Texas Class of 2017 Forum

[Attax]

Update on the priority deadline, in case you didn't see it in the facebook page. Basically it is for grants, by March 1st you'll get grant money. If you wait until after then, the grant money may be all dried up.

[BigZuck]

Update on the priority deadline, in case you didn't see it in the facebook page. Basically it is for grants, by March 1st you'll get grant money. If you wait until after then, the grant money may be all dried up.

Grant money this year was 3K, just FYI

[Attax]

Update on the priority deadline, in case you didn't see it in the facebook page. Basically it is for grants, by March 1st you'll get grant money. If you wait until after then, the grant money may be all dried up.

Grant money this year was 3K, just FYI

Thanks! Any money is good money. 3K would make a sizeable dent in things.

[shifty_eyed]

Checking in as a procrastinating 1L. Feel free to ask questions here or PM. For financial aid stuff, I think PM is best.

[cannibal ox]

Is everyone who filed their FAFSA before the deadline guaranteed grant money? Does it go right towards tuition on top of your scholarship? Is the money a one-time thing, or a yearly thing?

[shifty_eyed]

Is everyone who filed their FAFSA before the deadline guaranteed grant money? Does it go right towards tuition on top of your scholarship? Is the money a one-time thing, or a yearly thing?

1) pretty much
2) yes (not sure how it works if you have a full tuition already)
3) yearly, but i've heard it can go down (maybe only if you get an SA? idk)

[cannibal ox]

Wow, that's great news. Free money. I'm pretty set on UT so anything and everything helps.

Anything you wish you knew as a 0L heading to UT?

How crucial is it to lock down an apartment quickly? I'm out of state and visiting in the next month but unsure when I should seriously start looking at living situations.

[shifty_eyed]

Wow, that's great news. Free money. I'm pretty set on UT so anything and everything helps.

Anything you wish you knew as a 0L heading to UT?

How crucial is it to lock down an apartment quickly? I'm out of state and visiting in the next month but unsure when I should seriously start looking at living situations.

Oh, I don't know if this was mentioned above, but I *think* the grant money is for in-state students only.

I think the #1 thing that shocked me, but is almost certainly not unique to UT, is how prepared everyone is. Especially first semester.

Also, I still get lost in the law school. If you don't look at the prefix before the room number (TNH for example), you could be in the wrong room even if the numbers match up.

I know people who found housing just fine after getting off the waitlist in the summer, but I think the sooner, the better. I know we've had a trickle of people looking at my apartment (for fall 2014) since November, so the market does move fast.

[BigZuck]

Wow, that's great news. Free money. I'm pretty set on UT so anything and everything helps.

Anything you wish you knew as a 0L heading to UT?

How crucial is it to lock down an apartment quickly? I'm out of state and visiting in the next month but unsure when I should seriously start looking at living situations.

I know I wasn't asked but I kind of wished that I had read through TLS a bit more for tips on doing well as a 1L. I don't think you really need to do 0L prep in terms of learning law or anything silly like that but just generally knowing what types of things you should do to study, when you should start outlining, what supplements to get and how to use them, etc. could have been helpful rather than trying to figure out all that stuff in like November. I don't know that it affected my grades at all and 1L is kind of intentionally baffling in a lot of ways but it still would have been nice having a little bit better sense of WTF I should have been doing from the start.

Again though, that doesn't mean do any prep in terms of reading textbooks or supplements, just having somewhat of a (flexible) plan of attack. I do however highly recommend reading "Getting to Maybe" before school starts and then again before exams. That is one piece of 0L prep that I think could be highly useful.

As for housing- I found my place in April or May, wasn't a huge deal. But I live kind of far away from campus, if you want to live close like a normal human and you're set on UT I don't think it would hurt to at least start browsing around a bit.

[shifty_eyed]

Also avoid west campus

[cannibal ox]

No worries, Zuck. I appreciate the input. That goes for any current or former UT student, I'm sure other 0Ls appreciate any helpful information as much as I do.

When you say 'tips for doing well', do you mean the guides in the TLS Content Competitions forum? Or were there helpful things you learned from your mentor or 2L/3Ls?

It seems like places near campus can be more expensive, but you'll save on gas/parking (I read through last year's threads and parked seemed like a hassle). Has that been your experience? Again, anyone feel free to chime in. I'll be bringing a car and don't mind living a bit further off campus if it'll save some money. I'm also a few years out of undergrad, so being further away from undergrads/whatever wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

I'm on my first read through of Getting to Maybe, but the rest of my 0L prep has been planning trips for my last summer before school.

[BigZuck]

Yeah, I just meant reading threads on doing well in law school like you mentioned. I like my mentor a lot as a person and I wouldn't say she's not helpful because she is always eager to help, but I have found that TLS resources and other classmates have been more essential to doing well than anything from the mentor program. I think the 0L prep you're doing is perfect right now btw.

I live sort of far but I drive in to a shuttle stop which is in a neighborhood and park there. Don't have to pay for parking or deal with finding it on campus. It works for me but YMMV.

[Attax]

Close and avoiding undergrads, look to North Campus/Hyde Park. Granted, this area is more expensive and goes fast. I looked at a place the beginning of january with 9 units available, 2 weeks later I was applying for my apt and there were only 3 left. But, this is much more a problem in west campus really. There's also far west and lake austin area which are all on shuttle lines. Definitely avoid riverside/oltorf if you want to live south, and downtown can be pretty expensive. I know through UG, at least, I always started looking for a place late december/early january, but there's still plenty available later if you're willing to be a bit far and not in typical UG areas.

Parking can suck, I always try to live along a shuttle line. The best options, in my opinion for the law school (note: 0L just speculating from my time here) would be either san jacinto garage if the price doesn't deter you, motorcycle parking if you have a bike/scooter, or a C pass and get there before 9:30 to grab a spot in the LBJ parking lot. Although, there is also C parking near the baseball fields (across the interstate) with a shuttle that runs somewhat unpredictably (if I'm parking there I usually shoot for at least 20 minutes before I need to be anywhere). The shuttle also picks up outside of the law school, and drops off at the top of the street whose name I have no idea of, but it is near the football field and is only a short walk (5 minutes) to the law school).

Austin is also very bicycle friendly.

[shifty_eyed]

A number of students also park in the back-in street parking along Dean Keeton (street in front of law school). It's free after 6 pm and on Saturdays, so it's a decent alternative to public transportation if you are running late or it's raining.

[Attax]

A number of students also park in the back-in street parking along Dean Keeton (street in front of law school). It's free after 6 pm and on Saturdays, so it's a decent alternative to public transportation if you are running late or it's raining.

I forget that that parking is there. I try to never rely on meter parking around campus.

[El Principe]

Anyone know if Texas negotiates schollies after a June retake? I want to sign up to see if I can improve my score primarily to negotiate a higher offer, but if that's a wash than a new score would be incentive to hold out for a year.

I really want to go to UT, and although I'm mainly targeting TX BigLaw, I'd honestly rather do TX midlaw or in-house than BigLaw in another city. So, other than TX firms preference for T14 kids from Texas returning/a higher grade cutoff for those guys, T14 really doesn't offer me much more.

[El Cunado]

Has anyone had any success with the scholarship matching program?

[Attax]

Has anyone had any success with the scholarship matching program?

I haven't tried yet. With one try I'm waiting to get my UMN and WUSTL offers up prior to engaging.

[El Cunado]

Has anyone had any success with the scholarship matching program?

I haven't tried yet. With one try I'm waiting to get my UMN and WUSTL offers up prior to engaging.

I am in the same boat waiting on one more letter. Will post when I hear anything

[Kool-Aid]

Anybody 100% sure they'll be at UT this fall?

[El Principe]

Anybody 100% sure they'll be at UT this fall?

I was until I got this very very generous scholarship package from Vanderbilt....

So that begs the question, how does UT do scholarship matching? Do they try to match the dollar amount or do they only match up to the cost of attendance.

[ScottRiqui]

Anybody 100% sure they'll be at UT this fall?

I'll be there.

[Kool-Aid]

Anybody 100% sure they'll be at UT this fall?

I was until I got this very very generous scholarship package from Vanderbilt....

So that begs the question, how does UT do scholarship matching? Do they try to match the dollar amount or do they only match up to the cost of attendance.

Good question! There are a couple current students over in the applicant thread that I would ask, but I wouldn't hesitate to contact the admission office at UT. I have been in touch recently about a couple issues and they have been great and upfront on everything.

[McAvoy]

I get the idea that living in reasonable walking distance (20 mins or less) to the school (w/ a SO) is going to pretty unlikely, Austin isn't terribly bike-friendly, public transportation is awful, and parking is expensive and terrible. Is that all correct?

Does there exist a neat area near the law school where one could reasonably survive/enjoy town without a car?

Not a deal breaker, but it's one of my favorite aspects of my current living situation, and I kind of dread a different arrangement (and I don't have a new car in the budget).

[BigZuck]

I get the idea that living in reasonable walking distance (20 mins or less) to the school (w/ a SO) is going to pretty unlikely, Austin isn't terribly bike-friendly, public transportation is awful, and parking is expensive and terrible. Is that all correct?

Does there exist a neat area near the law school where one could reasonably survive/enjoy town without a car?

Not a deal breaker, but it's one of my favorite aspects of my current living situation, and I kind of dread a different arrangement (and I don't have a new car in the budget).

There's tons of housing just north of the law school in Hyde Park. Seems like most students live in that are and just walk to school or hop on a shuttle for a short ride that drops you off right next to the law school.