Hastings First year thoughts... Forum

[Borhas]

no, they really won't

I'm sure it's happened at some point, but it seems like these stories come from times before Westlaw/Lexis online and laptops (otherwise they really don't make sense)

I decided to skip a class to take the day off, two of my friends each emailed me their notes without even asking me. So I guess it just depends on the peculiarities of people.

[stonepeep]

Yeah I just don't think those things happen anymore, because there is no point to it. I know a ton of other students and if any of them had ever seen this happen I think I would have heard about it by now. It's possible that these things used to happen when LWR was a GPA class and online research was not permitted, but neither of those things is the case today. bilbo, if the people you spoke to have already graduated, then their experiences in this area aren't really relevant.

[General Tso]

On the downside, some of the rumors about the atmosphere at Hastings are true. While the peeps I know are awesome, they have been candid about the fact that people do tear pages out of books, steal notes, etc.

This is the second time I've heard this about Hastings. WTF is up? Is tearing pages out of books and stealing notes really going to make a difference in grades?

of course not...the only time I've needed to use the library is for the first LWR assignment (after that we could use wexis) and to make copies for journal. its just one of those stupid things that is stuck in peoples' minds.

[bilbobaggins]

So, if individuals graduated less than a year ago their experiences aren't really relevant?

[General Tso]

So, if individuals graduated less than a year ago their experiences aren't really relevant?

only if their purported experiences are accurate. I suspect that they were just exaggerating the competitive spirit at the school by repeating some of the rumors they had seen on message boards like this one.

was there ever a time at Boalt when you needed something really badly from the library and would have been totally screwed without it?

[bilbobaggins]

I think it's very strange, though commonplace, for conversations like this to develop on TLS. I have no reason to exaggerate, and neither do my coworkers, who brought it up one day while discussing the school amongst themselves. I just happened to be party to the conversation. After it'd gone on a few minutes I chimed in and said something like, "Oh, I just figured those were nasty rumors." They then regaled me with other things they'd seen happen. If I hadn't heard what they'd said about Hastings in general (about employment, etc.) I wouldn't even be on this thread.

I don't pretend to know what each person's experience is at Hastings. I can only relate the ones that have been shared with me in a hopes that a complete picture of the school is presented to people considering it. I know you feel like these anecdotes unfairly criticize the law school that you attend and that your experience might not reflect what I've shared, but if I were in your position, I'd probably accept that these things do happen from time to time and then go back to highlighting the things that you enjoy about your school.

[stonepeep]

I get that you're trying to help, but it's frustrating nonetheless. When I was choosing a law school, I too heard the rumors that Hastings is extraordinarily competitive, that people rip pages out of books, etc. I wasn't sure I should even apply, because I knew I didn't want to deal with that kind of atmosphere. Now that I've been at the school for three semesters, and have never seen or heard of any such incidents (and trust me, law students love to complain, so if anyone I knew felt that the atmosphere at the school was overwhelmingly negative or competitive, they would have complained about it), it frustrates me that these rumors persist, and that they factored into my decision at all. I don't want other potential students to be scared away by untrue rumors.

Maybe people do stupid things like this occasionally. I don't know that they do, because I certainly haven't heard about anything of the sort, but people do stupid things every day, everywhere, so it wouldn't surprise me. But that's a far cry from the rumor that Hastings is more competitive and more negative than other law schools. THAT rumor is the one that irritates me, because every single PM I have gotten from potential students brings it up and asks if it is true.

So, no, there is not a pervasive negative atmosphere at Hastings. As I tried to explain before, I think these rumors come from a time when LWR was a GPA class and no online research was permitted, and the overall curve was much harsher. I don't know if these things ever really happened, but if they did, the old LWR and curve would be the reason why. There's literally no benefit to sabotaging library books today. LWR and the curve changed only a few years ago, so that is why I said that the experiences of grads are not necessarily relevant.

Life at Hastings is full of both good and bad experiences, as I'm sure is the case at every law school. But I have not seen anything that would indicate that Hastings' atmosphere is worse than at other schools - and neither has anyone else I know. I hope that the fact that multiple Hastings students have posted basically the same thing will be weighed more heavily by potential students than the second-hand anecdotes of someone who does not attend the school, no matter how good the intentions of that person.

[Lasers]

does anyone know if i have a chance for even small $$$ at hastings even if they haven't mentioned it at all after i got accepted?

[Aggiegrad2011]

does anyone know if i have a chance for even small $$$ at hastings even if they haven't mentioned it at all after i got accepted?

They say that the sooner you get your financial aid FAFSA stuff in, the better your chances of getting some aid are, but I wouldn't count on it.

I'm not.

[Lasers]

does anyone know if i have a chance for even small $$$ at hastings even if they haven't mentioned it at all after i got accepted?

They say that the sooner you get your financial aid FAFSA stuff in, the better your chances of getting some aid are, but I wouldn't count on it.

I'm not.

interesting. some money would be nice, but i don't really mind.

i'm slowly creeping towards hastings as i would love to be back in the city and would love to stay there long after i graduate.

[Aggiegrad2011]

does anyone know if i have a chance for even small $$$ at hastings even if they haven't mentioned it at all after i got accepted?

They say that the sooner you get your financial aid FAFSA stuff in, the better your chances of getting some aid are, but I wouldn't count on it.

I'm not.

interesting. some money would be nice, but i don't really mind.

i'm slowly creeping towards hastings as i would love to be back in the city and would love to stay there long after i graduate.

I went ahead and put my $500 seat dep down and already filed my FAFSA for Hastings (and my other top choice schools, just in case...) so I hopefully got into the "priority" financial aid group.

I suppose what little merit aid there is would come to those busting the 75th/75th #'s but I don't think that describes either you or me.

[Lasers]

does anyone know if i have a chance for even small $$$ at hastings even if they haven't mentioned it at all after i got accepted?

They say that the sooner you get your financial aid FAFSA stuff in, the better your chances of getting some aid are, but I wouldn't count on it.

I'm not.

interesting. some money would be nice, but i don't really mind.

i'm slowly creeping towards hastings as i would love to be back in the city and would love to stay there long after i graduate.

I went ahead and put my $500 seat dep down and already filed my FAFSA for Hastings (and my other top choice schools, just in case...) so I hopefully got into the "priority" financial aid group.

I suppose what little merit aid there is would come to those busting the 75th/75th #'s but I don't think that describes either you or me.

haha, indeed. i'm close to putting down the deposit; just waiting on davis and possibly a visit there just so i keep an open mind.

[Aggiegrad2011]

I love Davis the town/city, but if you are a S.F. kind of person, you will probably hate Davis.

[usuallyjustlurks]

When I was choosing a law school, I too heard the rumors that Hastings is extraordinarily competitive, that people rip pages out of books, etc. I wasn't sure I should even apply, because I knew I didn't want to deal with that kind of atmosphere.

+1 I'm a 0L who almost didn't apply to Hastings because of this rumor and now is seriously considering going there. I do not want to hear opinions from people who just know or have known people who go or have gone there at some undetermined point of time. I particularly do not want to hear these opinions unless the poster accompanies each post with a disclaimer in capital letters indicating they do not and have not ever actually attended the school themselves. It was not clear in each post that the poster had not attended the school and not everyone reads every word of every post. Either don't post, or make your experience level clear in each and every one.

FYI: This rumor has probably proliferated in a large part due to its inclusion in the 2010 edition of Princeton review's 172 Best Law Schools. This is where I originally read it before discovering TLS.

[SortOfObsessed]

So I am planning on visiting UC Hastings sometime this week. Can any Hastings 1L recommend which class I sit in on?

--LinkRemoved--

^This has the schedule of what professors are teaching and what times they are. I'm pretty much free this entire week so I can do any class/tour combo.

Thanks!

[General Tso]

So I am planning on visiting UC Hastings sometime this week. Can any Hastings 1L recommend which class I sit in on?

--LinkRemoved--

^This has the schedule of what professors are teaching and what times they are. I'm pretty much free this entire week so I can do any class/tour combo.

Thanks!

Diamond - crimlaw
Weisburg - family law (if you are interested in things like gay marriage, and have a liberal view)

I've heard good things about Field (tax) and Rao (conlaw). Little is pretty cool...I've had him before.

DO NOT ATTEND TIERNEY'S CONFLICTS OF LAW. Worst class ever.

[Borhas]

So I am planning on visiting UC Hastings sometime this week. Can any Hastings 1L recommend which class I sit in on?

--LinkRemoved--

^This has the schedule of what professors are teaching and what times they are. I'm pretty much free this entire week so I can do any class/tour combo.

Thanks!

Any class w/ Radhika Rao

smartest person I've ever met

[HopelesslyOptimistic]

Question for current Hastings students and grads:

I'm a prospective Hastings student, and I was wondering, what do you like/enjoy most about Hastings, and what do you dislike most about Hastings? Basically, what do you consider to be the school's greatest strenghths and weaknesses?

[General Tso]

Question for current Hastings students and grads:

I'm a prospective Hastings student, and I was wondering, what do you like/enjoy most about Hastings, and what do you dislike most about Hastings? Basically, what do you consider to be the school's greatest strenghths and weaknesses?

strengths: great faculty, good location, good atmosphere among student body
weaknesses: expensive, weak job prospects at present (although that is true at most schools...even Boalt's current prospects are not what they used to be).

[nematoad]

Question for current Hastings students and grads:

I'm a prospective Hastings student, and I was wondering, what do you like/enjoy most about Hastings, and what do you dislike most about Hastings? Basically, what do you consider to be the school's greatest strenghths and weaknesses?

strengths: great faculty, good location, good atmosphere among student body
weaknesses: expensive, weak job prospects at present (although that is true at most schools...even Boalt's current prospects are not what they used to be).

hey general tso.. and all the rest of your hastings kids, thanks for the input. i was wondering what other schools you were all looking at aside from hastings. After SLS+Berk and UCLA+USC, the dropoff in Cali schools is pretty signifcant. Did any of you withdraw from higher ranked out of state schools? and were future ties to the cali job market the main you did? I'm currently looking at hastings, fordham and emory... and as a LA native, not sure what to do.

[General Tso]

it pains me to say it, but I might recommend Loyola or Pepperdine on full scholly over Hastings at sticker. Emory and Fordham won't do much for you in LA. those are great schools...If it were me, I would probably choose Fordham and plan on an NYC career. it is very tricky if you are dead-set on a CA career, though.

My impression is that unless you attend Stanford/Boalt/UCLA/USC, you are unlikely to land anything paying north of 100k right now. If that is indeed the case (and I am speaking only from my experiences at Hastings), then it makes more sense to attend a cheaper school if you are looking at a 50-70k small firm job.

SBL would disagree with me...he landed a pretty nice job at a mid sized SF firm out of Davis. But I believe that only around 5-15% of Hastings/Davis students are getting such jobs right now.

[nematoad]

it pains me to say it, but I might recommend Loyola or Pepperdine on full scholly over Hastings at sticker. Emory and Fordham won't do much for you in LA. those are great schools...If it were me, I would probably choose Fordham and plan on an NYC career. it is very tricky if you are dead-set on a CA career, though.

My impression is that unless you attend Stanford/Boalt/UCLA/USC, you are unlikely to land anything paying north of 100k right now. If that is indeed the case (and I am speaking only from my experiences at Hastings), then it makes more sense to attend a cheaper school if you are looking at a 50-70k small firm job.

SBL would disagree with me...he landed a pretty nice job at a mid sized SF firm out of Davis. But I believe that only around 5-15% of Hastings/Davis students are getting such jobs right now.

yeah i debated on going to loyola last cycle with some $$ and turned it down to retake the LSAT. I don't think i could bring myself to go there or pepperdine after this cycle, even though they are probably the most prudent choices. The tough thing is that while I'm not hellbent on staying in Cali, LA and SF are the 2 cities I'd most prefer to live in. So, i guess what i mean to say is, I could see myself saying nay to hastings if career prospects are better at fordham or emory.

[General Tso]

I dunno..check with Fordham people, but my impression is that even through top 25-30% you've got a good shot out of Fordham.

[nematoad]

I dunno..check with Fordham people, but my impression is that even through top 25-30% you've got a good shot out of Fordham.

for sure. thanks for the input!

[boozehound]

My impression is that unless you attend Stanford/Boalt/UCLA/USC, you are unlikely to land anything paying north of 100k right now. If that is indeed the case (and I am speaking only from my experiences at Hastings), then it makes more sense to attend a cheaper school if you are looking at a 50-70k small firm job.

SBL would disagree with me...he landed a pretty nice job at a mid sized SF firm out of Davis. But I believe that only around 5-15% of Hastings/Davis students are getting such jobs right now.

I'm interested in doing IP (specifically bio-tech patents). Do you have any input on Hastings IP program or how grads are doing finding bio-tech IP jobs?