Michigan 1Ls/2Ls/3Ls taking questions Forum

[betsyanna]

What's Michigans west coast placement like ITE?

good, i think. i had no problem getting a firm job in SF last summer. tons of west coast firms typically come to OCI. i will say that the SF market felt shaky, though. lots of cutting back and deferring.

[03121202698008]

So, after the ASW I am definitely attending Michigan. Now I'm debating whether to bring my dog or not. I found an apartment that allows her. It's just a matter of the schedule. Could one of the current students post (or PM) their current 1L class schedule so I can get an idea of whether you have classes all day, etc. I'm thinking that if I have classes all day every day, and then study in the library, I'd be leaving my dog home alone a lot. Do any of you have dogs?

[rolark]

Can anyone tell me if there's any chance Michigan could revamp its LRAP to catch up with some of its peers?

This is the worst time to be getting cold feet, but I've found myself with some doubts. I think the Michigan environment would be great for me, but, even with scholarship money, it looks like my monthly payments to Michigan could end up a lot more than a lot of other schools with stronger LRAPs.

It would be great if I could find any current students who thought/are thinking about this as they look at future PI work.

[tamlyric]

Can anyone tell me if there's any chance Michigan could revamp its LRAP to catch up with some of its peers?

This is the worst time to be getting cold feet, but I've found myself with some doubts. I think the Michigan environment would be great for me, but, even with scholarship money, it looks like my monthly payments to Michigan could end up a lot more than a lot of other schools with stronger LRAPs.

It would be great if I could find any current students who thought/are thinking about this as they look at future PI work.

Not a current student, but I thought Mich had one of the stronger and more comprehensive LRAPs, no?

[rolark]

Can anyone tell me if there's any chance Michigan could revamp its LRAP to catch up with some of its peers?

This is the worst time to be getting cold feet, but I've found myself with some doubts. I think the Michigan environment would be great for me, but, even with scholarship money, it looks like my monthly payments to Michigan could end up a lot more than a lot of other schools with stronger LRAPs.

It would be great if I could find any current students who thought/are thinking about this as they look at future PI work.

Not a current student, but I thought Mich had one of the stronger and more comprehensive LRAPs, no?

It's certainly not the worst. You pay 35% of anything you make over $36k, and any job which requires a JD qualifies. It seems much more straightforward than many other schools.

Still, this means that if you're making around $50k a year, you owe $350 or so a month. Compare that to $0 at Berkeley or Columbia, or about $80 at NYU. (The big disadvantage of Berkeley is that you have to switch to the government IBR program, meaning you pay less, but, for the most part, that debt lingers over your head until the 10 year forgiveness mark).

Okay, I don't want to get too far off topic on the Michigan question thread . . .

[starstruck393]

Can anyone tell me if there's any chance Michigan could revamp its LRAP to catch up with some of its peers?

This is the worst time to be getting cold feet, but I've found myself with some doubts. I think the Michigan environment would be great for me, but, even with scholarship money, it looks like my monthly payments to Michigan could end up a lot more than a lot of other schools with stronger LRAPs.

It would be great if I could find any current students who thought/are thinking about this as they look at future PI work.

Not a current student, but I thought Mich had one of the stronger and more comprehensive LRAPs, no?

It's certainly not the worst. You pay 35% of anything you make over $36k, and any job which requires a JD qualifies. It seems much more straightforward than many other schools.

Still, this means that if you're making around $50k a year, you owe $350 or so a month. Compare that to $0 at Berkeley or Columbia, or about $80 at NYU. (The big disadvantage of Berkeley is that you have to switch to the government IBR program, meaning you pay less, but, for the most part, that debt lingers over your head until the 10 year forgiveness mark).

Okay, I don't want to get too far off topic on the Michigan question thread . . .

I've said this before, but anyone who chooses Berkeley because of LRAP is nuts. It's been well documented that with California's near bankruptcy and refusal to raise taxes (though they're already sky high) or cut from elsewhere, the state has been raising tuition at the UC's and drastically cutting funding. Tuition can only go so high, and the cuts are expected to continue. IMO, it's only a matter of time until current students, parents etc. get fed up enough with the cuts and rate increases to demand that the UC's also cut things like debt repayment for law students that have long since graduated. It's actually eerily similar to the pension problems with retired public employees that's a huge driving factor in the budget crisis and UC cuts, except that the LRAP users don't have super powerful unions backing and lobbying for them...

[Aeroplane]

IIRC, the really nice thing about UM's LRAP, especially ITE, is that it covers ANY* person working a full-time legal position, except for judicial clerkships & UM-sponsored fellowships (other law-related fellowships eligible). This means that you don't have to count on finding a "PI" job, just anything full-time law-related. This is something to be kept in mind when comparing UM's program to one that's more financially generous but applies to a much narrower class of jobs.

*Exact wording: "employed full time in paying law-related work (J.D. required for the job)". Temp jobs not eligible.

[FlightoftheEarls]

I'm not going to say that it's awesome that Michigan was renamed Hogwarts for April Fool's Day, but - ok, yes I will.

I'd be lying if I said that this image didn't still make me smile, even though I live here now:





Not too shabby.

[doinmybest]

I posted this pic in another thread, but now that we are Hogwarts for today...



I'm excited for next fall!!

[holydonkey]

[doinmybest]

HAHAHAHA holydonkey is my hero!

The hut on the bottom right-hand corner is priceless.

[RhubarbPie]

So funny - when I went into the dining hall in the lawyer's club I whispered to my fiancee that we were at Hogwart's

[Alexandria]

Today there's filming on the law quad for a movie called "Jinn" featuring the guy who played Darth Maul (NOT April Fool's, I promise). This happens approx. once a semester since Michigan passed a law giving tax breaks for movie productions. People laughed at it, but it seems to have worked. Tons of movies are being filmed in the state these days, and Ann Arbor gets a lot of them (and the law quad gets a lot of those).

[thalassocrat]

So, does anyone know if we can audition for the Quidditch team as 1Ls? Is it fly-on or grade-on, anyway?

[holydonkey]

Um.

http://abovethelaw.com/

"A secret society has been formed by the rich, straight, white men at Mich Law, apparently because it’s so difficult to find people like that in the Law School. It appears to be a bastardized version of the old Barrister’s Society. Hostility has been high towards the group of ~20 1Ls, and will probably increase with the leaking of internal memos … Also, Thursday night they put sheets on our residential building roofs. The biggest problem was that nobody could figure out that the weird scrawling was meant to be a stylized “B”. People were milling about and one could hear “I think that’s an M” “I think that one’s an “IS.” The Barristers don’t have great penmanship."

[A'nold]

Anyone know any non-Michigan t3 transfers?

[doinmybest]

Um.

http://abovethelaw.com/

"A secret society has been formed by the rich, straight, white men at Mich Law, apparently because it’s so difficult to find people like that in the lawl skool. It appears to be a bastardized version of the old Barrister’s Society. Hostility has been high towards the group of ~20 1Ls, and will probably increase with the leaking of internal memos … Also, Thursday night they put sheets on our residential building roofs. The biggest problem was that nobody could figure out that the weird scrawling was meant to be a stylized “B”. People were milling about and one could hear “I think that’s an M” “I think that one’s an “IS.” The Barristers don’t have great penmanship."

Yeah I saw those sheets on ASW. I was wondering what the hell they were.

[tamlyric]

Can any current students speak to the Health Insurance situation at Michigan? I was looking for this information tonight, and it seems as though the price of insurance one might buy through the university is astronomical: with annual premiums of $2,500 per individual; $8,000 per couple; and $12,000 per family. Please tell me I was looking in the wrong place and that these figures are inflated!!! Please. Oy vey.

[03121202698008]

Can any current student answer my previous question about bringing a dog to 1L? Do you think it's doable with the schedule or unfair to the dog?

So, after the ASW I am definitely attending Michigan. Now I'm debating whether to bring my dog or not. I found an apartment that allows her. It's just a matter of the schedule. Could one of the current students post (or PM) their current 1L class schedule so I can get an idea of whether you have classes all day, etc. I'm thinking that if I have classes all day every day, and then study in the library, I'd be leaving my dog home alone a lot. Do any of you have dogs?

[itzjulz]

Can any current students speak to the Health Insurance situation at Michigan? I was looking for this information tonight, and it seems as though the price of insurance one might buy through the university is astronomical: with annual premiums of $2,500 per individual; $8,000 per couple; and $12,000 per family. Please tell me I was looking in the wrong place and that these figures are inflated!!! Please. Oy vey.

The plan the University offers is pretty overpriced for the average student. If you're an average, healthy, younger person without a condition that requires significant monitoring or medication, I'd take a look at some of the plans that Blue Cross offers. Since general doctor visits (if you're sick, annual exams, even sports med/physical therapy) are covered at UHS as part of our tuition, I picked up a plan through blue cross that runs about $50/month and provides emergency and surgical coverage with a reasonable deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, just in case something were to happen. Obviously something like this may not work for everyone, but that's just my $.02. I would suggest comparing the student plan to other plans out there. Both UHS and the Medical Center accept several forms of insurance.

[Alexandria]

Re: insurance... the University's insurance price isn't bad if you're a woman who might possibly get pregnant. It includes maternity, instead of it being an extra you have to pay for, like with lower-cost options. For that reason, I used it up until this semester, when it became a better deal to go onto my husband's insurance.

Re your dog: bring it!!! Plenty of law students have dogs. I think pets are a great outlet for de-stressing/love/recreation. 1L schedules vary a lot, but it should definitely not be a problem to get home to take care of your dog once or twice during the day. You'll only have 3 classes on a typical day. And you don't have to do the majority of your studying in the library... do it at home.

[cutiewiddlebebe]

What is the topography of the immediate area around the law school, the larger campus, the surrounding town, and the region in general?

Edit: Is Pinball Pete's still around? I read something about it burning down, but then something else about it moving to a new location.

[starstruck393]

What is the topography of the immediate area around the law school, the larger campus, the surrounding town, and the region in general?

Edit: Is Pinball Pete's still around? I read something about it burning down, but then something else about it moving to a new location.

It's kind of hilly, for being in a city. Not San Francisco, but not flat either. (I think that's what you meant by topography). If I understand correctly, Pinball Pete's had moved from that old pink house years ago. I think it's across the street now. The house was abandoned and I think being inhabited by some crackheads, and one of them set it on fire.

[RhubarbPie]

I have a question about winter break. I saw on the academic calendar that there is about a 3 week winter break, but is it actually a break or do most people stick around the law school and study or have work to do there? I'm an international student, and I'm asking because I'm just trying to figure out the reality of when I may be able to go home next after law school begins (I'm thinking that summers are definitely out). Thanks!

[Alexandria]

I have a question about winter break. I saw on the academic calendar that there is about a 3 week winter break, but is it actually a break or do most people stick around the law school and study or have work to do there? I'm an international student, and I'm asking because I'm just trying to figure out the reality of when I may be able to go home next after law school begins (I'm thinking that summers are definitely out). Thanks!

It's really a break. Most people leave AA. People don't do much work between semesters (def not classwork... maybe some journal work or whatever).