UNC Law student(s) taking questions Forum

[Giantsfan13]

I just got a macbook to use for law school. For those of you familiar with macs, is Pages enough, or do I need to get MS Word. I figured it was best to ask before I went out and got something.

Don't get MS Word--not because you don't need it (I don't know if you really do or not, because I don't know how different Pages is), but because if you wait until you get here they'll load it onto your computer for free!

Really? That would be great. How do I accomplish that?

[el William]

I just got a macbook to use for law school. For those of you familiar with macs, is Pages enough, or do I need to get MS Word. I figured it was best to ask before I went out and got something.

Don't get MS Word--not because you don't need it (I don't know if you really do or not, because I don't know how different Pages is), but because if you wait until you get here they'll load it onto your computer for free!

Really? That would be great. How do I accomplish that?

+1

Free MS Word would be awesome. Is it just word or can they hook you up with multiple MS office programs? I ask b/c I was thinking that Microsoft onenote would be really valuable for law school, but I don't know if you can buy it alone. I think it comes as part of a package that would include Microsoft word.

[jackattack17]

I just got a macbook to use for law school. For those of you familiar with macs, is Pages enough, or do I need to get MS Word. I figured it was best to ask before I went out and got something.

Don't get MS Word--not because you don't need it (I don't know if you really do or not, because I don't know how different Pages is), but because if you wait until you get here they'll load it onto your computer for free!

Really? That would be great. How do I accomplish that?

+1

Free MS Word would be awesome. Is it just word or can they hook you up with multiple MS office programs? I ask b/c I was thinking that Microsoft onenote would be really valuable for law school, but I don't know if you can buy it alone. I think it comes as part of a package that would include Microsoft word.

I'm pretty sure you just go to either the Law ITS folks or to main campus ITS, and they'll give you the disc. I found out about this after I had already purchased Word for Mac, but it was only $25 at Student Stores. Either way, get it at school.

[GSJ]

Silly question and only law school-related by proximity but...what's the deal with getting basketball tickets -- I read something about a lottery?

[YouDontKnowMe]

Free MS Word would be awesome. Is it just word or can they hook you up with multiple MS office programs? I ask b/c I was thinking that Microsoft onenote would be really valuable for law school, but I don't know if you can buy it alone. I think it comes as part of a package that would include Microsoft word.

I'm not sure if it's just Word or if it includes OneNote. I don't even think there's OneNote on the version I bought at Best Buy.. I just took notes on Microsoft Word all semester and had Dropbox back them up automatically. If someone finds out that the version they give you at school has OneNote, let me know, it might be useful for next year.

Silly question and only law school-related by proximity but...what's the deal with getting basketball tickets -- I read something about a lottery?

I hope someone else answers this, because I haven't bothered to figure it out yet and I'd like to know too. I think you just sign up for them online and you more or less automatically get them, unless it's a big game (i.e. Duke, mostly).

[adika86]

Hey - got an email about the LEAP program. I don't fit in any of those categories, but was wondering if anyone had any insight to the program and if it may be worth applying.

Thanks!

[jackattack17]

Free MS Word would be awesome. Is it just word or can they hook you up with multiple MS office programs? I ask b/c I was thinking that Microsoft onenote would be really valuable for law school, but I don't know if you can buy it alone. I think it comes as part of a package that would include Microsoft word.

I'm not sure if it's just Word or if it includes OneNote. I don't even think there's OneNote on the version I bought at Best Buy.. I just took notes on Microsoft Word all semester and had Dropbox back them up automatically. If someone finds out that the version they give you at school has OneNote, let me know, it might be useful for next year.

Silly question and only law school-related by proximity but...what's the deal with getting basketball tickets -- I read something about a lottery?

I hope someone else answers this, because I haven't bothered to figure it out yet and I'd like to know too. I think you just sign up for them online and you more or less automatically get them, unless it's a big game (i.e. Duke, mostly).

Basketball tickets are still under the lottery system (same as for undergrads, and same meager chances). The lottery system applies for all home ACC games as well as the bigger non-conference games. For winter break games (as long as they're not major non-conf games), there is no lottery, I believe you just have to pick up a ticket in advance or even at gametime, and they rarely run out. As for the dook game, you're in the same lottery as the undergrads, unless you're a 3L, in which you're treated like a graduating senior and get preference for a ticket. So (unless both teams suck next year and few people sign up), you will not get a lottery ticket as a 1L. 3L you are almost guaranteed a ticket, but again, if both teams are ranked top 5, say, and tons of people sign up, you might not even get a ticket then.

See generally --LinkRemoved--

Go Heels

[YouDontKnowMe]

Hey - got an email about the LEAP program. I don't fit in any of those categories, but was wondering if anyone had any insight to the program and if it may be worth applying.

Thanks!

I didn't fit any of the categories either. I just wrote on my application that I anticipate having a harder time than a lot of people because I read like a snail would if a snail could read (slowly), and they put me in LEAP Express (note that I didn't actually use this wording in the application). I'm not so sure how much it helped me--I think the normal LEAP was a lot better--but I met a dude I really bonded with and had a new best friend by the first day of classes. Plus, it might make you feel more prepared, even if you're not that much. So despite the complete waste of time some of it might be *cough*cough*inspirational PowerPoints*cough,* I would apply, because some would say you all the help you can get at the beginning of 1L. And if you get the full LEAP program, all the better.

[imkaereie]

Hi! I will be at UNC next month (Tarheels!) and I have a few questions.

Is there any kind of special notetaking software that Carolina Law either offers to its students or that you use/you have seen a lot of students use? Or is something like MS Word or Pages OK?

How good is the UNC bookstore for getting used books? Do you buy from there?

Did you use any kind of extra supplements during 1L and do you recommend them?

What do you recommend about extracurricular activities and first year (just don't? in moderation?)

thanks

[YouDontKnowMe]

Hi! I will be at UNC next month (Tarheels!) and I have a few questions.

Is there any kind of special notetaking software that Carolina Law either offers to its students or that you use/you have seen a lot of students use? Or is something like MS Word or Pages OK?

There's no special note taking software. I just used Microsoft word, and I know a lot of other people used OneNote.

How good is the UNC bookstore for getting used books? Do you buy from there?

It can be good, and I sometimes buy from there. You can also get used books at Ram Book & Supply off Franklin. I tended to spend a lot of time sitting on the floor in those two book stores looking through the used books trying to find one that was in decent shape. (I actually met jackattack while I was sitting on the floor at Rams doing this. Jack, do you know who I am now? :] ) Looking back on it, though, I think I made too big of a deal out of finding a used book without writing in it. Second semester I ended up having to buy two books with other students' writing in them. The person who had written in one of them was pretty smart, so I enjoyed having her notes when she would catch things that she thought were important that I almost didn't notice. The person who had used my property book was kind of an idiot, and erasing or marking up his comments made me feel better about my grasp on the material. So as long as the bindings are in okay condition and the person didn't highlight every single sentence, I think used books are fine, and you can find a lot of them at those two bookstores (and also on Amazon, sometimes for really cheap!). No matter where you're getting used books, though, don't wait until the last minute!! Then you'll end up picking through a pile of rejects.

Did you use any kind of extra supplements during 1L and do you recommend them?

I definitely used them, and I think they helped. The RRWA suite has supplements that you can use within that room, and I tried using those for as long as possible to avoid buying my own, but I ended up caving around exam time when I didn't want to be around the school anymore. Second semester I bought my own right off. I would recommend asking older students (like your dean's fellows) which ones they recommend, checking Amazon reviews, and glancing through some of the supplement in the RRWA suite to see which format you like best (e.g. outline format versus just normal text) and then getting your own off Amazon early in the semester. It's easy to keep putting off using them, but I really do recommend using them earlier in the semester if you feel like you don't understand something. It will save you a panic attack at the end of the semester when you realize you still have the whole semester of material to learn.

And another recommendation: pay attention to the way your professor organizes the course. If he/she gives you a syllabus, pay attention to it. If he/she goes in order of what's in the casebook, look back at the table of contents. It will help you understand the bigger picture of the course. It can also serve as the skeleton of your outline.

Your dean's fellows will give you a ton of advice like this. Don't do what I did and say "pttf, no, I don't want to do that" and then end up freaking out around exam time. Listen to them!! They've already been through this, they know what they're talking about!

What do you recommend about extracurricular activities and first year (just don't? in moderation?)

I wholeheartedly recommend pro bono. It lets you apply the stuff you've been learning (since it tends to feel abstract and kind of useless when you're learning it in class) and makes you feel great in the process.

Also, if you think you're interested in a certain kind of law, there will probably be a student organization for it. Join that organization, because they do stuff like bring in speakers, and it'll help you decide if you're still interested in that practice area or if it's just not for you and you need to move on. If you decide that you really like that practice area and that you'd like to do something in that area over the summer, you might want to consider running for some kind of leadership position (secretary, etc.). It will help you catch the attention of employers who specialize in that area.

[pbfoot]

anybody living on/near 54? besides glen lennox, i guess.

[YouDontKnowMe]

anybody living on/near 54? besides glen lennox, i guess.

Finley Forest, although I think you're probably more interested in people in your own year :]

[imkaereie]

how do the the 1L practice exams work? i'm seeing it on the academic calendar. Is it one day or more than one like a full-out exam schedule?

thanks

[YouDontKnowMe]

how do the the 1L practice exams work? i'm seeing it on the academic calendar. Is it one day or more than one like a full-out exam schedule?

thanks

Um.. I honestly don't remember 1L practice exams that well, even though it was less than a year ago. I feel like it must have been several days because it was during regular class times. None of them count for anything, though, so don't worry about them. I'm not even sure they did me any good, other than scaring the shit out of me because I got a 1/15 from Daye (torts). (Scaring the shit out of me was a good thing because I got my ass in gear after I saw that number.)

I know it's super-early to start thinking about exams, and I'm not suggesting that you start preparing now (for god's sake, enjoy the rest of your summer like a normal human being), but after you've had a few weeks to get used to what a case looks like, I would highly recommend reading the book "Getting to Maybe." I didn't read it until second semester, but while I was reading it I kept thinking, wow, I would've been a lot more productive with my studying if I had known what the hell I was supposed to be going for. BUT--do NOT wait until the month before exams to start reading this book. At that point, you'll need to be outlining. I think the ideal time is a few (2 or 3) weeks into classes, because then you're familiar with the format of the material you'll be learning, but you still have time to focus your reading and notes according to what you've learned about how to approach an exam problem.

I apologize if this is incoherent. It's late and I'm really groggy.

[pbfoot]

whats the fall 1L schedule look like?

[YouDontKnowMe]

whats the fall 1L schedule look like?

It totally depends on what college you're in (Aycock, Brandis, or Coates). I was in Coates, and I had torts, criminal law, civil procedure, and RRWA (research, reasoning, writing, and advocacy) first semester and property, contracts, constitutional law, and RRWA II second semester. Brandis had contracts and criminal law switched, with contracts first semester and crim second semester. No matter what college you're in, one of your classes first semester will be a "small section" (about thirty people). I think Aycock had crim in small sections, Brandis had contracts, and Coates had civ pro. You should be finding out your college pretty soon, so you'll know your exact schedule before too long.

[pbfoot]

whats the fall 1L schedule look like?

It totally depends on what college you're in (Aycock, Brandis, or Coates). I was in Coates, and I had torts, criminal law, civil procedure, and RRWA (research, reasoning, writing, and advocacy) first semester and property, contracts, constitutional law, and RRWA II second semester. Brandis had contracts and criminal law switched, with contracts first semester and crim second semester. No matter what college you're in, one of your classes first semester will be a "small section" (about thirty people). I think Aycock had crim in small sections, Brandis had contracts, and Coates had civ pro. You should be finding out your college pretty soon, so you'll know your exact schedule before too long.

I meant more day-to-day, like class 9-5 five days a week or...?

[YouDontKnowMe]

whats the fall 1L schedule look like?

It totally depends on what college you're in (Aycock, Brandis, or Coates). I was in Coates, and I had torts, criminal law, civil procedure, and RRWA (research, reasoning, writing, and advocacy) first semester and property, contracts, constitutional law, and RRWA II second semester. Brandis had contracts and criminal law switched, with contracts first semester and crim second semester. No matter what college you're in, one of your classes first semester will be a "small section" (about thirty people). I think Aycock had crim in small sections, Brandis had contracts, and Coates had civ pro. You should be finding out your college pretty soon, so you'll know your exact schedule before too long.

I meant more day-to-day, like class 9-5 five days a week or...?

Again, it varies between colleges. My first semester schedule was approximately this: Monday through Thursday I started at 8:45 and ended at 3:50/4:00, but I had at least 2.5 hours of break in the middle. I had one class on Fridays at 10:25. I had between 1 and 3 classes daily. But I knew people who had four classes on some days.

These things I can guarantee you: you will start no earlier than 8:45, and you will have no class 12-1. And I'm pretty sure no 1L classes go past 4:30, but I'm not 100% confident about this. You'll have classes 5 days a week, but you'll probably have 1 or 2 days where you only have one class.

[jackattack17]

whats the fall 1L schedule look like?

It totally depends on what college you're in (Aycock, Brandis, or Coates). I was in Coates, and I had torts, criminal law, civil procedure, and RRWA (research, reasoning, writing, and advocacy) first semester and property, contracts, constitutional law, and RRWA II second semester. Brandis had contracts and criminal law switched, with contracts first semester and crim second semester. No matter what college you're in, one of your classes first semester will be a "small section" (about thirty people). I think Aycock had crim in small sections, Brandis had contracts, and Coates had civ pro. You should be finding out your college pretty soon, so you'll know your exact schedule before too long.

I meant more day-to-day, like class 9-5 five days a week or...?

Like above said, it depends largely on your section. But, plan on class 8:45-4:25 for your longest day, and maybe one class at 10:25 if you get really lucky with RRWA for your shortest day. You'll average I think 3-4 classes per day, with some awkward breaks (timing-wise, like 25 minutes, but enough time to read that last case or look over your notes) in between. Class M-F too (only 2Ls and 3Ls can schedule no classes for fridays or other days )

[YouDontKnowMe]

Like above said, it depends largely on your section. But, plan on class 8:45-4:25 for your longest day, and maybe one class at 10:25 if you get really lucky with RRWA for your shortest day. You'll average I think 3-4 classes per day, with some awkward breaks (timing-wise, like 25 minutes, but enough time to read that last case or look over your notes) in between. Class M-F too (only 2Ls and 3Ls can schedule no classes for fridays or other days )

Totally for reading the last case (or 2 or 3). Only gunners look over their notes.

[bubc]

I just got accepted for the Fall 2013 Semester. Do you feel that minorities are accepted/acclimate well at UNC? Do you find that there's kind of a de facto segregation or do feel everyone integrates well regardless of race/ethnicity? I know it sounds like a very oddly specific question, but trust me when I say its been a problem before.

[ksllaw]

Is there degree portability to places like VA, TN, and MD if I were to graduate with an UNC JD?

[UNCLawCandidate]

Is there degree portability to places like VA, TN, and MD if I were to graduate with an UNC JD?

Of course, UNC places the best in NC. However, the states you're looking at are probably very good options. You might be "butting heads" with UVA grads in VA, but otherwise it seems do able. UNC doesn't place like the top of the top schools, but your chances are pretty good in the region and plenty competitive around the country.

I just got accepted for the Fall 2013 Semester. Do you feel that minorities are accepted/acclimate well at UNC? Do you find that there's kind of a de facto segregation or do feel everyone integrates well regardless of race/ethnicity? I know it sounds like a very oddly specific question, but trust me when I say its been a problem before.

I think you will find UNC law is a great environment for minorities. I haven't heard of any issues before, and I have found myself reaching out to different kinds of people more often than before. However, leaving the confines of Chapel Hill could create a little culture shock for those not used to southern culture. No real problems, just different.

[bubc]

How difficult is it to obtain summer internships in NY/NJ/DC? I'm from the northeast and plan on working there (or in DC) after I graduate. I love everything I've read about UNC, but I'm a bit wary of attending a law school so distant from where I ultimately want to work.

Also, do you find the UNC "brand" carries well outside of NC?

Thanks in advance!

[jackattack17]

How difficult is it to obtain summer internships in NY/NJ/DC? I'm from the northeast and plan on working there (or in DC) after I graduate. I love everything I've read about UNC, but I'm a bit wary of attending a law school so distant from where I ultimately want to work.

Also, do you find the UNC "brand" carries well outside of NC?

Thanks in advance!

It's not terribly difficult to get to NY/DC from UNC. I think those are the next two most popular destinations for grads after NC. Might have to do a little more legwork on your own, but a couple dozen NY/DC firms come to OCIs. If you're from there, that helps a little too.

As for the brand, obviously it carries extremely well in NC, pretty well in ATL/DC/NY and the southeast generally. Nationally, not particularly great, but having a good basketball team most years helps with that . Folks that leave the southeast usually have ties to where they're going.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions (currently a 2L).