Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[Other25BeforeYou]

Thanks for the advice! I desperately want to believe you, fsohn, so as not to feel behind ALREADY, but I'm afraid TLS gunners are getting to my brain. I'll probably pick up Getting to Maybe in the next few days, just so I feel like I've done something. Also, if anyone has a copy of LEEWS they wouldn't mind renting out to me (or letting me borrow!), I might give it a listen. $100+ is difficult to part with at this point, especially on something that might not help.

I didn't do LEEWS or read any sort of law school related prep work before I started. I don't think it put me at a disadvantage at all. If it makes you feel better, maybe it will be worth it to you, but I would save your $100+.

+1

[Devila_C]

2Ls - what's the typical routine for 1L winter break? Do we have assignments or events to attend? I'm planning to spend my break out of the country so I want to make sure that it's a sound decision before I buy plane tickets.

[let/them/eat/cake]

2Ls - what's the typical routine for 1L winter break? Do we have assignments or events to attend? I'm planning to spend my break out of the country so I want to make sure that it's a sound decision before I buy plane tickets.

IIRC, you won't have anything at all to do. i think i sat around NYC eating and drinking most of the time. 1Ls have to come back a week earlier than the rest of the school for "Lawyering" week, when you'll revise your open memos from first semester. so be cognizant of that but you should be fine booking tickets.

[spaacecdt]

Advanced forum search has been temporarily disabled so I apologize if anyone has asked this already in this forum. What kinds of things to 1Ls do during their first summer? How close to the first day we're able to contact potential employers do 1Ls usually start the job search? At what point is it "too late"? Thanks for any insight!

[como]

Advanced forum search has been temporarily disabled so I apologize if anyone has asked this already in this forum. What kinds of things to 1Ls do during their first summer? How close to the first day we're able to contact potential employers do 1Ls usually start the job search? At what point is it "too late"? Thanks for any insight!

Most 1Ls do judicial internships (federal or state) or research assistantships. A large number do public interest stints too. Pursuant to NALP guidelines, you are not allowed to contact employers until after December __. (I can't remember if it's the 1st or 15th.) You should probably have most of your resumes/cover letters sent out by the first couple weeks in January . . . certainly before you return from Winter Break.

[fsohn]

Advanced forum search has been temporarily disabled so I apologize if anyone has asked this already in this forum. What kinds of things to 1Ls do during their first summer? How close to the first day we're able to contact potential employers do 1Ls usually start the job search? At what point is it "too late"? Thanks for any insight!

Most 1Ls do judicial internships (federal or state) or research assistantships. A large number do public interest stints too. Pursuant to NALP guidelines, you are not allowed to contact employers until after December __. (I can't remember if it's the 1st or 15th.) You should probably have most of your resumes/cover letters sent out by the first couple weeks in January . . . certainly before you return from Winter Break.

I believe the date is December 1. If you want to get a firm job as a 1L (highly unlikely, but perhaps worth a shot) you really ought to have your stuff in the mail on that date.

[Other25BeforeYou]

Read somewhere on here that the medians for class of 2013 were 3.7/168. Can anyone confirm? Just curious.

(If no one can, I can obviously just ask admissions myself Monday.)

[LeahNic]

That is correct.

[Other25BeforeYou]

That is correct.

Thanks!

[KMaine]

Nice! Where are those stats available? Any word on 25/75 #s.

[danidancer]

Nice! Where are those stats available? Any word on 25/75 #s.

It's on the admissions website now. No idea about the 25/75s.

Edit: I take that back.

Overview of Fall 2010 entering class:

* 6,269 applications were received for 205 spots.
* 18% of these applicants gained admission.
* Median LSAT score was 168, with the 25th and 75th percentiles for the class falling at 166 and 168, respectively.
* Median GPA was 3.70, with the 25th and 75th percentiles falling at 3.57 and 3.81, respectively.

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... ration.cfm

[KevinP]

Nice! Where are those stats available? Any word on 25/75 #s.

It's on the admissions website now. No idea about the 25/75s.

Edit: I take that back.

Overview of Fall 2010 entering class:

* 6,269 applications were received for 205 spots.
* 18% of these applicants gained admission.
* Median LSAT score was 168, with the 25th and 75th percentiles for the class falling at 166 and 168, respectively.
* Median GPA was 3.70, with the 25th and 75th percentiles falling at 3.57 and 3.81, respectively.

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... ration.cfm

My dream school is Cornell. By the looks of it, the dream is slowly but surely fading away ;/. I really hope that I do well on the upcoming LSAT in October.

[KMaine]

Good luck! Nail that LSAT.

[im_blue]

Nice! Where are those stats available? Any word on 25/75 #s.

It's on the admissions website now. No idea about the 25/75s.

Edit: I take that back.

Overview of Fall 2010 entering class:

* 6,269 applications were received for 205 spots.
* 18% of these applicants gained admission.
* Median LSAT score was 168, with the 25th and 75th percentiles for the class falling at 166 and 168, respectively.
* Median GPA was 3.70, with the 25th and 75th percentiles falling at 3.57 and 3.81, respectively.

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... ration.cfm

That's a 49% increase in applications in just one year (4,207 in 2009)!

[vexion]

That's a 49% increase in applications in just one year (4,207 in 2009)!

At orientation Dean Geiger said something like 53%, and that was what was quoted in all the news articles this year (--LinkRemoved--).

[im_blue]

That's a 49% increase in applications in just one year (4,207 in 2009)!

At orientation Dean Geiger said something like 53%, and that was what was quoted in all the news articles this year (--LinkRemoved--).

That 53% was as of January 2010, so it looks like people turned in their apps earlier in the cycle.

[CyLaw]

Now that the memo is out of the way, we have more time on our hands to answer questions. Fire away.

[BlueDiamond]

I believe Cornell is the law school closest to my hometown and I have to be close for family reasons.. any chance mentioning this matters? Or, just get the numbers and pray?

[CyLaw]

I believe Cornell is the law school closest to my hometown and I have to be close for family reasons.. any chance mentioning this matters? Or, just get the numbers and pray?

Traditional wisdom is numbers are king. Without being at least in the ballpark I doubt much else will help (granted I don't pretend to know how the adcomms think, but this seems to be the accepted stance).

However, this gives you a good item to put on your application under the "Why Cornell" question. Last year they gave us a maybe 2 line space to say why we are applying to Cornell. Your answer will be slightly different than most, so it may help your app stand out a little in the reader's mind, but I would not really expect it to confer much if any advantage. Every little bit helps though.

[BlueDiamond]

Sounds good, thanks. I'm in between 50th and 75th for GPA. So, I guess in about 36 hours I'll know if it is even worth thinking about applying. My PT's have not been at the median, so Cornell would be quite the reach for me.

Growing up near Ithaca I'm pretty familiar with most of the area. Do you ever get to see it with all those hours being logged at the library?

[CyLaw]

Good Luck on the test.

Do you ever get to see [Ithaca] with all those hours being logged at the library?

I personally spend little time inside the library, because it can get kind of loud with the sheer number of people in it, at least the few times I went. Since I live in the law school dorm, it is actually quieter in my room, so I do most of my studying there or at Starbucks if I need coffee.

I try each Saturday morning and afternoon to go someplace new in town. Just walk in a general direction and explore. So, yes, plenty of time to go see at least nearby Ithaca. But I am definitely much more familiar with the few blocks around the law school that I spend everyday walking than the further reaches that I only spend half a day per week exploring.

[BlueDiamond]

Thanks for wishing me luck (I'll need it).

One last one.. read Law School Insider or even heard of it? It was suggested to me by a professor at my school because I guess the author went to the undergrad I'm at now for his masters before attending Cornell. Promise that's my last question.

[CGI Fridays]

Heyo, sorry I can't search in case this has been covered.

Cornell didn't have any environmental law specialized profs, nor an enviro journal, and only one course, according to Josh Gellers last year (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... utput=html )
(2 clinics though)

Is this the case this year?
If so, do you know any students who nevertheless want to pursue enviro law? What's their take on the situation?
Know anyone working with the gov on enviro issues over any summers? (if so, class rank?)

Sorry about the clusterbomb Q. Thanks for doing this.

[CyLaw]

Sorry. Never actually heard of it before, maybe one of the other 1Ls have and they will chime in.

[danidancer]

Growing up near Ithaca I'm pretty familiar with most of the area. Do you ever get to see it with all those hours being logged at the library?

I'm also not a huge one for the library - although since I'm living off campus and down the hill, by necessity (and not wanting to drag my books back and forth) I've been doing all my casebook readings there (memo-ing's been happening at home). By utilizing my breaks during the day effectively, I've been able to leave the library around 7ish most nights, sometimes earlier. So there's definitely time to explore at least at this point in the semester. But, I'll admit, I haven't explored nearly as much as I've wanted to or probably should have. This is definitely easier with a car...

Is this the case this year?
If so, do you know any students who nevertheless want to pursue enviro law? What's their take on the situation?
Know anyone working with the gov on enviro issues over any summers? (if so, class rank?)

There's a pretty active environmental club - putting on lecture series, etc, and I know they're trying to convince Cornell to have more academic offerings. At the moment that's pretty much the extent of the presence as far as I know. Ithaca in general is pretty awesome for environmental issues/awareness though. Composing is EVERYWHERE, lots of beautiful hiking trails, etc.