Illinois Law 1L Taking Questions Forum

[Ludo!]

Yeah there's plenty of cheap housing to be found in nice neighborhoods. Especially if you live with roomates. 1l is basically the single most important year in terms of your professional future, you might as well live somewhere comfortable.

[tmon]

Thanks for opinions guys. I get the feeling that the options there should be fine, especially coming from a large city and having to be the person who tries to convince the rest of his family that "city" does not equal "people trying to beat you up for your money on every block." As long as people aren't breaking my windows for my stuff and I can walk the sidewalks without fearing for my life, I'm probably fine with it.

[DoctorShawHi]

Thanks for opinions guys. I get the feeling that the options there should be fine, especially coming from a large city and having to be the person who tries to convince the rest of his family that "city" does not equal "people trying to beat you up for your money on every block." As long as people aren't breaking my windows for my stuff and I can walk the sidewalks without fearing for my life, I'm probably fine with it.

it's a college town. they'll break your windows because they're drunk. not for your stuff.

[diegoforlan10]

Can some current students comment on how valuable it is to have a garage in Champaign? I'm wondering whether or not it's worth it to pay to have a garage in the Windsor West apartments. Should I pay extra for the garage (which I assume I wouldn't split with my roommate if I'm the only one with a car) or is the "carport" good enough there? Is it easy to find parking at WW if you don't have a garage? Thanks for your input.

[oldtimer]

Can some current students comment on how valuable it is to have a garage in Champaign? I'm wondering whether or not it's worth it to pay to have a garage in the Windsor West apartments. Should I pay extra for the garage (which I assume I wouldn't split with my roommate if I'm the only one with a car) or is the "carport" good enough there? Is it easy to find parking at WW if you don't have a garage? Thanks for your input.

To me, it's a must, but it really depends on what kind of car you drive, whether you have a bike (motorcycle) and whether or not you might have toolboxes, etc. that generally are stored in a garage and would be difficult to store inside an apartment.

The area in which I live is considered "safe" and family friendly, etc, but I won't leave my car or bike outside. My wife's car has sat outside on occasion, but right now, since we have a two car garage, it's not an issue. Next year, if we downsize, her car will sit outside regularly. It's nice, but it's noting "special" and it's insured and easily replaceable. My car, on the other hand, is not. (easily replaceable).

The answer is really dependent upon your particular situation, but for me, a minimum one car garage is imperative and a 2 car garage is a strong desire, but not a deal breaker.

[blurbz]

Can some current students comment on how valuable it is to have a garage in Champaign? I'm wondering whether or not it's worth it to pay to have a garage in the Windsor West apartments. Should I pay extra for the garage (which I assume I wouldn't split with my roommate if I'm the only one with a car) or is the "carport" good enough there? Is it easy to find parking at WW if you don't have a garage? Thanks for your input.

For me, not valuable at all. It doesn't snow much here and I've had no other problems leaving my car in a parking lot.

[oldtimer]

Can some current students comment on how valuable it is to have a garage in Champaign? I'm wondering whether or not it's worth it to pay to have a garage in the Windsor West apartments. Should I pay extra for the garage (which I assume I wouldn't split with my roommate if I'm the only one with a car) or is the "carport" good enough there? Is it easy to find parking at WW if you don't have a garage? Thanks for your input.

For me, not valuable at all. It doesn't snow much here and I've had no other problems leaving my car in a parking lot.

Well, that's relative and fairly inconsistent (as is all weather in this part of the country).

It didn't snow much this year, to me, but I'm from the midwest and it was an incredibly mild winter in general.
Next year??? Your guess is as good as ours, but as compared to the majority of the country (Alaska not included, of course) we tend to generally get a decent amount of "winter weather."

Again, it's really more of a personal call, Diego. Kinda hard for us to tell you what you think having a garage will be worth, but I have a feeling you'll have a pretty good idea what you'll want in your 2L/3L digs after you spend a year here...

[blurbz]

Eh, the average snowfall here is significantly less than the average I was used to. Sure, it's relative: that's why I said "For me... ."

If scraping snow or ice off of your car a few days a week is a hassle, a garage will be more important. If you have a car that is truly invaluable, a garage will be important. If you leave your social security card and credit cards in your car, a garage will be important. If your ride has ever been pimped by Xzibit, a garage will be important to you.

I stand by what I said because it answered the OP's question of whether or not garages are important to current students: Even if we have a terrible, no good, rotten winter next year, a garage will be of little importance to me. I don't leave sensitive materials in my car. I don't have tools or boxes I keep them in. I don't ride a scooter. If any of those things were different, a garage would be more important to me.

I think we can agree that it depends on the person. Result: I think the best advice is simply: If a garage is important to you where you live now (or it would be if the weather were similar) it will continue to be important here.

Edit2: I'm an idiot.


Edit: just checked--average snowfall for my hometown is more than 2x average snowfall in Champaign. If you're winter-weather adverse, take my advice with a grain of salt (also, salt melts ice--something the Champaign street crews seem to not be able to comprehend).

[mattviphky]

I've never had a garage (my own garage space, I mean), so I'm not missing anything. This winter was mild btw, although I heard there were record lows in Europe. But last year was pretty tragic here, I think people were calling it "snow-mageddon".

[blurbz]

I've never had a garage (my own garage space, I mean), so I'm not missing anything. This winter was mild btw, although I heard there were record lows in Europe. But last year was pretty tragic here, I think people were calling it "snow-mageddon".

Hahah yeah, we got like a whole foot in a night I guess that's a big deal when street crews don't bother to prep the roads and snow plows don't actually plow snow...but we got a day or two off for it, so I'm not opposed.

[Ludo!]

I've never felt like I needed a garage and I'd never lived in a place that snowed before I moved here. The worst that happened to me was my car got stuck in the snow twice 1l year. Protip: befriend someone who has lived in snow before. Even last year when Chicago had that massive blizzard champaign didn't get hit very bad.

That said, I never had a choice. If I did I might spring for the garage just to avoid the five minutes of window scraping.

[tmon]

This winter was awesome in the Midwest. Probably can't expect it to be like that every year, but I'll hope.

[diegoforlan10]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I have a 7 year old Jetta which, while I love it to death, isn't necessarily the type of car that needs to be stored in a garage. Where I come from (mid-atlantic) we have pretty serious winters, and I'm used to scraping ice and having to dig my car out of it's parking spot. I guess all these southerners/westerners had me paranoid that Champaign was more like Alaska than Baltimore, so I didn't know what to think. It looks like having a garage is really not that big of a deal. I'll ask the Windsor West people to clarify what the parking situation is like there. Unless its really draconian, I doubt I'll end up paying the extra $80/mo for a garage. Thanks for the advice!

[tmon]

Neurotic 0L question time.

I have a Macbook. Just happened to see that the admitted students site recommends Windows. Are there any issues I should be aware of with a Mac? Exam software complications or anything?

[blurbz]

Neurotic 0L question time.

I have a Macbook. Just happened to see that the admitted students site recommends Windows. Are there any issues I should be aware of with a Mac? Exam software complications or anything?

Nope. Many people have macs and have no problems. Examsoft works with both.

[oldtimer]

Neurotic 0L question time.

I have a Macbook. Just happened to see that the admitted students site recommends Windows. Are there any issues I should be aware of with a Mac? Exam software complications or anything?

Nope. Many people have macs and have no problems. Examsoft works with both.

This. ^^^^^^

I'm a Mac and the only issue I've had thus far is with printing to Bart and Lisa in the basement. (Those are the "names" of our network printers... don't ask me why)

I'm told by Tyler, the resident tech dude, that it's an OSX Lion only issue at this point, but supposedly some folks have figured out a work around even with Lion.

The Lexis and Westlaw printers work fine though and they're free, so more often than not, those are the printers you'll be using at the law school.

[DoctorShawHi]

who are some of the toughest 1l professors?

[Ludo!]

who are some of the toughest 1l professors?

I don't think any professors are "tough". I can think of one who is "bad" but none are particularly more difficult than the others. And if they were, then that's good because of the curve. Some are tougher during socratic method than others; profs from my 1l year Etienne and Smith asked tough questions and didn't really allow passing. But they were also two of my favorite professors. If you're talking just about who had a tough final, Tabb gave a 4 hour contracts final that was brutal. But mostly because of the length not the difficulty. Honestly, the material in law school is not that hard. It's the curve that's unforgiving

[tmon]

They assign profs/class times for 1Ls though right? In August?

[Ludo!]

They assign profs/class times for 1Ls though right? In August?

Yeah, you don't get a choice. 1l year all your classes, profs and times are assigned.

e: and yeah I think you find out a week or two before school starts

[oldtimer]

who are some of the toughest 1l professors?

I don't think any professors are "tough". I can think of one who is "bad" but none are particularly more difficult than the others. And if they were, then that's good because of the curve. Some are tougher during socratic method than others; profs from my 1l year Etienne and Smith asked tough questions and didn't really allow passing. But they were also two of my favorite professors. If you're talking just about who had a tough final, Tabb gave a 4 hour contracts final that was brutal. But mostly because of the length not the difficulty. Honestly, the material in law school is not that hard. It's the curve that's unforgiving

I have a feeling I had the misfortune of having that particular Prof.


And I agree... (partly). The material is not easy by any stretch... but it is absolutely the curve that can turn an excellent student into a mediocre one with little regard for one's potential success in the eventual practice of law.

1L grades mean everything and nothing at the same time. But unfortunately, they mean everything to *most* of the firms willing to pay what it takes to dig yourself out of the mountain of debt that you'll likely accrue at U of I Law.

I say most, because there are exceptions, but don't expect to stumble into them at OCI without the magical "Top x% gpa"... and don't expect to land a job with one without having something other than grades to sell yourself on your resume and in the interviews.

And speaking of OCI and the OCS in general... don't come here expecting them to find you a job (or even help in most cases) because it's not likely to happen either, but that's not to say that the opportunities aren't out there, because if you do the work (networking, etc.) you'll find them.

All that said... Don't let any negativity you hear on this board get to you too much... Keep in mind, we're all law students who, for the most part, hate life right about now (finals week), but you don't see any of us bailing out, *yet* so there must be something good keeping us here

[tmon]

Maybe this has been discussed, but out of curiosity how true does this seem?

[blurbz]

Maybe this has been discussed, but out of curiosity how true does this seem?

Hahahahha I'd not seen that. Probably true for me, at least until the week before exams.


But there are definitely some people who open and close the library. Hard to say for sure...

[diegoforlan10]

Maybe this has been discussed, but out of curiosity how true does this seem?

Hahaha wow that's significantly below everyone else! Whatever, I'd rather be part of a more relaxed student body anyway.

[Ludo!]

Proud to be a part of that. Illinois does have a very noncompetitive atmosphere, maybe that's part of it.