WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[Michael Bluth]

I'm from St. Louis so I've been reading the Post-Dispatch lately, and I've been seeing all kinds fo articles about safety in U City. Is U City an ok place to live while attending WUSTL? I don't really want to live in a dangerous neighborhood if I don't have to. I've also heard north of the loop is more dangerous than south of the loop, does that sound about right?

U City is very safe, and yes south of the loop is safer than north of the loop, but I know several people who live north of the loop and are perfectly fine. I'm south of the loop and I've had zero problems. I love the location personally; it's a 7 minute walk to the law school and when I'm lazy (i.e. every day), there's a campus shuttle that stops right at my apartment so you save $500 on the parking permit. The only problem is that seemingly most of the social gatherings happen in the CWE, but other than that, I couldn't be happier.

Not going to talk about the safety stuff since I live CWE, but I will say that the bolded seems like a grass is greener type thing.

U City has a much younger vibe than the CWE. I feel more comfortable in the CWE because there are more bars that I won't run into undergrads in. But yeah, I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

[srrrrh]

I'm going to one of the housing days, but does anyone have any suggestions as to which buildings/companies are really great or what I should avoid?

[stolli]

quadrangle housing (Wash U off campus housing) is great. Its very cheap, and they are great landlords - fix everything fast, cheap, walking distance from school. I love it

[splitsplat]

Will I be out of luck for Quadrangle housing if I can't commit until July or so?

[Randomnumbers]

Housing is plentiful. You don't have to worry about not finding housing at WUSTL, no matter how late you commit.

[Worker and Parasite]

For any 2Ls or 3Ls, (actually just a general law school question), did you guys room with fellow law students?

[commoner]

Hi,

Are any of you guys in the International program? Where you go to Europe and learn European law? Does anyone actually get jobs in Europe?

[romothesavior]

For any 2Ls or 3Ls, (actually just a general law school question), did you guys room with fellow law students?

Yep, both years.

[thexfactor]

For any 2Ls or 3Ls, (actually just a general law school question), did you guys room with fellow law students?

Yep, both years.

Yes, worked out great. We had 3 classes together. I usually like to study alone, but during finals time we would bounce questions off one another and compare outlines.

Recommendation to future 1Ls:

Live close to school! I'd recommend living with Quadrangle housing. I was in a 2BR for 800 total and it was 5 min walk to the LS. Street parking is usually not an issue and some APTs have parking lots in the back.

Living close to school allows you to rewind between classes. You are also less likely to skip class if you live close to school.

It sucks that the area right above the LS isn't as trendy as CWE, but school is probably more important than easy access to bars;P. Remember guys, legal career rides heavily on your 1L performance.

[ls124789]

Long-time lurker here. I heard some people talking about this the other day and hadn't even thought about it before: is there any re-consideration of scholarships after the first year?

Unrelated, but how manageable is the workload in Evidence? I have to take it I guess for all the trial classes, but I'm trying to balance my schedule as much as possible.

[romothesavior]

Long-time lurker here. I heard some people talking about this the other day and hadn't even thought about it before: is there any re-consideration of scholarships after the first year?

Unrelated, but how manageable is the workload in Evidence? I have to take it I guess for all the trial classes, but I'm trying to balance my schedule as much as possible.

I don't really know about the first question, but evidence is fine. Just about everyone takes it, most people during the second year. It wasn't my best grade by any means (I hated the class), but I did fine in there and almost never prepared for class. It's pretty learnable in the last few weeks, and the daily prep isn't too bad, if you're still into that sort of thing 2L year.

[TatteredDignity]

if you're still into that sort of thing 2L year.

this will be lovely.

[TatteredDignity]

Long-time lurker here. I heard some people talking about this the other day and hadn't even thought about it before: is there any re-consideration of scholarships after the first year?

I'm a 1L. In my quest to find a definitive answer to this question, I've received a whole range of answers, from "they automatically give the top ten people an extra $10K," to "they automatically give the top ten % an extra $10K," to "they might negotiate with you if you are transferring out," to "they won't negotiate with you no matter what."

All this leads me to believe that they treat each individual case differently, and we won't know until we cross that bridge.

[TatteredDignity]

For those who had Burson for Corporations, would it be better to take him, or to gamble on the unknown Tuch coming in next year?

[bouakedojo]

For those who had Burson for Corporations, would it be better to take him, or to gamble on the unknown Tuch coming in next year?

Everyone I've talked to says do not take Burson for Corp. He's horrible. His Bush/Gore seminar is money, but avoid his other stuff like the plague.

I think everyone is wanting to take Badawi for it, but I think I'm going to try for Sale in the spring. She sounds awesome from people I've talked to.

[soccerfreak]

For those who had Burson for Corporations, would it be better to take him, or to gamble on the unknown Tuch coming in next year?

Wait for Sale with me.

On that note, would older students advise waiting for Sale?

[romothesavior]

Haven't had Sale. Heard she's a lot of work and not always the nicest, but again that's not from first hand knowledge. She seems nice to me and some swear by her. She is definitely very smart.

That said, I think Badawi is hands down TCR for Corps. Awesome prof, well-run classroom, not a ton of work, and I've learned a lot. He is one of the best professors at WUSTL.

[PhoenicianMonk]

I liked Burson for Corps. You really do get a lot out of the class if you do all the readings, come to class prepared every day, and rely on supplements to help with general organization of the course's concepts (that is one of his weaknesses). As a 2L, this isn't easy to do regularly throughout the semester (especially in a class like Corps); but, if you don't do this stuff, then every day class will probably be a giant "WTF is this." I wouldn't gamble on an untested professor, especially if you follow advice on how to succeed in Burson's Corps class.

[romothesavior]

I liked Burson for Corps. You really do get a lot out of the class if you do all the readings, come to class prepared every day, and rely on supplements to help with general organization of the course's concepts (that is one of his weaknesses). As a 2L, this isn't easy to do regularly throughout the semester (especially in a class like Corps); but, if you don't do this stuff, then every day class will probably be a giant "WTF is this." I wouldn't gamble on an untested professor, especially if you follow advice on how to succeed in Burson's Corps class.

This is consistent with what my friends have said about him. About a third of students loved Burson, about a third seemed so-so, and about a third seemed to really dislike his class. On the other hand, everyone I know who has had Badawi has loved him. If you can take Badawi, I would do so.

[deebs]

If the people that care about corps don't want to take it with burson, you can go into his class and gun it down. Or you can compete against all the people who are super interested it in the other classes.

[TatteredDignity]

If the people that care about corps don't want to take it with burson, you can go into his class and gun it down. Or you can compete against all the people who are super interested it in the other classes.

This is relevant to my interests.

On the other hand, everyone else seems to be saying that I would enjoy Badawi more and probably learn more. That almost sounds more worth it than my stupid GPA.

[J-tow10]

For those who had Burson for Corporations, would it be better to take him, or to gamble on the unknown Tuch coming in next year?

Took Burson for Corporations last semester. Class is a bit dull, but he is a very nice professor. Upside, you go into the exam knowing what to expect and his exam is very fair.

[TatteredDignity]

For those who had Burson for Corporations, would it be better to take him, or to gamble on the unknown Tuch coming in next year?

Took Burson for Corporations last semester. Class is a bit dull, but he is a very nice professor. Upside, you go into the exam knowing what to expect and his exam is very fair.

Thanks!

[Oban]

After first year you'll know whether your GPA matters or not, and take classes accordingly, if are out of biglaw/clerkship contention, just take classes you are interested and forget about gunning.

[Wooostl2012]

Long-time lurker here. I heard some people talking about this the other day and hadn't even thought about it before: is there any re-consideration of scholarships after the first year?

I'm a 1L. In my quest to find a definitive answer to this question, I've received a whole range of answers, from "they automatically give the top ten people an extra $10K," to "they automatically give the top ten % an extra $10K," to "they might negotiate with you if you are transferring out," to "they won't negotiate with you no matter what."

All this leads me to believe that they treat each individual case differently, and we won't know until we cross that bridge.

It's not an extra 10k. If you're within a certain cut off (I want to say top 5% but it might be top 10%), the school will bring your scholarship up to a total of 10k. I had a 9k / year scholarship, I received an additional 1k a year. Something is better than nothing, but it isn't much.

I've heard the school does not play ball at all on scholarship negotiations, but I can't speak from personal experience. Given the huge number that transfer out, and transfer in, it would really surprise me if they negotiated.