WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[DoveBodyWash]

For CWE, what's your budget? There are a ton of higher rise (15-25 story) buildings, and pretty much a range of prices (probably $700-$1500 for a 1br) but it's a highly coveted area, that the med school has allowed prices to be highly inflated compared to the rest of the town. Some of the nicest places in town are in the CWE (and Wash Ave, but no one lives there hardly) but will cost you. If you want just to be in the neighborhood, a lot of options, especially when you get a few blocks off the main areas, but then they become a bit dodgey, especially as far as cars are concerned.

As for transfer stigma, I got to imagine there would be close to none. I'm just a 1L, but the law school is very laidback and people are generally super friendly. You'd be going in at a time where rising 2Ls are integrating with each other, and with rising 3Ls, so there will plenty of chances to meet new people for everyone, since I know I don't think I have any classes with my closer friends, so I'll probably be changing up social groups a bit. Plus there's a whole batch of 1Ls you can hang out with, who will probably like an elder (one who could help them out with the new transition into Law school) You'll be fine, and congrats on the transfer.

Thanks for the insights.

A few places I am considering:
Towne House
Park 44
Parc Frontenac
Metrolofts
West End Terrence

Any thoughts on them or if I should look at other places?

I think convent garden and Hampden hall might be more cost effective than those places, you should check them out as well

[kyle010723]

I think convent garden and Hampden hall might be more cost effective than those places, you should check them out as well

Thanks, I will look them up. It is hard to apartment hunt via google/padmapper. Help is always appreciated.

[dietcoke0]

Towne House - I know a few people live here, big open plans, think they are kinda pricy though
Park 44 - I always get this one mixed up, either it's run down or it's nice.
Parc Frontenac - Where I live. About 4 in my class that live here, not a bad choice at all, but make sure you get one of the renovated units. Not bad, but might want to get a roommate for price.
Metrolofts - these are expensive as shit, and come fully furnished though.
West End Terrence - Dunno this one, but remember seeing it when I was looking into places to live.

[dietcoke0]

There is also Montclair on the Park. It's less nice, but more cost efficient.

[romothesavior]

Who here has previously taken Commercial Law? Any and all insights on what I should be focusing on and what the exam is like would be appreciated.

Anyone? Buehler?

[luckyduck]

Who here has previously taken Commercial Law? Any and all insights on what I should be focusing on and what the exam is like would be appreciated.

Anyone? Buehler?

His exam questions are very similar to the problems reviewed in class. Make sure you know those problems and how to answer them. And questions are in the same order as class so arrange your outline in the same order. Tab the outline and have a comprehensive table of contents. When I took the exam a few semesters back it was tight for time so focus on learning as much of the material as possible so you don't slow down on the easier stuff.

[hoos89]

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[Michael Bluth]

Anyone know why the registrar's office came out with this new handwriting policy? Seems really unfair to me.

Mind linking or giving a quick rundown?

Anyone who chooses to handwrite should be mocked posthaste, so I'll be upset if this in any way prevents that.

[hoos89]

/

[TatteredDignity]

Quite the opposite: the policy essentially forces some people to hand write.

If you're not a the stop sign by 5 minutes of the start of the exam, they will make you hand write (Essentially there aren't late start rooms for laptop problems anymore). If you have computer issues during the exam, you have to hand write the remainder of the exam. I've heard of it happening to a few people.

That could legitimately cause a 5+ point swing for that person's grade. Not cool. Why not at least let them go to a different room?

"In the exam room, the proctor begins reading the Beginning Exam Instructions at 9:05 a.m. and 1:05 p.m., respectively. Students in the exam room who plan to use a laptop must be at the red stop signs in SofTest by 9:10 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. This means that it is the student’s responsibility to have SofTest fully launched prior to this time. If a student is not at the red stop sign in SofTest by 9:10 or 1:10, they are too late to use their laptop for the exam, and must handwrite that exam instead. In this situation, the exam assistant will inform the student that they must put away their laptop and pick up a handwriting packet instead."

[romothesavior]

As someone who had a laptop crash during a 1L final and had to handwrite for the first hour until they got me a working laptop, let me say that this is a HORRIBLE policy. Just horrible and unfair in every respect.

[hoos89]

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[DoveBodyWash]

As someone who had a laptop crash during a 1L final and had to handwrite for the first hour until they got me a working laptop, let me say that this is a HORRIBLE policy. Just horrible and unfair in every respect.

Yeah my computer wouldn't start Softest until about 45 minutes into my Torts exam last semester. Good thing that policy wasn't in effect then because that exam was an absolute racehorse. I hate how they act like people use computers at their own risk: they are standard now. It's not 1998 anymore.

0L here so bear with me, but re: the bolded. Does this happen often? So if I run into technical problems with my laptop and whatever Softest is then I'll be required to handwrite my exam..?

[hoos89]

/

[DoveBodyWash]

Depends on what you mean by often. I figured out what the issue was and it hasn't happened since, but I know of at least 2 people who have had to hand write because of this policy. Long story short: SoftTest SUCKS.

that seems ridiculously unfair. Our careers basically hinge on these exams and the software is known to be faulty..!?

[romothesavior]

Depends on what you mean by often. I figured out what the issue was and it hasn't happened since, but I know of at least 2 people who have had to hand write because of this policy. Long story short: SoftTest SUCKS.

that seems ridiculously unfair. Our careers basically hinge on these exams and the software is known to be faulty..!?

Happened to me. I tested the program the night before my first exam, used it for my first exam without any trouble, and it just wouldn't load for my second exam. No real reason was given, they said maybe it was my AVG software or something treating it as a threat. The IT people tried for 45 minutes to get it working in one of the special rooms they had set up for technology problems, but no dice. They told me I had to handwrite my contracts exam, and I was devastated. The first hour of that test wasn't pretty. Not only did it slow me down a ton, but the psychological toll was hard to overcome too. Fortunately Jeanne Heil-Chapdelaine (really nice lady btw) came rushing into the room a little over an hour into the exam and handed me a laptop and said "Write the remaining answers in here, we'll take care of the rest." Unfortunately, this was exam known to be a time-cruncher even with a laptop. I got to the last essay question (worth 25% of the exam) and wrote two sentences.

I remember calling my girlfriend after the exam and crying (like, literally tears, and I'm the kind of guy who doesn't shed tears... I don't think I've cried since) and talking about how I was going to have this huge black mark on my transcript and that I might have to drop out. All that work just to have some goddamn computer software crash for no apparent reason. It's hard to describe that feeling, honestly.

Somehow, miraculously, the law school gods smiled kindly on me, or maybe DeGeest took pity on me, or more likely, he made a mistake in grading and that first number should have been a "7". I didn't have to drop out, my GPA wasn't completely blown to pieces, and IT and Jeanne pretty much saved my ass. But looking back, it's hard not to think about 1) how good I could have done on that exam without the exam software problem, 2) how I probably wouldn't have the job I have now if Jeanne hadn't gone out of her way to get me a working laptop, and now 3) how screwed I would have been if this awful policy was in place at the time. To spend all the money we do and work as hard as we do and have all the importance riding on these grades and then be told "We're sorry, you're shit out of luck, and we're not even going to try to help you"? Really Wash U? I'm actually going to email Laybold/Erker because this is BS.

[hoos89]

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[DoveBodyWash]

Okay this is a noob 0L question... but what is SoftTest and what is the reasoning/point behind using that to take our exams? Does it time you or something? And if SoftTest does break down, how come we can't just type our exam on one of those spare laptops and paste it into SoftTest once the issue is resolved or something? I always imagined that we would type our exams on a word doc or something and upload the file.

[hoos89]

/

[goldeneye]

This policy is especially terrible because the exams are written to require a lot of info that needs to be types to be completed. If exam soft wasn't so shitty and unreliable there wouldn't be an issue. But if it doesn't work it's not our fault. And we can't collect exams until 8:30ish so you only have so long to get it working.

[Michael Bluth]

Somehow, miraculously, the law school gods smiled kindly on me, or maybe DeGeest took pity on me, or more likely, he made a mistake in grading and that first number should have been a "7".

If I had to roll the dice on one professor in this situation, it'd be DeGeest. If I had to guess, he looked at your two sentences, nodded, and intoned "Ah, yes, brilliance!"

[Birdnals]

Somehow, miraculously, the law school gods smiled kindly on me, or maybe DeGeest took pity on me, or more likely, he made a mistake in grading and that first number should have been a "7".

If I had to roll the dice on one professor in this situation, it'd be DeGeest. If I had to guess, he looked at your two sentences, nodded, and intoned "Ah, yes, brilliance!"

I did this exam as practice and I can't imagine being stuck writing it by hand. Racehorse before he really could even write English as well as he does now.

What I don't get is why they don't just set up the computer labs with all the computers loaded up with softest and ready to go for any of the exams if there is a problem that pops up. It wouldn't be distracting with flustered people walking in and out in the middle of a test, but it would beat the hell out of hand-writing.

[TatteredDignity]

Somehow, miraculously, the law school gods smiled kindly on me, or maybe DeGeest took pity on me, or more likely, he made a mistake in grading and that first number should have been a "7".

If I had to roll the dice on one professor in this situation, it'd be DeGeest. If I had to guess, he looked at your two sentences, nodded, and intoned "Ah, yes, brilliance!"

[notedgarfigaro]

even though I've never had the slightest problem with examsoft...I'm now bringing my old laptop with me for the rest of the week, just in case.

/paranoid

[TatteredDignity]

even though I've never had the slightest problem with examsoft...I'm now bringing my old laptop with me for the rest of the week, just in case.

/paranoid

I have no exams this semester that require softest.

/winning