NYU 1L: Taking Questions Forum

[underdawg]

i saw a craiglist posting for a studio in soho like two blocks from mercer for $1400

who knows if it was real, but try....

poking around on craiglist
http://www.nyu.edu/housing/offcampus/
and try calling a broker. one was recommended to me and is good for general advice if nothing else. plus some buildings will pay the broker's fee for you

dunno how really quiet it can get. i live in mercer and several times when i try to sleep in i am awakened by constant honking outside. i live on the 3rd st side

[tradams]

I lived in Mercer courtyard side, and it was insanely quiet. If money is not an issue I recommend it, especially over D'ag.

[tradams]

just out of curiosity, how much free time do you all have? i understand that i will have to make a personal decision when it comes to balancing my interests/managing time, but do you find that you have time to explore the city and go out on the weekends or do you feel more like observers blocked by the walls that law school puts up. i only ask bc of course if u can't participate in the village/downtown lifestyle, i imagine that life would be like a big tease (look but don't touch...)

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This completely depends on the person. There are type A people who go out quite a bit and type B people like me who occasionally study. You will have plenty of spare time either way.

[jpfrawg]

I was wondering if you guys would recommend/advice against any cell service providers?
I realize this seems like a silly question given the ridiculous cost of NYU in general, but I don't want to be locked into a two year contract that doesn't allow me to make phone calls from within/near the law school.

Also, I know this has been somewhat brought up in a different topic, but was having email on your phone worth the money?

Lastly, are there any residential neighborhoods in Manhattan you would specifically advise against?

[muse]

NYU is supposed to have a great international law focus- How easy would it be to set something up for an international summer internship (preferably something related to environmental or human rights law)? Do you guys know anyone whos done anything like that? Would that be easier to do in the summer after 1L or after 2L?

Also, a general question- As far as you know, is it easier for a recent law school graduate to start out working in big law and then get a great job in public interest a few years later, or is it easier to start out with the public interest route and then switch over to big law? in other words, which of those two routes is it more difficult to break into after having started down the other one...? does that make sense?

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[aguyingeorgia]

Email on phone - surprisingly worth it before law school, so I can only imagine it might be worth it there.

Verizon works really well in NYC, as does AT&T in most places. Verizon seems the provider of choice outside of those with I-phones.

[california_girl]

Another question about on-campus housing: are there any rules governing visitors? I am hoping to share a 2- or 3-bedroom in D'Ag or Mercer. My fiance will be in California until summer, but he hopes to be able to come out and visit for a couple weeks at a time (he's working on his dissertation). Provided that was ok with my apartmentmates (and I realize that, in itself, is a HUGE "what if") - are there any rules about visitors as far as the people in charge of housing are concerned? Would there be complications in terms of his ability to enter the building without my immediate presence?

[NYU2011]

You can get guest passes so your guest can enter the building without you, but I think if it's more than 3 nights you have to get special permission and no guest is ever allowed for more than a week. Honestly, having a guest for that long in these tiny apartments while you have roommates and are trying to get through 1L year is probably not a good idea, even if your roommates agree.

As for PI--biglaw, I'm not sure either is especially easier than the other. It seems that good PI jobs are much harder to land than biglaw jobs, so you could argue that it may be easier with a few years of legal experience under your belt. I have no idea how true this is actually is though.

[aguyingeorgia]

Another question about on-campus housing: are there any rules governing visitors? I am hoping to share a 2- or 3-bedroom in D'Ag or Mercer. My fiance will be in California until summer, but he hopes to be able to come out and visit for a couple weeks at a time (he's working on his dissertation). Provided that was ok with my apartmentmates (and I realize that, in itself, is a HUGE "what if") - are there any rules about visitors as far as the people in charge of housing are concerned? Would there be complications in terms of his ability to enter the building without my immediate presence?

There is actually a max on the number of times someone can stay in a row, and per month. It isn't exactly monitored closely, however.

[aguyingeorgia]

I have a question. Why is Ben's Pizza so faraway?

[aguyingeorgia]

Do the individual students each get to hold the Dean's Cup after the poundering NYU LAW put on Columbia this year?

[muse]

I have a question. Why is Ben's Pizza so faraway?

Ohh wait til you get to NYC. Best pizza is ALWAYS far away... and in Brooklyn.

[spondee]

Best pizza is ALWAYS in Brooklyn.

Amen.

[elisecolette]

Thanks for all the help and advice!

So getting a studio in Mercer or D'Ag is basically out of the question? How did your roommates situations work out? I'm also concerned about the living with a stranger thing and wondering if anyone has horror stories or if it usually works out well.

Also, does anyone who wants to do corporate law end up doing summer jobs/internships with a company's in-house legal department instead of with a firm? I'm interested in the Media/Entertainment side of IP/Corporate law and would love to work in-house for a big media or entertainment company and am wondering if you've heard of anyone doing something similar.

[spinsta]

Hey all;

NYU 1L taking questions. Had several years w/e prior to law school. Generally love it here, have been very involved. No idea on the admissions side but willing to answer anything else you may have. I live on campus but will probably be moving off next year and certainly as a 3L (not as an indictment of the housing, just because I am ready to not be living in a dorm anymore).

- DATB

People who commute from Brooklyn and Queens - where do they normal live? Like, in what neighborhoods?

[Lyrrad]

Thanks for all the help and advice!

So getting a studio in Mercer or D'Ag is basically out of the question? How did your roommates situations work out? I'm also concerned about the living with a stranger thing and wondering if anyone has horror stories or if it usually works out well.

Also, does anyone who wants to do corporate law end up doing summer jobs/internships with a company's in-house legal department instead of with a firm? I'm interested in the Media/Entertainment side of IP/Corporate law and would love to work in-house for a big media or entertainment company and am wondering if you've heard of anyone doing something similar.

I tried to get a studio first year, but I was unable to. They're in demand a lot. I managed to get one for second year, though I initially got a 2 bedroom apt, I had to wait until the "switch" period after it was too late to cancel in order to be able to switch to the better apartment.

My roommates are fine. I haven't really heard any horror stories from others. For the most part you're going to only have 1 roommate in Mercer. I'm unsure how the room distribution is in D'Ag.

[Lyrrad]

I know it was sort of asked earlier, but are there any NYU students around who are interested in IP? What has your experience been like? Do you feel like you can get good IP exposure at NYU?

I think so. I think there are two IP profs working at NYU this year (though it could be more, I haven't counted) , and they hired two more for next year. There seems to be a good selection of IP courses for next year.

There seems to be a good percentage of my classmates interested in IP. They also encourage you to sign up for a Patent job fair in Chicago at Loyola to apply for jobs during the summer before EIW.

[california_girl]

I'm interested in IP and did some research before committing to NYU class of 2012 (woohoo!). I spoke on the phone with 2 professors in IP, Prof. Rochelle Dreyfuss (who coordinates the whole IP program) and Herbert Schwartz, an adjunct professor who teaches seminars in patent litigation (and has 40+ years of experience in the field!). They both gave me the sense that IP is thriving and emphasized at NYU. Apparently it is often regarded as one of the best IP programs after Stanford and Berkeley. One of those profs mentioned that there are lots of opportunities for upper-level seminars, connections for summer positions, etc. The fact that they recruited two new faculty members this year suggests to me that the program is a priority for NYU.

[asaunde2]

are dag and mercer excessively "dormy" or is it basically just like renting any apartment, only one that happens to be owned by the law school? For example, lets talk about a hypothetical situation where a a hypothetical dag resident went out to a bar, met someone, and hypothetically wanted to bring them home (god forbid). Would they have to parade that person past some office at 2AM to get some sort of a visitors pass to allow them inside? Or to make it more general, how much does NYU regulate the personal life of its dag and mercer residents? Obviously and importantly, emphasis is placed on maintaining a quiet studying environment but i am apprehensive about moving into a place if it has even an echoe of the sort of privacy invasions typical of undergrad dorms.

[sophie316]

are dag and mercer excessively "dormy" or is it basically just like renting any apartment, only one that happens to be owned by the law school? For example, lets talk about a hypothetical situation where a a hypothetical dag resident went out to a bar, met someone, and hypothetically wanted to bring them home (god forbid). Would they have to parade that person past some office at 2AM to get some sort of a visitors pass to allow them inside? Or to make it more general, how much does NYU regulate the personal life of its dag and mercer residents? Obviously and importantly, emphasis is placed on maintaining a quiet studying environment but i am apprehensive about moving into a place if it has even an echoe of the sort of privacy invasions typical of undergrad dorms.

When I visited my friend living in D'Ag he just showed his ID to the security guard and said I was with him. I think the most that would be required would be signing them in, not getting a pass or anything. That said, what I saw of D'ag was VERY dormy in terms of size/furniture. If you're used to living in your own apt, the single bed/lack of common area/tiny kitchen/small room/dorm furniture may be a bit of an unpleasant adjustment. I decided I couldn't hack it and am gonna get an apt. But I don't think the school interferes at all with your life in terms of who you can and cannot bring into the building to stay over. Just have fun sleeping two people in a single bed!

[sophie316]

Also for peoples reference in general, check this out:

http://www.nofeerentals.com/apartments.asp

the 11 waverly place building with many studios in the $1500-$1700 range is like two blocks from mercer and almost the same price. no idea how legit it is, but I would imagine you wouldnt have trouble getting a studio for a comparable price within walking distance of the law school.

[Olto]

I've brought dozens of people, friends, out of towners, etc. to D'Ag and no one even knew it was a dorm until I told them. They thought it was an apartment building. So, no, your bar and soon to be bed-mate won't think you're bringing her back to some dorm unless you tell her.

As for nofeerentals.com - 11 Waverly is, in my humble opinion, disgusting. I used to live there and I would not recommend it to anyone. Yes, it has a doorman, but the rooms themselves are old and decrepit with tiny bathrooms that haven't been renovated in literally fifty years. The one caveat to all of this is if you live on one of the newly renovated floors - apparently they've been renovating from the top down for the past year or so. Unless it's one of those, which are also probably more expensive, I would NOT recommend this place. PM me if you want any further details or I can recommend you to a broker who will be trustworthy, not charge a fee, etc.

[FutureProsecutor]

are dag and mercer excessively "dormy" or is it basically just like renting any apartment, only one that happens to be owned by the law school? For example, lets talk about a hypothetical situation where a a hypothetical dag resident went out to a bar, met someone, and hypothetically wanted to bring them home (god forbid). Would they have to parade that person past some office at 2AM to get some sort of a visitors pass to allow them inside? Or to make it more general, how much does NYU regulate the personal life of its dag and mercer residents? Obviously and importantly, emphasis is placed on maintaining a quiet studying environment but i am apprehensive about moving into a place if it has even an echoe of the sort of privacy invasions typical of undergrad dorms.

Hah! When I lived in Dag 1L year, whenever we threw a party about half of my non-law-school friends were able to get in some how without even contacting me. I'm pretty sure you could just take out your wallet and make a motion like you're showing an ID card and that'd work. If you're walking in with people, they won't even care.

[elisecolette]

are dag and mercer excessively "dormy" or is it basically just like renting any apartment, only one that happens to be owned by the law school? For example, lets talk about a hypothetical situation where a a hypothetical dag resident went out to a bar, met someone, and hypothetically wanted to bring them home (god forbid). Would they have to parade that person past some office at 2AM to get some sort of a visitors pass to allow them inside? Or to make it more general, how much does NYU regulate the personal life of its dag and mercer residents? Obviously and importantly, emphasis is placed on maintaining a quiet studying environment but i am apprehensive about moving into a place if it has even an echoe of the sort of privacy invasions typical of undergrad dorms.

Hah! When I lived in Dag 1L year, whenever we threw a party about half of my non-law-school friends were able to get in some how without even contacting me. I'm pretty sure you could just take out your wallet and make a motion like you're showing an ID card and that'd work. If you're walking in with people, they won't even care.

not too many complaints from roommates/neighbors for lots of parties throws??

and, do they really care if you remove any of the furniture? I don't know if it's actually even possible but in my UG dorms the unofficial policy was that you could take something out as long as you brought it back by the time you moved out

[elisecolette]

Also, does anyone know who wrote this: http://www.top-law-schools.com/success- ... chool.html and if it's a real person and if so, how to get in touch with him/her?