WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[Xs20]

The school actually does have a baller rec center, but it's only open for Undergrads. Grad students and the sports (mainly the football) teams have to use the older smaller gym, which isn't absolutely horrible but definitely below market standards given the money this school has.

Can grad students pay to use the undergrad one?

[hoos89]

/

[RoseVI]

As for cardio... it's dumb that you have to pay for it, but at least with cardio you can just run around outside if you need to.

I think you're greatly overestimating people's dedication to fitness.

[Unagi]

The school actually does have a baller rec center, but it's only open for Undergrads. Grad students and the sports (mainly the football) teams have to use the older smaller gym, which isn't absolutely horrible but definitely below market standards given the money this school has.

Can grad students pay to use the undergrad one?

You can pay to do group lessons like zumba or yoga, but not to actually use the gym.
There is a gym on Delmar that's $10/mo.

[eweller]

.

[Xs20]

There is a gym on Delmar that's $10/mo.

Dayum STL is cheap.

What's it called?

[TatteredDignity]

I'm calling BS on this claim that there's another gym until somebody tells me where it is and I go see it for myself.

As for cardio... it's dumb that you have to pay for it, but at least with cardio you can just run around outside if you need to.

I think you're greatly overestimating people's dedication to fitness.

Fair.

[Unagi]

I'm calling BS on this claim that there's another gym until somebody tells me where it is and I go see it for myself.

http://s40fitness.wustl.edu

[notedgarfigaro]

There is a gym on Delmar that's $10/mo.

Dayum STL is cheap.

What's it called?

Club Fitness...if you listen to the radio, their "jingle" will haunt you for the rest of your life.

[goldeneye]

There is a gym on Delmar that's $10/mo.

Dayum STL is cheap.

What's it called?

Club Fitness...if you listen to the radio, their "jingle" will haunt you for the rest of your life.

god yes. the absolute worst.

but there is a gym on the undergrad campus. it costs extra money I believe. there's a few gyms in the area though that aren't too expensive.

[Birdnals]

I never knew there was another gym. Fun fact. Also I too have heard from a dean at Wustl undergrad that a new gym is coming soon, but that won't be done until I am gone.

I see a few law school kids at the gym, but yeah it is pretty terrible. Most 1L's I know work out at a gym near their house or in their apt complexes. I come from a state school undergrad with one of the best gyms in the country, so I may be a little spoiled. Here is my take:

Pros: everything you need when not too crowded (6 or so squat racks, 4 bench set ups, plenty of free weights, every machine you could need, decent Olympic style lifting area, etc.), close to law school, pretty good pool/basketball set up if you are into those kind of things.

Cons: Terrible gym etiquette from a large amount of students combined with not enough staff leads to weights being scattered everywhere/left on bars. You have no idea if somebody is on something or just left their weights there after they finished their last set. Also, the various sports teams use the same gym, and no qualms about taking a whole team during peak hours, so good luck trying to work out from 4-7. I don't do cardio indoors anyways, but having to pay extra to use a treadmill is dumb. The locker rooms are terrible too. I lived in a fraternity house, so I've got no problems showering around other dudes, but this is just an oldschool room with shower heads on the wall. At least put up a divider or something. The mats for core work look like they are from the 80's, and terrible gym etiquette leads to these rarely being wiped down after use. The speaker system is a radio which anybody can control, and this can end badly if the guy who likes smooth jazz during workouts take control. Lastly, the pool hours suck.


I'll tough it out for the rest of the year, but come summer I will be looking for a good gym near my house and never looking back.

[Oban]

There are actually only 4 squat racks and 3 flat benches. There is a smith rack which doesn't count and 2 incline bench set ups though. Good luck trying to bench or squat during peak hours/team workouts.

[Unoriginalist]

Throughout this thread, it's been mentioned that the St. Louis and KC markets are very insular. Is there any common consensus on how to establish ties to these locations while at WUSTL? Is working summers in the areas enough?

[TatteredDignity]

Throughout this thread, it's been mentioned that the St. Louis and KC markets are very insular. Is there any common consensus on how to establish ties to these locations while at WUSTL? Is working summers in the areas enough?

KC isn't nearly as insular as STL. What I mean by that is that you have a much better chance of cracking KC as an outsider than you have of cracking STL as an outsider. STL firms are afraid that people are just using them as a launching pad to Chicago/wherever. KC is also afraid of that, but the firms are generally eager to sell you on the city, and if you give it a fair chance and can come up with a good narrative about why you like KC, they're more receptive to that kind of thing.

[goldeneye]

Throughout this thread, it's been mentioned that the St. Louis and KC markets are very insular. Is there any common consensus on how to establish ties to these locations while at WUSTL? Is working summers in the areas enough?

Buy property. Make phone number the local area code. Work here might be enough

[Oban]

It's definitely an uphill right to get a STL job as an "outsider" without a convincing anchor such as: "My wife/family lives/works here" or "I just bought a house/condo." You're going to competing with top of class kids here who are from STL and top/decent ranked kids from SLU, and don't forget kids from T14 who want to come home. There just aren't a lot of jobs here to go around.

I know a few people with good grades who really wanted to be here who had no luck.

[romothesavior]

Throughout this thread, it's been mentioned that the St. Louis and KC markets are very insular. Is there any common consensus on how to establish ties to these locations while at WUSTL? Is working summers in the areas enough?

KC isn't nearly as insular as STL. What I mean by that is that you have a much better chance of cracking KC as an outsider than you have of cracking STL as an outsider. STL firms are afraid that people are just using them as a launching pad to Chicago/wherever. KC is also afraid of that, but the firms are generally eager to sell you on the city, and if you give it a fair chance and can come up with a good narrative about why you like KC, they're more receptive to that kind of thing.

I know this story well.

While most secondary markets are fairly insular and want to see ties, STL is FAR worse than average. I could barely even get CBs at the STLolol firms despite growing up a few hours away, networking my freakin' face off during my 1L summer before OCI, and my resume screaming "I want STL!" Meanwhile I got looks in KC despite never having been there, Louisville despite never having been there, and Indianapolis despite being there less than 5 times in my life. None of them seemed to care that I wasn't from there. Those cities sold me hard on the city and ate up my "kid from a small Midwestern town seeking mid-size city to settle down in," whereas St. Louis had an inferiority complex that was borderline embarrassing.

Sure, it's anecdotal, and maybe I just sucked in my STL interviews or something, but I know I'm not alone in my feelings about STL. STL is extremely hostile to outsiders from WUSTL and you better have a damn good reason for staying here, or tip top grades. I'm pretty convinced they didn't buy my "Why STL" answer even though I grew up a few hours away and pretty much the entire f-ing reason I came to this school is because I wanted to stay in St. Louis long-term.

Just a word to those who are deadset on STL and optimistic about your chances despite being from elsewhere. It's as tough as advertised.

[lukertin]

I think KC is less insular because it's kind of an "immigrant" city in the way DC and NYC are, but obviously to a much lesser extent. Plenty of people go there for new jobs, since it's the HQ for tons of federal agencies, and that attitude probably permeates the whole place.

[Unoriginalist]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I know this story well.

While most secondary markets are fairly insular and want to see ties, STL is FAR worse than average. I could barely even get CBs at the STLolol firms despite growing up a few hours away, networking my freakin' face off during my 1L summer before OCI, and my resume screaming "I want STL!" Meanwhile I got looks in KC despite never having been there, Louisville despite never having been there, and Indianapolis despite being there less than 5 times in my life. None of them seemed to care that I wasn't from there. Those cities sold me hard on the city and ate up my "kid from a small Midwestern town seeking mid-size city to settle down in," whereas St. Louis had an inferiority complex that was borderline embarrassing.

Sure, it's anecdotal, and maybe I just sucked in my STL interviews or something, but I know I'm not alone in my feelings about STL. STL is extremely hostile to outsiders from WUSTL and you better have a damn good reason for staying here, or tip top grades. I'm pretty convinced they didn't buy my "Why STL" answer even though I grew up a few hours away and pretty much the entire f-ing reason I came to this school is because I wanted to stay in St. Louis long-term.

Just a word to those who are deadset on STL and optimistic about your chances despite being from elsewhere. It's as tough as advertised.

That's rough - if someone like you isn't convincing enough ties, what is? Haha. Seriously though, one of the major appeals to WUSTL for me is that it's in a market I wouldn't mind being in long-term. Any perspective on how high grades need to be to be warrant a second look by STL firms?

[romothesavior]

That's rough - if someone like you isn't convincing enough ties, what is? Haha. Seriously though, one of the major appeals to WUSTL for me is that it's in a market I wouldn't mind being in long-term. Any perspective on how high grades need to be to be warrant a second look by STL firms?

I don't mean to sound depressed or ungrateful or anything like that. I'm not unhappy by any stretch. I just share my experience with you to give you an idea of what things are like for many folks in that boat. I remember very well being in your shoes. I was all about staying in STL when I enrolled here.

I'd say top 20-25% is more or less a minimum for the biggest and best firms (Husch, TC, Cave, Lewis Rice, Armstrong, Polsinelli, Greensfelder, etc.) Of course there are exceptions, but I'd say that's about accurate for the average person with decent but not amazing ties. Of course there are exceptions, but if you aren't from the area, or you don't a compelling reason for wanting to stay like a house or a significant other or something, then I think top 10% is more realistically what you'll need (again, there are exceptions).

[lukertin]

romo did you end up snagging StL?

[romothesavior]

romo did you end up snagging StL?

PM'd

PS... your ladyfriend story the other day was as shocking and appalling as it was funny and bizarre.

[TatteredDignity]

That's rough - if someone like you isn't convincing enough ties, what is? Haha. Seriously though, one of the major appeals to WUSTL for me is that it's in a market I wouldn't mind being in long-term. Any perspective on how high grades need to be to be warrant a second look by STL firms?

I don't mean to sound depressed or ungrateful or anything like that. I'm not unhappy by any stretch. I just share my experience with you to give you an idea of what things are like for many folks in that boat. I remember very well being in your shoes. I was all about staying in STL when I enrolled here.

I'd say top 20-25% is more or less a minimum for the biggest and best firms (Husch, TC, Cave, Lewis Rice, Armstrong, Polsinelli, Greensfelder, etc.) Of course there are exceptions, but I'd say that's about accurate for the average person with decent but not amazing ties. Of course there are exceptions, but if you aren't from the area, or you don't a compelling reason for wanting to stay like a house or a significant other or something, then I think top 10% is more realistically what you'll need (again, there are exceptions).

As another data point, my grades were very good, my wife now has a full time job here, and nobody was interested in me.

[lukertin]

PS... your ladyfriend story the other day was as shocking and appalling as it was funny and bizarre.

Lol, ikr? she sent me an incredibly long, rambling and incoherent e-mail this morning, too; this shit is just too much for me to deal with right now.

[romothesavior]

As another data point, my grades were very good, my wife now has a full time job here, and nobody was interested in me.

It's probably because you're scared to face me in Mario Kart.