Michigan Law Class of 2015 Forum

[Marigold22]

Neither my roommate nor I were able to make it to the recent weekends for students who were admitted - did anyone see the 1L units? Is one of them better (more convenient, nicer, larger, more sunlight, quieter, better amenities) than the others?

[sandiego222]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

[cylon_clone]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

The visit definitely made me like the school more. Will probably hate it in the winter, but I really don't see myself picking Duke over M.ichigan after the visits...still going to take a few weeks to go on another school's admit day before deciding.


I know this was probably answered before but I can't find it...does anyone know if it's possible to switch from fall start to summer start? And is there a process for doing so?

[UnamSanctam]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

The visit definitely made me like the school more. Will probably hate it in the winter, but I really don't see myself picking Duke over M.ichigan after the visits...still going to take a few weeks to go on another school's admit day before deciding.


I know this was probably answered before but I can't find it...does anyone know if it's possible to switch from fall start to summer start? And is there a process for doing so?

You'd have to ask admissions, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's completely full by now.

[va323]

Neither my roommate nor I were able to make it to the recent weekends for students who were admitted - did anyone see the 1L units? Is one of them better (more convenient, nicer, larger, more sunlight, quieter, better amenities) than the others?

Forum had the nicest 2 bedrooms i thought..the bi levels were pretty sweet..i liked hoover too but i think it gets noisy since its near the stadium etc...i heard forest ave sucked but i didnt see it myself....all the prime buildings were a little overpriced but for the convenience and being with all law students i think its worth it

[descartesb4thehorse]

You'd have to ask admissions, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's completely full by now.

I'm fairly sure it is and there's some sort of waitlist thing going on (someone I talked to at A.S.W was telling me she was on it) but nothing can happen unless you ask. Luckily it seems like there are hundreds of students begging for subletters so at least if you do find out on short notice, it probably won't be too difficult to find somewhere to live for the summer.

[planeride]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

Just for the fun I'll play devil's advocate, as someone who went to ASW1. BTW I have already decided on Michigan, nobody jump down my throat!

Michigan's pitch revolves around its collegial culture; first, I'm not sure that's something you can gauge in a weekend. Everyone I met (I had real conversations with 20-30 current students) was very friendly, but there's self-selection going on here -- on the student panels, at the dinners, the receptions, the activity fair, and especially on TLS. Dean Z is a rockstar, and really fun to talk to, but I'm told the plans to clone her and enroll 300 mutant Dean Zs into the c/o 2015 went awry.

ASW1 was the weekend of the SFF auction, which was a really fun event. Let's say there were 300 students in attendance. (Insert your own guess if you don't like mine.) There are ~1200 students at Michigan. Let's say 200 were abroad or otherwise unavailable. Where were the other 700, i.e. the majority, doing? I'm not suggesting there's a silent, miserable majority...maybe an indifferent plurality or something? If you're on the margins of that culture, will you feel like everyone else is having fun and you're not? Or to put it differently...if you do end up unhappy, would it suck worse to be unhappy at a "happy" school?

For me at least, I think happiness will come from making maybe 10 or so close friends. Am I more likely to make close friends in a "collegial culture?" Maybe. I went to a UG that makes a similar kind of pitch as Michigan; I made many great friends but I can't say the "culture" had anything to do with it. It was a mixture of mutual interests, serendipity, luck, etc. that happens at every school in the country.

I also think the fact that Michigan trumpets its status as a "happy" school influences some of the students/faculty, particularly during the ASW events. It gets mentioned so often it becomes a constant topic of discussion, and it becomes easy to conclude "wow, everyone was talking about how happy they were!" Is that a fair representation of how happy people actually are on a random Tuesday in November when they're not in "ASW mode"? I honestly don't know.

BTW -- Agree with everyone above who complimented the faculty. They were fantastic.

PS: I know the atmosphere on these school-specific threads can sometimes be a little hostile to anyone who doesn't toe the party line. I'm happy to talk over PM if anyone wants to discuss their doubts/uncertainties.

[thelaststraw05]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

I also think the fact that SIXIGAN! trumpets its status as a "happy" school influences some of the students/faculty, particularly during the AspieFest 2012! events. It gets mentioned so often it becomes a constant topic of discussion, and it becomes easy to conclude "wow, everyone was talking about how happy they were!" Is that a fair representation of how happy people actually are on a random Tuesday in November when they're not in "AspieFest 2012! mode"? I honestly don't know.

FWIW, I know a lot of the students who went to a number of the ASW1 events. Nobody was given any instruction (I don't know if that's what you were suggesting). My experience has simply been that everyone is truly happy to be here. That isn't to say we aren't stressed - we are - but rather that we can't imagine where else we'd like to be.

[planeride]

I don't know how anyone could visit this school and choose to NOT attend

Well, I guess the weather. But what a unique place. Completely unlike any other law school I've visited. Am I crazy? Do others not feel this way??

I also think the fact that SIXIGAN! trumpets its status as a "happy" school influences some of the students/faculty, particularly during the AspieFest 2012! events. It gets mentioned so often it becomes a constant topic of discussion, and it becomes easy to conclude "wow, everyone was talking about how happy they were!" Is that a fair representation of how happy people actually are on a random Tuesday in November when they're not in "AspieFest 2012! mode"? I honestly don't know.

FWIW, I know a lot of the students who went to a number of the ASW1 events. Nobody was given any instruction (I don't know if that's what you were suggesting). My experience has simply been that everyone is truly happy to be here. That isn't to say we aren't stressed - we are - but rather that we can't imagine where else we'd like to be.

Yeah, didn't mean to imply that. I only meant the fact that it comes up again and again sort of prompts people to talk about how happy they are which might give a slightly distorted picture.

[JustE]

Can anyone give a rundown on the buildings reserved for 1Ls? Pros/cons anything at all will be helpful! Post here or PM please!

Overpriced and run down but worth it for the convenience, IMO. Just for 1L at least

The stuff near campus is either grungy or very overpriced. The reserved buildings are no exception. Where I'm from the apartments are cheap and spacious. It's taken me a while to get used to the idea of living in the housing close by, but from what I hear it's worth it.

[keg411]

Can anyone give a rundown on the buildings reserved for 1Ls? Pros/cons anything at all will be helpful! Post here or PM please!

Overpriced and run down but worth it for the convenience, IMO. Just for 1L at least

The stuff near campus is either grungy or very overpriced. The reserved buildings are no exception. Where I'm from the apartments are cheap and spacious. It's taken me a while to get used to the idea of living in the housing close by, but from what I hear it's worth it.

Yep, it's basically all that way, Prime or not. The place I live now is great, but it's not close to school. So you basically have three options in Ann Arbor: live somewhere not that nice close to school, live somewhere nice and commute, live in one of the Zaragon-type places that are super expensive and basically undergrad dorms.

Also, I'm not one of the happiest people here (believe me), and I think despite the collegiality, Michigan is actually a fairly competitive atmosphere... but I didn't go to the SFF Auction because State Street got flooded due to the storm and I couldn't get to campus. And I really wanted to go because they had baseball tickets .

[whirledpeas86]

I will freely say that I'm definitely not always happy at law school, and I'm pretty sure I said as much to many of the admitted students (including cylon_clone, if I'm not mistaken, as I hurried home to finish my brief for legal practice due the next day). Law school is stressful and a total pressure cooker. Some of my professors have been less than stellar, exam questions unclearly written, legal practice assignments unnecessarily long. However, any unhappiness that I've ever felt has been solely due to the beast that is law school rather than something specific to Michigan. I have been telling admitted students that law school really sucks sometimes, but if you're set on going, you might as well be somewhere that you love and feel supported; for me, Michigan is that place. I can't tell you the number of times I stayed up way too late reading or working on a legal practice assignment, woke up feeling grumpy, and cursing the day I decided law school would be a good idea. But then, I get to school and run into some friends or have an interesting classroom discussion about the case or go to an informative lunch meeting or grab a beer with some folks just to commiserate. For me, that supportive environment makes it worthwhile. At ANY law school you go to, the exams will be hard, the professors won't always be your favorite, you'll feel like you have too much to do and too little time. Of course you're not always going to be happy. But I think picking a school that is a good fit for you is essential to making yourself as happy as you could possibly be.

And then, once you're at school, figure out the sorts of things that DO make you happy. For me, reading for class or writing briefs don't fit the bill. However, being involved in student groups do seem to get that job done. So, even as a 1L, I've had the opportunity to be Co-Chair of Outlaws (the LGBT law student group), active in LSRJ (law students for reproductive justice), and participate in the Williams Institute Gender and Sexuality Moot Court hosted by UCLA, among other things. Make an effort to find the things that interest you and then pursue them full force. There are tons of opportunities to be involved in the campus community, make friends, figure out the sorts of legal issues in which you're most interested, and build relationships with professors, advisors, and potential future employers. I'm of the mind-set that law school is totally what you make of it. If you set out to be miserable, then yeah, you're probably going to end up feeling miserable. But if you put in some work to figuring out what works for you and what makes you happy, then it's entirely possible to have a decent 1L experience.

Okay, back to reading for con law!

[Dake!]

Sorry if asked before, but I couldn't find instructions on depositing at Michigan. Do you just pay it online and they consider you 'enrolled'? Do I need to have any outstanding apps withdrawn first? Is there a form to fill out or anything?
Thanks!! Super excited for MLaw

[UnamSanctam]

Sorry if asked before, but I couldn't find instructions on depositing at Michigan. Do you just pay it online and they consider you 'enrolled'? Do I need to have any outstanding apps withdrawn first? Is there a form to fill out or anything?
Thanks!! Super excited for MLaw

Pay your deposit online. It'll show up under the communications part of the admitted students' website within a few days, and you'll get a letter a week or two later confirming and telling you to set up your Umich email.

[cylon_clone]

I will freely say that I'm definitely not always happy at law school, and I'm pretty sure I said as much to many of the admitted students (including cylon_clone, if I'm not mistaken, as I hurried home to finish my brief for legal practice due the next day). Law school is stressful and a total pressure cooker. Some of my professors have been less than stellar, exam questions unclearly written, legal practice assignments unnecessarily long. However, any unhappiness that I've ever felt has been solely due to the beast that is law school rather than something specific to Michigan. I have been telling admitted students that law school really sucks sometimes, but if you're set on going, you might as well be somewhere that you love and feel supported; for me, Michigan is that place. I can't tell you the number of times I stayed up way too late reading or working on a legal practice assignment, woke up feeling grumpy, and cursing the day I decided law school would be a good idea. But then, I get to school and run into some friends or have an interesting classroom discussion about the case or go to an informative lunch meeting or grab a beer with some folks just to commiserate. For me, that supportive environment makes it worthwhile. At ANY law school you go to, the exams will be hard, the professors won't always be your favorite, you'll feel like you have too much to do and too little time. Of course you're not always going to be happy. But I think picking a school that is a good fit for you is essential to making yourself as happy as you could possibly be.

And then, once you're at school, figure out the sorts of things that DO make you happy. For me, reading for class or writing briefs don't fit the bill. However, being involved in student groups do seem to get that job done. So, even as a 1L, I've had the opportunity to be Co-Chair of Outlaws (the LGBT law student group), active in LSRJ (law students for reproductive justice), and participate in the Williams Institute Gender and Sexuality Moot Court hosted by UCLA, among other things. Make an effort to find the things that interest you and then pursue them full force. There are tons of opportunities to be involved in the campus community, make friends, figure out the sorts of legal issues in which you're most interested, and build relationships with professors, advisors, and potential future employers. I'm of the mind-set that law school is totally what you make of it. If you set out to be miserable, then yeah, you're probably going to end up feeling miserable. But if you put in some work to figuring out what works for you and what makes you happy, then it's entirely possible to have a decent 1L experience.

Okay, back to reading for con law!

If you're talking about outside in the law quad and at Fred's, then yes - we did talk. And, you did admit that law school sucks sometimes...good luck with con law.

I agree, law school - like many things - is largely what you make it. Choosing the right law school that has the right vibe is probably the first step in making it the best experience possible.


At Duke's ASW, a guy who went to UMich's ASW I described Duke as "classier" than Michigan. I wouldn't use that word - but I'd say that Duke Law has a more corporate feel and design whereas Michigan seems less formal and more accessible. (Dean Z is also delightfully quirky, so that helps in building UMich's casual perception).

[keg411]

I would definitely agree about picking based on "fit" and comfort. I actually didn't do that when I decided between Michigan and Northwestern, and when push comes to shove sometimes I wonder if I would've been happier being in Chicago. However, I did do it when picking my first law school and I definitely made the right decision on that one since I was super comfortable there and it definitely helped me do well enough to get into Michigan in the first place .

[greenleaf]

Does the facebook roommate group get updated regularly? There seems to be a break and then several people are added at once. Who is responsible for updating it? The Class facebook group gets updated much more frequently - so it can't be the same person.

[erikjc]

Neither my roommate nor I were able to make it to the recent weekends for students who were admitted - did anyone see the 1L units? Is one of them better (more convenient, nicer, larger, more sunlight, quieter, better amenities) than the others?

Forum had the nicest 2 bedrooms i thought..the bi levels were pretty sweet..i liked hoover too but i think it gets noisy since its near the stadium etc...i heard forest ave sucked but i didnt see it myself....all the prime buildings were a little overpriced but for the convenience and being with all law students i think its worth it

I actually thought Forest Ave was the nicest, but it's the farthest walk to the law school (about the same as Hoover). Still under 10 minutes though.

[planeride]

I will freely say that I'm definitely not always happy at law school, and I'm pretty sure I said as much to many of the admitted students (including cylon_clone, if I'm not mistaken, as I hurried home to finish my brief for legal practice due the next day). Law school is stressful and a total pressure cooker. Some of my professors have been less than stellar, exam questions unclearly written, legal practice assignments unnecessarily long. However, any unhappiness that I've ever felt has been solely due to the beast that is law school rather than something specific to Michigan. I have been telling admitted students that law school really sucks sometimes, but if you're set on going, you might as well be somewhere that you love and feel supported; for me, Michigan is that place. I can't tell you the number of times I stayed up way too late reading or working on a legal practice assignment, woke up feeling grumpy, and cursing the day I decided law school would be a good idea. But then, I get to school and run into some friends or have an interesting classroom discussion about the case or go to an informative lunch meeting or grab a beer with some folks just to commiserate. For me, that supportive environment makes it worthwhile. At ANY law school you go to, the exams will be hard, the professors won't always be your favorite, you'll feel like you have too much to do and too little time. Of course you're not always going to be happy. But I think picking a school that is a good fit for you is essential to making yourself as happy as you could possibly be.

And then, once you're at school, figure out the sorts of things that DO make you happy. For me, reading for class or writing briefs don't fit the bill. However, being involved in student groups do seem to get that job done. So, even as a 1L, I've had the opportunity to be Co-Chair of Outlaws (the LGBT law student group), active in LSRJ (law students for reproductive justice), and participate in the Williams Institute Gender and Sexuality Moot Court hosted by UCLA, among other things. Make an effort to find the things that interest you and then pursue them full force. There are tons of opportunities to be involved in the campus community, make friends, figure out the sorts of legal issues in which you're most interested, and build relationships with professors, advisors, and potential future employers. I'm of the mind-set that law school is totally what you make of it. If you set out to be miserable, then yeah, you're probably going to end up feeling miserable. But if you put in some work to figuring out what works for you and what makes you happy, then it's entirely possible to have a decent 1L experience.

Okay, back to reading for con law!

Thanks for this thoughtful post. What you're saying makes sense. I agree that you have a lot of control over your own happiness, which might be why the sales pitch of "Michigan, we're happier than everyone else" doesn't resonate as much for me.

Neither my roommate nor I were able to make it to the recent weekends for students who were admitted - did anyone see the 1L units? Is one of them better (more convenient, nicer, larger, more sunlight, quieter, better amenities) than the others?

Forum had the nicest 2 bedrooms i thought..the bi levels were pretty sweet..i liked hoover too but i think it gets noisy since its near the stadium etc...i heard forest ave sucked but i didnt see it myself....all the prime buildings were a little overpriced but for the convenience and being with all law students i think its worth it

I actually thought Forest Ave was the nicest, but it's the farthest walk to the law school (about the same as Hoover). Still under 10 minutes though.

Agree that Forest was the nicest. (I walked around all of them but ultimately chose something else.) I did kind of like the floor plans of the E. Hoover ones, although maybe it would be annoying to have to walk up and down stairs in a 600 square foot apartment!

Anyone considering the Prime apts should go to the website and double-check which utilities are included, because they change from building to building. Also, I think I read that the E. Hoover ones have air conditioning on the 2nd floor but not the 1st.

[DaftAndDirect]

Extremely specific ASW question...

But does anyone remember the name of the Simpson Thacher associate who spoke at the Alumni Panel last Saturday morning?

[MiAiLi]

Extremely specific ASW question...

But does anyone remember the name of the Simpson Thacher associate who spoke at the Alumni Panel last Saturday morning?

Jennifer something... The second from the left, right? I can't remember her last name. Sorry!

[sandwiches5000]

Extremely specific ASW question...

But does anyone remember the name of the Simpson Thacher associate who spoke at the Alumni Panel last Saturday morning?

Maybe you can try emailing one of the people in charge of coordinating ASW?

[sandwiches5000]

So, I feel like this has been discussed before but when will we find out about what textbooks we need for the summer start? Is it typically the same texts needed for the same courses year to year or do the profs often change what books they use?

[American_in_China]

Well my decision was 90% money, but I will say I loved ASW and I think Michigan is amazing; I feel totally comfortable going there next year. Would I be happier at Vandy? Probably, since I'm from Nashville and my two best friends are both there for the forseeable future. But Michigan really seemed amazing this past weekend. I'm looking forward to being there next year.
Go Blue!

[ScrabbleChamp]

Well my decision was 90% money, but I will say I loved ASW and I think Michigan is amazing; I feel totally comfortable going there next year. Would I be happier at Vandy? Probably, since I'm from Nashville and my two best friends are both there for the forseeable future. But Michigan really seemed amazing this past weekend. I'm looking forward to being there next year.
Go Blue!

I'm definitely not trying to dissuade you, but, if you think you will be happier at Vandy, why would you choose another school? As someone previously said, law school is stressful and you should choose based on fit... a happier you may be able to do better at Vandy and, depending on your aspirations, that may be the best place.