Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[Arbiter213]

In Ithaca.... Is the traffic always bad near the school?

Always? No. Depends on the time of the day, and usually not (at least from my observation).

If you want to get shown around I will if you buy me a meal. Just PM me.


So not kidding.

[msblaw89]

In Ithaca.... Is the traffic always bad near the school?

Always? No. Depends on the time of the day, and usually not (at least from my observation).

If you want to get shown around I will if you buy me a meal. Just PM me.


So not kidding.

Would you and any 1ls like to get together for dinner tomorrow or Saturday? Oh, and wegman's really is amazing

[Arbiter213]

In Ithaca.... Is the traffic always bad near the school?

Always? No. Depends on the time of the day, and usually not (at least from my observation).

If you want to get shown around I will if you buy me a meal. Just PM me.


So not kidding.

Would you and any 1ls like to get together for dinner tomorrow or Saturday? Oh, and wegman's really is amazing

Stick around for the bar tab at pixel.

[Ikki]

In Ithaca.... Is the traffic always bad near the school?

Traffic is not bad if you avoid Campus Rd. and Central Ave., try to use Stewart instead.

Also, while traffic is not bad, Ithaca has the biggest collection of idiotic drivers and pedestrians I've seen in a place this small.

[MAapplicant]

Any property management or landlords to stay away from? Any you recommend?

[poligal]

I have a question for a 1L. I had read somewhere from someones recap of the Admitted Students Day that they got the sense that a lot of kids are at Cornell because either 1. it was the best school they got into or 2. they got a lot of $$. Can any current students comment on transferring. Are there a fair amount of kids that come in with the intention of transferring and then manage to successfully do so? This is the wrong mentality to have I realize but for personal reasons, I really would like to be in New York(reserved at Columbia so 99.9% not getting in this cycle.) I just wondered if anyone could speak to some degree about transferring.

[vexion]

Any property management or landlords to stay away from? Any you recommend?

I think Pam Johnston is generally bad... the closest you can get to a slumlord in Collegetown. But I've never used her; just seen the places and heard the stories.

I would recommend Gun Hill. They own a large complex on Lake Street. I lived there one year and liked it. It's nothing fancy, but fairly cheap, and it comes with a shuttle service that'll drop you off right near the law school and take you back.

[vexion]

I have a question for a 1L. I had read somewhere from someones recap of the Admitted Students Day that they got the sense that a lot of kids are at Cornell because either 1. it was the best school they got into or 2. they got a lot of $$. Can any current students comment on transferring. Are there a fair amount of kids that come in with the intention of transferring and then manage to successfully do so? This is the wrong mentality to have I realize but for personal reasons, I really would like to be in New York(reserved at Columbia so 99.9% not getting in this cycle.) I just wondered if anyone could speak to some degree about transferring.

You can read plenty about transfering over on the Transfers forum. Basically, no matter what school you go to, if you go in with the expectation of transfering, to quote the South Park ski instructor, you're gonna have a bad time. Sure, plenty of people transfer out of Cornell. In our 1L year, probably 5-10 kids left, mostly to Harvard and NYU, one to Yale. But almost all of them had top grades, which is something you should never count on.

[MAapplicant]

Was offered housing at Hughes yesterday and have just a few questions:

What exactly is in a suite? I was told I am in a suite that has just one other person. What would we be a sharing? From my understading is it a bathroom and common area?

Are there kitchens? I called yesterday and was told that there are "floor kitchens". How many floors are there and typically about how many students share these floor kitchens per floor? Are these considered full kitchens (i.e. have stove, fridge, microwave, etc.)?

To me Hughes doesn't seem all that bad, but based on what I have read on here a lot of people seem to discourage living here. Any other thoughts or elaborations about why this would be a good/bad option?

Appreciate any thoughts from those currently living in Hughes and/or have visited/toured.

[moneybagsphd]

Cornell offered me a 90k scholly this week. Now, I'm having a tough time deciding between Cornell and Michigan (54k) now. The total difference over 3yrs will be ~20k. I haven't had an opportunity to visit Cornell and the offer expires in 8 days. Here are my questions:
1. While Cornell is clearly a national school (Ivy name is prestigious anywhere), there seems to be a strong bias for the NYC market. I'm primarily interested interested in the CA market with a strong preference for NorCal. Do you know any classmates trying to get back to the Best Coast? How easy is it to do this? Are there a lot of CA firms at OCI (I see 57 on LSN but the data is old)?
2. I have heard that the class selection at Cornell is limited by the small size. Have any of you had difficulty finding classes in your area of interest?
3. I have heard mixed things about the law school culture. Namely, Cornell has a reputation for being especially studious (I know you've covered this point but bear with me) and more intense than other elite schools. I am not a very competitive person by nature (I don't feel competitive with my classmates). Is this widespread? Is it a very small subset of gunners that tend to give the school this reputation? Or, outright false?

[msblaw89]

Cornell offered me a 90k scholly this week. Now, I'm having a tough time deciding between Cornell and Michigan (54k) now. The total difference over 3yrs will be ~20k. I haven't had an opportunity to visit Cornell and the offer expires in 8 days. Here are my questions:
1. While Cornell is clearly a national school (Ivy name is prestigious anywhere), there seems to be a strong bias for the NYC market. I'm primarily interested interested in the CA market with a strong preference for NorCal. Do you know any classmates trying to get back to the Best Coast? How easy is it to do this? Are there a lot of CA firms at OCI (I see 57 on LSN but the data is old)?
2. I have heard that the class selection at Cornell is limited by the small size. Have any of you had difficulty finding classes in your area of interest?
3. I have heard mixed things about the law school culture. Namely, Cornell has a reputation for being especially studious (I know you've covered this point but bear with me) and more intense than other elite schools. I am not a very competitive person by nature (I don't feel competitive with my classmates). Is this widespread? Is it a very small subset of gunners that tend to give the school this reputation? Or, outright false?

I found out alot about all of this during ASW

1. Dean Derosa said the large amount going to NYC is due to self-selection. There is actually a large portion of grads who go to Cali. I know you wanted NorCal, but there is a job fair in LA JUST for Cornell students. The school puts on the fair ( also in DC, NYC, Chicago, and somewhere else I believe)
2. I guess I don't know 100% look at the Cornell book you got. It has a listing of all the courses. It seems to be business heavy, but def not restricted
3. The current students at ASW said that in general the culture IS laid back, but that they DO have a handful of gunners that everyone roles their eyes at. The current students also said they hang out together quite a bit

[FlanAl]

I know a few people that picked Cornell over higher ranked schools (equal money at their school choices). Once you get to the t14 a lot of where you go really depends on personal preference. BUT lets be honest, the majority of any kids at any law school are only there because they got a lot of money or it was the best school they got into, I mean its not like people turn down Harvard to go to Columbia at sticker, I'm pretty sure the same thing trickles down through the rest of the t14.

As far as being extra studious, I've said it before and I'll say it again, we take 4 substantive classes and a graded legal writing. A lot of t14s don't have graded legal writing and many only have 3 substantive classes a semester. I don't think people are especially nerdy, we just sort of have more to do.

[Arbiter213]

As for competitiveness, everyone studies a lot, most people aren't that competitive about it.
Sincerely,
A gunner people probably roll their eyes at

[moneybagsphd]

Thanks all for responding to my post so quickly! This allays some of my concerns.

[PinkCow]

Cornell offered me a 90k scholly this week. Now, I'm having a tough time deciding between Cornell and Michigan (54k) now. The total difference over 3yrs will be ~20k. I haven't had an opportunity to visit Cornell and the offer expires in 8 days. Here are my questions:
1. While Cornell is clearly a national school (Ivy name is prestigious anywhere), there seems to be a strong bias for the NYC market. I'm primarily interested interested in the CA market with a strong preference for NorCal. Do you know any classmates trying to get back to the Best Coast? How easy is it to do this? Are there a lot of CA firms at OCI (I see 57 on LSN but the data is old)?
2. I have heard that the class selection at Cornell is limited by the small size. Have any of you had difficulty finding classes in your area of interest?
3. I have heard mixed things about the law school culture. Namely, Cornell has a reputation for being especially studious (I know you've covered this point but bear with me) and more intense than other elite schools. I am not a very competitive person by nature (I don't feel competitive with my classmates). Is this widespread? Is it a very small subset of gunners that tend to give the school this reputation? Or, outright false?

1. A bunch of Club-happy 1Ls just started the California Club, specifically to promote networking/job stuff in SoCal/NorCal. I would also say that the CA placement of Michigan and Cornell is probably a wash. Stanford/Boalt v. Cornell, Cornell definitely loses. But, all things being equal, Cornell will likely get you wherever Michigan will.
2. Class selection is limited by the size. That being said, I doubt you'll have trouble finding classes that get your motor running, but you might have trouble if you're really interested in Avant garde copyright or...Bird Law.
3. Cornell probably has about the same percentage of Aspie kids as most schools. It's just so small here that they stand out more. There are a lot of chill people here too. I've been to the library...3 times?

[msblaw89]

Does anyone know where law students (or any students from Cornell) normally go to church?

[FlanAl]

Does anyone know where law students (or any students from Cornell) normally go to church?

I would guess here:
http://www.curw.cornell.edu/sage.html

But you could email the christian legal society: http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/career ... groups.cfm.

[CyLaw]

Does anyone know where law students (or any students from Cornell) normally go to church?

You would need to be more specific as there are a multitude of religions here.

http://www.curw.cornell.edu/

[msblaw89]

Does anyone know where law students (or any students from Cornell) normally go to church?

You would need to be more specific as there are a multitude of religions here.

http://www.curw.cornell.edu/

Christian...non-demoniminational. Contemporary worship...think Joel Olsteen.

[FlanAl]

Does anyone know where law students (or any students from Cornell) normally go to church?

You would need to be more specific as there are a multitude of religions here.

http://www.curw.cornell.edu/

Christian...non-demoniminational. Contemporary worship...think Joel Olsteen.

I'd recommend emailing the christian legal society, they seem like a pretty friendly helpful group.

[timeandspace11]

Hey, thanks for doing this.

I just wanted to know if it is hard to live in Ithica without a car.

Also, is it easy to get to the city from Ithaca?

Finally, do you know anyone specializing in some form of International law, and what they are trying to do with that degree?

[nygrl]

Thanks for taking questions.

Do you know of any management companies that show apartments on the weekend? I'd like to check out apartments before putting a deposit down somewhere and I won't have time to visit Ithaca during the week.

[msblaw89]

I was given $45 k from Cornell and nada from GULC. Is it possible to negotiate more from Cornell if I put a deposit down at both Cornell and GULC...even if I get nothing from GULC and personally...I won't attend GULC regardless

[woeisme]

I was given $45 k from Cornell and nada from GULC. Is it possible to negotiate more from Cornell if I put a deposit down at both Cornell and GULC...even if I get nothing from GULC and personally...I won't attend GULC regardless

I mean yeah, but what are you proposing to use as leverage? Just a GULC acceptance? No way that's going to get you additional aid. I mean conceivably GULC might give you more money than Cornell if you leverage Cornell's offer there. If that happens, you can then come back and say "hey, can you match GULC's scholarship?" Short of that, it's probably difficult to negotiate without leverage. Then again, you have nothing to lose really...

[msblaw89]

I was given $45 k from Cornell and nada from GULC. Is it possible to negotiate more from Cornell if I put a deposit down at both Cornell and GULC...even if I get nothing from GULC and personally...I won't attend GULC regardless

I mean yeah, but what are you proposing to use as leverage? Just a GULC acceptance? No way that's going to get you additional aid. I mean conceivably GULC might give you more money than Cornell if you leverage Cornell's offer there. If that happens, you can then come back and say "hey, can you match GULC's scholarship?" Short of that, it's probably difficult to negotiate without leverage. Then again, you have nothing to lose really...

Except a $400 deposit to GULC