In At Mercer Law Forum

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kylep23

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by kylep23 » Mon Mar 22, 2010 5:23 pm

I need to find a place to live in Macon near the Law School for next year... Anybody know about where to live and not live in Macon?

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bstrunk

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bstrunk » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:37 pm

Also curious. Probably putting down my seat deposit on payday.

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evilxs

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by evilxs » Mon Mar 22, 2010 8:29 pm

Warner Robins, Byron, and Forsyth are all close to Macon as other options.

Byron is where I would live if I moved back to Georgia and went to Mercer. I lived in Warner Robins and commuted to Mercer daily for years.
Last edited by evilxs on Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ggocat

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by ggocat » Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:37 pm

kylep23 wrote:I need to find a place to live in Macon near the Law School for next year... Anybody know about where to live and not live in Macon?
Most renovated homes near the law school are good bets.

The Katherine Court Apartments downtown are nice but pricier than other places. --LinkRemoved--

Tattnall Place Apartments are about a mile from the law school and right next to the undergrad campus and a park. Decent rates and relatively new. --LinkRemoved--

Also heard decent things about Rivoli Run --LinkRemoved-- and Forest Ridge. --LinkRemoved--

The Massee is cheep and close, but I don't know many people who have liked them. http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartment ... see/24810/.

I definitely recommend visiting if you can to find an apartment. There are also a lot of homes for rent. I think Mercer keeps a database you can access with your LSAC # here: http://www.law.mercer.edu/admissions/housing/. Pretty sure they started this after I was a student, so I'm not sure if it's any good.

kylep23

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by kylep23 » Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:18 pm

Thanks, that list helps alot. I'll definitely check those out.

I'm going to try to visit Macon sometime in early-mid April to look at the houses near campus too. Hopefully, I can find a roommate to keep costs down...

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Netopalis

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by Netopalis » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:36 pm

As a current student at Mercer, here's my 2 cents:

A few of my friends are in Barrister's Hall across from the Law School and love it - they haven't had any problems with crime. The same goes for the houses on Orange Street and the apartments the school maintains. Katherine Court is nice too, but as said earlier, very expensive.

Rivoli is in a beautiful part of town, but it's also extremely expensive. Most of North Macon is, but there are a few places where it's a bit cheaper.

Personally, I live on Gray Highway - it's not the best part of town, but the apartment complex that I'm in is nice and fairly cheap. It's also a comfortable distance from the law school.

Overall, I'd recommend getting into one of the older homes near the law school if you want roommates - if you don't want roommates, then go for an apartment.

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by KennyG » Thu Mar 25, 2010 1:39 am

For anyone going to the King & Spalding reception, am I supposed to wear a suit or will a nice shirt and tie do?

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by Netopalis » Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:09 am

When in doubt, wear a suit.

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bstrunk

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bstrunk » Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:03 pm

Anybody here go to the King and Spalding event? If so, what were your impressions?

I'm about 95% sure that I will be paying my deposit first thing next week.

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actorlaw

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by actorlaw » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:07 am

Still trying to decide if I am sending in a deposit.

I get the impression that many people don't attend Mercer with it being their optimal choice for law school... I wasn't particularly fond of Macon, however, there is no doubt that Mercer would provide a great education. I am very worried about the prospects of leaving GA and the South, as I am very certain I do not want to practice in the South. Of course, this could all change in three years. Ultimately, all the statistics I have found suggest that leaving the South with a Mercer degree is very hard to do. Any advice from current students or students in a similar position?

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by deadpanic » Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:44 am

actorlaw wrote:Still trying to decide if I am sending in a deposit.

I get the impression that many people don't attend Mercer with it being their optimal choice for law school... I wasn't particularly fond of Macon, however, there is no doubt that Mercer would provide a great education. I am very worried about the prospects of leaving GA and the South, as I am very certain I do not want to practice in the South. Of course, this could all change in three years. Ultimately, all the statistics I have found suggest that leaving the South with a Mercer degree is very hard to do. Any advice from current students or students in a similar position?
I am not a Mercer student but I'd highly advise against going to Mercer if you want to leave the South. I personally know a couple of Mercer grads and you will basically be confined to GA. When the economy was good, they led me to believe you could also practice in surrounding states like SC, FL, TN, etc. But, ITE, I wouldn't even expect to leave GA with a Mercer degree, much less the South.

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ggocat

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by ggocat » Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:58 am

actorlaw wrote:Still trying to decide if I am sending in a deposit.

I get the impression that many people don't attend Mercer with it being their optimal choice for law school... I wasn't particularly fond of Macon, however, there is no doubt that Mercer would provide a great education. I am very worried about the prospects of leaving GA and the South, as I am very certain I do not want to practice in the South. Of course, this could all change in three years. Ultimately, all the statistics I have found suggest that leaving the South with a Mercer degree is very hard to do. Any advice from current students or students in a similar position?
Hi. I'm a 3L at Mercer. I've mentioned earlier in this thread some of what I'm about to say, but I will repeat it because it's on point to your question/concerns.

I am not from Georgia--never set foot in the state until I visited Mercer. After graduating, I will be clerking for a judge outside of the South (well, at least outside of the Deep South) in a state I would call "back home." Many prospective students seem to think that law students are "stuck" in the state of their law school unless they attend a T14 or comparatively ranked school. I do not believe this notion to be true. Employers like to see that a potential employee has some connections to the location (i.e., some reason for the employee to be grounded). There are many ways of establishing a connection to a particular location. Some of these begin before law school--for example, living in a particular state or going to college there. Other connections can be developed during law school--for example, working over the summer in your desired location. Finally, the ultimate connection can be met after law school--moving to the state and passing the state's bar exam.

I generally had no problems going "back home" for the summers and after law school. In fact, for my 1L summer, I had more interviews than I could handle. I eventually had to cancel and refuse interviews with federal judges. And I received offers for 1L internships without grades--that is, I had nothing on my resume other than pre-law school items and the name of my law school. So having Mercer on my resume was never a "liability" for employers. The truth of the matter is that most of them weren't familiar with the school. That gave me the unique opportunity of being the first person ever to talk to them about the school. And of course I explained a lot of the pros of the school (including the writing program, professors, student-faculty ratio, and so forth), which gave them (I think) a positive impression of the school.

I don't think the "back home" effect is the only way students get jobs outside the South. I've known students who were able to get summer work outside the state without prior connections (the few that come to mind worked in NYC and Houston). Similarly, I knew a guy who recently obtained a job in Colorado (before graduating) without any prior connections to the state. But I understand that the placement numbers look discouraging to someone who wants to leave Georgia. I think every year roughly 70-80% of students stay in Georgia. But it's also important to note that roughly the same percentage of the student body is from Georgia. That is, a significant percentage of the student body has no incentive to leave Georgia--they don't want to leave Georgia. But those students who want to leave Georgia generally are able to do so.

If you look at other schools, you will see a correlation between the percentage of outgoing students practicing inside the state and the percentage of incoming students from within the state. This should come as no surprise. But it's important to remember that correlation does not equal causation. That is, simply because more students at one school prefer to stay in a particular state does not mean that an individual's ability to find a job out of state is significantly impacted.

(For example, in one recent year, 30% of students at Tulane worked in state, 42% of students at Emory, and 10% of students at Notre Dame. But at the University of Texas, between 60-70% of students worked in state. Does that mean Tulane, Emory, and Notre Dame are more easily able to place graduates out of state? I don't think so. I think the disparity is due to self selection. At Tulane 15% of the students come from within the state, 19% at Emory, 6% at Notre Dame, and 60-65% at UT. You'll note that the schools with the highest in-state placement had the highest in-state enrollment, and vice versa.)

So, in conclusion, I think it would not be very hard to find employment out of state so long as you are able to establish (or have established) personal connections to your desired location. This conclusion is based on my own experience, the experiences of students I know, Mercer's overall data, and comparative data from other schools.

To address your other concern, I don't know students at Mercer who don't want to be here. I know plenty who passed on Georgia State and/or UGA. I'm sure at any school, of course, you will find students who wished they had attended a different school, but I suspect that this desire fades over time. Personally, I decided on Mercer over many other higher-ranked schools, including the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona (with a partial scholarship). I am glad that I did. I've enjoyed my time at Mercer, and the school has afforded me plenty of opportunities. There were of course times during my first year when I questioned whether I had made the right decision. I think that's natural; choosing a law school is a big decision, and it's OK to second-guess your decisions. But looking back over my time at Mercer, I am very happy with my decision and how things turned out. I've been able to do some interesting things at the school, I had great summer work opportunities, I've made fantastic friends, and I am looking forward to my job.

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by mas2488 » Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:11 pm

Still have not heard anything. Does anyone know when the admissions com meets?

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bstrunk

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bstrunk » Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:20 pm

Thanks ggocat!

You've sold me. I'll be putting my seat deposit in this week.

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ggocat

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by ggocat » Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:27 pm

bstrunk wrote:Thanks ggocat!

You've sold me. I'll be putting my seat deposit in this week.
Sounds great! If you end up enrolling, PM me when you find out your professors (probably at orientation), and I'll send you outlines and try to get you some old exam answers. (That goes for anyone reading this thread.)

I'll still hang around here to answer more question, as well.

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ggocat

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by ggocat » Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:37 pm

mas2488 wrote:Still have not heard anything. Does anyone know when the admissions com meets?
I'm not sure.

But maybe relevant to your question: I was reading another thread today, and I saw this post by a student at another school: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 0#p2750462.

Basically, the student called up school #1 (where he/she was not accepted), and he/she told school #1 that he/she preferred to attend school #1 over school #2 (where he/she had been accepted), and he/she would like to not pay school #2 a seat deposit if he/she could be accepted to school #1.

It worked for that student. It doesn't seem like a bad idea to me. I think sometimes demonstrating an interest in a school can make a big difference.

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bcampbell » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:07 pm

ggocat wrote:
actorlaw wrote:Still trying to decide if I am sending in a deposit.

I get the impression that many people don't attend Mercer with it being their optimal choice for law school... I wasn't particularly fond of Macon, however, there is no doubt that Mercer would provide a great education. I am very worried about the prospects of leaving GA and the South, as I am very certain I do not want to practice in the South. Of course, this could all change in three years. Ultimately, all the statistics I have found suggest that leaving the South with a Mercer degree is very hard to do. Any advice from current students or students in a similar position?
Hi. I'm a 3L at Mercer. I've mentioned earlier in this thread some of what I'm about to say, but I will repeat it because it's on point to your question/concerns.

I am not from Georgia--never set foot in the state until I visited Mercer. After graduating, I will be clerking for a judge outside of the South (well, at least outside of the Deep South) in a state I would call "back home." Many prospective students seem to think that law students are "stuck" in the state of their law school unless they attend a T14 or comparatively ranked school. I do not believe this notion to be true. Employers like to see that a potential employee has some connections to the location (i.e., some reason for the employee to be grounded). There are many ways of establishing a connection to a particular location. Some of these begin before law school--for example, living in a particular state or going to college there. Other connections can be developed during law school--for example, working over the summer in your desired location. Finally, the ultimate connection can be met after law school--moving to the state and passing the state's bar exam.

I generally had no problems going "back home" for the summers and after law school. In fact, for my 1L summer, I had more interviews than I could handle. I eventually had to cancel and refuse interviews with federal judges. And I received offers for 1L internships without grades--that is, I had nothing on my resume other than pre-law school items and the name of my law school. So having Mercer on my resume was never a "liability" for employers. The truth of the matter is that most of them weren't familiar with the school. That gave me the unique opportunity of being the first person ever to talk to them about the school. And of course I explained a lot of the pros of the school (including the writing program, professors, student-faculty ratio, and so forth), which gave them (I think) a positive impression of the school.

I don't think the "back home" effect is the only way students get jobs outside the South. I've known students who were able to get summer work outside the state without prior connections (the few that come to mind worked in NYC and Houston). Similarly, I knew a guy who recently obtained a job in Colorado (before graduating) without any prior connections to the state. But I understand that the placement numbers look discouraging to someone who wants to leave Georgia. I think every year roughly 70-80% of students stay in Georgia. But it's also important to note that roughly the same percentage of the student body is from Georgia. That is, a significant percentage of the student body has no incentive to leave Georgia--they don't want to leave Georgia. But those students who want to leave Georgia generally are able to do so.

If you look at other schools, you will see a correlation between the percentage of outgoing students practicing inside the state and the percentage of incoming students from within the state. This should come as no surprise. But it's important to remember that correlation does not equal causation. That is, simply because more students at one school prefer to stay in a particular state does not mean that an individual's ability to find a job out of state is significantly impacted.

(For example, in one recent year, 30% of students at Tulane worked in state, 42% of students at Emory, and 10% of students at Notre Dame. But at the University of Texas, between 60-70% of students worked in state. Does that mean Tulane, Emory, and Notre Dame are more easily able to place graduates out of state? I don't think so. I think the disparity is due to self selection. At Tulane 15% of the students come from within the state, 19% at Emory, 6% at Notre Dame, and 60-65% at UT. You'll note that the schools with the highest in-state placement had the highest in-state enrollment, and vice versa.)

So, in conclusion, I think it would not be very hard to find employment out of state so long as you are able to establish (or have established) personal connections to your desired location. This conclusion is based on my own experience, the experiences of students I know, Mercer's overall data, and comparative data from other schools.

To address your other concern, I don't know students at Mercer who don't want to be here. I know plenty who passed on Georgia State and/or UGA. I'm sure at any school, of course, you will find students who wished they had attended a different school, but I suspect that this desire fades over time. Personally, I decided on Mercer over many other higher-ranked schools, including the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona (with a partial scholarship). I am glad that I did. I've enjoyed my time at Mercer, and the school has afforded me plenty of opportunities. There were of course times during my first year when I questioned whether I had made the right decision. I think that's natural; choosing a law school is a big decision, and it's OK to second-guess your decisions. But looking back over my time at Mercer, I am very happy with my decision and how things turned out. I've been able to do some interesting things at the school, I had great summer work opportunities, I've made fantastic friends, and I am looking forward to my job.
No offense, sir, but I would like to call you on this statement. Do you know for a fact (swearing with your hand on the Bible) that there are students at Mercer who were accepted to both Mercer and UGA, but who chose to forsake UGA for Mercer. Frankly, I find this hard to believe. I can't find a single person on LSN who was accepted to both but preferred Mercer to UGA. This is limited evidence, I understand, but your statement does not ring true.

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Al Swearengen

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by Al Swearengen » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:32 pm

ggocat wrote:
bstrunk wrote:Thanks ggocat!

You've sold me. I'll be putting my seat deposit in this week.
Sounds great! If you end up enrolling, PM me when you find out your professors (probably at orientation), and I'll send you outlines and try to get you some old exam answers. (That goes for anyone reading this thread.)

I'll still hang around here to answer more question, as well.
I'll be attending next year and may just hit you up on that offer! Very excited to get to Mercer and get started. Loved the whole package at accepted students weekend. I am very happy with my decision.

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evilxs

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by evilxs » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:40 pm

bcampbell wrote:
No offense, sir, but I would like to call you on this statement. Do you know for a fact (swearing with your hand on the Bible) that there are students at Mercer who were accepted to both Mercer and UGA, but who chose to forsake UGA for Mercer. Frankly, I find this hard to believe. I can't find a single person on LSN who was accepted to both but preferred Mercer to UGA. This is limited evidence, I understand, but your statement does not ring true.
I personally know one, and she practices law in Georgia. I am passing on a Tier one school higher ranked than UGA to go to a TTT school with significant scholly$$$$. There are lots of students who choose to bypass schools like UGA for lower ranked schools with nice scholarships. That is not uncommon at all.

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ggocat

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by ggocat » Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:03 pm

bcampbell wrote:
ggocat wrote:I know plenty who passed on Georgia State and/or UGA.
Do you know for a fact (swearing with your hand on the Bible) that there are students at Mercer who were accepted to both Mercer and UGA, but who chose to forsake UGA for Mercer.
Yes. I know more who passed on GSU, but off the top of my head I can think of some students in both classes of 2010 and 2011 who passed on UGA for a scholarship at Mercer. (I know others who passed on Emory, as well, although I admit that's an easier decision than passing on $15k/year tuition at UGA).

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by georgiaboy87 » Tue Mar 30, 2010 2:12 pm

I have already paid my seat deposit..In regards to housing though, there is currently very little avaliable in the "houses" on Orange Street. I would prefer to have a roommate but seemingly no one from UGA is going to Mercer this upcoming year, so that leaves my options limited. If anyone is in need of one, PM me.

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by KennyG » Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:44 pm

Paid my deposit today. Of all the schools I visited, Mercer students seemed to be among the happiest.

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bstrunk

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bstrunk » Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:02 pm

Just paid my deposit. I'll be taking some time off from work to go visit.

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84Sunbird2000

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by 84Sunbird2000 » Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:38 am

Withdrew (by default) half-hour ago. It's weird, but I hated the idea of withdrawing. I can't put my finger on it, but I really loved Mercer when I came down there - everything about it. Plus, the Woodruff scholarship is literally unbeatable. I just realized that I don't know where I want to practice, but I'd guess that Georgia would not be my first choice. I just don't want to be stuck in one place(which I feel I wouldn't with William & Mary or IUB or BU). Mercer has shockingly good placement (only 4% of their employed are in business and industry - Mercer grads actually practice law), but only in Georgia. I'm also very liberal, and I think the very conservative nature of Mercer and central Georgia might get to me. I met some really intelligent people on both sides of the aisle when I visited Mercer, but I just don't know if that's enough.

Good luck to all that committed. In some ways I envy you.

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bstrunk

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Re: In At Mercer Law

Post by bstrunk » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:42 pm

Anyone plan on attending the Accepted Students event on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m in Atlanta. I live about 5 hours from Atlanta, so I'm trying to decide if this 1 & 1/2 hour event is worth 10 total driving hours.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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