boozing/going out. Does the city have a lot of interesting things going on? Is the campus focused on undergrad/undergrad-like-partying? Thanks!

There aren't a lot of things to do in Winston-Salem. If you are looking for a city with different things to do, I would recommend a big city. Few small or even medium cities have a lot going on.

Pretty much all we do is lay by the pool (if it's warm), go to local bars to drink, and sometimes there will be parties to celebrate an occasion. It's different than my undergrad, where it was mostly house parties on campus. We go to the "downtown" area where there are a variety of bars. I think it's fun and it's what I expected, but if you want different activities to fill your weekend you'd have to go to a big city.

lishi wrote:There aren't a lot of things to do in Winston-Salem. If you are looking for a city with different things to do, I would recommend a big city. Few small or even medium cities have a lot going on.

Pretty much all we do is lay by the pool (if it's warm), go to local bars to drink, and sometimes there will be parties to celebrate an occasion. It's different than my undergrad, where it was mostly house parties on campus. We go to the "downtown" area where there are a variety of bars. I think it's fun and it's what I expected, but if you want different activities to fill your weekend you'd have to go to a big city.

Are you a tour guide on ASD's?

yup, sometimes

lishi wrote:yup, sometimes

Will you be this Friday?

What really are my chances of working in NYC if I attend Wake Forest? And I understand there are few minorities but will it be uncomfortable being one of the few black females in the class? Thanks in advance.

NCtoDC wrote:

lishi wrote:yup, sometimes

Will you be this Friday?

No, unfortunately I have other meetings I have to go to. But enjoy your visit!

denisea wrote:And I understand there are few minorities but will it be uncomfortable being one of the few black females in the class? Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't imagine that you would. Do you usually feel uncomfortable being one of the few black people in a room? If so, I would definitely say you should go to Howard. But no one else is going to make you feel uncomfortable, unless you allow it.

jetergrl2ss wrote:Does Wake section stack?

No.
I know my section is not stacked. Of the few people I've talked to who have/admitted to having scholarships (kinda no no in R/L to talk about schollies), none of them lost them.

Nicholasnickynic wrote:Of the few people I've talked to who have/admitted to having scholarships (kinda no no in R/L to talk about schollies), none of them lost them.

Haha. I found out who had scholarships by going to the thank-you note session.....

I know nothing about Wake but I have a plethora of questions.

1. What is the social scene for LS like?

2. What are the small class sizes like?

3. Is there any interaction with the UG?

4. Are their school sponsored events?

5. How was OCI last fall?

6. How is Winston Salem?

7. What are most Wake 1L students doing for the summer?

8. Are the kids mostly only from NC and the SE or are they people from the west and NE?

I'll answer what I can below. I'm sure others can go into more detail, but I'll give you what I've got. For other Wake folks, feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken about anything I say.

SrLaw wrote:I know nothing about Wake but I have a plethora of questions.

1. What is the social scene for LS like?

I think this gets thrown around a lot, but it really is kind of like high school. Sections are divided into roughly 40 people, and you have every class with them for your first year. Thus, you really get to know most of them. Most of my friends are from my section. There is plenty of interaction with other sections and upperclassmen. Plenty of law students dating law students, etc. For the "what's there to do" aspect of law school, lots of things revolve around drinking: bar review every Thursday probably gets the biggest concentration of law students together.Other than that, I'm not a terribly "social" person, so others can probably give you a little more than I can.

2. What are the small class sizes like?

They're great. Professors make an effort to learn all of the students' names and are, for the most part, very respectful towards students. It allows the students and professors to develop a better rapport with each other, and it makes it easier to have a conversation with the professor. As I mentioned above, students also get an opportunity to know each other better as well. One con of the small class size is that it makes it harder to "hide" if you haven't done the reading and don't want to be called on.

3. Is there any interaction with the UG?

It seems like, for the most part, the answer would be "no." The law school is up the hill by itself probably 1/4 mile from the undergrad buildings. Some of the LS students go to the main part of campus to eat, and the bookstore is on the main campus. Otherwise, I haven't seen too much interaction.

4. Are their school sponsored events?

There are plenty of school sponsored events. Not too long ago, we had the PILO auction, which was pretty fun. Free food and beer, and we got to bid on items/events submitted by professors and students alike. There's also "Esquire's Evening," which a lot of folks compare to a high school prom. There are also other smaller events throughout the year.

5. How was OCI last fall?

Not sure how it was for 2Ls in the fall, but this spring was pretty good. We had probably 20 firms/DAs come to campus to interview, and the callback rates seemed to be pretty high. Most 1Ls I know have jobs/judicial internships/unpaid internships lined up for the summer, so it looks like hiring is picking up. I'm sure Lishi or another upperclassman could help you out about fall OCI.

6. How is Winston Salem?

In Winston Salem itself, there's plenty to do with regards to the basics: movies, minor league baseball, college athletics, shopping, eating (chains and independent restaurants), etc. Not too far from the mountains, so you can ski in the winter, and it's only about 3 1/2 hours from the beach, so you can head down that way for a while during the summer. Plus, it's relatively close to other cities with more to do (Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh). WS certainly isn't a huge city like some folks are used to, but it's plenty big and presents ample opportunities to do things.

7. What are most Wake 1L students doing for the summer?

Like I mentioned above, it seems that most folks have a summer gig lined up. Some are paid and others are unpaid. Other folks are studying abroad and then working when they get back. There's a pretty wide variety of things people are doing, but, as best I can tell, most folks have something lined up.

8. Are the kids mostly only from NC and the SE or are they people from the west and NE?

For this year's 1L class, 70% of the class is out of state (30% in-state). For the most part, it seems that folks tend to be from the South or the East-coast area. We have plenty of New Englanders and lots of southerners. I would say that people from the west are pretty limited. I know of a couple from the mid-west who have jobs lined up back home for the summer, but there aren't loads of Californians or Oregonians or anything along those lines. It's mostly folks from east of the Mississippi or so it seems.

PirateCap'n wrote:

Those are great responses! Thanks for taking the time to write all that out!