WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[JCougar]

WUSTL has people from every walk of life. I don't think any one culture or type is more predominant than another. Anyone can fit in. Some people wear really expensive clothes to class, others wear hoodies and jeans. Honestly, if someone tried to wear pajama pants to class, I probably wouldn't look twice.

It's a pretty laid back, non-competitive atmosphere, and everyone talks to everyone. I was surprised at how nice everyone was...especially after reading TLS for a year before entering law school. The horror stories about how douchey law students are are vastly exaggerated...at least at WUSTL.

The horror stories about law exams are true, though.

[Hannibal]

I'm all booked up for WUSTL ASW. Since there's a good chance I'll be theoretically living in STL, I'd rather do things that exemplify regular life in STL than touristy things. Any recommendation in that regard?

[beachbum]

I'm all booked up for WUSTL ASW. Since there's a good chance I'll be theoretically living in STL, I'd rather do things that exemplify regular life in STL than touristy things. Any recommendation in that regard?

Definitely check out the Loop and the Central West End: both have lots of cool shops, restaurants, and bars, and are popular with students/young professionals. If you can only make it to one, shoot for the CWE.

[JCougar]

I'm all booked up for WUSTL ASW. Since there's a good chance I'll be theoretically living in STL, I'd rather do things that exemplify regular life in STL than touristy things. Any recommendation in that regard?

In addition to what Beach Bum said, I'd check out Washington Ave. downtown. Probably the best spot for nightlife in the city, although most students don't realize it.

[romothesavior]

I'm all booked up for WUSTL ASW. Since there's a good chance I'll be theoretically living in STL, I'd rather do things that exemplify regular life in STL than touristy things. Any recommendation in that regard?

In addition to what Beach Bum said, I'd check out Washington Ave. downtown. Probably the best spot for nightlife in the city, although most students don't realize it.

+1 to both of these suggestions.

And if you can squeeze in one touristy thing... The AB Brewery for sho.

[crit_racer]

thanks for answering questions, romo and others

I got admitted but have a few questions about the school:

Tell me more about the student body and the scene in STL in general. I know you said there is a good amount of bros, but is the scene limited to this? I'm the type who likes to unwind by riding bikes and doing yoga...do you think I can find at least some like-minded people? How often do you hear people ask "does that muffin have dairy in it?" Like the poster who said he was more or less typical of a UVA student, I'm more or less representative of Austin and am hoping STL would be a good environment for me.

[crossingforHYS]

If looking at clerkship prospects (I know, hard but still) which school would offer more movement Vandy or WashU?

and If I want to practice in Cali is there a difference between those two?

[JCougar]

thanks for answering questions, romo and others

I got admitted but have a few questions about the school:

Tell me more about the student body and the scene in STL in general. I know you said there is a good amount of bros, but is the scene limited to this? I'm the type who likes to unwind by riding bikes and doing yoga...do you think I can find at least some like-minded people? How often do you hear people ask "does that muffin have dairy in it?" Like the poster who said he was more or less typical of a UVA student, I'm more or less representative of Austin and am hoping STL would be a good environment for me.

STL has a scene for everyone, but it's not as bumpin' as Austin...but what city really is? As far as the school, there's really people of every inclination...you get that when you have a class of 275 people.

There's plenty of people like you mention around here. There's kind of a hip collection of bars in the Tower Grove Park area on Manchester, which is just southeast of Forest Park. Kind of the indie-rock crowd. Definitely no match for Austin, though. The Delmar Loop is pretty urban/progressive/yoga-ish as well. And there's some other dive-barish establishments on South Grand Ave. Further east on Manchester is a couple of gay bars. Downtown on Washington Ave. there's more of a urban-chic crowd but it's more a late night clubbing atmosphere. Central West End is kind of a yuppie-chic crowd but everything around here closes kind of early (1am). Laclede's Landing by the river has some sports-oriented bars and pubs. And downtown Clayton has some more suburban-style lower-key bars.

As for biking, this city is great. Forest Park has miles and miles of bike trails...although they're not huge on making bike lanes on the streets. Now that the weather has improved, I'm back to biking to and from school from the Central West End. It's a great ride.

STL overall has a scene for everyone, but no scene is huge in that it's going to blow your mind away as in Austin. You'll be able to find a bar that caters to your scene and plays the music you like, but it won't usually be packed to the brim. Weeknights, including Thursdays are very dead all around the city except perhaps the Delmar Loop. Fridays and Saturdays are usually decent, but not Austin-esque.

It's got enough going on though that you'll have enough new stuff to do as a broke and busy law student. Way better than going to school in a corn field.

Also...keep in mind that of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the US, STL has the second lowest cost of living, from what I have recently read. It's pretty cheap to live here, and if you pick your places, it's pretty cheap to hang out.

[crit_racer]

^^Thanks for all that good info! I know it's not going to be like Austin, but I just want to make sure that I could find enough to do in STL to occupy the little free time I will have while in school. Sounds like this won't be a problem.

[fatduck]

How does the numerical grading scale work wrto resumes? Do you convert each course's number grade to a letter and compute a traditional gpa that way? Or just report your numerical grade?

[jeremysen]

Do people ever refer to the school as "woostle?"

[TatteredDignity]

^^^^^^^ I'm fairly certain it's wuh-stle

How does the numerical grading scale work wrto resumes? Do you convert each course's number grade to a letter and compute a traditional gpa that way? Or just report your numerical grade?

As I understand it, employers who hire wustl grads understand the numerical system.

[romothesavior]

Do people ever refer to the school as "woostle?"

Only in writing. I've never really heard people say "woostle" or "wuhstle." People usually say Wash U.

[bearsfan1]

thanks for answering questions, romo and others

I got admitted but have a few questions about the school:

Tell me more about the student body and the scene in STL in general. I know you said there is a good amount of bros, but is the scene limited to this? I'm the type who likes to unwind by riding bikes and doing yoga...do you think I can find at least some like-minded people? How often do you hear people ask "does that muffin have dairy in it?" Like the poster who said he was more or less typical of a UVA student, I'm more or less representative of Austin and am hoping STL would be a good environment for me.

STL has a scene for everyone, but it's not as bumpin' as Austin...but what city really is? As far as the school, there's really people of every inclination...you get that when you have a class of 275 people.

There's plenty of people like you mention around here. There's kind of a hip collection of bars in the Tower Grove Park area on Manchester, which is just southeast of Forest Park. Kind of the indie-rock crowd. Definitely no match for Austin, though. The Delmar Loop is pretty urban/progressive/yoga-ish as well. And there's some other dive-barish establishments on South Grand Ave. Further east on Manchester is a couple of gay bars. Downtown on Washington Ave. there's more of a urban-chic crowd but it's more a late night clubbing atmosphere. Central West End is kind of a yuppie-chic crowd but everything around here closes kind of early (1am). Laclede's Landing by the river has some sports-oriented bars and pubs. And downtown Clayton has some more suburban-style lower-key bars.

As for biking, this city is great. Forest Park has miles and miles of bike trails...although they're not huge on making bike lanes on the streets. Now that the weather has improved, I'm back to biking to and from school from the Central West End. It's a great ride.

STL overall has a scene for everyone, but no scene is huge in that it's going to blow your mind away as in Austin. You'll be able to find a bar that caters to your scene and plays the music you like, but it won't usually be packed to the brim. Weeknights, including Thursdays are very dead all around the city except perhaps the Delmar Loop. Fridays and Saturdays are usually decent, but not Austin-esque.

It's got enough going on though that you'll have enough new stuff to do as a broke and busy law student. Way better than going to school in a corn field.

Also...keep in mind that of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the US, STL has the second lowest cost of living, from what I have recently read. It's pretty cheap to live here, and if you pick your places, it's pretty cheap to hang out.

You HAVE to go downtown to Fast Eddie's. During the summer, especially during baseball season before/after Cards games, go to Lacedes (spelling) landing. It's right on the river and it's a blast. Also, the Rams games are fun to go to, even if it's just to tailgate. Rams fans suck - they're all fair weather fans, and all anybody really cares about is getting drunk.

[romothesavior]

Big +1 to Laclede's in the summer time. It is the place to be after a Cards game.

[romothesavior]

How does the numerical grading scale work wrto resumes? Do you convert each course's number grade to a letter and compute a traditional gpa that way? Or just report your numerical grade?

Just report your numerical grade and the closest cutoff next to it. CSO says to just put the next highest, but I put the cutoff below and above mine. So if you had a 92.52, you'd put:

GPA: 92.52 (Top 10%= 92.83, Top 15%= 91.86)

I just pulled those numbers out of my ass, but that's how it works. It won't have any affect on jobs, because what they really care about is your placement in the class.

[romothesavior]

If looking at clerkship prospects (I know, hard but still) which school would offer more movement Vandy or WashU?

and If I want to practice in Cali is there a difference between those two?

I'd say Vandy for clerkships, and probably also for Cali but I don't really know. Vandy seems more east coast oriented.

Clerkship numbers can fluctuate a bit. I'm interested to see where we stack up compared to other schools over the next few years.

[fatduck]

It won't have any affect on jobs, because what they really care about is your placement in the class.

okay, that makes sense. i just saw that they had number->letter conversion charts on the website and i was like...what's the point of numerical grades if you're just going to convert them to letters

[romothesavior]

I actually prefer the number system. Say there are 20 people with grades in the traditional "A- range" of 90-92. Instead of everyone getting the same grade, you get to differentiate. If you had the best A- paper, you get a better grade than the worst A- paper. And it really makes a big difference near the top, because the really high As (98-99) get a lot better grade than the 93s. I think it is a more fair way of doing things, and I like to be differentiated. Every point counts, especially when you only have three core classes a semester.

I will say the most frustrating thing about grades though is the lack of a forced curve. We had one property prof give out FOUR 100s this past semester, while my property prof's highest grade was only a 96, and only one person got it. I was one of the top grades in this class, but my grade was far worst than the top grades in this other profs class. It is kind of annoying, and I don't see why they don't just have a bell curve.

[fatduck]

I actually prefer the number system. Say there are 20 people with grades in the traditional "A- range" of 90-92. Instead of everyone getting the same grade, you get to differentiate. If you had the best A- paper, you get a better grade than the worst A- paper. And it really makes a big difference near the top, because the really high As (98-99) get a lot better grade than the 93s. I think it is a more fair way of doing things, and I like to be differentiated. Every point counts, especially when you only have three core classes a semester.

I will say the most frustrating thing about grades though is the lack of a forced curve. We had one property prof give out FOUR 100s this past semester, while my property prof's highest grade was only a 96, and only one person got it. I was one of the top grades in this class, but my grade was far worst than the top grades in this other profs class. It is kind of annoying, and I don't see why they don't just have a bell curve.

oh, i definitely prefer the numerical system. that's weird about the curve, though. do they curve based on the letter ranges, and allow for differentiation in between? or is the only restriction that the mean has to fall in the acceptable range?

[Verity]

tag

[JCougar]

I actually prefer the number system. Say there are 20 people with grades in the traditional "A- range" of 90-92. Instead of everyone getting the same grade, you get to differentiate. If you had the best A- paper, you get a better grade than the worst A- paper. And it really makes a big difference near the top, because the really high As (98-99) get a lot better grade than the 93s. I think it is a more fair way of doing things, and I like to be differentiated. Every point counts, especially when you only have three core classes a semester.

It's especially nice, because getting a high A really pays off. Getting a 100 in one class can really move you up in class rank quickly, whereas simply getting an A at another school won't pay off as much. This allows people at least the theoretical chance of salvaging a semester of mediocre grades. Especially given that median is about an 87 and top third is only 89 yet. Very easy to move away from median if you have one great semester. (don't ask me why I've been thinking about this )

I will say the most frustrating thing about grades though is the lack of a forced curve. We had one property prof give out FOUR 100s this past semester, while my property prof's highest grade was only a 96, and only one person got it. I was one of the top grades in this class, but my grade was far worst than the top grades in this other profs class. It is kind of annoying, and I don't see why they don't just have a bell curve.

Yes, but you should realize that this professor's exam grade was essentially a crapshoot. A lot of people who had good grades in other classes got completely boned in her class. (again, don't ask me why I've been thinking about this ). Virtually everyone I talked to either got bad grades in other classes and got a good grade in hers, or got good grades in other classes and got their worst grade in hers. Hence doing good in one property class in no way guarantees that you would have been near the top in hers. Knowing property law like the back of your hand made little difference as to what grade you got.

[romothesavior]

Yes, but you should realize that this professor's exam grade was essentially a crapshoot.

Yeah, but what exam isn't a crapshoot? I mean, like you said, one 100 can radically change your whole semester. The fact that it is even possible for a prof to give out 4 100s is absurd.

[NU_Jet55]

The fact that it is even possible for a prof to give out 4 100s is absurd.

THIS THIS THIS THIS Motherfucking THIS

[JCougar]

I feel like we're a bunch of parents arguing in front of the 0L children.

Go to your rooms, 0Ls....this doesn't concern you...and it's not your fault.