Stanford 1L taking questions Forum

[GOB Bluth]

Glad it is well stocked. As for the hours of operation, the Munger profile on Stanford's website says:

The complex has a café for dining and meeting with friends, a 24-hour convenience/grocery store for easy shopping...

I bet you think all the Studios come with furniture too.

[WhiskeyGuy]

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[southernlady]

hahaha he is kidding about the furniture. all the munger apartments are fully furnished.

the munger market is not open 24 hours, but it is open past 5 most days. website says until 10 pm mon-thurs.
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/shaa/market.htm

[crackberry]

So what's the consensus on food? When I was a UG, Cardinal dollars weren't accepted everywhere - in fact they were barely accepted anywhere, so they were hardly a viable option. Now, it seems, they are accepted everywhere. I think my plan is to buy groceries (and definitely not at the overpriced Munger market) for breakfasts and dinners and to get Cardinal dollars to spend on lunches/snacks. Does that sound reasonable? If so, what's a decent amount of Cardinal dollars to budget per quarter?

FYI for those not familiar - there are two Safeways close by, plus a Whole Foods in downtown Palo Alto, as well as a newly-opened Trader Joe's right across El Camino from campus. That said, grocery runs without a car could be difficult as none of the stores are remotely within walking distance of SLS.

[WhiskeyGuy]

hahaha he is kidding about the furniture. all the munger apartments are fully furnished.

the munger market is not open 24 hours, but it is open past 5 most days. website says until 10 pm mon-thurs.
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/shaa/market.htm

Yup. I was playing his game

crackberry: Thanks for the good info on grocery options. Do you think Trader Joe's is close enough to transport groceries via bike (one durable, reusable grocery bag on each handlebar)?

[southernlady]

So what's the consensus on food? When I was a UG, Cardinal dollars weren't accepted everywhere - in fact they were barely accepted anywhere, so they were hardly a viable option. Now, it seems, they are accepted everywhere. I think my plan is to buy groceries (and definitely not at the overpriced Munger market) for breakfasts and dinners and to get Cardinal dollars to spend on lunches/snacks. Does that sound reasonable? If so, what's a decent amount of Cardinal dollars to budget per quarter?

FYI for those not familiar - there are two Safeways close by, plus a Whole Foods in downtown Palo Alto, as well as a newly-opened Trader Joe's right across El Camino from campus. That said, grocery runs without a car could be difficult as none of the stores are remotely within walking distance of SLS.

i must say, i have no idea what cardinal dollars are! i just use credit when i eat out on campus (usually at tressider, sometimes at cafe russo now).

as far as groceries go, i don't have a car but about half or more of the students do. i honestly just ask around every couple of weeks and ride along with someone to the store. i do have my own refrigerator, though, so that helps in being able to stock up! in the meantime, munger market supplies fruits, veggies, milk, and any little things i might run out of between trips. also, there is the tressider express market (about a 5 minute walk) that has more regular foods and not the whole foods-type snacks.

the new trader joe's in town and country is awesome! i don't have a bike either (working on it haha) but i imagine if you had one of those baskets you could get a good amount of stuff in one trip there.

[crackberry]

crackberry: Thanks for the good info on grocery options. Do you think Trader Joe's is close enough to transport groceries via bike (one durable, reusable grocery bag on each handlebar)?

Yeah, you could do it. It's probably a 10-15 minute ride from SLS and mostly flat, so if the weather's nice, it's a viable option. Freshman year, when we weren't allowed to have cars on campus, my friends and I had to bike to the Longs Drugs in Town & Country (right next to Trader Joe's) to get alcohol and we managed that, so you could manage groceries.

You just couldn't go on a serious binge run, but that's alright if you're disciplined about regular shopping (which I am most certainly not).

[ndnlawdc]

So what's the consensus on food? When I was a UG, Cardinal dollars weren't accepted everywhere - in fact they were barely accepted anywhere, so they were hardly a viable option. Now, it seems, they are accepted everywhere. I think my plan is to buy groceries (and definitely not at the overpriced Munger market) for breakfasts and dinners and to get Cardinal dollars to spend on lunches/snacks. Does that sound reasonable? If so, what's a decent amount of Cardinal dollars to budget per quarter?

FYI for those not familiar - there are two Safeways close by, plus a Whole Foods in downtown Palo Alto, as well as a newly-opened Trader Joe's right across El Camino from campus. That said, grocery runs without a car could be difficult as none of the stores are remotely within walking distance of SLS.

Cardinal cash wasn't accepted at the old Law Cafe. I haven't tried it with the new Law Cafe. Also, the BEST lunch option on campus doesn't take Cardinal dollars -- the pan-Asian truck that parks behind Tresidder. But any time I eat on campus I spend $7-8, so think about how much you eat times five days times 9 weeks and you're good to go.

[legends159]

the new trader joe's in town and country is awesome! i don't have a bike either (working on it haha) but i imagine if you had one of those baskets you could get a good amount of stuff in one trip there.

take the Marguerite B CCW to town and country or shopping express to San Antonio shopping center. I don't have a car either and I get fresh produce weekly.

[calawbiz]

What is the maximum number of courses (or credits) you can take outside the law school that will count toward the J.D.?

[rundoxierun]

Any of you guys involved with BLSA, SLLSA, etc.?? I have heard that the BLSA sends out really nifty info packets to prospective minority applicants with sample essays and other useful stuff. Wondering if anyone knows if they would mind me requesting one for next cycle(I think they do them unsolicited usually?). I have competitive numbers but maybe not quite autoadmit so I want to apply as early as possible.

[WhiskeyGuy]

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[tinman]

I think you should go to HLS. Harvard is amazing, and HLS is OK too.

Seriously, I don't think you will ever regret it. I turned down the Hamilton at Columbia for YLS and my only regrets are that I could not also go to HLS and SLS. I think these three are a special experience ... all of them ... and if you are in doubt, you should go to HLS.

The biggest downside at HLS is the large class size (which leads to more competition with peers for everything, jobs, professors' time, classes). But you should have an easier time still getting a job from there than from anywhere except SLS and YLS. You might have fewer personal interactions with professors at HLS than the other T14 you are considering, but if you don't want academia I do not see that as a big problem for you. Yes, not getting to know professors will hurt you for clerkships too, but not as much as not going to Harvard will hurt you.

[tomhobbes]

I think you should go to HLS. Harvard is amazing, and HLS is OK too.

Seriously, I don't think you will ever regret it. I turned down the Hamilton at Columbia for YLS and my only regrets are that I could not also go to HLS and SLS. I think these three are a special experience ... all of them ... and if you are in doubt, you should go to HLS.

The biggest downside at HLS is the large class size (which leads to more competition with peers for everything, jobs, professors' time, classes). But you should have an easier time still getting a job from there than from anywhere except SLS and YLS. You might have fewer personal interactions with professors at HLS than the other T14 you are considering, but if you don't want academia I do not see that as a big problem for you. Yes, not getting to know professors will hurt you for clerkships too, but not as much as not going to Harvard will hurt you.

Wrong thread?

[rundoxierun]

Any of you guys involved with BLSA, SLLSA, etc.?? I have heard that the BLSA sends out really nifty info packets to prospective minority applicants with sample essays and other useful stuff. Wondering if anyone knows if they would mind me requesting one for next cycle(I think they do them unsolicited usually?). I have competitive numbers but maybe not quite autoadmit so I want to apply as early as possible.

Shoot them an e-mail and ask.

I received an unsolicited packet from Faye Deal and the NALSA co-presidents. It didn't include sample essays, but it did encourage me to apply and provided a good taste for what SLS's NALSA does. I did, however, receive a packet from Yale that included sample essays.

hmm.. yea, I think Im thinking of yls for the one that gives sample essays.. the one school im not applying to of course.

[ConMan345]

I think you should go to HLS. Harvard is amazing, and HLS is OK too.

Seriously, I don't think you will ever regret it. I turned down the Hamilton at Columbia for YLS and my only regrets are that I could not also go to HLS and SLS. I think these three are a special experience ... all of them ... and if you are in doubt, you should go to HLS.

The biggest downside at HLS is the large class size (which leads to more competition with peers for everything, jobs, professors' time, classes). But you should have an easier time still getting a job from there than from anywhere except SLS and YLS. You might have fewer personal interactions with professors at HLS than the other T14 you are considering, but if you don't want academia I do not see that as a big problem for you. Yes, not getting to know professors will hurt you for clerkships too, but not as much as not going to Harvard will hurt you.

Hilarious.

I especially like how Harvard is amazing AND ok too.

[tomhobbes]

The funniest thing about tinman posting this in the wrong thread, instead of the Harvard vs. free ride thread as he was probably intending to, is that without that context he seems to be advocating Harvard above Yale.

[WhiskeyGuy]

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[ConMan345]

I have a mental image of tinman walking into a room where the rest of us are talking about Yale, no HLS to be heard, and starts addressing the room in general or a potted plant or something with "you" in a very thoughtful, rather serious way.

[Aggiegrad2011]

Hopefully you Stanford 1L's are still bored!

I have a couple questions about targeting letters / personal statement for Stanford.

I read through all 9 pages of this thread and noticed only one mention of targeting letter (Which legends said he DID do) and I am curious as to what you had the letter writer say, and how you were able to "sway" the writer in such a way that wouldn't constitute any form of dishonesty.

One of my letter writers this cycle holds a Ph.D. from Stanford, and I have read here and elsewhere that a targeted LoR from an alum is always a good thing, but I am having trouble really getting at what I should ask my letter writer to elucidate on about me vis-a-vis my contributions to Stanford's diversity besides the obvious.

Any help from any of you guys as it pertains to how best to target your LoR? Same goes for PS, although in my mind that seems a little easier.

Did any of you guys write "Why SLS?" addenda?

[GOB Bluth]

Hopefully you Stanford 1L's are still bored!

I have a couple questions about targeting letters / personal statement for Stanford.

I read through all 9 pages of this thread and noticed only one mention of targeting letter (Which legends said he DID do) and I am curious as to what you had the letter writer say, and how you were able to "sway" the writer in such a way that wouldn't constitute any form of dishonesty.

One of my letter writers this cycle holds a Ph.D. from Stanford, and I have read here and elsewhere that a targeted LoR from an alum is always a good thing, but I am having trouble really getting at what I should ask my letter writer to elucidate on about me vis-a-vis my contributions to Stanford's diversity besides the obvious.

Any help from any of you guys as it pertains to how best to target your LoR? Same goes for PS, although in my mind that seems a little easier.

Did any of you guys write "Why SLS?" addenda?

I did not write any targeted letters or essays, and I'm pretty sure my LoR weren't targeted either. None of my recommenders were related to Stanford, though. So it is definitely not necessary to have targeted letters to get in. That said, I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

I know we have the reputation of being a black box as far as admissions go. From what I've heard, the professor(s) leading the faculty committee on admissions will be the biggest influence on admissions beyond having the requisite gpa or lsat. Try to find out in advance who that person will be and tailor your entire admissions package to appeal to them.

[CardinalSin]

Orientation: anyone care to describe the what, where, and when? I see that there is copious time allotted. What can we expect during those days?

[Knock]

Random question; for form C, is it required, encouraged, or what? do you think it will make a significant difference? does it matter if I only have one or should I try and get two professors to fill it out?

[Knock]

So I saw on SLS' website that the new law building is scheduled to be completed for the 2011-2012 school year. It looks absolutely amazing. What do you guys think about this building? Have you heard anything about it?

[Knock]

How is being on the quarter system? I feel having to take an additional finals period every year might be a huge pain in the ass compared to the semester system.