Indiana University - Bloomington students taking questions Forum

[CE2JD]

Yep, just got the Heitd email. Oh god..

unjust, the email was from the prof himself and not an admin.

ce2jd, why are you here?

Maybe I'm considering a transfer to the prestigious Indiana University Law School?

Or maybe you're being an asshole?

Sorry doods.

[kings84_wr]

Yep, just got the Heitd email. Oh god..

unjust, the email was from the prof himself and not an admin.

ce2jd, why are you here?

Yeah im not surprised he's almost done, I have a feeling he is the one prof that loves grading and/or demoralizing his students.

Hahaha, maybe. I think he's quite kind and caring actually. He isn't much of a publisher, and really takes the teaching part of his job seriously.

Ha I know he is a nice guy, and I feel like a learned a ton in that class, but he is not afraid to give out good or bad grades. His distribution is about the widest of all the profs. I really have no idea how i did at all in that class, so its kind of terrifying getting it first.

[Unjust Enrichment]

I'm a little surprised that torts would come first since it was the last one taken.

Having Geyh/Bethel/two Hoffmann courses, I'm assuming Hoffmann will be last since he has two large classes to grade and they were on the second week of finals. I might expect to see my awful civ pro grade come back first since Geyh had a multiple choice scantron and a word limit on the essay.

[Bankhead]

I'm a little surprised that torts would come first since it was the last one taken.

Having Geyh/Bethel/two Hoffmann courses, I'm assuming Hoffmann will be last since he has two large classes to grade and they were on the second week of finals. I might expect to see my awful civ pro grade come back first since Geyh had a multiple choice scantron and a word limit on the essay.

I'm hoping the Hoff takes a while. I feel awful about how I did on that exam (especially since I've never seen everyone else so happy in my life after having taken that thing... like leaving early and beaming).

I'd bank on the K's coming back first. I doubt that most Torts exams come first, but our guy seems to be a grading machine!

P.S. I wouldn't feel too bad about the civ pro, that was hard for everyone I think. Gehy said the median MC score would be around a 19/30.

[kings84_wr]

Yeah I bet Hoff takes forever.

Our torts class is only about 50 students, and Heidt is really passionate about the class, so Im not totally surprised he's almost done. Maybe some of the other grades will start coming in soon though. I mean I don't get why we dont know LRW, its not like there is anything left to grade.

[Unjust Enrichment]

Yeah, if everything breaks right I might be able to luck out and nab a B+ on civ pro...you never know. I am confident that if the curve is easy I can stay off of the very bottom and avoid a B- since my multiple choice really wasn't bad, I just deeply hated what a mess my essay was. I feel confident that it's going to be a B or B+, any other grade would surprise me.

In any case, you might be right about K's coming first. I would prefer that to civ pro, because I'll just about fall out of my chair if my civ pro grade was somehow better than my contracts grade.

I was among those feeling really good after the Hoffmann finals, but the fact that everyone else was so damn happy tempered that. Going to be a tough curve, and even more subjectivity than usual with that one. Impossible to tell how that will shake out.

[Unjust Enrichment]

Hoffmann's crim pro class was over 100 people and had to be split into two testing rooms...and unlike Geyh's civ pro, it was straight essay aside from the short answer section (which still requires him to read and make judgments). There's a ton of grading for him to do. We'll be lucky to have those grades back by the end of the month.

I still don't know how the heck he really grades the policy section. That's by far the least reflective of our learning in the course of anything that showed up on those tests (the formats for his exams were identical).

[kings84_wr]

Hoffmann's crim pro class was over 100 people and had to be split into two testing rooms...and unlike Geyh's civ pro, it was straight essay aside from the short answer section (which still requires him to read and make judgments). There's a ton of grading for him to do. We'll be lucky to have those grades back by the end of the month.

I still don't know how the heck he really grades the policy section. That's by far the least reflective of our learning in the course of anything that showed up on those tests (the formats for his exams were identical).

In the review session for crim law he claimed he variance from the highest score to the lowest in the policy question was very low, like only a matter of a few points or something.

[Mulliganstew]

Yep, just got the Heitd email. Oh god..

unjust, the email was from the prof himself and not an admin.

ce2jd, why are you here?

Maybe I'm considering a transfer to the prestigious Indiana University Law School?

Or maybe you're being an asshole?

It's CE2JD. You can take out maybe.

Also, I fully expect to get Crim Law with Scott and Civ Pro with Geyh back first. Contracts was first, but Bethel's exam was brutal and all essay.

[Spoonmanners]

I mean I don't get why we dont know LRW, its not like there is anything left to grade.

No shit. If the grades we got back meant anything at all, we could figure it out ourselves.

Oh well, I guess we just have to wait for our real grades. I'm hoping they come at once, as opposed to receiving a dreaded B first.

[Vincent Vega]

Indiana is my top choice right now (was just admitted), and I have a lot of questions about QOL there.

- Will I need to get a car/any car sharing places locally?
- What's housing like there? Availability, COL, sketchy areas, etc.
- How's the mass transit - IU buses, Bloomington buses
- Any regrets choosing Indiana?
- How's the weekend/off-time scene? Are people outgoing and are there things to do in Bloomington?

I really wanted to go to IU for UG, but for this reason and that I couldn't. So I haven't been to Bloomington since HS, but I really loved it then. I'm already sold on the academic program, so anything you can tell me about life outside of class and studying would be helpful. Thanks!

[kings84_wr]

The bus system is very good in BLoomington, it is free to use the bus with a student id and there are stops right in front of hte law school. I wouldnt say you would need a car, if you lived close enough to campus it would not be too difficult to get by without one. I really did not drive very often at all last semester.

I find COL to be extremely low, however i spend 4 years in Orange county before coming to IU, so I may be a bit skewed on prices. Ive found that there is a lot of housing available since the town is pretty much solely based on the college, so there are a lot of available places out there.

As far as the weekend scene, there are some things to do in Bloomington, but its not exactly filled with tons of opportunities. Personally I found that I really did not have time for tons of free time anyways, so it did not bother me that much.

[Mulliganstew]

Indiana is my top choice right now (was just admitted), and I have a lot of questions about QOL there.

- Will I need to get a car/any car sharing places locally?

Actually, I'm sort of regretting being car dependent here. The town is so bike and pedestrian friendly that it's nearly impossible to find places with decent parking. A lot of law students do just fine with bus routes (Buses are free for law students in Bloomington. Just show your student ID), bikes, and feet.

- What's housing like there? Availability, COL, sketchy areas, etc.

Sketchy? Hah. I live in the sketchiest part of town and there's a brand new CVS just across the street. This is a seriously safe place to live. There are apartment complexes around the school, but most of what you'll find are residential houses being rented out to students. COL is ridiculously low here, but it can get expensive if you want all of the amenities. An apartment here would cost about 500-600 more in a city.

- How's the mass transit - IU buses, Bloomington buses

How's the mass transit? Free and frequent.

- Any regrets choosing Indiana?

Nope. It's been good to me. Ask me again after my grades come in...

- How's the weekend/off-time scene? Are people outgoing and are there things to do in Bloomington?

There are a large group of students who go out drinking at the local pubs (which are ludicrously cheap), but there's plenty of other things to do as well if you keep your eyes open. A friend of mine and I have been taking trips into Indianapolis to see the sights (and microbrews).

The great thing about Bloomington is it's an hour and 15 minutes from Indy, 2.5 hours from Cinci, 1.5 hours from Louisville, 3.5 hours to St. Louis, and 5 hours to Chicago. It's quite possibly the most convenient college town as far as weekend excitement that I've ever seen.

[Vincent Vega]

I really appreciate your input. I might see one or more of you in about a month when I come for the whole visit/tour package!

[Vincent Vega]

Also, any ideas as to why IU's rank jumped so much in USNWR in recent years? It was recently 36th and now 23rd. I heard it had something to do with a large donation from Mr. Maurer, but how much of an effect can that have on rank?

[kings84_wr]

Also, any ideas as to why IU's rank jumped so much in USNWR in recent years? It was recently 36th and now 23rd. I heard it had something to do with a large donation from Mr. Maurer, but how much of an effect can that have on rank?

We got a lot from Mr. Maurer and another big donation the year before. I think 36 was a little low for IU, but I think 23 may be too high. Honestly though I dont think the difference from 23 to almost any top 40 public school is worth anything.

The money allowed the school to spend a lot more on scholarship money and other school related expenses, which helps the rankings a lot. So in reality the money is likely the sole cause of the jump, especially with the economy being so bleak and limiting other schools.

[Mulliganstew]

Well, their plan is to use the money to get better students and I think it's working. Our class was the best yet in terms of average GPA/LSAT and this one will be even better than us.

[Unjust Enrichment]

Well, their plan is to use the money to get better students and I think it's working. Our class was the best yet in terms of average GPA/LSAT and this one will be even better than us.

This is true, and our class wouldn't even have been part of the ranking from last year since it obviously wasn't nearly filled at the time of the bump to #23. Our class of 2012 should be able to bump our numbers profile a bit. If we drop a bit in this year's rankings, I don't think it'll be a big enough fall to make our big jump last year look like an aberration.

[danquayle]

Well, their plan is to use the money to get better students and I think it's working. Our class was the best yet in terms of average GPA/LSAT and this one will be even better than us.

This is true, and our class wouldn't even have been part of the ranking from last year since it obviously wasn't nearly filled at the time of the bump to #23. Our class of 2012 should be able to bump our numbers profile a bit. If we drop a bit in this year's rankings, I don't think it'll be a big enough fall to make our big jump last year look like an aberration.

Actually, I think the effect of the gift is overstated. The jump in the rankings occurred before the money could truly have full effect, since the rankings are largely influenced by selectivity. The gift was announced (not yet given) in December, 2008, if I recall, well after the class of 2011 was recruited. Even the effect on the class of 2012 would have been muted, since most scholarships had likely already been given out. This is the first year where we'll really see the impact of the money on selectivity.

Assuming that Indiana actually could have spent ANY substantial money between the time the gift was made and the information for the rankings were compiled and setting aside reputation at 40%, placement statistics at 20% (which money cannot directly influence, aside from possibility giving out "fellowships" to boost placement stats) and selectivity at 25%, you're left with just Faculty Resources at 15%.

Faculty resources is comprised of expenditures per student, student/faculty ratio and library resources. Since I'm doubtful they could count anyone they hired for the next school term (and since I was there and didn't notice any new hires until June) , and library resources can only be elevated so much, I'm going to say that only leaves expenditures per student, which is also dampened because it includes date from both 2007 and 2008. While its certainly plausible that Indiana just threw money out the window and called it spending, I'm going to guess that the administration was limited by existing infrastructure and contracts into spending only slightly more than in previous years. It only costs so much to run a library, even if you'd like to spend more money on students, you're not going to be able to do so with the same base library. In order to drastically increase expenditures, they would have needed to vamp up Career Services, the secretary support, hire a whole lot more people and do a host of other things that, again, I would've noticed.

No, the rankings had far more to do with Indiana's gaming and gradual improvement. The jump from 36 to 23 had good synergy with the gift, but the money will have more to do with accelerating or maintaining Indiana's momentum than it did with starting it. They're going to use most of this money on hiring new faculty and giving out more cash to prospectives, all of which won't show up fully until next year's rankings.

All that being said, they're going to need it badly to keep us from backsliding painfully. Our reputation and class medians need to rise quickly if we want to have a realistic chance at being a T-25er.

[danquayle]

Indiana is my top choice right now (was just admitted), and I have a lot of questions about QOL there.

- Will I need to get a car/any car sharing places locally?

Actually, I'm sort of regretting being car dependent here. The town is so bike and pedestrian friendly that it's nearly impossible to find places with decent parking. A lot of law students do just fine with bus routes (Buses are free for law students in Bloomington. Just show your student ID), bikes, and feet.

- What's housing like there? Availability, COL, sketchy areas, etc.

Sketchy? Hah. I live in the sketchiest part of town and there's a brand new CVS just across the street. This is a seriously safe place to live. There are apartment complexes around the school, but most of what you'll find are residential houses being rented out to students. COL is ridiculously low here, but it can get expensive if you want all of the amenities. An apartment here would cost about 500-600 more in a city.

Yeah, seriously, there is no better place in the whole country for drunk girls to wander back home by themselves at 3 in the morning. I never felt nearly as safe as I did in Bloomington, and I've lived in two other big 10 college towns. It truly retains that small town welcoming character.

I also agree with the walkability. I don't understanding the concern with parking, though. Its nothing like what you'll encounter in college towns like Ann Arbor or a big city. Not even close. There's a parking garage not even 2 minutes walk from the law school and a parking lot across the street. It's not incredibly easy to park on the main drag or on the street next to the law school, but I think that's forgivable.

You can find tons of cheap housing within 5-10 minutes walk to the law school. I lived 10 minutes from the law school, 5 minutes from Kirkwood and 5 minutes from the bars on Walnut. I only paid $600 a month, which I split. It's going to be hard to beat the QOL you'll get in Bloomington... that is, if you enjoy small towns. If you want to be in a major city, well, obviously you're not going to find that there. I did find myself wishing there were more mature hangouts from the time to time.

[Unjust Enrichment]

I did find myself wishing there were more mature hangouts from the time to time.

I agree with this. I definitely like Kilroy's, Nick's, Upstairs, etc...but they all basically welcome the same (loud) crowd. To go somewhere just to grab a drink or two and chat at night, there aren't a lot of good options.

[Spoonmanners]

I did find myself wishing there were more mature hangouts from the time to time.

I agree with this. I definitely like Kilroy's, Nick's, Upstairs, etc...but they all basically welcome the same (loud) crowd. To go somewhere just to grab a drink or two and chat at night, there aren't a lot of good options.

I heard there is some sort of whiskey bar by that co-op or whatever it is. I haven't actually seen it or looked for it, but someone told me it exists. Maybe I would know if I was still single, but Friday and Saturday nights it's usually good to just relax.

But really, you should get away from the downtown area by the school if you want a quiet place to get a drink. There are 600 law students and 40,000 undergrads, so they cater to the undergrads.

[Mulliganstew]

My bar hangout is the Irish Lion. Their whiskey menu is amazing.

Plus, it tends to be a lot quieter since it's smaller.

[Bankhead]

Crazy Horse isn't bad (next to Irish Lion). Quieter and attracts a slightly older crowd.

[Vincent Vega]

Also, any ideas as to why IU's rank jumped so much in USNWR in recent years? It was recently 36th and now 23rd. I heard it had something to do with a large donation from Mr. Maurer, but how much of an effect can that have on rank?

We got a lot from Mr. Maurer and another big donation the year before. I think 36 was a little low for IU, but I think 23 may be too high. Honestly though I dont think the difference from 23 to almost any top 40 public school is worth anything.

The money allowed the school to spend a lot more on scholarship money and other school related expenses, which helps the rankings a lot. So in reality the money is likely the sole cause of the jump, especially with the economy being so bleak and limiting other schools.

Well, I am thankful for the boost in scholarship money. Though, looking at last year's scholarships, I probably would have received the same offer last year.

I'm fairly sold on IU, and I will be touring there in a few weeks!