G.W. 1L Ready to take questions Forum

[schooner]

Stupid question about housing...I know it's notoriously expensive in a lot of neighborhoods in and around DC, but I also have the impression of DC having the typical impoverished inner city areas. So...do any law students live in said areas? I mean, I wouldn't be looking for a luxury apartment, I'd be looking to save money. And if there was a place in a sketchy neighborhood for a lot less and public transportation could connect me to the law school...that seems like a no brainer.

I don't know about the law students who aren't in the university dorms, but I think it's safe to assume that plenty of them live in various neighborhoods across DC. The city has lots of areas where $$ yuppie or gentrifying pockets of housing are bordering cheap and unsafe/sketchy neighborhoods, like in Brookland (near Catholic University), the U Street area, and in the SE quadrant (particularly farther out from Capitol Hill). I wouldn't feel scared to live in those areas, but I also wouldn't want to go jogging there at night either.

If you don't know the ins and outs of DC housing, stick to the NW quadrant. If you're lucky and vigilant, you can find fairly affordable housing in a decent place on craigslist. It doesn't have to be a shithole in a crime-ridden neighborhood for it to be affordable. And yeah, the metro & bus system in DC is great. (http://www.wmata.com) Unfortunately, the specific areas I mentioned above are kind of far from GW and require multiple train changes on the metro, except for Capitol Hill places that are on the orange/blue line.

Another option would be to look for an apartment in northern Virginia near a metro stop, like Rosslyn or Court House (one and two metro stops, respectively, from the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop). Those apartment high rises are usually in very nice, safe neighborhoods.

[VinceIrons]

I've recently been accepted to GW as a transfer, but I'm a bit hesitant about going for a few reasons (mainly because I'm not a fan of DC). I know that GW is one of the top ranked IP law schools, but is that for hard IP (patents etc.) or does that include soft IP (copyright/trademark)? I'm very interested in soft IP, but I have no interest (or prospects) in standard patent-bar type IP. So yeah, does anyone know how GW is for soft IP, or is its prestigious IP ranking based mainly on hard IP?

[dudders]

I was looking online and it looks like GW isn't terribly Mac friendly. Do many students at GW use Macs? Any problems w/ ExamSoft?

GW is about a 50/50 Mac/PC split.

[dudders]

Stupid question about housing...I know it's notoriously expensive in a lot of neighborhoods in and around DC, but I also have the impression of DC having the typical impoverished inner city areas. So...do any law students live in said areas? I mean, I wouldn't be looking for a luxury apartment, I'd be looking to save money. And if there was a place in a sketchy neighborhood for a lot less and public transportation could connect me to the law school...that seems like a no brainer.

I don't know about the law students who aren't in the university dorms, but I think it's safe to assume that plenty of them live in various neighborhoods across DC. The city has lots of areas where $$ yuppie or gentrifying pockets of housing are bordering cheap and unsafe/sketchy neighborhoods, like in Brookland (near Catholic University), the U Street area, and in the SE quadrant (particularly farther out from Capitol Hill). I wouldn't feel scared to live in those areas, but I also wouldn't want to go jogging there at night either.

If you don't know the ins and outs of DC housing, stick to the NW quadrant. If you're lucky and vigilant, you can find fairly affordable housing in a decent place on craigslist. It doesn't have to be a shithole in a crime-ridden neighborhood for it to be affordable. And yeah, the metro & bus system in DC is great. (http://www.wmata.com) Unfortunately, the specific areas I mentioned above are kind of far from GW and require multiple train changes on the metro, except for Capitol Hill places that are on the orange/blue line.

Another option would be to look for an apartment in northern Virginia near a metro stop, like Rosslyn or Court House (one and two metro stops, respectively, from the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop). Those apartment high rises are usually in very nice, safe neighborhoods.

U St. is not far at all from campus, it's maybe a 20 minute bus ride. Don't forget about the bus system when you're looking for housing the District. Also, the red line is also very close to campus - Farragut North is about 4 blocks from school, compared to 2-3 blocks for the nearest blue/orange stops. It just looks a lot farther on the map.

Foggy Bottom is for people whose parents pay for luxury condos. Look at U St., Columbia Heights, Adams-Morgan, Cap Hill (Northeast, Potomac Ave are cheaper than areas like Eastern Market), H St. etc.

[TheFutureLawyer]

I was looking online and it looks like GW isn't terribly Mac friendly. Do many students at GW use Macs? Any problems w/ ExamSoft?

GW is about a 50/50 Mac/PC split.

I'd be surprised if this was true (though it wouldn't blow my mind). I remember reading an article sometime back about how Microsoft still dominates the market, and it was talking about how college students tend to think that most college students have Macs or think it's like a 50/50 split, when in fact PC would still dominate with like a 80/20 ratio.

[schooner]

I was looking online and it looks like GW isn't terribly Mac friendly. Do many students at GW use Macs? Any problems w/ ExamSoft?

GW is about a 50/50 Mac/PC split.

I'd be surprised if this was true (though it wouldn't blow my mind). I remember reading an article sometime back about how Microsoft still dominates the market, and it was talking about how college students tend to think that most college students have Macs or think it's like a 50/50 split, when in fact PC would still dominate with like a 80/20 ratio.

Well, dudders is an actual, current student, and those are college students you're talking about, not law students who know everybody in their section and bring their laptop to class every day.

[dood]

I've recently been accepted to GW as a transfer, but I'm a bit hesitant about going for a few reasons (mainly because I'm not a fan of DC). I know that GW is one of the top ranked IP law schools, but is that for hard IP (patents etc.) or does that include soft IP (copyright/trademark)? I'm very interested in soft IP, but I have no interest (or prospects) in standard patent-bar type IP. So yeah, does anyone know how GW is for soft IP, or is its prestigious IP ranking based mainly on hard IP?

no one knows b/c no one came here for soft ip. in fact im pretty sure soft ip is largely made-up.

[dudders]

I was looking online and it looks like GW isn't terribly Mac friendly. Do many students at GW use Macs? Any problems w/ ExamSoft?

GW is about a 50/50 Mac/PC split.

I'd be surprised if this was true (though it wouldn't blow my mind). I remember reading an article sometime back about how Microsoft still dominates the market, and it was talking about how college students tend to think that most college students have Macs or think it's like a 50/50 split, when in fact PC would still dominate with like a 80/20 ratio.

Well, dudders is an actual, current student, and those are college students you're talking about, not law students who know everybody in their section and bring their laptop to class every day.

Ha, thanks. There's no problem with Macs at GW ... the only thing you can't do is watch certain class recordings on your laptop. These are few are far between (school will only record a class for you if you're in the ICU or attending a funeral, not if you're sick or have an interview), but profs will usually record if they have to reschedule a class or hold a review session outside of normal class time or something. So Mac users will have to watch that in a computer lab, if it's not a file type you can watch thru VLC or didn't attend in person. I'm not even sure why the school still claims they won't guarantee Mac compatibility ...

re: Exam4. I know of two people who've had exam4 issues, both on the same exam, 1 mac, 1 pc. They got an e-mail after the test from the Records Office saying their exam didn't submit properly and to re-send the encrypted file from their hard drive. No problem, really, probably just an Internet thing (GW's server is crappy in big lecture halls when 120 people are trying to do the same thing at the same time, like submit exams or fill out professor evals).

The only person I know whose computer outright crashed right before an exam had a PC, but she hadn't even opened the software yet so I don't think we can blame that on exam4. Probably just on the fact that she has a PC.

[snowbunny87]

Ha, thanks. There's no problem with Macs at GW ... the only thing you can't do is watch certain class recordings on your laptop. These are few are far between (school will only record a class for you if you're in the ICU or attending a funeral, not if you're sick or have an interview), but profs will usually record if they have to reschedule a class or hold a review session outside of normal class time or something. So Mac users will have to watch that in a computer lab, if it's not a file type you can watch thru VLC or didn't attend in person. I'm not even sure why the school still claims they won't guarantee Mac compatibility ...

re: Exam4. I know of two people who've had exam4 issues, both on the same exam, 1 mac, 1 pc. They got an e-mail after the test from the Records Office saying their exam didn't submit properly and to re-send the encrypted file from their hard drive. No problem, really, probably just an Internet thing (GW's server is crappy in big lecture halls when 120 people are trying to do the same thing at the same time, like submit exams or fill out professor evals).

The only person I know whose computer outright crashed right before an exam had a PC, but she hadn't even opened the software yet so I don't think we can blame that on exam4. Probably just on the fact that she has a PC.[/quote]

Thanks so much dudders! I was admitted to GW as a transfer student and my current law school was anti-Mac as well but we all made it work. Sounds like GW is fairly similar.

[sinemetu]

Stupid question about housing...I know it's notoriously expensive in a lot of neighborhoods in and around DC, but I also have the impression of DC having the typical impoverished inner city areas. So...do any law students live in said areas? I mean, I wouldn't be looking for a luxury apartment, I'd be looking to save money. And if there was a place in a sketchy neighborhood for a lot less and public transportation could connect me to the law school...that seems like a no brainer.

I don't know about the law students who aren't in the university dorms, but I think it's safe to assume that plenty of them live in various neighborhoods across DC. The city has lots of areas where $$ yuppie or gentrifying pockets of housing are bordering cheap and unsafe/sketchy neighborhoods, like in Brookland (near Catholic University), the U Street area, and in the SE quadrant (particularly farther out from Capitol Hill). I wouldn't feel scared to live in those areas, but I also wouldn't want to go jogging there at night either.

If you don't know the ins and outs of DC housing, stick to the NW quadrant. If you're lucky and vigilant, you can find fairly affordable housing in a decent place on craigslist. It doesn't have to be a shithole in a crime-ridden neighborhood for it to be affordable. And yeah, the metro & bus system in DC is great. (http://www.wmata.com) Unfortunately, the specific areas I mentioned above are kind of far from GW and require multiple train changes on the metro, except for Capitol Hill places that are on the orange/blue line.

Another option would be to look for an apartment in northern Virginia near a metro stop, like Rosslyn or Court House (one and two metro stops, respectively, from the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop). Those apartment high rises are usually in very nice, safe neighborhoods.

U St. is not far at all from campus, it's maybe a 20 minute bus ride. Don't forget about the bus system when you're looking for housing the District. Also, the red line is also very close to campus - Farragut North is about 4 blocks from school, compared to 2-3 blocks for the nearest blue/orange stops. It just looks a lot farther on the map.

Foggy Bottom is for people whose parents pay for luxury condos. Look at U St., Columbia Heights, Adams-Morgan, Cap Hill (Northeast, Potomac Ave are cheaper than areas like Eastern Market), H St. etc.

I live in a studio, not a luxury condo, in Foggy Bottom which my parents don't pay for. The same is true of many of my classmates. It's obviously a bit more than other areas but for me it's worth it to be able to walk 10 minutes to class.

Other than that, this is correct.

[snowbunny87]

Anyone live in Columbia Plaza?

How is it??

[dudders]

Stupid question about housing...I know it's notoriously expensive in a lot of neighborhoods in and around DC, but I also have the impression of DC having the typical impoverished inner city areas. So...do any law students live in said areas? I mean, I wouldn't be looking for a luxury apartment, I'd be looking to save money. And if there was a place in a sketchy neighborhood for a lot less and public transportation could connect me to the law school...that seems like a no brainer.

I don't know about the law students who aren't in the university dorms, but I think it's safe to assume that plenty of them live in various neighborhoods across DC. The city has lots of areas where $$ yuppie or gentrifying pockets of housing are bordering cheap and unsafe/sketchy neighborhoods, like in Brookland (near Catholic University), the U Street area, and in the SE quadrant (particularly farther out from Capitol Hill). I wouldn't feel scared to live in those areas, but I also wouldn't want to go jogging there at night either.

If you don't know the ins and outs of DC housing, stick to the NW quadrant. If you're lucky and vigilant, you can find fairly affordable housing in a decent place on craigslist. It doesn't have to be a shithole in a crime-ridden neighborhood for it to be affordable. And yeah, the metro & bus system in DC is great. (http://www.wmata.com) Unfortunately, the specific areas I mentioned above are kind of far from GW and require multiple train changes on the metro, except for Capitol Hill places that are on the orange/blue line.

Another option would be to look for an apartment in northern Virginia near a metro stop, like Rosslyn or Court House (one and two metro stops, respectively, from the Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop). Those apartment high rises are usually in very nice, safe neighborhoods.

U St. is not far at all from campus, it's maybe a 20 minute bus ride. Don't forget about the bus system when you're looking for housing the District. Also, the red line is also very close to campus - Farragut North is about 4 blocks from school, compared to 2-3 blocks for the nearest blue/orange stops. It just looks a lot farther on the map.

Foggy Bottom is for people whose parents pay for luxury condos. Look at U St., Columbia Heights, Adams-Morgan, Cap Hill (Northeast, Potomac Ave are cheaper than areas like Eastern Market), H St. etc.

I live in a studio, not a luxury condo, in Foggy Bottom which my parents don't pay for. The same is true of many of my classmates. It's obviously a bit more than other areas but for me it's worth it to be able to walk 10 minutes to class.

Other than that, this is correct.

Yeah, I meant that more pejoratively against Foggy Bottom than a financial statement. Sorry, humidity makes me pithy.

[schooner]

(There's a larger size version on wikipedia here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ds_map.png)

Dudders suggested U St., Columbia Heights, Adams-Morgan, Cap Hill (Northeast, Potomac Ave are cheaper than areas like Eastern Market), and H St. (It's hard to tell on the map, but H Street goes horizontally through Chinatown and Downtown extends beyond those two areas on both sides. I usually lump U Street with Columbia Heights.)

Other safe/suburban/great (but often expensive) neighborhoods: Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Rock Creek Park, Chevy Chase, Tenleytown, Friendship Heights, Takoma. I'd say Chinatown is pretty much gentrified at this point because the new high rises there are very pricey.

Stay away from Sirsum Corda and areas to the south and east of Capitol Hill.

Other suggestions?

[TheFutureLawyer]

Thanks for the link to the map, I was thinking the Aston was either Foggy Bottom or Dupont Circle. Good to know what neighborhood I'll be living in (downtown).

G'luck to you poor bastards figuring out where/how to move. You all deserve a cookie.

Also, is anyone else who's getting rid of their car feeling sad about no longer having a car? It's great to not have to worry about gas and such, but I haven't not had my car since I was 16. I feel like I'm selling a part of my soul. (I might be selling this weekend)

[schooner]

Thanks for the link to the map, I was thinking the Aston was either Foggy Bottom or Dupont Circle. Good to know what neighborhood I'll be living in (downtown).

G'luck to you poor bastards figuring out where/how to move. You all deserve a cookie.

Also, is anyone else who's getting rid of their car feeling sad about no longer having a car? It's great to not have to worry about gas and such, but I haven't not had my car since I was 16. I feel like I'm selling a part of my soul. (I might be selling this weekend)

Get Zipcar.

[TheFutureLawyer]

Thanks for the link to the map, I was thinking the Aston was either Foggy Bottom or Dupont Circle. Good to know what neighborhood I'll be living in (downtown).

G'luck to you poor bastards figuring out where/how to move. You all deserve a cookie.

Also, is anyone else who's getting rid of their car feeling sad about no longer having a car? It's great to not have to worry about gas and such, but I haven't not had my car since I was 16. I feel like I'm selling a part of my soul. (I might be selling this weekend)

Get Zipcar.

I was looking at it but I'm unsure if it'll be worth it. You have it? Mind sharing your thoughts?

[queenlizzie13]

Thanks for the link to the map, I was thinking the Aston was either Foggy Bottom or Dupont Circle. Good to know what neighborhood I'll be living in (downtown).

G'luck to you poor bastards figuring out where/how to move. You all deserve a cookie.

Also, is anyone else who's getting rid of their car feeling sad about no longer having a car? It's great to not have to worry about gas and such, but I haven't not had my car since I was 16. I feel like I'm selling a part of my soul. (I might be selling this weekend)

LOL. I am completely the opposite of you... I cannot wait to get rid of my car as I am sick of the LA traffic. Its horrible...dc has a lot of traffic but I am so glad there's a metro. And when I do get another car finally it will be one I want rather than the cheap car my parents paid for...

Oh and for those looking for a cheaper option to live - my friend who lives in DC recommends Columbia Heights. I went for an apartment near the law school. I will need to save all the time I can for the amount of running I plan on doing.

[schooner]

Thanks for the link to the map, I was thinking the Aston was either Foggy Bottom or Dupont Circle. Good to know what neighborhood I'll be living in (downtown).

G'luck to you poor bastards figuring out where/how to move. You all deserve a cookie.

Also, is anyone else who's getting rid of their car feeling sad about no longer having a car? It's great to not have to worry about gas and such, but I haven't not had my car since I was 16. I feel like I'm selling a part of my soul. (I might be selling this weekend)

Get Zipcar.

I was looking at it but I'm unsure if it'll be worth it. You have it? Mind sharing your thoughts?

I don't. You don't really need a car in DC. I live within walking distance of a grocery store, and the metro rail & bus system can take you all over town. (Watch out though. Taking the bus can take a looong time, esp. if you have to transfer and/or travel through downtown during heavy traffic hours.) I wish I had zipcar whenever I buy furniture or go shopping at Target, but instead I opt to look stupid for a short period and use the metro or bus to move those ridiculous amounts of stuff.

I assume zipcar is getting more popular though. I see those small parking lots all over town. I hear driving is a major hassle in DC.

PS - With a new Target store right next to the Columbia Heights metro (and a Giant grocery store a block away), that area has become a pretty good place to live. It's one of those super Targets with fresh food, not just packaged food and everyday household stuff.

[schooner]

Sorry for somewhat hijacking the thread. Come back, actual students!

[Paichka]

Haha. Well, I commute from outside of the city, so I can't really contribute to this part of the discussion.

If you guys have any school-related questions though, I'm happy to answer. I'm a rising 3L, and I've done a bunch of extracurriculars (moot court, mock trial, law review, academic integrity committee), so I can talk somewhat intelligently about that stuff.

[schooner]

Haha. Well, I commute from outside of the city, so I can't really contribute to this part of the discussion.

If you guys have any school-related questions though, I'm happy to answer. I'm a rising 3L, and I've done a bunch of extracurriculars (moot court, mock trial, law review, academic integrity committee), so I can talk somewhat intelligently about that stuff.

How did your 2L year go? Did you do better/worse/same? Do you feel like the electives are so much more interesting, better for motivation, etc? Do you still care as much about grades as in 1L? Do you feel like you're sacrificing grades to do all those extracurriculars? (Maybe that's okay, since I keep hearing that 1L grades are what matters.)

[Paichka]

My 2L year went really well. It was stressful -- I'm outing myself a little here, but I was pregnant during it, so my energy level was not at all the same as it was during 1L. I just couldn't put in the long hours grinding in the library, but that was fine because I'd apparently learned how to study and take exams efficiently enough that the less-intense schedule I kept helped me to maintain my GPA. I did just as well 2L year as I did 1L, and that's even doing two competitions and keeping up with my work as a LR member.

The electives are interesting as long as you pick classes you're interested in (obv). I chose a very crim pro heavy schedule, because I want to focus on criminal law as a career. I also took family law, because I was interested in the subject, and a couple of other classes that appealed to me. One thing to keep in mind though is that a great professor can make a crap subject awesome, and vice versa. The best thing to do when choosing your electives is to pick out a handful of classes you're interested in, or professors you've heard good things about, and read the reviews on the portal for their classes. That will help you pick out the classes that will (hopefully) maximize your enjoyment.

I don't think I sacrificed grades to do the competitions, but I was strategic about the ones I chose. I chose competitions that occurred early in the semester (mock trial in the fall, moot court in the spring) so that all of the heavy lifting would be done well in advance of when I wanted to start on exam prep. I think as long as you budget your time efficiently, there's no reason why a competition should impact your ability to do well in your classes. Just remember that you're going to have a lot of draws on your time during 2L year -- journal (hopefully), the job hunt, etc -- but as long as you don't leave everything to the last minute, you'll be fine.

[sparcarc]

My 2L year went really well. It was stressful -- I'm outing myself a little here, but I was pregnant during it, so my energy level was not at all the same as it was during 1L. I just couldn't put in the long hours grinding in the library, but that was fine because I'd apparently learned how to study and take exams efficiently enough that the less-intense schedule I kept helped me to maintain my GPA. I did just as well 2L year as I did 1L, and that's even doing two competitions and keeping up with my work as a LR member.

The electives are interesting as long as you pick classes you're interested in (obv). I chose a very crim pro heavy schedule, because I want to focus on criminal law as a career. I also took family law, because I was interested in the subject, and a couple of other classes that appealed to me. One thing to keep in mind though is that a great professor can make a crap subject awesome, and vice versa. The best thing to do when choosing your electives is to pick out a handful of classes you're interested in, or professors you've heard good things about, and read the reviews on the portal for their classes. That will help you pick out the classes that will (hopefully) maximize your enjoyment.

I don't think I sacrificed grades to do the competitions, but I was strategic about the ones I chose. I chose competitions that occurred early in the semester (mock trial in the fall, moot court in the spring) so that all of the heavy lifting would be done well in advance of when I wanted to start on exam prep. I think as long as you budget your time efficiently, there's no reason why a competition should impact your ability to do well in your classes. Just remember that you're going to have a lot of draws on your time during 2L year -- journal (hopefully), the job hunt, etc -- but as long as you don't leave everything to the last minute, you'll be fine.

Hello Pachika,
Just a question about commuting from outside of D.C.

I'm considering living outside of the city and commuting as that may save some $. Do you think there are students that commute by car (and get parking spots at the school? I understand its about ~850/semester.) My bigger question would be how to divide up the hours when you commute from the surrounding areas to the school. For example, would you still normally come to the school during the weekends to use the library? I did not commute in undergrad and it's just difficult for me to imagine the new lifestyle... Thanks in advance for all your help!

[sparcarc]

Just one more q, haha.

Assuming that I live a bit away from the school to save cost, is there any advantage in living in D.C., for example in Adams Morris (I think?) or perhaps in Arlington? It seems that both are not too far away and yet one's across the river.

[schooner]

Just one more q, haha.

Assuming that I live a bit away from the school to save cost, is there any advantage in living in D.C., for example in Adams Morris (I think?) or perhaps in Arlington? It seems that both are not too far away and yet one's across the river.

Also if students can talk about the state income tax issues, that would be helpful. My understanding is that DC's income tax is higher than Virginia's. I heard that Virginia has a weird property tax that people don't like though.