BU 1Ls & 2Ls Taking Questions Forum

[FutureInLaw]

dakatz and cupidity...from your experience, is checking out BU rental properties mid-June late in the game? It's probably the only time I'll get to go to Boston to check them out. I'll be looking at studios (given the price differential between studios and 2BR isn't that huge, about $150 or so).

[dakatz]

dakatz and cupidity...from your experience, is checking out BU rental properties mid-June late in the game? It's probably the only time I'll get to go to Boston to check them out. I'll be looking at studios (given the price differential between studios and 2BR isn't that huge, about $150 or so).

They only show you the absolute minimum prices for each. Don't assume that the difference will only be $150. All the cheapest versions of any type of room go the quickest. I went in May, so I can't speak to what it would be like in June.

[ElvisAaron]

Would somebody mind PMing me or posting a sample class schedule for a given week? I couldn't find one on the BU site, just trying to figure out rough logistics since I'd be commuting...

[jarak01]

Would somebody mind PMing me or posting a sample class schedule for a given week? I couldn't find one on the BU site, just trying to figure out rough logistics since I'd be commuting...

All that I could find was the Spring 2011 schedule.. looks like everything is between 9:15 AM to 4:10 PM.

[Cupidity]

I already PM'd him this but I guess this might be a topic of general interest: so:


1L Fall

All classes are 1:15 in length, except for legislation which is 1:30 in length. The only exception to this was Conlaw because my prof liked it that way.

M 9:00 K's, 10:30 Civ Pro
T 10:30, Civ Pro, 2:00 Torts
W 9:30 K's, 2:00 Torts, 7:00pm LRW
T 9:00 K's, 10:30 Civ Pro, 2:00 Torts
F ---- We were lucky

1L Spring

M 9:00 Property, 12:30 Crim
T 11:00 Legislation, 12:30 Crim
W 9:00 Property, Conlaw (2hr), LRW 7:00pm
T 11:00 Legislation, 12:30 Crim
F 9:00 Property, 2:00 Conlaw (2hr)

[dakatz]

My scedule was pretty simiar to Cupidity except we had an early class on Friday morning. Note that BU makes the fall semester one class lighter as to ease you into the find of law school. I found this immensely helpful since it face me a moment to breathe and actually figure things out without feeling overwhelmed.

[Cupidity]

My scedule was pretty simiar to Cupidity except we had an early class on Friday morning. Note that BU makes the fall semester one class lighter as to ease you into the find of law school. I found this immensely helpful since it face me a moment to breathe and actually figure things out without feeling overwhelmed.

Job applications count as a fifth class.

[brownstudy]

Thanks! I was looking for this.

I already PM'd him this but I guess this might be a topic of general interest: so:


1L Fall

All classes are 1:15 in length, except for legislation which is 1:30 in length. The only exception to this was Conlaw because my prof liked it that way.

M 9:00 K's, 10:30 Civ Pro
T 10:30, Civ Pro, 2:00 Torts
W 9:30 K's, 2:00 Torts, 7:00pm LRW
T 9:00 K's, 10:30 Civ Pro, 2:00 Torts
F ---- We were lucky

1L Spring

M 9:00 Property, 12:30 Crim
T 11:00 Legislation, 12:30 Crim
W 9:00 Property, Conlaw (2hr), LRW 7:00pm
T 11:00 Legislation, 12:30 Crim
F 9:00 Property, 2:00 Conlaw (2hr)

[ElvisAaron]

I keep hearing people recommend getting practice exams/previous exams for their classes to review prior to classes starting to help understand what material you need to absorb, etc. Where does one get these as an 0L?
Also, outlines for 1L classes from 2Ls,3Ls...anyone on here sharing?

[dakatz]

I keep hearing people recommend getting practice exams/previous exams for their classes to review prior to classes starting to help understand what material you need to absorb, etc. Where does one get these as an 0L?
Also, outlines for 1L classes from 2Ls,3Ls...anyone on here sharing?

Once you guys find out what profs you have, a whole bunch of outlines will get passed down. But outlines from profs you don't have are useless. And you can log into the BU online exam bank once you get your BU login info. Its the same credentials you would use to get into your BU email account. But again, wait until you know who your professors are obviously. And don't do it before school starts. That is too early. But it can't hurt to skim it early on I guess.

[ElvisAaron]

I keep hearing people recommend getting practice exams/previous exams for their classes to review prior to classes starting to help understand what material you need to absorb, etc. Where does one get these as an 0L?
Also, outlines for 1L classes from 2Ls,3Ls...anyone on here sharing?

Once you guys find out what profs you have, a whole bunch of outlines will get passed down. But outlines from profs you don't have are useless. And you can log into the BU online exam bank once you get your BU login info. Its the same credentials you would use to get into your BU email account. But again, wait until you know who your professors are obviously. And don't do it before school starts. That is too early. But it can't hurt to skim it early on I guess.

Makes sense. Thanks!

[Seffer15]

Two questions:

1) A lot of people argue about what kind of general 0L prep (if any) to do. Is there any that would be helpful specific to BU? I have a ton of free time this summer and wouldn't mind taking a break from going to the pool.

2) When taking out loans, should you factor in costs for the three summer months at all or assume that you will be covered by getting a summer position? I'm debating whether to take out more than I budgeted in case I need it for the summer but haven't found any information about whether this is even necessary.

[kaiser]

Two questions:

1) A lot of people argue about what kind of general 0L prep (if any) to do. Is there any that would be helpful specific to BU? I have a ton of free time this summer and wouldn't mind taking a break from going to the pool.

2) When taking out loans, should you factor in costs for the three summer months at all or assume that you will be covered by getting a summer position? I'm debating whether to take out more than I budgeted in case I need it for the summer but haven't found any information about whether this is even necessary.

As far as 0L prep goes, I would strongly recommend staying away from it. Every professor is different. You aren't learning "contracts". You are learning so and so's version of contracts. For example, one section had a professor who thought that supplements were great, and stressed black letter rules. My professor ALWAYS disagreed with the black letter rules listed out in supplements and said that we would do very poorly if we utilized such books (and those who didn't heed that warning received poor grades). Supplements go by the flawed assumption that all torts classes or civil procedure classes are taught the same way and cover the same material. There are about 5 or 6 more reasons I can list out why 0L prep does not help, but I will save it for another place and time. The only "prep" I would recommend is perhaps learning a bit about law school exams. People focus too much on the minutia of each case and get lost in the short-term on everything. You always want to keep your focus on the exam, so learning a little more about law school exams in general can never hurt (though you will obviously need to tailor everything based on what your individual professor likes)

I can't really help with the loans question since I won't be taking out loans until the 3rd year. if any of you guys have any other Q's about anything at all BU/law school related, don't hesitate to ask

[Cupidity]

1. I recommend getting yourself ready physically. Eat right, work out. While the amount of work required to succeed in law school varies from person to person. See, e.g., me (I was a lazy drunk who went to every hockey game and never studied and got top 11%) c.f. (my friend who studied 4hrs a day outside of class and spent all weekend hornbooking and got median). Since you don't know how much it will demand, come in prepared to have it be like finals where you eat fast-food and don't go to the gym or see sunshine. It is a worst case scenario, but be prepared.

2. Take out extra. Paying 1L summer jobs are essentially non-existent. I mean, sure, a few people work as RA's and snag $10hr, but for the most part 1Ls end up doing government/PI judicial internships or unpaid shit-law. Excluding the 10 or so RA's in my section of 87, fewer than a dozen students are getting paid. This is pretty much the story at all schools now, even T14.

[asdfffff]

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[VinceIrons]

Hey all. I've recently been admitted as a transfer student. Right now, it's a bit of a toss-up between BU and WashU (still waiting to hear back from others, so decisions might change). I'm hoping you guys might be able to answer a few questions I haven't seen in the 4-5 pages I looked through (cba to go through all of them, sorry :p).

1) Weather. How awful are Boston winters? Just suffered through a rather terrible NY winter, not sure I could do it again. Though to be honest, pretty sure I'll hate the weather anywhere I am unless it's a constant ~70 and partly sunny.

2) IP prospects. I'm very interested in copyright/trademark, and I know BU is one of the top IP schools. Anyone involved in that area mind sharing what you know? Is Boston good for IP, will a BU degree and a focus in IP give me greater national reach with IP firms elsewhere? Also, I noticed there's only one clinic that deals with IP. Some sort of legislative clinic. Anyone have any experience with that?

3) Anyone also a BU transfer? Know anything about how transfers fair at OCI, classes, social life, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

[asdfffff]

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[loblaw]

I'm pretty impressed by BU's study abroad opportunities, particularly the dual LLM options offered with Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris (EU law) and Tsinghua University in Beijing (Chinese law). Does anyone know someone who has done either of these programs? I wonder about the marketability of them when it comes to hiring since they don't actually qualify you to practice in the target countries. Does anyone have any anecdotal info or otherwise about these programs?

[loblaw]

Hey BU 1LS and 2LS--I'm coming to Boston this weekend, and I have to make a choice between BU and BC on Monday. I didn't get a great feel for BU because I didn't attend ASW, etc. Could anyone be bribed with a beer at Sunset Grille (or equivalent) on Saturday evening or Sunday to meet up with me and talk BU? I would really appreciate it!! PM me if you think you could make it. Thanks

[kaiser]

Hey BU 1LS and 2LS--I'm coming to Boston this weekend, and I have to make a choice between BU and BC on Monday. I didn't get a great feel for BU because I didn't attend ASW, etc. Could anyone be bribed with a beer at Sunset Grille (or equivalent) on Saturday evening or Sunday to meet up with me and talk BU? I would really appreciate it!! PM me if you think you could make it. Thanks

Im happy to meet up with you tomorrow night for an hour if you want to chat about BU.

[bmic]

Hey guys. I'm another transfer student (I just need to put my deposit down). I guess I have two questions.

1) What's the best place to find somewhat affordable housing this late in the game? Should I just go there 1 weekend and walk around or should I suck it up and get a realtor?

2) Does BU do any "get credits for your internship" type program? The school I'm leaving would give us 2 or 3 credits for doing unpaid internships and I was wondering if I could use those hours for credits at BU.

[Blindmelon]

Hey guys. I'm another transfer student (I just need to put my deposit down). I guess I have two questions.

1) What's the best place to find somewhat affordable housing this late in the game? Should I just go there 1 weekend and walk around or should I suck it up and get a realtor?

2) Does BU do any "get credits for your internship" type program? The school I'm leaving would give us 2 or 3 credits for doing unpaid internships and I was wondering if I could use those hours for credits at BU.

There are zillions of clinics/externship programs. People regularly intern at the local USAO, SEC, 1st Cir, whatever. It has to be not for profit to get credit though - thats all.

As for #1, use craigslist.

[ElvisAaron]

Any BU Mac users have issues with exams, network connection, or use of the research materials while running Windows via bootcamp?

[kaiser]

Everything was compatible with my Mac

[haveaniceday111]

Any tips/thoughts on the MBTA semester pass? I'll be in Brookline with no car. Which pass would make the most sense (MonthlyLink, Local Bus, Inner/Outer Bus)?