The University of Chicago Law School Class of 2018 Forum

[warpedrevolution]

Any word on when we can expect to get our travel reimbursement cheques?

The form said they should arrive in June if I remember correctly.

[03282016]

[slurpy]

Any word on when we can expect to get our travel reimbursement cheques?

I got mine yesterday.

[warpedrevolution]

Any word on when we can expect to get our travel reimbursement cheques?

The form said they should arrive in June if I remember correctly.

Do we know when? I may need to update my address.

I think I remember the form saying to put in a good address through June. They'll probably send them out earlier, but you can most likely call them and ask if your address is going to change in June.

On another note, I am committed to Chicago as well.

[AOT]

Any word on when we can expect to get our travel reimbursement cheques?

The form said they should arrive in June if I remember correctly.

Ah, great. Thanks!

[zhenders]

Did anyone else hear back today about scholarship negotiation? I asked for a modest bump and received it (even after committing); I'm absolutely elated.

[slurpy]

Did anyone else hear back today about scholarship negotiation? I asked for a modest bump and received it (even after committing); I'm absolutely elated.

Was this the first time you asked for an increase? My first (pre-commitment) appeal was denied, but I've been thinking about asking again. Anyone else who has experience with a second request, I'd love to hear your experience. PM is fine if you're more comfortable with that.

[zhenders]

Did anyone else hear back today about scholarship negotiation? I asked for a modest bump and received it (even after committing); I'm absolutely elated.

Was this the first time you asked for an increase? My first (pre-commitment) appeal was denied, but I've been thinking about asking again. Anyone else who has experience with a second request, I'd love to hear your experience. PM is fine if you're more comfortable with that.

First appeal; I was a late applicant and a late admit; PM'd with more info.

[zhenders]

Hey all, what are your car plans/opinions on bringing a car vs. not?

I've gotten really mixed reviews from the people I've spoken with -- and even the giant UofC questions thread doesn't really seem clear. On the one hand I'd really like to get by without one -- but I can't tell if the people who say Hyde Park is close to "car necessary" are coming from a position of having tried it and realizing it legitimately wasn't feasible, or more from a position of "I can't imagine doing it/it seems impossible, therefore don't do it" kind of place.

It strikes me, for instance, that for many people, walking around/commuting in Hyde Park for things like groceries probably just sounds frightening for many people who may not have grown up doing so in large cities/dodgy neighborhoods. What do you all think?

[Un Chien Andalou]

Hey all, what are your car plans/opinions on bringing a car vs. not?

I've gotten really mixed reviews from the people I've spoken with -- and even the giant UofC questions thread doesn't really seem clear. On the one hand I'd really like to get by without one -- but I can't tell if the people who say Hyde Park is close to "car necessary" are coming from a position of having tried it and realizing it legitimately wasn't feasible, or more from a position of "I can't imagine doing it/it seems impossible, therefore don't do it" kind of place.

It strikes me, for instance, that for many people, walking around/commuting in Hyde Park for things like groceries probably just sounds frightening for many people who may not have grown up doing so in large cities/dodgy neighborhoods. What do you all think?

It's not necessary at all. I'm not sure where you heard otherwise, but that's almost certainly not the general sentiment in the main questions thread. If you don't want to bring a car then don't do it.

[beepboopbeep]

Yea, you really don't need one. Hyde Park is safe for walking and things aren't that far apart; while CTA sucks in its own special way, most stuff you'll want to get to uptown is no more than an hour away. I've lived here since 2007 and haven't had a car. Also echoing UCA's reaction--I've never heard it called car-necessary. The vast, vast majority of people I've known here either in lawl school or undergrad did not have a car.

Also, for the times that walking/CTA won't cut it, Uber exists.

[zhenders]

Awesome, thanks!

[skers]

Yeah, you definitely don't need a car. There are some restaurants and stuff that are a bit off the beaten path that it's more convenient to get to by car, but CTA is pretty solid.

[UC2018]

Hi everyone- I'm a male class of 2018 student looking for a roommate. Would prefer someone a year or two (or more) out of undergrad but that's not a deal breaker. I don't smoke or have pets but if you do that's not necessarily a deal breaker either. Send me a PM if interested and we can see if we click. Thanks!

[03282016]

[whodatninja]

Checking in!

Also, what has everyone heard, good/bad, about living in Scholar's Corner? MAC and TLC don't exactly have glowing reviews on places like Yelp...

[beepboopbeep]

Checking in!

Also, what has everyone heard, good/bad, about living in Scholar's Corner? MAC and TLC don't exactly have glowing reviews on places like Yelp...

I live there, as do 2-3 other people in my year. It's totally awesome every day of the year except for the days I have to do laundry (fresh in my mind because today was one of those days). It's a lot of space for the price and the apartments have a lot of charm to them, unlike the overly-sanitized ones in Regents/etc.

TLC is organized in kind of a balkanized way such that your experience living in one of its buildings will depend quite significantly on how competent the particular building manager is. Luckily, the one at Scholar's is super awesome and keeps everything in great shape. Maintenance is responsive if you need some work done, and the office hours are pretty good for getting packages and whatnot. The only negatives for me are the aforementioned laundry room, the pretty small workout room (which... you'll have a Ratner membership anyway, so just use that), and the fact that the stoves are electric rather than gas.

Anyway, I've lived here since 2011 and like the building quite a bit. Can send pictures if you'd like. The one thing I'll say is to check at regular intervals as the summer goes on for vacancies - the sense I've gotten is that there's not much turnover, most of the tenants are families / real people with jobs who stay here for years, so there's often only one or two apartments available (which may or may not be what you're looking for). I also tend to think the 1 bedrooms are a better value here than the studios - mine is ~$940 for a really big 1BR on the northwest corner of the building (so city view + partial lake), whereas the studios are like $750-800 for about half the space.

[zhenders]

Hey all, I posted a similar question in the big questions thread, but I thought I'd ask here, because I'm sure the info would be helpful to all of us, if anyone has some knowledge on this:

Does anyone know what the deal is (time obligation, location, etc) with the big orientation thing starting on September 14th? I just took on some big work-related stuff which would run through the 20th or so, and just to make sure there weren't any conflicts I called the school; they wouldn't give me any specifics, but told me that 1Ls had to be available starting on September 14th "all day every day".

Anyone know things?

Edit: a partial answer to my own question -- I'm certain many of you will find this article interesting! It's long, and all about the Kapnick orientation program. Still though, if anyone has insight with regards to evening time obligations, I'm super-interested!

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/maga ... 15/kapnick

[UofCforme]

Hey all, I posted a similar question in the big questions thread, but I thought I'd ask here, because I'm sure the info would be helpful to all of us, if anyone has some knowledge on this:

Does anyone know what the deal is (time obligation, location, etc) with the big orientation thing starting on September 14th? I just took on some big work-related stuff which would run through the 20th or so, and just to make sure there weren't any conflicts I called the school; they wouldn't give me any specifics, but told me that 1Ls had to be available starting on September 14th "all day every day".

Anyone know things?

Edit: a partial answer to my own question -- I'm certain many of you will find this article interesting! It's long, and all about the Kapnick orientation program. Still though, if anyone has insight with regards to evening time obligations, I'm super-interested!

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/maga ... 15/kapnick

Assuming it is like last year, the only time you will have evening conflicts is during the Kapnick retreat and for a big dinner they put on every year at the end of orientation. That's it as far as evening time constraints, but you should expect to be consistently busy throughout orientation during the day.

I know orientation is lengthy and seems mostly unnecessary, but it really is pretty great to be able to walk in to your first day of class and to already be friends with most of your section. Makes the whole thing much less nerve wracking. Also, the retreat is pretty fun.

[zhenders]

Hey all, I posted a similar question in the big questions thread, but I thought I'd ask here, because I'm sure the info would be helpful to all of us, if anyone has some knowledge on this:

Does anyone know what the deal is (time obligation, location, etc) with the big orientation thing starting on September 14th? I just took on some big work-related stuff which would run through the 20th or so, and just to make sure there weren't any conflicts I called the school; they wouldn't give me any specifics, but told me that 1Ls had to be available starting on September 14th "all day every day".

Anyone know things?

Edit: a partial answer to my own question -- I'm certain many of you will find this article interesting! It's long, and all about the Kapnick orientation program. Still though, if anyone has insight with regards to evening time obligations, I'm super-interested!

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/maga ... 15/kapnick

Assuming it is like last year, the only time you will have evening conflicts is during the Kapnick retreat and for a big dinner they put on every year at the end of orientation. That's it as far as evening time constraints, but you should expect to be consistently busy throughout orientation during the day.

I know orientation is lengthy and seems mostly unnecessary, but it really is pretty great to be able to walk in to your first day of class and to already be friends with most of your section. Makes the whole thing much less nerve wracking. Also, the retreat is pretty fun.

Thanks! It sounds great, yes; I'm looking forward to it -- it sounds like an excellent idea and a great way to build the class before day 1. Thanks for the input wrt the evenings, too -- that's exactly what I was looking for.

[RustyRyan]

Wait we have two weeks of orientation? I hadn't checked the exact dates, but I assumed we had a week max before classes started.

Two weeks is... a lot.

[slurpy]

Has anyone had any luck getting in touch with MAC leasing agents? I've been calling and emailing for almost two weeks and haven't received any meaningful assistance. I've gathered that there's a "wait list" for people who want to move in in September, but no one has gotten back to me about what this actually means.

[daedalus2309]

I dropped in an app with MAC. I've heard nothing, but every once in a while they'll email me about a package that "I" recieved and can pick up at Shoreland's front desk. I have a fairly common name so I guess they have me mixed up.

tl;dr: Shoreland is bad at communicating.

[sheishkabob]

Has anyone not received their travel subsidy checks yet? Wondering if I should call...

[warpedrevolution]

Has anyone not received their travel subsidy checks yet? Wondering if I should call...

I received mine late last week. I'm not sure how they were processing them, but my last name is in the middle of the alphabet and I live on the west coast, in case either of those were a factor. They said to expect them in June IIRC, so I wouldn't be too worried for another couple of weeks.