U of Michigan 1L taking any questions Forum

[cfk1986]

Hello,

I am a 1L, and would be happy to answer any questions about Michigan. I will probably only check this once every other day because it is finals week.

I remember how stressful the application cycle was. The good news is if you got in at Michigan or any similar school, then you've done great and shouldn't be too stressed.

I would prefer to answer questions about Michigan specifically, as opposed to comparing with other schools. I don't know any more about comparably ranked schools than most of the people reading this. I will say that in my opinion, once you break into the T14, location, culture and $$ matter more than ranking. I was accepted at NYU and CLS and chose Michigan based on what I perceived as a much friendlier and more enjoyable quality of life, and because the idea of living in NYC was terrible. I am really glad that I did. Of course balancing those competing interests is a personal choice, and I am sure many people would choose differently.

As a general endorsement, I have enjoyed my first semester of school. I would not characterize it as "1L hell" Even the finals period hasn't been that much more stressful than finals periods during college, at least not for me. Ann Arbor is beautiful (okay...cold and rainy currently); it is a great college town. I thought the professors were going to be austere and serious but all of our professors thus far (4/4 including LW) have been friendly, and learned most of our names. It has been easy to make friends. In general I think Michigan is a safe bet to anybody that isn't sure where they want to attend.

Okay, back to reality...Off to spend the next 8-10 hours figuring out how jurisdiction works.

[johnnyutah]

Given that first year Civil Procedure at Michigan doesn't include jurisdiction, and given that you're a first year, why the fuck are you trying to teach it to yourself?

[cfk1986]

Given that first year Civil Procedure at Michigan doesn't include jurisdiction, and given that you're a first year, why the fuck are you trying to teach it to yourself?

Cooper doesn't teach jurisdiction. Bagley does. Thanks for the comment.

[AreJay711]

Given that first year Civil Procedure at Michigan doesn't include jurisdiction, and given that you're a first year, why the fuck are you trying to teach it to yourself?

Cooper doesn't teach jurisdiction. Bagley does. Thanks for the comment.

Even Cooper touches on jurisdiction.

[keg411]

Given that first year Civil Procedure at Michigan doesn't include jurisdiction, and given that you're a first year, why the fuck are you trying to teach it to yourself?

Cooper doesn't teach jurisdiction. Bagley does. Thanks for the comment.

Even Cooper touches on jurisdiction.

And all of you take Seinfeld's jurisdiction class either way. He's awesome.

[aladdinismyprince]

I know you are only a 1L, but how do you feel the employment prospects are? Do you think that most students (even students below the median) are finding jobs in areas they like?

If you got into higher ranking schools, I am sure you received some scholarship money from Michigan. However, would you have paid sticker price for Michigan?

You said you are not as stressed as you expected...how does the work load compare to your undergraduate institution?

Thank you!

[mrtoren]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

[CanadianWolf]

How many students in each of your classes ? IS LRW graded & counted in overall GPA ?

[AreJay711]

I know you are only a 1L, but how do you feel the employment prospects are? Do you think that most students (even students below the median) are finding jobs in areas they like?

If you got into higher ranking schools, I am sure you received some scholarship money from Michigan. However, would you have paid sticker price for Michigan?

I know this was aimed at someone else, but he or she is probably gunning away somewhere for the last exam tomorrow and I have no problem being rude and hijacking a thread -- as all the other Michigan ppl will admit to after I finally finish completely outing myself on TLS. I'm a 1L summer starter. btw.

I can't speak to employment obviously (here is the info that is on the website: http://www.law.umich.edu/careers/classs ... stats.aspx) -- though I haven't had a problem finding places that will take my free labor for 1L summer -- but as for the sticker / scholarship thing, I think it is tough to say. Three months ago I would have said that I would have chose UMich again at sticker in a heartbeat but after my first semester grades, I think I would reconsider. I actually did pretty well, but my prof entered my grade into the system as a C. He caught the mistake and fixed it, but for a month I was looking at a pretty poor GPA.

That really made me think about how I wanted to use my law degree and the answer was that it wasn't exclusively biglaw. I would be just as happy doing a lot of other things including small firms or state gov't. I also researched other ways to get to my goals state trial court clerkships and what not which most people on here would consider pretty sucky. I came to the conclusion that it would have made more sense for me to take a full ride somewhere like GW or my state flagship. Looking ahead, the rational thing to do is assume you will be median, but I also think you should consider what would happen if you are toward the bottom of the class. Usually in that situation you will wish you took the money.

I'm pretty sure that I would have been able to make something work even if my gpa stayed where it was. It seems that virtually everyone finds something that they want even in the class of 2010 (and I think 2011 was supposed to be better). But it is not a good feeling to have.

That is not to say I don't love Michigan. My fellow students, the faculty, and the classes have been excellent and I've really enjoyed my time here. Where I am at now, I think I made the right decision. But, not knowing how my second semester is going to go, I would probably have given more thought to a lower ranked school that gave me a larger scholarship rather than going with my favorite / best fitting school. For people who are biglaw or bust, interested in public interest where they could careless about grades, or something like that maybe that advice doesn't apply.

So my recommendation for you would be to really consider your scholarship at other schools carefully. Maybe my feelings were irrational. With IBR and Michigan's LRAP it really doesn't make it much different between 6 figure debt wiht a poor paying job and no debt with the same job. Still, something to at least think about. I know I'm supposed to be a cheerleader for the school -- and tbf I really do love it here -- but that is just my perspective.

You said you are not as stressed as you expected...how does the work load compare to your undergraduate institution?

On a brighter note, I think this idea of law students being stressed out and overworked all the time is ridiculous. Yeah, there is a lot of work but it is pretty reasonable. I'd say it is about 8 hours a day of work + class is the max you need to spend unless you have a legal practice assignment. It will be more at first because as dumb as this sounds you need to learn how to read cases for what is important (I know you are rolling your eyes but it is true). Buuuut I also think exams are fun so maybe I'm just a low stress person.

It is more work than undergrad but if you really think about it, undergrad was not really a time sink unless you took a major with a lot of busywork. My undergrad experience was max 10 hours of school work a night so maybe I'm not the best judge TBF. From the 2L's and 3L's I know maybe this is just temporary though.

[rftdd888]

Michigan is within my range and considering how generous they are with $$$, here are my questions:

what have you enjoyed the most? the least?

where do you live? what were the options? do you like the area?

[cfk1986]

How many students in each of your classes ? IS LRW graded & counted in overall GPA ?

Our small sections were about 25 students. Most of our lectures consisted of 4 sections. LW is pass/fail and isn't counted in the overall GPA

Michigan is within my range and considering how generous they are with $$$, here are my questions:

what have you enjoyed the most? the least?

where do you live? what were the options? do you like the area?

The thing I have liked the most is that I've made way more friends, way easier, than I had expected. Reading some of these boards, and talking to people at certain other schools, you get the feeling that law school is going to be cut throat. I never got that feeling here. The people are smart, and everybody works hard, but it is in a "I am going to do my best and let the cards fall will they may" sort of way, not "my success comes at other people's expense." Additionally, Ann arbor is way nicer than the ghetto where I went to undergrad, and I've really enjoyed living in a college town. The best thing is that the classes are really interesting, though since all 1L take the same classes that probably isn't a great selling point over other schools.

The thing I have enjoyed the least is the weather. And the worst is yet to come.

I lived in the Lawyer's Club, which is essentially dorm rooms for 1Ls. They are remodeling it next year so that won't be an option for next year's entering class. That is the only on campus option. Fortunately Ann Arbor has a lot of housing to rent. I haven't started looking for housing for next year yet, though a handful of my friends were able to find single apartments around the city in May last year. I don't think the school is going to give an on campus option.

You said you are not as stressed as you expected...how does the work load compare to your undergraduate institution?

In general, I would answer your overall question similar to how AreJay did. To try and answer this specific question I will try and lay out what most of my weeks looked like. Monday-thursday I would get up at 7:30, and go over my notes for the morning classes. From 9-12, we would have our morning classes. After lunch, I would read until 2:25, when we had our third class. From 4-6 I would go to the gym and eat dinner. From 6-9 I was usually in the library. I only stayed in the library past 10 two or three times, as a result of LW assignments. Friday's were essentially the same except I would call it quits at 4. On the weekends I would try and finish up whatever reading I had for the following week, which would usually take 10-12 hours total over the two days. I would go out wednesday, friday and saturday. By "go out," I mean I would get 3-5 beers and be home by midnight. I went into law school thinking it would be a "1L Hell" I don't know who gave it this label, apparently people who had had previously easy lives...On the spectrum of human suffering, law school is pretty great.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

My bad

[moneybagsphd]

I want Michigan so bad I can taste it. Applied 12/20