Vanderbilt Law School - Class of 2020

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Anyone staying at the Scarritt Bennett Center next week?

Yeah, I'll be there on Saturday night.

[pizzagoblin]

Anyone get a merit award interview?

[tuesdayninja]

Anyone staying at the Scarritt Bennett Center next week?

Yeah, I'll be there on Saturday night.

I'm there Thursday and Friday, headed back to Chicago Saturday.

[ray.bee]

Who else is going to optional events on Thursday evening of ASP? So excited to visit/get all that free food! lol

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

I was planning on going to the ASW in April but it seems like the majority of people are going to the one in March

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Who else is going to optional events on Thursday evening of ASP? So excited to visit/get all that free food! lol

I'll be doing all three, as long as my flight cooperates. I'm gonna have to pace myself between all the food and booze.

[ray.bee]

Who else is going to optional events on Thursday evening of ASP? So excited to visit/get all that free food! lol

I'll be doing all three, as long as my flight cooperates. I'm gonna have to pace myself between all the food and booze.

LOL, same.

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

Anyone else going to the New York Accepted Students Reception tonight? Hoping it doesn't get blizzard-ed out..

[Litt1tUp]

Anyone wanna hit up some bars on Friday night??

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Anyone wanna hit up some bars on Friday night??

I'm down. Time to make a dent in that Obiter Dictum "to-do" list.

[cakewalk]

I was planning on going to the ASW in April but it seems like the majority of people are going to the one in March

I'm going to the April event.

[cakewalk]

Anyone have any ideas where they're living? Trying to scope out some potentials to check out during Admitted Students Weekend.

Same. I was looking online and I really liked the Metropolitan but pretty much everywhere I looked I would need a roommate and Idk where to start looking.

[tuesdayninja]

Anyone wanna hit up some bars on Friday night??

I'm down. Time to make a dent in that Obiter Dictum "to-do" list.

I'm down to hop around, never been to Nashville so this is like a mini vacay.

[Litt1tUp]

Anyone wanna hit up some bars on Friday night??

I'm down. Time to make a dent in that Obiter Dictum "to-do" list.

I'm down to hop around, never been to Nashville so this is like a mini vacay.

It's a must that we go to bars now that I realized it's st Patrick's day on Friday lol

[tuesdayninja]

Anyone wanna hit up some bars on Friday night??

I'm down. Time to make a dent in that Obiter Dictum "to-do" list.

I'm down to hop around, never been to Nashville so this is like a mini vacay.

It's a must that we go to bars now that I realized it's st Patrick's day on Friday lol

Oh god I just did St Patty's here in Chicago last Friday. Turn uppppp

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Just got an e-mail from one of Vandy's adcomms saying the dinner on Thursday I mentioned before got cancelled, so it's just the reception followed by bar review. Makes sense.

[imtca]

If you guys are going to the law firm reception Thursday night, are you going to be wearing suits?

[Gitaroo_Dude]

If you guys are going to the law firm reception Thursday night, are you going to be wearing suits?

Yeah, the e-mail yesterday recommended business attire so I'm bringing a suit. Kinda sucks, 'cause now I have to check on a bag.

[imtca]

If you guys are going to the law firm reception Thursday night, are you going to be wearing suits?

Yeah, the e-mail yesterday recommended business attire so I'm bringing a suit. Kinda sucks, 'cause now I have to check on a bag.

oh damn, I just looked at that and business casual for Friday, that's surprising. Damn, now I'm gonna have to bring more than I expected to haha

[pizzagoblin]

Those of you here for ASW, what's your take on Nashville as a city itself? Loving the school and the people, but didn't vibe with the city at bar review. (May just be because I live in NYC.)

[Litt1tUp]

Those of you here for ASW, what's your take on Nashville as a city itself? Loving the school and the people, but didn't vibe with the city at bar review. (May just be because I live in NYC.)

Yeah... so far I'm not really vibing that well with a lot of things... we'll see how today goes!

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I missed the reception and didn't get to Bar Review til after 11, but I'm enjoying what I've seen so far. I like the people and my student host is awesome. Will have a stronger opinion after today.

Anyone still up to to go out after the program tonight?

[ray.bee]

Hey y'all! I was too sick to attend ASP How is it??

[pizzagoblin]

Hey y'all! I was too sick to attend ASP How is it??

(This is my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.)

Pros:

Vanderbilt is very impressive. The faculty seems dedicated, accessible and prestigious. The law school building is beautiful, as well as the campus itself. The school really sells its small class size (around 170 students) and its ability to place people in jobs across the nation. They say those two factors combined creates a super collegial atmosphere because people aren't competing for the same jobs in the same markets. All of the current students and recent alumni I spoke with said they all got the jobs they were gunning for. The people here are INCREDIBLY nice. The lack of a ranking system seems to create a more laid-back student body.

Cons:

This could be a pro depending on your career objectives, but the school seems very focused on big law. Public interest people may find more obstacles here than elsewhere. Personally I'm not super impressed with Nashville as a city, but some people love it. What I've seen so far is a little too honky tonk for my preferences. Seems like there is a big drinking culture. (Not necessarily a con for some.) There weren't many admitted students I spoke with today who were confident about wanting to attend Vanderbilt. (Also not necessarily a con, just interesting.)

Personally, I'm sold on Vanderbilt itself. But I'm struggling with the idea of living in Nashville.

What'd other people think?

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I'll preface this by saying I came into ASD with Vandy as my #1 choice. Also, I haven't seen much of Nashville yet. A little bit of Broadway last night plus the area around campus today. I have a lot of exploring to do this weekend.

I have really enjoyed ASD. It was EXHAUSTING. The 7:30am start is pretty brutal coming off of bar review and what was a travel day for pretty much everyone here. But I had a great time. The panels are what they are; I imagine they're going to be similar at every school in Vandy's tier. But Blackacre was great. The trivia night was very fun. They gave us tons of free beer throughout the night which was much appreciated. It was way more fun that you'd expect to have on a law school's actual campus.

I LOVED the people I met. I can't speak highly enough of this. My only comparison is the UT weekend, but Vandy students made themselves wayyyyy more available than UT students did. And not just ambassadors. I had random 1ls come up to me and give me pretty candid thoughts about coming here. The turnout for trivia night was larger than I expected. You can tell that a lot of student genuinely enjoying their time here and hanging with their peers. Everyone was friendly. It's a weird vibe for a law school. I think it's hard to explain unless you have other visits to compare it to. But there really is a different culture here than I've experienced at the other schools I've visited. And I mean that in a good way. The Vandy difference is real.

And the other admitted students were great to hang with. There are a lot of people I met this weekend who I would love to attend law school with, regardless of location. One thing I really like is Vandy draws people from all over the country. Certainly the South is heavily represented, but I met a lot of people from around the states. Which I personally find really appealing.

Personal cons are few but I'll list them anyways. There were times where I got a really strong "Southern fratty" vibe, or at least what I imagine that to be with my Californian sensibilities. It was never too obnoxious, at least during my brief time here. But I could see it annoying me on occasion were I to ultimately attend here.

Like pizzagoblin said, the drinking culture is real. It's not forced on anyone or anything, but I could see it turning off some people. I personally enjoyed it for the most part. But I also called it quits at 11pm on Saint Patties day, so take that as you will.

All in all, it has put me really close to matriculating. Only thing holding me back is the desire to complete my other campus visits, and my own personal considerations about having to enter into a LDR should I attend here. Otherwise I think Vandy really kind of confirmed my expectations and excitement.