Florida State University Class of 2012 Forum

[AJaKe]

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[lrw05d]

the recommended reading list is huge...does anyone have any insight into which books from the list might be worthwhile and helpful to read?

[unfgolfer14]

the recommended reading list is huge...does anyone have any insight into which books from the list might be worthwhile and helpful to read?

I was thinking/wondering the same thing? They give us 35 recommended books to read - is there a "no but we really really recommend that you read these books" list?

[gottaloveJAG]

I live in Orlando and went up to Tallahassee with the exclusive purpose of searching for apartments for 2 full weekends. I have seen so many apartments in Tallahassee so if any of you have questions about a specific apartment complex and you can't visit yourself, I can help you out if I have visited it.
I ultimately decided on a really nice apartment about 7 minutes (driving) away from the law school. It's in a really nice, quiet area (that mostly has other grad students and families living there) and the inside of the apartments is in excellent (and sometimes brand new) condition.
I am more than willing to help with your search if I can! Let me know : )

[jackrabbitjones]

Does anyone actually think reading all that will help them out? They say relax right before 1L but then give you 35 recommended books!?

[Mortalnato]

Does anyone actually think reading all that will help them out? They say relax right before 1L but then give you 35 recommended books!?

“The best thing you can do this summer to prepare for law school is to relax and enjoy yourself, your family, and your friends. "Cramming" before you start law school will just get you confused -- trust that we will start you from the beginning.”

lol I had to throw that in there. I really don't believe they want us all to kill ourselves on books that we'll most likely never use. I'm probably just going to read a couple that peek my interest (and obviously the required one).

[unfgolfer14]

Serious Question -

Does anybody know the lowdown on football tickets? Ive heard a couple different things.

[ame05d]

Serious Question -

Does anybody know the lowdown on football tickets? Ive heard a couple different things.

I know how it works for undergrad, and I can only assume that graduate students have the same privileges. It used to be that everyone picked up ticket "coupons" and turned them in for actual tickets individually or in groups. Last year the changed it and for the first time made it so that students w/ the most credit hours were most likely to receive a ticket. You have to register two weeks before the game (which is really annoying b/c if you forget you're sol) online and then you will receive an email letting you know whether or not a ticket was secured for you. You can pay $2 and be able to print the ticket from your computer or you can wait in line (and wait an hour) to pick up your ticket the thursday or friday before the game. I'm not sure how they will handle the credit hour issue w/ law students (i.e. if they will be treated like freshman) or people like me who have 120 + credits b/c i went there for undergrad... I'm certain they will go over this during orientation, but I can tell you in my near four years here I have not once been unable to attend a game for lack of a ticket! Also, tons of people get wasted on gameday and decide not to use their student ticket and just give them away at tailgates.... but last year they actually started printing our names on the tickets and checking student ids at the gates... If i remember correctly, there were so many people to let in eventually they just sort of glanced at your card and let you in w/o too much scrutiny on whose ticket it actually was.

[unfgolfer14]

Serious Question -

Does anybody know the lowdown on football tickets? Ive heard a couple different things.

I know how it works for undergrad, and I can only assume that graduate students have the same privileges. It used to be that everyone picked up ticket "coupons" and turned them in for actual tickets individually or in groups. Last year the changed it and for the first time made it so that students w/ the most credit hours were most likely to receive a ticket. You have to register two weeks before the game (which is really annoying b/c if you forget you're sol) online and then you will receive an email letting you know whether or not a ticket was secured for you. You can pay $2 and be able to print the ticket from your computer or you can wait in line (and wait an hour) to pick up your ticket the thursday or friday before the game. I'm not sure how they will handle the credit hour issue w/ law students (i.e. if they will be treated like freshman) or people like me who have 120 + credits b/c i went there for undergrad... I'm certain they will go over this during orientation, but I can tell you in my near four years here I have not once been unable to attend a game for lack of a ticket! Also, tons of people get wasted on gameday and decide not to use their student ticket and just give them away at tailgates.... but last year they actually started printing our names on the tickets and checking student ids at the gates... If i remember correctly, there were so many people to let in eventually they just sort of glanced at your card and let you in w/o too much scrutiny on whose ticket it actually was.

Okay good. Thanks for your response. I am looking forward to going to at least a few games. I love college football.

[TKM]

Serious Question -

Does anybody know the lowdown on football tickets? Ive heard a couple different things.

I know how it works for undergrad, and I can only assume that graduate students have the same privileges. It used to be that everyone picked up ticket "coupons" and turned them in for actual tickets individually or in groups. Last year the changed it and for the first time made it so that students w/ the most credit hours were most likely to receive a ticket. You have to register two weeks before the game (which is really annoying b/c if you forget you're sol) online and then you will receive an email letting you know whether or not a ticket was secured for you. You can pay $2 and be able to print the ticket from your computer or you can wait in line (and wait an hour) to pick up your ticket the thursday or friday before the game. I'm not sure how they will handle the credit hour issue w/ law students (i.e. if they will be treated like freshman) or people like me who have 120 + credits b/c i went there for undergrad... I'm certain they will go over this during orientation, but I can tell you in my near four years here I have not once been unable to attend a game for lack of a ticket! Also, tons of people get wasted on gameday and decide not to use their student ticket and just give them away at tailgates.... but last year they actually started printing our names on the tickets and checking student ids at the gates... If i remember correctly, there were so many people to let in eventually they just sort of glanced at your card and let you in w/o too much scrutiny on whose ticket it actually was.

Okay good. Thanks for your response. I am looking forward to going to at least a few games. I love college football.

When I went for a tour i asked about tickets and they said that grad students have first priority.

[Mortalnato]

Serious Question -

Does anybody know the lowdown on football tickets? Ive heard a couple different things.

I know how it works for undergrad, and I can only assume that graduate students have the same privileges. It used to be that everyone picked up ticket "coupons" and turned them in for actual tickets individually or in groups. Last year the changed it and for the first time made it so that students w/ the most credit hours were most likely to receive a ticket. You have to register two weeks before the game (which is really annoying b/c if you forget you're sol) online and then you will receive an email letting you know whether or not a ticket was secured for you. You can pay $2 and be able to print the ticket from your computer or you can wait in line (and wait an hour) to pick up your ticket the thursday or friday before the game. I'm not sure how they will handle the credit hour issue w/ law students (i.e. if they will be treated like freshman) or people like me who have 120 + credits b/c i went there for undergrad... I'm certain they will go over this during orientation, but I can tell you in my near four years here I have not once been unable to attend a game for lack of a ticket! Also, tons of people get wasted on gameday and decide not to use their student ticket and just give them away at tailgates.... but last year they actually started printing our names on the tickets and checking student ids at the gates... If i remember correctly, there were so many people to let in eventually they just sort of glanced at your card and let you in w/o too much scrutiny on whose ticket it actually was.

Okay good. Thanks for your response. I am looking forward to going to at least a few games. I love college football.

When I went for a tour i asked about tickets and they said that grad students have first priority.

I made sure to ask on my tour as well We apparently are able to order (free) single game tickets online like a week or so before each individual game. As graduate students, I think we are guaranteed to have tickets to 5 of the 6 games (although it shouldn't be a problem to go to every game if you want to). Also, FSU gives priority to students who order tickets in large groups so I heard that the Student Bar Association (provided you are a member) orders tickets in one huge group for better seating.

[ender311]

Same as everyone else, pretty sure Florida states pending my waitlists... Does anyone know if we need a car to live comfortably on campus? If you want to avoid living in the "college ghetto" and are over a mile away, are there buses that run? I use to longboard to class in undergrad, but I don't think skating through 90 degree heat and sweating through my shirt is an option =/

[TKM]

Same as everyone else, pretty sure Florida states pending my waitlists... Does anyone know if we need a car to live comfortably on campus? If you want to avoid living in the "college ghetto" and are over a mile away, are there buses that run? I use to longboard to class in undergrad, but I don't think skating through 90 degree heat and sweating through my shirt is an option =/

You could get a bike. I think I'm going to get a road bike soon to commute to class and for a little fun on the side also.

[ame05d]

Same as everyone else, pretty sure Florida states pending my waitlists... Does anyone know if we need a car to live comfortably on campus? If you want to avoid living in the "college ghetto" and are over a mile away, are there buses that run? I use to longboard to class in undergrad, but I don't think skating through 90 degree heat and sweating through my shirt is an option =/

I would say you need a car to live comfortably in Tallahassee. I have about 2 months experience w/ the bus system and it's actually fairly convenient, however, they don't run past like 6 pm and the city is big enough for a car to be necessary. One thing about bikes, or longboards in your case, is that tallahassee is really hilly.... I didn't even realize just how hilly until I got a bike myself. There could be an entire mile that's just slightly uphill, but on a bike you feel every inch of the incline. The "college ghetto" is most likely not as bad as you're imagining.... there are definitely areas in tallahassee that are so student-run and student inhabited that to outsiders they may seem like "bad neighborhoods," but here they're just homes for college kids, and the city itself is pretty safe. The heat is definitely also a con for those thinking about biking/skateboarding whatever to class.

*another thing, most major college apt complexes have a bus stop right out front w/ buses going to and from fsu and you can ride any bus in tallahassee for free w/ your fsu student id. If having a car isn't an option for you, you CAN get by w/ buses, it's just not ideal.

[Quagmire316]

nevermind!

[apere054]

Do any of you know about the Talco Hills Drive/Hartsfield Rd. area? I'm looking into renting a house there. Is it a safe neighborhood?

[TKM]

Do any of you know about the Talco Hills Drive/Hartsfield Rd. area? I'm looking into renting a house there. Is it a safe neighborhood?

If you go here and put in the address it will give you all the police reports called in for that area for a specific time frame.

--LinkRemoved--

[notholdingmybreath]

This probably shoudn't be in this thread but i figured if anyone had done the research it would be this group. Have any of you seen a list of which firms interview at OCI?

[GATORTIM]

[you]

Do any of you know about the Talco Hills Drive/Hartsfield Rd. area? I'm looking into renting a house there. Is it a safe neighborhood?

I've never been on Talco Drive, but I think it's probably a decent area to live. Hartsfield Rd itself if only about a mile or two long and I'd feel comfortable living just about anywhere off of Hartsfield. There seem to be several nice small neighborhoods off of it, though there are a few dumpy looking parts. I would avoid the part right next to Old Bainbridge Rd (see a google map), as the apartment complex I drive by looks not-so-nice and I heard there is (was?) drug problems there.

I would highly recommend a few neighborhoods located off of Mission Rd., about a mile or so NW of the location you asked about. They are: Huntington Woods, Settler's Creek, and others nearby. (However, the townhouses located directly ON Mission Rd. are not as nice- I would stay in one of the neighborhoods off of Mission). That means it's a little farther from FSU, but not too much. I just searched for you, and they're about 6-7 miles from FSU law school.

I live in Huntington Woods myself and I love it. It is quiet, residential, fairly diverse, great for running/walking, has a mixture of families/students/older people, and is very safe. We had cars broken into once during past two years. There's an occasional party, but nothing crazy and we have seen police maybe once or twice in the past two years. There are always houses for rent- I just saw a few yesterday while running through the neighborhood. Not sure of the prices, but my guess is that you could rent something in the range of $850-1200 or something close to it (for a few bedrooms). As far as I can tell, Settler's Creek has an identical feel to Huntington Woods. There's also an apartment complex called Summerchase that is nearby and seems nice, though I've never lived there. At least the location is fine. If anyone is interested, I could jot down a few "for rent" numbers in the neighborhood. Good luck!! I'm working on my own housing search for when I leave Tallahassee

[ender311]

I'm looking to rent somewhere within walking distance to campus.
So i googled it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe= ... a=N&tab=wl

Every apartment in the area has a user review average of about 20%!
This includes Studio Green/Seminole Oaks, Campus Edge, Campus Walk, Florida Towers, South Gate, Colony Club.

All the major complaints are that the staffs are huge assholes that attempt to extort you, and that the surrounding area is full of homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers. Does anyone know from experience what's a good place to live near campus lol. I always read FSU had good off campus housing options, but it seems not to be the case.

[you]

I'm looking to rent somewhere within walking distance to campus.
So i googled it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe= ... a=N&tab=wl

Every apartment in the area has a user review average of about 20%!
This includes Studio Green/Seminole Oaks, Campus Edge, Campus Walk, Florida Towers, South Gate, Colony Club.

All the major complaints are that the staffs are huge assholes that attempt to extort you, and that the surrounding area is full of homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers. Does anyone know from experience what's a good place to live near campus lol. I always read FSU had good off campus housing options, but it seems not to be the case.

If you want to live within walking distance, your options are definitely more limited, but I'm sure you can find something that will work. Will you actually be walking to the law school? If you could at least bike, you would be able to live a bit farther out.
As for the "homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers", I'm not sure how it is near the law school on an average day or night. There is a homeless shelter across the street from the main FSU campus (on Tennessee), so there are definitely homeless people around. There's also a strip of bars along Tennessee across from campus that is popular with the students. Crooks and hookers I'm not so sure about. I'm pretty sure I'd feel "safe" living somewhere around the law school- it just might be less than ideal. If at all possible, I would recommend living farther out because you'll have a much nicer environment.
Overall, Tallahassee is pretty safe. Even the "college ghetto" that someone mentioned is okay. I lived south of the stadium off of Lake Bradford for four years during undergrad and enjoyed it. I could bike to school, or walk to the stadium and take a bus. It was kind of run down, almost all students, some loud parties, etc., but I didn't feel unsafe. Recently, however, there was a deadly shooting about half mile from there at a gas station, a mugging close by, etc. Not so scare you off, but I would probably try to stay north of Jackson Bluff Rd. Long as you're not out walking alone late at night, it'd be fine.

[ame05d]

I'm looking to rent somewhere within walking distance to campus.
So i googled it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe= ... a=N&tab=wl

Every apartment in the area has a user review average of about 20%!
This includes Studio Green/Seminole Oaks, Campus Edge, Campus Walk, Florida Towers, South Gate, Colony Club.

All the major complaints are that the staffs are huge assholes that attempt to extort you, and that the surrounding area is full of homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers. Does anyone know from experience what's a good place to live near campus lol. I always read FSU had good off campus housing options, but it seems not to be the case.

fsu does have good off campus housing options, just not the ones you mentioned! There are tons of houses around that area that are all student occupied on streets like layfayette, st. Augustine, etc. I was set to move into a 1 bd/ba duplex on layfayeete (still available at deanleasing.com), but found a place I like better. There are tons of apts close to campus on call st. Or off of pensacola, they're just kind of far from the law school to walk. I currently live in a house off of chapel only a few hundred yards from the stadium but the law school walk would be kind of a trek. If you want somewhere nice living directly by the law school will be difficult.

[ShadowRabbit]

I'm looking to rent somewhere within walking distance to campus.
So i googled it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe= ... a=N&tab=wl

Every apartment in the area has a user review average of about 20%!
This includes Studio Green/Seminole Oaks, Campus Edge, Campus Walk, Florida Towers, South Gate, Colony Club.

All the major complaints are that the staffs are huge assholes that attempt to extort you, and that the surrounding area is full of homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers. Does anyone know from experience what's a good place to live near campus lol. I always read FSU had good off campus housing options, but it seems not to be the case.

As the poster above said your "walking distance" options are limited, but don't forget that while its not the dc metro or the ny subway system, there is a bus system that does stop in front of apartment complexes that are a bit further away from the campus but nicer than the ones closer. May give you an option if you don't own a car.

Can I also just chime in on the "relax before law school here's 26 books you should read" though thing or am I too late?

Getting through "Getting to maybe" now, at least it's well written.

[gottaloveJAG]

I'm looking to rent somewhere within walking distance to campus.
So i googled it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe= ... a=N&tab=wl

Every apartment in the area has a user review average of about 20%!
This includes Studio Green/Seminole Oaks, Campus Edge, Campus Walk, Florida Towers, South Gate, Colony Club.

All the major complaints are that the staffs are huge assholes that attempt to extort you, and that the surrounding area is full of homeless people, bars, crooks, or hookers. Does anyone know from experience what's a good place to live near campus lol. I always read FSU had good off campus housing options, but it seems not to be the case.

I looked at those apts. (Florida Towers, etc.) that are literally located across the street from the law school (on Jefferson). They're all owned by Phoenix South (a management company). They showed me the inside of 2 of their buildings and I was definitely not impressed. The carpets were so old that the smell of the place made it almost unbearable to stay inside for more than a few minutes and that was in their most expensive and biggest 1-br. floorplan. It's pretty expensive for a 1-br. in that condition ($700 not including electric/gas/water/internet/tv) but I guess you're paying for the location.

Best of luck!