U. of Florida 2010-2011 Applicants!! Forum

[SixStrings11]

How many times per day do you check your status?

I'm averaging 3x a day...lol...

A lot..lol.. I even check it at random times in the night, even though I know that there's no possibility that it would have changed

[ChiCubs14]

How many times per day do you check your status?

I'm averaging 3x a day...lol...

A lot..lol.. I even check it at random times in the night, even though I know that there's no possibility that it would have changed

I've resisted the temptation to check at night...good to know others are as obsessive about checking as I am...I know the schools probably thought they were doing us a favor with such an easy application check system, little did they know they would create status checking fiends...

[trialjunky]

Hello TLSers! I'm currently a 1L at UF. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about UF.

TJ

Psst. To minimize clogging my inbox, post your questions here

[trialjunky]

Subject: U. of Florida 2010-2011 Applicants!!

Hello TLSers! I'm currently a 1L at UF. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about UF.

TJ

What's the best and worst thing about UF?

BEST
The affordability of UF is the best thing. When I compare my law school debt to a lot of my friends, my debt is significantly lower. Not only are the credits nicely priced, Gainesville in general is priced extremely well. You can easily have a night out on the town (drinking and eating) for $30 bucks. If you're trying to be frugal, I've gone out and spent $10 bucks (including a generous tip).
Also, rent is super cheap. You want to be flossy in a 1 bedroom penthouse or some swanky apartment complex you're looking at around 1k. If you're looking for a decent place and you're willing to have a roommate then you can find a relatively nice place for 400. If you're willing to have more than one roommate and live in a rented house instead of an apartment complex then I've seen rooms as low as $250.

WORST
It's a small town; so, if you are trying to get into something that's not a bar/club after 11 o'clock you are out of luck. Also, there is a high turnover rate for the local businesses. If you're like me and get into a groove of places you go and when you go to them, you may come back to your favorite cafe and find it's been turned into an organic ice cream shop (true story).
Parking is a disaster here. My 1st semester I would get to campus at 8:30 am even though my class didn't start until 10. If you are not a morning person I would strongly advise living close enough to bike or purchasing a scooter/moped (which is quite common in Gainesville).

[ns77770]

Subject: U. of Florida 2010-2011 Applicants!!

Hello TLSers! I'm currently a 1L at UF. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about UF.

TJ

What's the best and worst thing about UF?

BEST
The affordability of UF is the best thing. When I compare my law school debt to a lot of my friends, my debt is significantly lower. Not only are the credits nicely priced, Gainesville in general is priced extremely well. You can easily have a night out on the town (drinking and eating) for $30 bucks. If you're trying to be frugal, I've gone out and spent $10 bucks (including a generous tip).
Also, rent is super cheap. You want to be flossy in a 1 bedroom penthouse or some swanky apartment complex you're looking at around 1k. If you're looking for a decent place and you're willing to have a roommate then you can find a relatively nice place for 400. If you're willing to have more than one roommate and live in a rented house instead of an apartment complex then I've seen rooms as low as $250.

WORST
It's a small town; so, if you are trying to get into something that's not a bar/club after 11 o'clock you are out of luck. Also, there is a high turnover rate for the local businesses. If you're like me and get into a groove of places you go and when you go to them, you may come back to your favorite cafe and find it's been turned into an organic ice cream shop (true story).
Parking is a disaster here. My 1st semester I would get to campus at 8:30 am even though my class didn't start until 10. If you are not a morning person I would strongly advise living close enough to bike or purchasing a scooter/moped (which is quite common in Gainesville).

Hey thanks! I have another question . Actually two haha.

In general, what is the culture @ UF like? When I was there it seemed pretty serious and uptight.

And also, if you don't mind me asking, what is the job situation like for you and the people you know?

Thanks again! I have already put down my seat deposit but just wanted to ask about these things...

[Barbie]

TJ IS BACK!!!!

I can't wait to stalk you next year

[trialjunky]

Hey thanks! I have another question . Actually two haha.

In general, what is the culture @ UF like? When I was there it seemed pretty serious and uptight.

And also, if you don't mind me asking, what is the job situation like for you and the people you know?

Thanks again! I have already put down my seat deposit but just wanted to ask about these things...

Culture@UF
In general, it's pretty laid back for the most part. How laid back depends on your section. My section was the party section. If you went out on a Thursday night, you were guaranteed to see most of my section out. Section 1 on the otherhand was much more serious. I think it really depends on the teachers you get. For 1st semester our professors were great and they were very clear on what they wanted in the final. Section 1's teachers weren't as straightforward. Don't get me wrong everyone is pretty serious about their grades and doing well. There is a high level of competition but it isn't stab you in the back kind of competition. I've gone up to students and have had students come up to me if I seemed to really get a concept down and they wanted me to explain something to them and I would to the best of my ability and vice versa. Even the gunners are helpful.

You have to understand that a 100 person class is very small in the long run. You see these people for half of your day for at least four days out of the week for an ENTIRE school year. On top of that, Gainesville is small so the chance that you run into someone is pretty high. Plus, the majority of the students plan on practicing in Florida. So, almost everyone is VERY aware of their reputation. You don't want to be the douchelord that gave bad information or wasnt helpful. You may end up working with that person again or possibly needing help from that person in the future when you're ACTUALLY an attorney; so, generally everyone plays nice.

Job Situation
A good amount of my friends have jobs already. In my situation, I already worked in a lawfirm as a senior paralegal for two years so I'm very picky on what I applied for and what I'm willing to take during my summer. Recently, I got into the last round for inhouse counsel for a summer position, I just interviewed and am awaiting their decisions. Also, I have an interview next week for a 50+ lawfirm. So, I really can't complain. What I will say is those who really hit the ground running for jobs, have one already.

[ns77770]

Hey thanks! I have another question . Actually two haha.

In general, what is the culture @ UF like? When I was there it seemed pretty serious and uptight.

And also, if you don't mind me asking, what is the job situation like for you and the people you know?

Thanks again! I have already put down my seat deposit but just wanted to ask about these things...

Culture@UF
In general, it's pretty laid back for the most part. How laid back depends on your section. My section was the party section. If you went out on a Thursday night, you were guaranteed to see most of my section out. Section 1 on the otherhand was much more serious. I think it really depends on the teachers you get. For 1st semester our professors were great and they were very clear on what they wanted in the final. Section 1's teachers weren't as straightforward. Don't get me wrong everyone is pretty serious about their grades and doing well. There is a high level of competition but it isn't stab you in the back kind of competition. I've gone up to students and have had students come up to me if I seemed to really get a concept down and they wanted me to explain something to them and I would to the best of my ability and vice versa. Even the gunners are helpful.

You have to understand that a 100 person class is very small in the long run. You see these people for half of your day for at least four days out of the week for an ENTIRE school year. On top of that, Gainesville is small so the chance that you run into someone is pretty high. Plus, the majority of the students plan on practicing in Florida. So, almost everyone is VERY aware of their reputation. You don't want to be the douchelord that gave bad information or wasnt helpful. You may end up working with that person again or possibly needing help from that person in the future so generally everyone plays nice.

Job Situation
A good amount of my friends have jobs already. In my situation, I already worked in a lawfirm as a senior paralegal for two years so I'm very picky on what I applied for and what I'm willing to take during my summer.

Hey thanks for the responses and good luck with your interview!

[trialjunky]

TJ IS BACK!!!!

I can't wait to stalk you next year

Yay!!!! I can't wait to be stalked. You're going to love it here!

[Moose Thompson]

Culture@UF
In general, it's pretty laid back for the most part. How laid back depends on your section. My section was the party section. If you went out on a Thursday night, you were guaranteed to see most of my section out. Section 1 on the otherhand was much more serious. I think it really depends on the teachers you get. For 1st semester our professors were great and they were very clear on what they wanted in the final. Section 1's teachers weren't as straightforward. Don't get me wrong everyone is pretty serious about their grades and doing well. There is a high level of competition but it isn't stab you in the back kind of competition. I've gone up to students and have had students come up to me if I seemed to really get a concept down and they wanted me to explain something to them and I would to the best of my ability and vice versa. Even the gunners are helpful.

You have to understand that a 100 person class is very small in the long run. You see these people for half of your day for at least four days out of the week for an ENTIRE school year. On top of that, Gainesville is small so the chance that you run into someone is pretty high. Plus, the majority of the students plan on practicing in Florida. So, almost everyone is VERY aware of their reputation. You don't want to be the douchelord that gave bad information or wasnt helpful. You may end up working with that person again or possibly needing help from that person in the future when you're ACTUALLY an attorney; so, generally everyone plays nice.

Job Situation
A good amount of my friends have jobs already. In my situation, I already worked in a lawfirm as a senior paralegal for two years so I'm very picky on what I applied for and what I'm willing to take during my summer. Recently, I got into the last round for inhouse counsel for a summer position, I just interviewed and am awaiting their decisions. Also, I have an interview next week for a 50+ lawfirm. So, I really can't complain. What I will say is those who really hit the ground running for jobs, have one already.

As possibly the most laid back person in section 1, I have to agree with what TJ is saying. Only about half of our section would ever go out first semester, and you would generally find a lot of them shutting down the library. We had to nix the 'section one, section fun' nickname in favor of 'section one, section gun'. Haha. I still went out a lot, I just came to find that I wasn't going to be able to rally my section as much as I'd hoped.

As for professors, I really enjoyed our first semester professors in class, but definitely agree that they did not set realistic expectations for their finals. Even those that gave us practice exams, the real thing seemed to be quite different from what they had given us to prepare.

In general, I still think UF is very laid back compared to what I expected coming to law school. Most people in my section get along with one another, and are generally helpful, even if it's not as much of a party crowd. The school in general is very welcoming, I have a lot of friends from outside of my section. I've actually come to prefer hanging out with people that I don't see Mon-Thurs all day in class.

Two other quick notes, I agree completely on the job situation. You have to be proactive, but most people that really went after it have a job lined up for the summer. And, for the parking situation, it will get better next year since we will have 100 less students coming in than are currently 3Ls.

[Mattfl88]

So what are the odds that we see some movement before the end of the workday?

Last week seemed very active, this week not so much.

[FortuneFavorsTheBold]

So what are the odds that we see some movement before the end of the workday?

Last week seemed very active, this week not so much.

Exactly...for a place that says their "operating" throughout all of springbreak, feels like an overstatement

[mtothelissa]

So what are the odds that we see some movement before the end of the workday?

Last week seemed very active, this week not so much.

Exactly...for a place that says their "operating" throughout all of springbreak, feels like an overstatement

They just like watching us squirm. I just want to know before I go throwing $500 at another school and by some off chance I got in. Lol. Even though I'm probably WL, but I just want to know darnit!

[FortuneFavorsTheBold]

So what are the odds that we see some movement before the end of the workday?

Last week seemed very active, this week not so much.

Exactly...for a place that says their "operating" throughout all of springbreak, feels like an overstatement

They just like watching us squirm. I just want to know before I go throwing $500 at another school and by some off chance I got in. Lol. Even though I'm probably WL, but I just want to know darnit!

you too? lol, besides the fact that i would like to know if i should resign a lease here in gainesville or not, im in the same boat as you...FSU wants a deposit/papers by April 1st. I know $200 (or whatever price it is), is not the end of the world, but still, losing money is losing money at the end of the day

[dukivich10]

I happen to be driving by Gainesville on my way to Georgia, so I figured I would stop into the ol levin college of law. I talked to a nice lady in the admissions office. She said I would hear by April 1st. She wouldn't really divulge any more info than that besides make the point that they are aware of upcoming deposit deadlines and are making an effort to make decisions asap. I guess this isn't any groundbreaking information but I thought I would share.

[SixStrings11]

The way things have been going for me the past few weeks, I can really use some good news in my life. Florida can make me or break me at this point. Here's to more waiting.

EDIT: Just read this again.. and it sounds way more depressing than I intended it to be.. my bad.. lol

[GotYourselfAStewGoin]

Just withdrew tonight, hopefully one of you fine folks can benefit

[thewarflamingo]

Here's some info from ASD about scholarships/grants that I forgot to post about:

Scholarships:
Scholarships range from 2K-12K/yr. Initial scholarships will be sent through March in the mail and additional awards will be given in "late spring" if funds are available. Someone asked if the additional awards will be given to people with or without scholarships already, and the guy didn't really know since he wasn't the main financial aid person.

Need-based Grants:
Need-based grants range from 2K-10K and are NOT renewable, so you get it for 1L and that's it. You need to have completed your fafsa and the need-based application given in the admissions packet. These will be awarded by the end of April by mail.

Projected COA (tuition will be approved in July when legislature meets):
Resident:
Tuition-18,650
Total COA-34,390

Non-Resident:
Tuition-40,840
Total COA-56,580

Hope that helps!

[FeelTheHeat]

Here's some info from ASD about scholarships/grants that I forgot to post about:

Scholarships:
Scholarships range from 2K-12K/yr. Initial scholarships will be sent through March in the mail and additional awards will be given in "late spring" if funds are available. Someone asked if the additional awards will be given to people with or without scholarships already, and the guy didn't really know since he wasn't the main financial aid person.

Need-based Grants:
Need-based grants range from 2K-10K and are NOT renewable, so you get it for 1L and that's it. You need to have completed your fafsa and the need-based application given in the admissions packet. These will be awarded by the end of April by mail.

Projected COA (tuition will be approved in July when legislature meets):
Resident:
Tuition-18,650
Total COA-34,390

Non-Resident:
Tuition-40,840
Total COA-56,580

Hope that helps!

According to the TLS rankings, the 2009 tuition was $14,229. Now, just two years later, it is going to be over $4,000 more? Damn....

[Rob1230]

Has anyone successfully negotiated away their stipulations and/or gotten more money from UF? I got a scholarship letter today after being accepted 2/26 for those who are interested.

[Barbie]

Has anyone successfully negotiated away their stipulations and/or gotten more money from UF? I got a scholarship letter today after being accepted 2/26 for those who are interested.

No one has been successful thus far to my knowledge.

also, has anyone heard of whether sections are stacked? I feel like the next thing I'm excited to find out, now that I know where I'm going and where I'm living, is what section I'm in (and how many of my awesome TLS friends are in it )

[Moose Thompson]

I'm 90% sure sections are stacked. I don't think they were in the past, but evidence points to stacking this year.

[thewarflamingo]

I'm 90% sure sections are stacked. I don't think they were in the past, but evidence points to stacking this year.

this is not good news for me

[LSATmakesMeNeurotic]

According to the TLS rankings, the 2009 tuition was $14,229. Now, just two years later, it is going to be over $4,000 more? Damn....

When I spoke with Carol Huber, I asked if the tuition was going to rise by that much every year. She basically said, yes, it's a 15% increase. So I guess we don't have to wonder anymore if the law school is taking advantage of the increase that the legislature approved. The answer is YES.

[Neo]

What are stacked sections?