Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[Sig218]

Also, are there any negatives to living a little farther off campus (aside from having to bus in everyday)? .

Negatives: the one day you miss the bus, the one day you need to get to the law school on short notice and can't, and that we probably won't see you out at the Palms every midnight since it's such a long trip for you.

Thanks for the advice. I visited a studio in lower Collegetown that was a little cheaper and a lot closer, so I went with that. It's only about a 15 minute walk from the law school and I just got a better vibe from it.

[alexyoshi]

Also, how much of a part of the university as a whole do the law students feel? Is there a strong sense of collegiality amongst the law students and the students of the university as a whole?

They don't. Law students don't really mix with the university at large at all. I mean, you could if you wanted to. There's nothing holding you back from going to undergrad events, or talking to people at the gym or whatever. There's a GPSA (Graduate & Professional Student Association) which hosts some joint events for the grad school kids, but I haven't seen much out of them in my first semester here. You can talk to the law school's GPSA rep about it. I know a few people who are dating grad students in other colleges, and we've had a couple JD vs MBA flipcup tournaments (that the MBAs made a poor showing at,) but that's about as close as you get to collegiality.

cosigned

[alexyoshi]

there is a gathering for grad students on friday afternoons with $1 beers. the last time i was there, a couple female grad students approached a small group of us (male) 1Ls.

them: "are you guys architects?"

us: "nope, law school."

them: "ohhh..." *backing away*

[mths]

there is a gathering for grad students on friday afternoons with $1 beers. the last time i was there, a couple female grad students approached a small group of us (male) 1Ls.

them: "are you guys architects?"

us: "nope, law school."

them: "ohhh..." *backing away*

I remember this!!!!!

Why does everyone hate us?!

[matt386]

there is a gathering for grad students on friday afternoons with $1 beers. the last time i was there, a couple female grad students approached a small group of us (male) 1Ls.

them: "are you guys architects?"

us: "nope, law school."

them: "ohhh..." *backing away*

I remember this!!!!!

Why does everyone hate us?!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/busin ... pKi05+t38g

[vexion]

.

[Eyetalian]

How are west coast employment/recruiting prospects at Cornell? How is the weather in Ithaca?

[vexion]

How is the weather in Ithaca?

Currently 10 with a wind chill of -3. Last night I think it dipped to -17. There is a lot of snow on the ground. It sucks.

As for in general, winter lasts from October until March. We got our first snow on Halloween, though it was like 35 degrees out and it was just tiny flakes that melted instantly. Ithaca supposedly has some of the fewest days of sunshine per year of any city in the US, less even than Seattle. In short, it's dreary. The summer, though, was awesome. I've only been here since August, but in August it was 85 degrees, sunny and rarely rained.

[DorianGray89]

Is there much of a life outside of the school? Or are all your friends from the law school?

[mths]

Is there much of a life outside of the school?

yes, we make it work

Or are all your friends from the law school?

yes, no one else lives in ithaca is cool enough for us

[DorianGray89]

Or are all your friends from the law school?

yes, no one else lives in ithaca is cool enough for us[/quote]

Ok, that's what I thought.

[Ikki]

Given how secluded and small Ithaca is, how hard is it to find a part time job that can help pay the bills ($15/hr+)? Even better, how hard is it to find a law-related job?

[DorianGray89]

Do you guys know anything about the JD/LLM program in international law? If you do, how would you rate it?

[vexion]

Given how secluded and small Ithaca is, how hard is it to find a part time job that can help pay the bills ($15/hr+)? Even better, how hard is it to find a law-related job?

Do not find a part-time job. Law school is too time-consuming. If you wanted to ignore the tons and tons of people who will tell you this same thing, and get a job anyway, then I think finding one for $15/hr would be absurd. I don't know where you're from, but that strikes me as full-timer wages, with experience. You could easily find $8-10/hr.

[Ikki]

Given how secluded and small Ithaca is, how hard is it to find a part time job that can help pay the bills ($15/hr+)? Even better, how hard is it to find a law-related job?

Do not find a part-time job. Law school is too time-consuming. If you wanted to ignore the tons and tons of people who will tell you this same thing, and get a job anyway, then I think finding one for $15/hr would be absurd. I don't know where you're from, but that strikes me as full-timer wages, with experience. You could easily find $8-10/hr.

I currently have two jobs at school, one pays $12/hr and the other $15/hr. If I'm gonna live in Ithaca, I better have a job, they haven't offered any scholarships yet, and I'm thinking they won't.

The thought of living exclusively off loans does not sound very appealing.

[vexion]

I currently have two jobs at school, one pays $12/hr and the other $15/hr. If I'm gonna live in Ithaca, I better have a job, they haven't offered any scholarships yet, and I'm thinking they won't.

Get realistic. You're in undergrad, you can have jobs. You're going to have to live entirely off of loans in law school. Or take a year or two off, bank money, then go to law school.

From the devil's advocate position, though, I know of one single student at Cornell who's holding down two or three part time jobs. She claims she doesn't study, but she works as a TA for undergrads among other things. So it can be done. I mean, she hasn't failed out yet.

[mths]

you're not allowed to work in 1L

at least 1st semester

[Ikki]

I currently have two jobs at school, one pays $12/hr and the other $15/hr. If I'm gonna live in Ithaca, I better have a job, they haven't offered any scholarships yet, and I'm thinking they won't.

Get realistic. You're in undergrad, you can have jobs. You're going to have to live entirely off of loans in law school. Or take a year or two off, bank money, then go to law school.

From the devil's advocate position, though, I know of one single student at Cornell who's holding down two or three part time jobs. She claims she doesn't study, but she works as a TA for undergrads among other things. So it can be done. I mean, she hasn't failed out yet.

Thanks for the advise, I've been working since I was 16 and feels weird not having a side income at all.

you're not allowed to work in 1L

at least 1st semester

Not allowed as in "the school doesn't allow it"?

[vexion]

you're not allowed to work in 1L

at least 1st semester

Not allowed as in "the school doesn't allow it"?

I don't think this is true, iirc. I looked into it myself a long time ago. Some schools (Harvard comes to mind) do expressly bar 1Ls from working. I think Cornell allows it, but strongly, strongly discourages it. And you're in the same boat as a lot of people re: always having a job. This is the first time I've been "unemployed" since I was 16 or so. But law school is a full time job.

[Ikki]

you're not allowed to work in 1L

at least 1st semester

Not allowed as in "the school doesn't allow it"?

I don't think this is true, iirc. I looked into it myself a long time ago. Some schools (Harvard comes to mind) do expressly bar 1Ls from working. I think Cornell allows it, but strongly, strongly discourages it. And you're in the same boat as a lot of people re: always having a job. This is the first time I've been "unemployed" since I was 16 or so. But law school is a full time job.

Fair enough, with the economy and all, would you say Cornell is worth it at sticker price? How are you suppose to network when NYC is a 4 hour drive away?

[Other25BeforeYou]

Is there much of a life outside of the school? Or are all your friends from the law school?

This depends on the person. Plenty of people have friends who are grad students in other schools or non-student Ithacans. I mostly socialized with non-law grad students my first year.

[vexion]

Fair enough, with the economy and all, would you say Cornell is worth it at sticker price? How are you suppose to network when NYC is a 4 hour drive away?

To answer the easy question, we have various job fairs, including the August Job Fair in New York City, the biggest recruiting event of the year, where 90% of the 2Ls take off for New York City all at once one weekend. Basically in law school, if you're on the ball and if you're lucky, you're looking for employment twice: for your 1L summer and your 2L summer. Most people get firm jobs their 2L summer (75% of Cornell 2Ls or summat) and usually (hopefully) get a full-time offer from that firm.

For the 1L summer job hunt you want to work somewhere you can live for cheap/free, and do something legal. As far as networking, I don't think being in Ithaca is a hindrance, cause you tend to apply over winter break. Myself, I sent out resumes on December 1st (the first date allowed under NALP guidelines) and had several interviews back home during winter break. If you want to work in NYC your first summer (not necessary,) then you would want to spend winter break in NYC.

For the 2L summer job hunt, go to the job fair in August, and start sending out cover letters and resumes in August. I don't think "networking" is a huge hangup, unless you don't want a New York City job. In which case you'll have to make the effort to reach out to employers in your other chosen market. But for the most part, the employers want Cornell students, so they have on-campus interviews here and callbacks in New York City.

To answer the hard question... If you asked 100 people, you'd get 100 different answers. I'm paying sticker, so I guess I think it's worth it. Students aren't really in a good position to answer this. Ask me again when I'm unemployed in five years and facing bankruptcy.

[kn6542]

Given how secluded and small Ithaca is, how hard is it to find a part time job that can help pay the bills ($15/hr+)? Even better, how hard is it to find a law-related job?

Do not find a part-time job. Law school is too time-consuming. If you wanted to ignore the tons and tons of people who will tell you this same thing, and get a job anyway, then I think finding one for $15/hr would be absurd. I don't know where you're from, but that strikes me as full-timer wages, with experience. You could easily find $8-10/hr.

The standard rate for work study at the law school is something like $11.75. There are a lot of legal research jobs to be had at that rate. it wouldn't be difficult. You could probably squeeze $15 out of something if it were more specialized.

[kn6542]

How is the weather in Ithaca?

You might be old enough to remember this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm0ZWbMhWrE

It's about Ithaca. Srsly.

[CyLaw]

If I'm gonna live in Ithaca, I better have a job, they haven't offered any scholarships yet, and I'm thinking they won't.

Information for scholarships other than a Dean's scholarship is not set out until you fill out the financial aid paperwork the school will send you.