Vanderbilt 2013 Forum

[thickfreakness]

Just checking in here after the ASD. I have to say I was really impressed. The faculty all are top notch, the current and prospective students are wonderful and I liked Nashville much more than Ann Arbor.

I'm still going to call Michigan on Monday to ask about aid, but if its a no or no answer, I feel good about choosing Vandy. It just feels like the right decision for me.

Cool, thanks for the info. Anyone else who went to ASD have perceptions?

Laid back atmosphere, professors are energetic and caring, administration seems very positive. Career services lady was neurotic about finding people jobs (which is a good thing). Campus and law school building were nice. Nashville's a happening place, for sure. All in all a nice experience.

[pearl_earrings]

I'll be there.


Ooooooh my goodness what a relief to have finally made this decision!!

[TheVoynichManuscript]

Hey everyone! I didn't see a Vandy thread in the Class of 2013 board yet, so I created one for those of us who are pretty much decided at this point. Here's the link:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5&t=114047

[smartblonde87]

I

i just noticed no one had posted today so i thought i would do the honor...


p.s.> WHY HASN'T MY LETTER COME YET?!?!?!?!?!??!

I'm DM 4-8 , you too?

I wish. I'm still technically waiting in the decision to be made. Good reason to not get a metter I guess. Vandy is my number one. I hate thinking it's going to be too late

[pleasetryagain]

where do you guys plan on living?

[pearl_earrings]

where do you guys plan on living?

Not sure yet. Any ideas? The student handbook is amazing but I haven't taken the time to really think about living options yet.

[Gymnast0206]

Is anyone still waiting on a decision?!

[atacsin]

Yes....Complete 2/19

[Gymnast0206]

Yes....Complete 2/19

You have me beat, 2/24.

[fcowrx]

Yes....Complete 2/19

You have me beat, 2/24.

I win. Still waiting, complete 1/28.

[MF248]

Vanderbilt puts a lot of weight on their promotional materials about how unbelievably laid back they are compared to other law schools. In fact they refer to themselves as a "kinder, gentler" law school. Has anyone with experience at Vanderbilt law found this to be true or untrue? Thanks!

During ASW this seemed to be pretty accurate. When I was talking to a 1L he said that he was "Pleasantly surprised not to be surprised," meaning he had heard all the talk about how collegiate they are etc. but was a bit worried that he was going to show up and be surprised when he saw how they actually behave. He said there were no surprises and the atmosphere is pretty much exactly how they described it. I also heard alot of anecdotal cases from people that have friends/relatives at other law schools and how those friends/relatives are always surprised about how the environment at Vandy is so different from their experiences.

All around the staff seemed to genuinely care about the students, their experiences & their careers etc. The current students were more willing to talk to me than at any of the other schools I've visited, and they seemed to me alot more comfortable & social around each other in general. Also, something that surprised me was that when i first visited the school a couple of months ago was that the admissions officer that showed me around actually knew a bit about me, whereas at every other school, even one I interviewed at I could tell that they didn't even do a glance over my file before talking to me.

Anyways, I'll be at Vandy in the Fall & I'm looking forward to it.

[Grizz]

where do you guys plan on living?

No clue. I guess I have to start figuring that out. The good thing about Vandy though is most of the housing seems fairly close and not that expensive.

[Grizz]

During ASW this seemed to be pretty accurate. When I was talking to a 1L he said that he was "Pleasantly surprised not to be surprised," meaning he had heard all the talk about how collegiate they are etc. but was a bit worried that he was going to show up and be surprised when he saw how they actually behave. He said there were no surprises and the atmosphere is pretty much exactly how they described it. I also heard alot of anecdotal cases from people that have friends/relatives at other law schools and how those friends/relatives are always surprised about how the environment at Vandy is so different from their experiences.

All around the staff seemed to genuinely care about the students, their experiences & their careers etc. The current students were more willing to talk to me than at any of the other schools I've visited, and they seemed to me alot more comfortable & social around each other in general. Also, something that surprised me was that when i first visited the school a couple of months ago was that the admissions officer that showed me around actually knew a bit about me, whereas at every other school, even one I interviewed at I could tell that they didn't even do a glance over my file before talking to me.

Anyways, I'll be at Vandy in the Fall & I'm looking forward to it.

+1 to to all of the above. All the Vandy students were great; I really felt included, that I was already a part of the community. I made a few new friends who all said they were really excited that I was pretty much dead set on Vandy, and to call them in the fall.

The career services was awesome. They seemed obsessed with making sure every student was employed. And their clerkship advisor stressed that even if your grades weren't the best, he would still go to bat for you to give you the best possible shot at clerkships, it that's what you wanted.

To MF248 and others that have decided on Vandy, I'm still waiting on Texas money, but I'm 99% sure I'll see yall this fall. I believe a celebratory round of Makers is in order.

[gmichaelbluth]

Really enjoyed the ASW. Found the panels to be informative, the mock class and the class we observed were both good, and everyone I met just seemed super nice, smart, etc. I could really see myself here. I'd hoped I'd have a more definitive answer after this visit, but I'm torn between here and Texas. Gah! I will be glad to finally have a decision made by this time next week.

[pleasetryagain]

where do you guys plan on living?

No clue. I guess I have to start figuring that out. The good thing about Vandy though is most of the housing seems fairly close and not that expensive.

see. I find just the opposite to be true. seems like all the reasonably nice properties, and the reasonably priced properties, are 20 minutes from campus/the bars.

edit: itd be great if some current students can weigh in on living options. the obiter dictum is great but you cant ask it questions.

[sdv]

seems to depend on whether you're willing to live with a roommate or not. you can live close to campus with a roommate and pay anywhere from 600-900 apiece per month, or live 10-20 minutes away and pay that much for a one bedroom. I personally can't abide having a roommate so living further out is the option that makes the most sense to me, plus you can (no surprise here) find nicer places for cheaper the further out you go. I've never lived closer than 15 miles from any job I've had over the past few vears and I grew up 12 miles outside of mv major city, so it's not a big deal to live 9 miles from campus, but for those coming straight out of undergrad or from living and working in the center of a major city, it might be a bit more of a culture shock.

FWIW, I'm most likely living in Bellevue in the fall.

Also, I was outed as a TLS contributor in the first 10 minutes of ASW on Friday. It was a surprisingly awkward experience.

[pleasetryagain]

seems to depend on whether you're willing to live with a roommate or not. you can live close to campus with a roommate and pay anywhere from 600-900 apiece per month, or live 10-20 minutes away and pay that much for a one bedroom. I personally can't abide having a roommate so living further out is the option that makes the most sense to me, plus you can (no surprise here) find nicer places for cheaper the further out you go. I've never lived closer than 15 miles from any job I've had over the past few vears and I grew up 12 miles outside of mv major city, so it's not a big deal to live 9 miles from campus, but for those coming straight out of undergrad or from living and working in the center of a major city, it might be a bit more of a culture shock.

FWIW, I'm most likely living in Bellevue in the fall.

Also, I was outed as a TLS contributor in the first 10 minutes of ASW on Friday. It was a surprisingly awkward experience.

haha.. how?

[Grizz]

Really enjoyed the ASW. Found the panels to be informative, the mock class and the class we observed were both good, and everyone I met just seemed super nice, smart, etc. I could really see myself here. I'd hoped I'd have a more definitive answer after this visit, but I'm torn between here and Texas. Gah! I will be glad to finally have a decision made by this time next week.

Me and another poster named pearl_earrings have been making the same decision and are set on Vandy. PM us.

[gogators]

seems to depend on whether you're willing to live with a roommate or not. you can live close to campus with a roommate and pay anywhere from 600-900 apiece per month, or live 10-20 minutes away and pay that much for a one bedroom. I personally can't abide having a roommate so living further out is the option that makes the most sense to me, plus you can (no surprise here) find nicer places for cheaper the further out you go. I've never lived closer than 15 miles from any job I've had over the past few vears and I grew up 12 miles outside of mv major city, so it's not a big deal to live 9 miles from campus, but for those coming straight out of undergrad or from living and working in the center of a major city, it might be a bit more of a culture shock.

FWIW, I'm most likely living in Bellevue in the fall.

Also, I was outed as a TLS contributor in the first 10 minutes of ASW on Friday. It was a surprisingly awkward experience.

This is probably the correct answer. I live close and split $800. Others living at 20 & Grand pay more. But others living at the Enclave for instance pay $600 each. In the end, if you go with huge big name apartments then the quote above is mostly true. If you do some searching around, then you can find little treasures.

[pearl_earrings]

Really enjoyed the ASW. Found the panels to be informative, the mock class and the class we observed were both good, and everyone I met just seemed super nice, smart, etc. I could really see myself here. I'd hoped I'd have a more definitive answer after this visit, but I'm torn between here and Texas. Gah! I will be glad to finally have a decision made by this time next week.

Me and another poster named pearl_earrings have been making the same decision and are set on Vandy. PM us.

It was such a tough decision but I'm glad I settled on Vandy! Def PM me if you want to chat about it!

[pleasetryagain]

This is probably the correct answer. I live close and split $800. Others living at 20 & Grand pay more. But others living at the Enclave for instance pay $600 each. In the end, if you go with huge big name apartments then the quote above is mostly true. If you do some searching around, then you can find little treasures.

How does living further out affect things like..drinking at the bar? What do cabs run?

[semigoodnes]

They stilll have not mailed a decision out according to the application status checker. Anyone know if this is a bad thing?

[heyzeus]

2/9 still waiting

[gmichaelbluth]

Really enjoyed the ASW. Found the panels to be informative, the mock class and the class we observed were both good, and everyone I met just seemed super nice, smart, etc. I could really see myself here. I'd hoped I'd have a more definitive answer after this visit, but I'm torn between here and Texas. Gah! I will be glad to finally have a decision made by this time next week.

Me and another poster named pearl_earrings have been making the same decision and are set on Vandy. PM us.

It was such a tough decision but I'm glad I settled on Vandy! Def PM me if you want to chat about it!

Oh I would LOVE your input--pmed you both:).

[Gymnast0206]

2/9 still waiting

Same here. 2/15