NYU 1L Taking Questions Forum

[badfish]

Also, I <3 civ pro.

[spondee]

Also, I <3 civ pro.

Seconded, I think it's my favorite class.

I've lived in NY for a few years prior to law school and commute in from Brooklyn - if anyone has any questions about the nontrad life at NYU.

As far as gyms, because I already had a membership at NYSC, I've just kept it. It is pricey ($80/month) compared to other parts of the country. But having a good gym to work out in is worth it to me. And I do save some money on other expenses by not living in the dorms so it's probably a wash.

And I think I read slower than most of my classmates... putting in 2-3 hours per class session: which means I read for up to 6 hours to prepare for some days.

[spondee]

Oh, also - I find that NY is only as expense as you make it. Because there's so much here, it's definitely possible to find cheap places to drink, eat, shop, etc., but part of the adjustment to the city is learning about those places. So maybe it starts out more expensive and gets more manageable with time? (Or maybe my standards have gotten progressively lower and lower such that a shot of tequila and a tecate for $5 sounds great!)

[trojanfan06]

Do you guys think a "why nyu" essay is worth writing? It would most likely be about classes/profs/clinics etc.

[nthanks98]

another 1L here.

to trojanfan: if the application requests one, write it. if not, don't.

[felicity_47]

What do you think (if anything) contributed to your admission aside from GPA/LSAT scores? In particular, do you think NYU has any preferences towards certain types of activities or points of view?

[Snooker]

So happy!

1.) How would you imagine living in the Upper West Side would impact the law school experience? Have two dogs, and if admitted (applied ED) would love to get a place near central park. I know that there are plenty of other parks in NYC, but I'd love to get the experience of central park for a few years.

2.) Do you have any insight into what it would be like looking for work ITE up in NYC? Since I applied ED I'd love to get up there as soon as possible if admitted, but obviously finding a job would be a big part of that.

3.) Could you tell us your class schedule and about how many hours you read for each class?

4.) Are you involved in flag football, and if so do you have any comments on it? From what I've read on here it's organized by the small legal writing groups, and is pretty big.

5.) What's your general impression of the school and your classmates so far?

Thanks very much for answering questions!

1) You can live on the upper west side without much issue. I have class every morning at 9, and getting to the W 4th street stop isn't too difficult.
2) You're better off asking a 2 or 3L.
3) Like I said, I have class every morning from 9-1 (of course that varies but on a typical day that's what I'm looking at). I never have more than 3 classes in a day though and usually one of them is our "lawyering" class which is pass fail and is generally much more relaxed. I typically read about 3-4 hours a night for all of my classes all things considered.
4) My first flag football game is tonight, so I'm very excited.
5) I love the school and my classmates. The school is huge (for a law school) and b/c you're in NYC it's not like the law students hang out with only e/ other, like they might some other, more rural schools. If you're looking for that kind of super close knit community, NYU might not be the place for you, but if you have contacts in the city already, it's great. (Plus being in the village is pretty sweet).

(Please ignore the numerous grammatical errors).

I find your #5 a little peculiar. Our law school is in an urban area with as much to do as NYC (compared with my experience of living there once), but our community's really close knit. Any other factors explaining it? Lots of non-trad students?

[Renzo]

So happy!

1.) How would you imagine living in the Upper West Side would impact the law school experience? Have two dogs, and if admitted (applied ED) would love to get a place near central park. I know that there are plenty of other parks in NYC, but I'd love to get the experience of central park for a few years.

2.) Do you have any insight into what it would be like looking for work ITE up in NYC? Since I applied ED I'd love to get up there as soon as possible if admitted, but obviously finding a job would be a big part of that.

3.) Could you tell us your class schedule and about how many hours you read for each class?

4.) Are you involved in flag football, and if so do you have any comments on it? From what I've read on here it's organized by the small legal writing groups, and is pretty big.

5.) What's your general impression of the school and your classmates so far?

Thanks very much for answering questions!

1) You can live on the upper west side without much issue. I have class every morning at 9, and getting to the W 4th street stop isn't too difficult.
2) You're better off asking a 2 or 3L.
3) Like I said, I have class every morning from 9-1 (of course that varies but on a typical day that's what I'm looking at). I never have more than 3 classes in a day though and usually one of them is our "lawyering" class which is pass fail and is generally much more relaxed. I typically read about 3-4 hours a night for all of my classes all things considered.
4) My first flag football game is tonight, so I'm very excited.
5) I love the school and my classmates. The school is huge (for a law school) and b/c you're in NYC it's not like the law students hang out with only e/ other, like they might some other, more rural schools. If you're looking for that kind of super close knit community, NYU might not be the place for you, but if you have contacts in the city already, it's great. (Plus being in the village is pretty sweet).

(Please ignore the numerous grammatical errors).

I find your #5 a little peculiar. Our law school is in an urban area with as much to do as NYC (compared with my experience of living there once), but our community's really close knit. Any other factors explaining it? Lots of non-trad students?

As a non-trad student I can guarantee that this isn't the reason, I am well in the minority.

It seems to me that people have made plenty of friends so far, and there is plenty of intra-school socilizing, but that people don't feel that school needs to be their primary social scene. I think that this is a product of self-selection. NYU (IMHO) appeals to people who want to get out and see/do stuff outside of the school community. It doesn't have a campus in the traditional sense, rather the university is integrated into a busy, vibrant neighborhood. You can contrast that to Columbia, where there is a genuine campus in a relatively sleepy (by Manhattan standards) neighborhood.

[OperaSoprano]

Just stopping in for a visit in your lovely thread. We need more inter school social events!

To the '13 kids: NYU is awesome. Apply there now.

[Renzo]

What do you think (if anything) contributed to your admission aside from GPA/LSAT scores? In particular, do you think NYU has any preferences towards certain types of activities or points of view?

I know a lot of schools pay lip service to whatever "focus" they think will get students in the door, but the emphasis on Public Interest work at NYU is no joke. I think that activities that demonstrate a real, honest interest in social causes can help here more than at some peer schools.

That being said, it's still mostly about the numbers.

[Renzo]

Just stopping in for a visit in your lovely thread. We need more inter school social events!

We sure do!

[ruleser]

Thanks for taking q's.

Ok, big q, how much is your monthly rent?
Also, I take it you can live car free?
What do you like/dislike about the classes/school itself so far/teachers?

[OperaSoprano]

What do you think (if anything) contributed to your admission aside from GPA/LSAT scores? In particular, do you think NYU has any preferences towards certain types of activities or points of view?

I know a lot of schools pay lip service to whatever "focus" they think will get students in the door, but the emphasis on Public Interest work at NYU is no joke. I think that activities that demonstrate a real, honest interest in social causes can help here more than at some peer schools.

That being said, it's still mostly about the numbers.

No kidding at all about the PI. We love you guys for this, among other things: http://www.law.nyu.edu/publicinterestla ... /index.htm

[Renzo]

Thanks for taking q's.

Ok, big q, how much is your monthly rent?
Also, I take it you can live car free?
What do you like/dislike about the classes/school itself so far/teachers?

I am paying an outrageous fortune for university provided family housing so my personal experience is not the best guide, but it's about $3100 for a 2bd with a real living room and kitchen (about 530 sq ft). Depending on your tolerance for roommates and commutes, anywhere between $700 and $1500 would be a reasonable guess for a market-rate, student-appropriate apartment.

Even if it were free, you'd have to be insane to own a car in Manhattan. Everything conceivable can be purchased within walking distance, and absolutely everyone delivers. Not that I would recommend it, but you could live in Manhattan and never have to leave your building for anything.

So far I have only positives to report about the school experience. The profs are great, the workload is reasonable, the school's facilities are comfortable, and my classmates (on average, though there are a few outliers) are great. Really my only dislike about the whole experience is the generally high cost of living in NYC. There are ways to get around this, but if you aren't careful you can blow though money pretty fast on incidentals.

[HerseyChris]

4) My first flag football game is tonight, so I'm very excited.
5) I love the school and my classmates. The school is huge (for a law school) and b/c you're in NYC it's not like the law students hang out with only e/ other, like they might some other, more rural schools. If you're looking for that kind of super close knit community, NYU might not be the place for you, but if you have contacts in the city already, it's great. (Plus being in the village is pretty sweet).

(Please ignore the numerous grammatical errors).

Flag football? You have to be kidding me. Now I REALLY want to go to NYU. I really hope I did well on the Sept LSAT. I think I need a 174 to have great/sure chance of getting in. Where do you guys play? Central Park? Or is there a field nearby?

As for the gyms, is one of the ones you're talking about in the basement of the Palladium? I found it to be way too tiny as well, as well as crowded at all hours. Even the pool is crowded. Nothing like having an old woman with arm pit hair get way too close to you while swimming laps.

[ruleser]

Ok, quality/hotness of females at NYU?

[red_sox]

4) My first flag football game is tonight, so I'm very excited.
5) I love the school and my classmates. The school is huge (for a law school) and b/c you're in NYC it's not like the law students hang out with only e/ other, like they might some other, more rural schools. If you're looking for that kind of super close knit community, NYU might not be the place for you, but if you have contacts in the city already, it's great. (Plus being in the village is pretty sweet).

(Please ignore the numerous grammatical errors).

Flag football? You have to be kidding me. Now I REALLY want to go to NYU. I really hope I did well on the Sept LSAT. I think I need a 174 to have great/sure chance of getting in. Where do you guys play? Central Park? Or is there a field nearby?

As for the gyms, is one of the ones you're talking about in the basement of the Palladium? I found it to be way too tiny as well, as well as crowded at all hours. Even the pool is crowded. Nothing like having an old woman with arm pit hair get way to close too you while swimming laps.

The flag football is in East River Park, so you can see the water from the pitch.

[philip.platt]

Also both the gyms are way too small for a school the size of NYU. Plus NYU undergrads aren't exactly "gym rats", so most of them just stand around and get in your way. It's actually pretty frustrating.

haha - I could see that

[Renzo]

As for the gyms, is one of the ones you're talking about in the basement of the Palladium? I found it to be way too tiny as well, as well as crowded at all hours. Even the pool is crowded. Nothing like having an old woman with arm pit hair get way to close too you while swimming laps.

I haven't been to Palladium yet. Supposedly that's the "nicer" gym. Coles is much closer to the law school, and is adequate. I'm old and lazy now, but once upon a time I was a big-time gym rat, and you could put together a decent workout there. It gets busy, but not unbearably so.

[red_sox]

As for the gyms, is one of the ones you're talking about in the basement of the Palladium? I found it to be way too tiny as well, as well as crowded at all hours. Even the pool is crowded. Nothing like having an old woman with arm pit hair get way to close too you while swimming laps.

I haven't been to Palladium yet. Supposedly that's the "nicer" gym. Coles is much closer to the law school, and is adequate. I'm old and lazy now, but once upon a time I was a big-time gym rat, and you could put together a decent workout there. It gets busy, but not unbearably so.

Palladium is several stories underground - I wasn't a fan of it the one time I checked it out. There are some good private gyms if you're really into working out.

[GeePee]

Ok, quality/hotness of females at NYU?

I don't see the relevance of this question when you're in NYC, where there are pretty doable women all over the place. If this were UVA or Cornell we were talking about in the middle of fucking nowhere, this question might be of bigger concern.

[badfish]

Ok, quality/hotness of females at NYU?

meh. it's law school.

to be perfectly honest, the thought of hooking up with someone in the law school hasn't even crossed my mind.

[badfish]

Both Palladium and Coles are way too small considering the size of the university. Still, you can get your workout in if you are creative and flexible. (ie. if i walk in and see all the benches are taken up, i'll switch to shoulder day and leave chest for another day) etc.

[badfish]

I find your #5 a little peculiar. Our law school is in an urban area with as much to do as NYC (compared with my experience of living there once), but our community's really close knit. Any other factors explaining it? Lots of non-trad students?

I also live off campus, so when I leave school I don't come back. Maybe the experience is different for kids who live on campus, but the whole grad school scene is nothing like college was.

[asaunde2]

just to throw in my two cents-
1. I think the gyms are great. I actually prefer Coles to the Palladium- Maybe I just go at the right times, or maybe my standards aren't as high, but to me it seems pretty swanky and Ive never had to wait for equipment.
2. I live on campus and I think there is definitely a close knit college type community that you can be involved in if you want. There's plenty of social events within sections/lawyering groups. On the weekends you will get big groups of people congregating on the terrace and heading en masse to a bar. There may not be a "campus" per se but the buildings are grouped together so you always see people around the neighborhood. That said, I also have non law school friends in the city and BK so it's easy to get away.
3. Yeah, rent is way too high, but if you want to commute (as i plan to next year), you can find something more manageable. Other than rent, however, it is definitely possible to live cheap in NYC. You just have to make an effort. During the week I spend probably 8-12 bucks a day. And going out on the weekend can be fairly cheap too if you pregame and then find the right drink specials.
4. Public interest probably helps alot for admissions. My numbers were probably good enough to get me in anyway, but I think it was my public interest stuff that got me my scholarship. Pure speculation.
5. There are some good looking girls here, for sure. I don't think you are gonna find a ton at any law school, but I was pleasantly surprised. But like someone else said, it's NYC- there is no shortage of women in general.

Frankly I think NYU kicks ass, and though I would probably enjoy myself at some other law schools as well, I am very happy with my decision to come here.