Penn Students Taking Questions Forum

[biggamejames]

Philadelphia in general is a shithole, but Penn's in a nice part of it.

I feel exactly the opposite - although, to be fair, Penn's area wouldn't be so annoying if it wasn't full of Penn undergrads.

[riccardo426]

I have a hypothetical question: If accepted to both Harvard and Penn and interested primarily in working for a major law firm or the federal government, would it be crazy to go to Penn (if a number of personal factors point in that direction, i.e. originally from Philadelphia and family still there, significant other of six years getting a very lucrative job in Philadelphia, etc.)?

Are the job prospects similar enough to justify turning down the prestige of Harvard? I think I might be in this situation, as I received a JR1 very early (a good sign, though definitely not a sure thing). I am really interested in hearing the take of some Penn students.

Even if they don't give you a Levy, tell them that you are down to P and H and ask for some $$$ to push you over.

[calawbiz]

This thread is awesome. Penn's one of my top picks, should I be so fortunate as to have options. Would any Penn students mind explaining why Penn has cohorts? How large are 1L classes? What about LRW - how large are classes and what are LRW class meetings like?

[kurla88]

This thread is awesome. Penn's one of my top picks, should I be so fortunate as to have options. Would any Penn students mind explaining why Penn has cohorts? How large are 1L classes? What about LRW - how large are classes and what are LRW class meetings like?

Cohort = your 15 people legal writing section that meets weekly. It's meant to be your support group etc etc but really you just make friends with whoever.

1L sections are about 70-80 students (for your main classes plus the big legal writing which doesn't meet very often), I believe, and one of your classes (this year it was Torts) will be split up into two groups.

[calawbiz]

This thread is awesome. Penn's one of my top picks, should I be so fortunate as to have options. Would any Penn students mind explaining why Penn has cohorts? How large are 1L classes? What about LRW - how large are classes and what are LRW class meetings like?

Cohort = your 15 people legal writing section that meets weekly. It's meant to be your support group etc etc but really you just make friends with whoever.

1L sections are about 70-80 students (for your main classes plus the big legal writing which doesn't meet very often), I believe, and one of your classes (this year it was Torts) will be split up into two groups.

Thanks, kurla! I couldn't find that info on the Penn website, so I really appreciate your response. Do you know why one required course is split in half? Do you take all of your classes with the people from your cohort?

Edit: just thought of more questions and didn't want to post twice in a row.
-How often do 1L courses meet during the week, and for how long?
-Is there any difference in the number of hours spent in a 4-credit class versus a 3-credit class?

[Georgiana]

This thread is awesome. Penn's one of my top picks, should I be so fortunate as to have options. Would any Penn students mind explaining why Penn has cohorts? How large are 1L classes? What about LRW - how large are classes and what are LRW class meetings like?

Cohort = your 15 people legal writing section that meets weekly. It's meant to be your support group etc etc but really you just make friends with whoever.

1L sections are about 70-80 students (for your main classes plus the big legal writing which doesn't meet very often), I believe, and one of your classes (this year it was Torts) will be split up into two groups.

Thanks, kurla! I couldn't find that info on the Penn website, so I really appreciate your response. Do you know why one required course is split in half? Do you take all of your classes with the people from your cohort?

They like to have one doctrinal class be smaller so that you can bond with faculty/students etc. I think it'll probably always be contracts or torts since we have the highest number of professors capable of teaching those (as burbank says "you can learn torts in a day"). We have 4 regular civ pro profs and usually at least 1 prop professor is a visiting prof. To answer your other question, yes, people in your cohort are in all of your courses until electives 2nd semester.

[DelDad]

For us it was ConLaw that got split up - worked well for discussions. None of our 1st semester classes were split into two subsections.

[Ken]

Penn is a great law school I seriously considered attending and has amazing students like DelDad (a TLS veteran when TLS was much smaller) and Georgiana amongst the many other great Penn students posting here. I hope to have interviews posted in about 2 weeks and will then update and greatly expand the Penn profile with feedback from everyone in this thread willing to talk about their Penn experience.

[Georgiana]

Penn is a great law school I seriously considered attending and has amazing students like DelDad (a TLS veteran when TLS was much smaller) and Georgiana amongst the many other great Penn students posting here. I hope to have interviews posted in about 2 weeks and will then update and greatly expand the Penn profile with feedback from everyone in this thread willing to talk about their Penn experience.

Thanks Ken

I'm definitely willing to help out whenever you need it!

[rm21]

.

[Georgiana]

OK - hypothetical has become a reality. Into Harvard, but Penn still first choice. Anything I can do to help my chances at receiving a scholarship? I have one recommendation that I submitted to HLS, but not to Penn. Can I submit it this late in the game?

I doubt the rec is going to get you money. Have you heard from Penn yet? I'm assuming you haven't in which case I would wait it out and see what happens. Penn won't be sending out money offers for a bit and its really really early in the game. You would be leveraging other awards/acceptances until Feb-Mar timeframe And maybe you'll hear about a possible Levy...

Congrats on HLS though!! Gives you a lot to think about I'm sure

[tumbleweed664]

Penn is a great law school I seriously considered attending and has amazing students like DelDad (a TLS veteran when TLS was much smaller) and Georgiana amongst the many other great Penn students posting here. I hope to have interviews posted in about 2 weeks and will then update and greatly expand the Penn profile with feedback from everyone in this thread willing to talk about their Penn experience.

As someone who may being picking between MVP, this is great! Also, it will be interesting to see school profiles taken after this year's job search and OCI.

[CCA]

This thread is awesome. Penn's one of my top picks, should I be so fortunate as to have options. Would any Penn students mind explaining why Penn has cohorts? How large are 1L classes? What about LRW - how large are classes and what are LRW class meetings like?

Cohort = your 15 people legal writing section that meets weekly. It's meant to be your support group etc etc but really you just make friends with whoever.

1L sections are about 70-80 students (for your main classes plus the big legal writing which doesn't meet very often), I believe, and one of your classes (this year it was Torts) will be split up into two groups.

Thanks, kurla! I couldn't find that info on the Penn website, so I really appreciate your response. Do you know why one required course is split in half? Do you take all of your classes with the people from your cohort?

Edit: just thought of more questions and didn't want to post twice in a row.
-How often do 1L courses meet during the week, and for how long?
-Is there any difference in the number of hours spent in a 4-credit class versus a 3-credit class?

The 4 main 1L courses in the first semester meet 3x/week and always 75 minutes each. Legal writing once or twice a week (the small section almost always meets) and the length varies depending on how fast your instructor is.

The lower credit classes (the 1L second semester electives) only meet twice a week.

[sperry]

Penn 2 and 3Ls, when did grades for you guys come out 1L year?

[Georgiana]

Penn 2 and 3Ls, when did grades for you guys come out 1L year?

I don't know for sure, but most were released late Jan/early Feb. Some profs too longer and people were waiting into March.

Don't get your hopes up for getting them before the 2nd or 3rd week of next semester.

[sperry]

Penn 2 and 3Ls, when did grades for you guys come out 1L year?

I don't know for sure, but most were released late Jan/early Feb. Some profs too longer and people were waiting into March.

Don't get your hopes up for getting them before the 2nd or 3rd week of next semester.

Wow that's pretty miserable. Not that I think this is going to happen, but if I got straight C's this semester I wouldn't want to waste money on a second semesters tuition.


Anyhow, do all the grades come out at once, or do they come out as soon as each individual professor finishes them and the curve is applied?

[DelDad]

Yes; grade for each class are released as the professor finishes them. Had my Contracts grade before everything else, and my Civ Pro grade was the last come in in mid February.

[Georgiana]

Yes; grade for each class are released as the professor finishes them. Had my Contracts grade before everything else, and my Civ Pro grade was the last come in in mid February.

From what I remember about 1L grades (according to the registrar) they wait until a certain date and then release what they have. After that, they release them when they get them. This seems about right IMO because I got 3 grades in 1 day and then my last grade about a week or two later.

[violaboy]

Where do most law students live if they don't live in on campus housing?

[Georgiana]

Where do most law students live if they don't live in on campus housing?

It really depends on what you're looking for. Some people like the low stress option of just living in Sansom because its close to school and you don't have to worry about furniture and subletting for summers. If people don't live in Sansom they scatter throughout the city. UC is cheaper but CC is "nicer." Some people want to live in brownstone walk ups, others want to live in high rises with doormen. There are lots of options. You can spend anywhere from $500/month total to over $2,000. Philly is a pretty diverse place for housing. Also, people with families tend to live out in the burbs and commute in.

[riccardo426]

Don't live in Sansom. If proximity is your number one concern, there are a number of good housing options around campus that aren't that much farther away (The Stratrum on 36th, Domus, Powelton Village, etc).

[Georgiana]

Don't live in Sansom. If proximity is your number one concern, there are a number of good housing options around campus that aren't that much farther away (The Stratrum on 36th, Domus, Powelton Village, etc).

I agree, Sansom is not a place you want to live, but it makes a lot of sense for some people (e.g. if you don't want to buy furniture). There's also the Radian right up the street which is furnished. Stratum is furnished but there's no kitchen, they have a dining hall type thing...

[violaboy]

I will have furniture, etc. and want a year-round place. Powelton looks nice. Assuming that CC is City Center, I probably don't want to live over there unless there's a direct bus or subway line. And UC is University City? Where does that entail exactly? Also, is there a subway in Philly?

[Georgiana]

I will have furniture, etc. and want a year-round place. Powelton looks nice. Assuming that CC is City Center, I probably don't want to live over there unless there's a direct bus or subway line. And UC is University City? Where does that entail exactly? Also, is there a subway in Philly?

SEPTA is the bus/subway system.

There's a bus that runs directly up Walnut street so as long as you live walking distance to Walnut getting to school is easy. You can check the subway too (it runs on Market and Broad), I don't know too much about it since I always take the bus. UC is basically anything in West Philly (above 30th St.). I know more abt CC housing than UC since I've been in CC since I moved here.

[kurla88]

I will have furniture, etc. and want a year-round place. Powelton looks nice. Assuming that CC is City Center, I probably don't want to live over there unless there's a direct bus or subway line. And UC is University City? Where does that entail exactly? Also, is there a subway in Philly?

Depending on where you live in CC, you can probably walk/bike to school. I'm on the UC/CC border, technically in CC, and it takes me less than 15 minutes to walk. There's also trolleys and such if you're a little farther away, but I don't know too much about them.