Michigan 2012 Forum

[06072010]

I don't know of one large lecture hall that isn't equipped with plugs. I could be wrong, but I've had classes in all the biggies.

[hdg315]

It seemed that nobody used a laptop in that class to take notes--possibly the room was not equipped. Is that fairly standard?

This is completely off the top of my head, but I think I read in that Quadrangle mag that a professor had started banning laptops in his classes, and I think that was the male Primus, so maybe female Primus started that too?

[Objection]

Well I think she was trying to pose a question where there were no alternatives. Obviously the student could have just kept answering with more and more possibilities...he could move to Sweden, he could start his own farm....but usually you know the point of the question and you just try to answer it rather than being a pain. Part of it is that you recognize that there's a point that the prof is trying to make and you don't waste everybody's time by going further and further outside the box. That's not to say that there's only one answer (sometimes there is no one right answer...there are several answers which are completely opposite to each other) or that you can't be creative but you want to address the issues as much as possible.

You will go far. Please impart this wisdom to the rest of the school. It's not about seeing what the craziest hypothetical you can come up with. It's about making sure the class knows what is pushing the doctrine.

OK gotcha. I wasn't sure, given the nature of the question, whether she wanted to rule out all other alternatives or just rule out what seem to be reasonable/ideal alternatives (which seemed like it would bring up the issue of whether it would fly, as a counter to the defense being talked about (necessity?), to say "well, yeah, he was dying, but instead of breaking in and eating a piece of bread, he could have picked through the garbage.") I wasn't sure whether she wanted to branch off into a discussion of at what point a defense of necessity becomes valid (all options vs all reasonable options...what is reasonable). Ruling out all alternatives kind of leads to only one answer (although I don't remember whether she had been discussing imminence at that point), and given how ambiguous the rest of the class had been, I didn't know if that's what she was trying to do.

But then again, having not done the reading, never taken a law school class, having no familiarity with any legal concepts or what you guys have been discussing, I don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the tip, however. I'm sure it will save me some problems in LS.

[awesomepossum]

It seemed that nobody used a laptop in that class to take notes--possibly the room was not equipped. Is that fairly standard?

all rooms are equipped with plugs and have wireless. However, Brensike-Primus is one of those profs that don't let you use laptops in class.

I had one prof last semester that wouldn't let us use laptops too.

To be honest, students are genuinely more engaged when we can't go online.

[Jeff Mangum]

What I'm really wondering about is whether I will typically be using a laptop to take notes in class--should I buy a computer with that in mind, or is it much more common for students to take notes by hand? I've been out of school for quite a while, so I'm not all that in touch with what students are doing in modern times.

[06072010]

When I can use a laptop, I do. I've keep strict no internet rules though. My suggestion would be to get a light notebook with good battery life. It's cool to be able to go to a coffee shop and not plug stalk.

[Objection]

When I can use a laptop, I do. I've keep strict no internet rules though. My suggestion would be to get a light notebook with good battery life. It's cool to be able to go to a coffee shop and not plug stalk.

*cough*thenewmacbookswith8hoursofbatterylife*cough*

[Jeff Mangum]

When I can use a laptop, I do. I've keep strict no internet rules though. My suggestion would be to get a light notebook with good battery life. It's cool to be able to go to a coffee shop and not plug stalk.

*cough*thenewmacbookswith8hoursofbatterylife*cough*

Not to get too off topic--I really want to hear about other impressions of the law school--but what do you think of the macbook air for ls? I have an older mac now, so I def plan to stay with that system.

[hdg315]

Not to get too off topic--I really want to hear about other impressions of the law school--but what do you think of the macbook air for ls? I have an older mac now, so I def plan to stay with that system.

No cd/dvd drive is a deal breaker for me. Plus you need some add-on or something to use a jump/flash drive on it (either that or its some complicated procedure to do it)

[snotrocket]

What I'm really wondering about is whether I will typically be using a laptop to take notes in class--should I buy a computer with that in mind, or is it much more common for students to take notes by hand? I've been out of school for quite a while, so I'm not all that in touch with what students are doing in modern times.

People do whatever works for them. The laptop ban, on the whole, seems like a pretty outstanding idea, as long as the professor is good. Whatever you do though, you will absolutely need a decent and reliable laptop for exams.

[Jeff Mangum]

Thanks for the advice. I also just wanted to say that I was really impressed with the quality of students at Michigan. (I expected nothing less.)

[prelaw]

My reaction to the ASW:

-The idea that big city people can like Ann Arbor, or, more generally that Ann Arbor has a lot to offer, was overstated! I think they should've let the city/university atmosphere speak for itself.
-Dean Z (as already mentioned) really is amazing
-The weather was deceptively nice
-Not sure if a people place is the place for me. Not that I'm not into fostering a strong community but I do like to keep some things private, which seems sort of impossible at Michigan (also dovetails with the point about law school being high school).
-Any other critique I have of Michigan probably applies to most law schools since the population is so small: token minorities as opposed to real diversity, homogeneous population, etc. I will say that the sex ratio is definitely skewed towards men (55%-45%) and you can feel it on campus if you are sensitive to those sorts of things.
-I found the accounts of love at first sight a little disconcerting-- mainly because I didn't feel that way and would still like to think Michigan is in the running based on its merit as a law school.

Positives:
-Amazing placement in clerkships
-Truly is a national school, in a way I didn't understand before the ASW
-People seem happy, though I agree that current students we interacted with were probably hand selected for this reason.
-Seems to have good clinical programs with a lot of professor-student interaction.
-Seems to be concerned with cultivating well educated lawyers rather than churning out degrees.
-Seems like students with a number of different interests can thrive there. People seem to do their own thing successfully.

[Anhimal]

Thanks for posting your reactions, I'm pretty psyched about the April ASW.

Do you guys recommend staying for the entire three days or do you think one day is enough to get the gist of it? I'm not sure if I can take both Thursday and Friday off to attend.

Also, I'm planning on bringing a parent. Do you think they would feel out of place or bored at Michigan's ASW? I just went to Duke's Open House and they were very parents/guest friendly, is Michigan the same way?

[hdg315]

Thanks for posting your reactions, I'm pretty psyched about the April ASW.

Do you guys recommend staying for the entire three days or do you think one day is enough to get the gist of it? I'm not sure if I can take both Thursday and Friday off to attend.

Also, I'm planning on bringing a parent. Do you think they would feel out of place or bored at Michigan's ASW? I just went to Duke's Open House and they were very parents/guest friendly, is Michigan the same way?

I honestly think the longer you can stay the better...an there were "can't miss" events for us on both days. I'm not sure of the April schedule, though I know it is similar, but Thursday's mixer with faculty was definitely one of the highlights...me and a friend stayed 30 min after dinner had started jsut to finish up talking to profs. Friday has all the infomration break-out stuff, and also UNMISSABLE mock class and class visit. Really top notch...if you had to miss one day, I would cut out the thursda faculyty mixer unfortunately, because at least you can sit in on the faculty panel on friday.

Parents...I don't know...I think there was one girl with her father there and it seemed out of place. I knew a few people who came with parents, but that didn't come to any events, just did their own thing in AA, which was fine. No one would have a problem with you bringing your 'rents, but be warned that especially since the crowd trended toward older last time, you will probably be the outlier (not that there's anything wrong with that, but just be warned). And I don't think your parent would be bored, as they were perfectly fine with involving the one I saw in the majority of the events.

[Alexandria]

Just in case you didn't realize... the RG is our law school newspaper, written and edited by students. I'm guessing (bc I think I remember this from my ASW) that they put together a special edition for the admitted students.

[Alexandria]

-People seem happy, though I agree that current students we interacted with were probably hand selected for this reason.

People aren't hand-selected. They need way, way too many student volunteers for that. But then again, unhappy people would be less likely to volunteer for a recruiting event.

[prelaw]

Thanks for posting your reactions, I'm pretty psyched about the April ASW.

Do you guys recommend staying for the entire three days or do you think one day is enough to get the gist of it? I'm not sure if I can take both Thursday and Friday off to attend.

Also, I'm planning on bringing a parent. Do you think they would feel out of place or bored at Michigan's ASW? I just went to Duke's Open House and they were very parents/guest friendly, is Michigan the same way?

I honestly think the longer you can stay the better...an there were "can't miss" events for us on both days. I'm not sure of the April schedule, though I know it is similar, but Thursday's mixer with faculty was definitely one of the highlights...me and a friend stayed 30 min after dinner had started jsut to finish up talking to profs. Friday has all the infomration break-out stuff, and also UNMISSABLE mock class and class visit. Really top notch...if you had to miss one day, I would cut out the thursda faculyty mixer unfortunately, because at least you can sit in on the faculty panel on friday.

Parents...I don't know...I think there was one girl with her father there and it seemed out of place. I knew a few people who came with parents, but that didn't come to any events, just did their own thing in AA, which was fine. No one would have a problem with you bringing your 'rents, but be warned that especially since the crowd trended toward older last time, you will probably be the outlier (not that there's anything wrong with that, but just be warned). And I don't think your parent would be bored, as they were perfectly fine with involving the one I saw in the majority of the events.

It definitely wasn't structured for parents. My dad went and I think he had more fun/met more people than I did, but that is the way he is. By day 2, he just started exploring AA and I went to the events alone. He was able to talk to professors and law students and get valuable information, so it can be helpful to have another perspective around.

[stevededalus]

Did anyone bring a spouse or significant other? My wife might be interested in the financial aid and career sessions, given that it's a joint investment in our future.

[Alexandria]

Thanks for posting your reactions, I'm pretty psyched about the April ASW.

Do you guys recommend staying for the entire three days or do you think one day is enough to get the gist of it? I'm not sure if I can take both Thursday and Friday off to attend.

Also, I'm planning on bringing a parent. Do you think they would feel out of place or bored at Michigan's ASW? I just went to Duke's Open House and they were very parents/guest friendly, is Michigan the same way?

I honestly think the longer you can stay the better...an there were "can't miss" events for us on both days. I'm not sure of the April schedule, though I know it is similar, but Thursday's mixer with faculty was definitely one of the highlights...me and a friend stayed 30 min after dinner had started jsut to finish up talking to profs. Friday has all the infomration break-out stuff, and also UNMISSABLE mock class and class visit. Really top notch...if you had to miss one day, I would cut out the thursda faculyty mixer unfortunately, because at least you can sit in on the faculty panel on friday.

Parents...I don't know...I think there was one girl with her father there and it seemed out of place. I knew a few people who came with parents, but that didn't come to any events, just did their own thing in AA, which was fine. No one would have a problem with you bringing your 'rents, but be warned that especially since the crowd trended toward older last time, you will probably be the outlier (not that there's anything wrong with that, but just be warned). And I don't think your parent would be bored, as they were perfectly fine with involving the one I saw in the majority of the events.

It definitely wasn't structured for parents. My dad went and I think he had more fun/met more people than I did, but that is the way he is. By day 2, he just started exploring AA and I went to the events alone. He was able to talk to professors and law students and get valuable information, so it can be helpful to have another perspective around.

That's pretty much what happened with my husband... he came the first day, and everyone was nice to him, and he got a feel for things, but he didn't have any desire to go to more events after that. So day 2 he hung out by himself.

[prelaw]

[quote

That's pretty much what happened with my husband... he came the first day, and everyone was nice to him, and he got a feel for things, but he didn't have any desire to go to more events after that. So day 2 he hung out by himself.[/quote]


Brining a SO seems more acceptable because the crowd seemed generally older, which is why I think having my dad there made me seem a bit out of place. To those considering bringing someone with them, the truth is that the events are a little bit draining even for admitted students so I can't imagine that your SO/parent would end up attending events for the entire weekend.

[lilybbloom]

Thanks everyone for sharing your impressions! I'm really excited to visit next month. I hope you 1 and 2Ls will organize another TLS meet-up!

Just a few questions- can someone elaborate more on what one poster described as the overwhelming presence of undergrads everywhere? Is it really inescapable? I've been planning on living 1-2 miles from campus but was recently told by a Michigan grad not to, because my social life would suffer (people on this board have contradicted that, so I'm not sure)- are there places nearer to campus that aren't infiltrated by undergrads? I know it sounds odd, but I always feel slightly intimidated by undergrads (though I'm still one myself) vs. grad students- I guess because I'm not a huge drinker/partier.

[prelaw]

Thanks everyone for sharing your impressions! I'm really excited to visit next month. I hope you 1 and 2Ls will organize another TLS meet-up!

Just a few questions- can someone elaborate more on what one poster described as the overwhelming presence of undergrads everywhere? Is it really inescapable? I've been planning on living 1-2 miles from campus but was recently told by a Michigan grad not to, because my social life would suffer (people on this board have contradicted that, so I'm not sure)- are there places nearer to campus that aren't infiltrated by undergrads? I know it sounds odd, but I always feel slightly intimidated by undergrads (though I'm still one myself) vs. grad students- I guess because I'm not a huge drinker/partier.

I think I disagree with this assertion. Like most large campuses, the vast majority of people walking around are undergrads. It did not seem, however, that any undergrads ventured into the Law Quad. The Law School seems pretty self-contained, but once you leave the law school there are understandably undergrads milling about.

[hdg315]

Thanks everyone for sharing your impressions! I'm really excited to visit next month. I hope you 1 and 2Ls will organize another TLS meet-up!

Just a few questions- can someone elaborate more on what one poster described as the overwhelming presence of undergrads everywhere? Is it really inescapable? I've been planning on living 1-2 miles from campus but was recently told by a Michigan grad not to, because my social life would suffer (people on this board have contradicted that, so I'm not sure)- are there places nearer to campus that aren't infiltrated by undergrads? I know it sounds odd, but I always feel slightly intimidated by undergrads (though I'm still one myself) vs. grad students- I guess because I'm not a huge drinker/partier.

I think I disagree with this assertion. Like most large campuses, the vast majority of people walking around are undergrads. It did not seem, however, that any undergrads ventured into the Law Quad. The Law School seems pretty self-contained, but once you leave the law school there are understandably undergrads milling about.

Yeah I was the one who mentioned it, but I meant primarily some of the bars nearby. From what I understand, undergrads are a bit too intimidated to venture into the law quad area. But, right across the street is the Union, which is obviously overrun with them

[snotrocket]

Yeah I was the one who mentioned it, but I meant primarily some of the bars nearby. From what I understand, undergrads are a bit too intimidated to venture into the law quad area. But, right across the street is the Union, which is obviously overrun with them

Also, as far as bars and places to eat go, there is the student zone centered around State St, and the "grownup zone" a few blocks west and centered on Main street. You can be in the middle of it, or you can get out of it, pretty easily. If you don't want to live in the student ghetto and have to deal with frat parties every weekend, then just start your search at a 1 mile radius from the law quad. The impact on your social life ... probably depends on who you plan to socialize with. Living off campus you probably will miss out on a lot of things that the LC / Phid House and other super close in people do. If you don't want to be around the law school 24x7, are socializing mainly with people who live off campus, or if your social life centers around things other than bar nights at Ricks, then you might not miss that. This really depends on who you are, how old you are, and what sorts of social activities are critical for you to feel involved.

[lilybbloom]

Well, I'm straight from undergrad but don't mind socializing with slightly older people... I enjoy going out to (chill) bars, and I really don't want to feel out of the loop- I don't know anyone at Michigan, law student or not. Now I'm just stressing out because I would actually love to live in the law quad, but I have 2 cats and I hate cafeteria food anyway. Is it really very cliquey there- do LC people mainly hang out with their own? I'm just terrified that this will be like the beginning of undergrad where everyone is rushing to make BFFs and because I live farther away I'll sort of be sad and lonely clearly I'm being melodramatic but I am a bit concerned about it- also because one poster said the atmosphere was like high school (I hated high school and am looking for a more inclusive, laid-back environment where people don't just cling to one group of friends).