Oregon 1L offering his limited advice Forum

[kimber1028]

Oregon 2L joining the mix. I went here for undergrad too. Ask away if you have anything for me.

[usuaggie]

I would ask you for advice, but you're a 1L.

why would somebody with over 7000 posts in a year and a half ask for advice on selecting a law school from anybody?

[romothesavior]

I would ask you for advice, but you're a 1L.

why would somebody with over 7000 posts in a year and a half ask for advice on selecting a law school from anybody?

I meant on finals. I'm also a 1L.

[imbored25]

im quite interested in the pnw however i've gotten the impression that all the good jobs go to either uw grads or t14's, what are the job prospects/salary for schools like uo, l&c, and seattle? also whats the cost of living around portland/seattle?

[usuaggie]

im quite interested in the pnw however i've gotten the impression that all the good jobs go to either uw grads or t14's, what are the job prospects/salary for schools like uo, l&c, and seattle? also whats the cost of living around portland/seattle?

I think the oregon schools compete over portland more than UW. Lewis & Clark and Oregon seem to split portland pretty even, from what I've heard, and Oregon gets the majority of jobs in lane county (where eugene is). I'm sure once you go as far as seattle, it is mostly UW students.

Cost of living isn't too bad. Just average. My rent is 450 a month in eugene for a room in a house, utilities included. Friends pay up to 800 a month for their own apartment. Most, i'd guess, around 500-600 though. I dont know about seattle. its 5 hours away from eugene, so i dont go there.


There is a general feeling that our school is "undervalued." We are in the middle of a search for a new dean, and a few of the candidates have made it clear that they are going to manipulate the way they approach numbers, money, etc. to make sure we are higher rated. They seem to think "it is stupid that we have to do that, but that's how it is and we have no choice."

[imbored25]

thanks, couple more questions

hows life in eugene, whats the social life like at the law school, are ppl overly competitive, from what i hear its a great college town but would like to get some knowledge from someone who actually goes there, what made you pick uo over other schools.

also what kind of jobs are people getting, what % of the class do you think gets big law, does uo have great access to oregon govt jobs/judicial work, the envtl program is ranked pretty high, what kind of jobs are available for ppl who do this

thats all i can think of now but ill ask more later

thanks

[Broncsfan]

Cafe Rio or Costa Vida?

[kimber1028]

thanks, couple more questions

hows life in eugene, whats the social life like at the law school, are ppl overly competitive, from what i hear its a great college town but would like to get some knowledge from someone who actually goes there, what made you pick uo over other schools.

also what kind of jobs are people getting, what % of the class do you think gets big law, does uo have great access to oregon govt jobs/judicial work, the envtl program is ranked pretty high, what kind of jobs are available for ppl who do this

thats all i can think of now but ill ask more later

thanks

I'll speak to your job questions first. From a 2L perspective, if you do decently well, you'll be okay. Big law isn't highly sought after here, though we had a lot of Portland and Seattle firms at OCI. Probably about 5-7% got something from a private firm at OCI. Probably another 3% were hired by competitive government SLIP programs. I also know a lot of people outside that range who have jobs lined up - it's a matter of taking the initiative, setting up informational interviews, and tapping connections. I'm not in the environmental program, but I know several students who are, and they placed well in OCI (Portland environmental boutiques go after UO and L&C pretty equally, and I know a few who are going out of state and doing prestigious environmental work either after law school or for 2L summer). It's not all doom and gloom here.

I believe (and have heard those in the field say the same) that UO has an advantage when it comes to Oregon government jobs and judicial work. Our grads place extremely well in state clerkships, and we have a lot of judicial externships available for students during the year and in the summer. Oregon employers and judges tend to choose locally, and UO has a huge alumni base, both for the law school and the undergrad college.

As far as Eugene goes, I love living here, and I think it's great for school. I went here for undergrad also, and I still love it. Football is fabulous, too, of course. The students aren't that competitive -- we're a collaborative bunch -- and the professors are all supportive and willing to answer questions. There are a lot of social activities at the school and among the law students, so you can have a very active social life if you choose to. Students are serious when they need to be, though.

I'm around if you think of other questions.

[romothesavior]

How badly do you think Cam Newton is going to destroy Oregon in the title game? Will it be merciless and unrelenting pwnage, or will he take it easy on them?

[snaps]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_P1PPy7FTo

[usuaggie]

thanks, couple more questions

hows life in eugene, whats the social life like at the law school, are ppl overly competitive, from what i hear its a great college town but would like to get some knowledge from someone who actually goes there, what made you pick uo over other schools.

also what kind of jobs are people getting, what % of the class do you think gets big law, does uo have great access to oregon govt jobs/judicial work, the envtl program is ranked pretty high, what kind of jobs are available for ppl who do this

thats all i can think of now but ill ask more later

thanks

I'll speak to your job questions first. From a 2L perspective, if you do decently well, you'll be okay. Big law isn't highly sought after here, though we had a lot of Portland and Seattle firms at OCI. Probably about 5-7% got something from a private firm at OCI. Probably another 3% were hired by competitive government SLIP programs. I also know a lot of people outside that range who have jobs lined up - it's a matter of taking the initiative, setting up informational interviews, and tapping connections. I'm not in the environmental program, but I know several students who are, and they placed well in OCI (Portland environmental boutiques go after UO and L&C pretty equally, and I know a few who are going out of state and doing prestigious environmental work either after law school or for 2L summer). It's not all doom and gloom here.

I believe (and have heard those in the field say the same) that UO has an advantage when it comes to Oregon government jobs and judicial work. Our grads place extremely well in state clerkships, and we have a lot of judicial externships available for students during the year and in the summer. Oregon employers and judges tend to choose locally, and UO has a huge alumni base, both for the law school and the undergrad college.

As far as Eugene goes, I love living here, and I think it's great for school. I went here for undergrad also, and I still love it. Football is fabulous, too, of course. The students aren't that competitive -- we're a collaborative bunch -- and the professors are all supportive and willing to answer questions. There are a lot of social activities at the school and among the law students, so you can have a very active social life if you choose to. Students are serious when they need to be, though.

I'm around if you think of other questions.

to add to this, most people here love the social life. I don't drink so I find it a little harder to do things because almost EVERY law school event involves drinking. sometimes I go just to hang out, but it isn't fun being sober and watching 80 drunk classmates make fools of themselves. also, there is a large number of people who smoke marijuana and that makes me a little uncomfortable. you know, the whole "we arent supposed to do illegal things" part of law school. besides that, football games are great. basketball games are okay if you really love basketball, but it is nothing like the environment at autzen (basically the basketball environment is what you'd expect at a place like san jose state, or ucsb).

the school is really laid back. i expected law school to be competitive, and im sure other schools are, but this one is not. it is the best quality of Oregon IMO. people help each other. 2Ls and 3Ls help me whenever I ask for it. My teachers are great. almost no 1L teachers have true cold calls. they let you pass if you dont know the answer or let your classmates help. most of my teachers let us know when we are coming up to be called. you can tell they want to teach via the socratic method, not show the class how smart they are and how dumb we are. if i email a teacher, they write back right away. one of my professors even asks me about my personal life, how's my girlfriend, family, what the dentist said when i had a tooth checked, etc. I like that.

The community here is pretty open and accepting. there are A LOT of homeless people. it is something you read and think "yeah everywhere has a lot of hobos" but there are a few on basically every corner. I'm from las vegas, where there are a lot of homeless people too, but nothing like here. It is crazy. It's like honolulu, if you've ever been there.


why I picked UO over other schools.
I wanted to go to Utah. I didn't get in. Oregon was my 5th choice and i got into all the other schools i was considering. I came to visit oregon over a weekend. i loved the campus immediately. the staff was helpful. the weather was beautiful (but the coast here is freezing.) when I was deciding on a college, i was determined to go to penn state. That ended up falling through, so i went to go visit the university of utah. I hated it. A friend suggested I check out utah state and the moment i walked on campus, I fell in love. I knew that was where i should be. i decided to trust my gut and i loved every minute i spent at utah state. I still miss it. The same thing happened when i came to eugene. i knew that's where i should be. unlv would have been cheaper (20K compared to 30K, plus no housing cost), but i couldn't overcome the gut feeling that i should be at oregon. I wonder if that was right, but i haven't regretted my decision yet. I really really really enjoy law school. I love studying. I love my classes. I love my teachers. I like my classmates. So i think i made the right choice.

If i boiled it down to a pro/con list, i probably would have chosen san diego or san francisco or maybe pacific. it wouldnt have been oregon. I dont know if i'd be happier or not at one of those schools, but i know that i'm happy here.

[imbored25]

thanks a lot to both of you for answering my questions, its really helpful. ill ask more if i have any.

[kimber1028]

Thanks for your insight, usuaggie. I want to add three points:

(a) My profs absolutely cold-called during 1L -- and we were not allowed to pass. There are a few profs who don't actively enforce it, but I would say that they're the exception rather than the norm. I agree that our profs aren't here to cut you down -- they'll be encouraging, polite, and helpful for the most part, but they do expect you to get your work done and be prepared for class.

(b) I don't think the number of homeless people in Eugene is extraordinarily high; I just think they're probably more visible than in other places. Eugene is small, so there aren't a lot of distinct communities (e.g. Skid Row in L.A.) where homeless people hang out -- they just sort of integrate into the community. They might be noticeable when you're downtown, but it's certainly not like the city is overrun with homeless people. Crime isn't really a problem here, either, if there are those who link the two.

(c) Matt Court will be open in 37 days. Basketball should get more exciting here soon.

[Aqualibrium]

Do you think you will be able to find a job?

One guy worked for nike. he wrote Gilbert Arenas a letter on their behalf and let him know nike was nixing his contract for all the trouble he got in. another friend clerked in Utah.

That's funny cuz I'm certain that Gil had a major contract with Adidas.

[usuaggie]

Do you think you will be able to find a job?

One guy worked for nike. he wrote Gilbert Arenas a letter on their behalf and let him know nike was nixing his contract for all the trouble he got in. another friend clerked in Utah.

That's funny cuz I'm certain that Gil had a major contract with Adidas.

i meant adidas, actually. i always think its nike cause it is oregon, but it was adidas.

[A'nold]

I've heard (and this was before I became a student) that UW can do better than U of O or L&C grads, but I have no proof.

I liked the University of Oregon but they rejected me twice in my two original cycles even though I had above median numbers......it all worked out for the best.

The PNW is awesome. Anyone that doesn't like it is either in denial or doesn't like things that don't suck.

[DCDuck]

Another Oregon 2L here. I love UO, and even in the middle of finals with the rain pouring down I still feel that way. There is a real sense of community and it is very supportive and collegial. I'm so happy I ended up here. Also, our football team and mascot rock.

[DCDuck]

I'm back (2L) and sitting in the library over winter break. Taking questions.

[yo!]

Any Oregon students still around? I have a favor to ask.

[kimber1028]

Any Oregon students still around? I have a favor to ask.

What's the favor?

[yo!]

Any Oregon students still around? I have a favor to ask.

What's the favor?

I have Keith Aoki, a former Oregon professor, for Property. Since he is pretty new at our school, none of his tests are in the exam bank. I was wondering if someone from Oregon had access to any of his old exams.

[kimber1028]

Any Oregon students still around? I have a favor to ask.

What's the favor?

I have Keith Aoki, a former Oregon professor, for Property. Since he is pretty new at our school, none of his tests are in the exam bank. I was wondering if someone from Oregon had access to any of his old exams.

I personally don't know him . . . and I think giving out old exams is a pretty surefire way to break our honor code, regardless of where the exams are being sent. Sorry. I would just ask him if he has practice exams or questions he'll provide to the class.

[yo!]

Any Oregon students still around? I have a favor to ask.

What's the favor?

I have Keith Aoki, a former Oregon professor, for Property. Since he is pretty new at our school, none of his tests are in the exam bank. I was wondering if someone from Oregon had access to any of his old exams.

I personally don't know him . . . and I think giving out old exams is a pretty surefire way to break our honor code, regardless of where the exams are being sent. Sorry. I would just ask him if he has practice exams or questions he'll provide to the class.

I wasn't asking you to send someone's personal exam. I assumed you guys had an exam bank where professors posted practice exams for students. We have one, but he hasn't posted any (probably because he is new). I honestly don't see how that could violate any honor code. Either way, I'll ask him. Thanks anyway.

[General Tso]

what is your take on the Vegas housing market? some are predicting it will be 10-15 years before prices begin to rebound. Which areas will rebound first? I'm guessing Henderson and the west Vegas hills.

[usuaggie]

what is your take on the Vegas housing market? some are predicting it will be 10-15 years before prices begin to rebound. Which areas will rebound first? I'm guessing Henderson and the west Vegas hills.

I'm not sure. There are way more houses than necessary in vegas as is, so it depends if the city keeps growing at its same rate.