Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[scorez]

Does anyone make it out to any Big Red hockey games?

I am a huge hockey fan and there was no hockey at my liberal arts school, so this would be a plus.

[JJim1919]

Also, as far as clerkships go, I am pretty interested in doing one after law school. How are the opportunities for federal clerkships at cornell? Are they extremely hard to get? Do many people do them?

I'm also curious about this. I know that a relatively low percentage of Cornell grads do clerkships compared to peer schools. Is that self-selection, or is it just hard to get a clerkship out of Cornell for some reason? Anyone know how awesome your grades have to be to have a reasonable shot at federal district/circuit court or state supreme court clerkships?

Bump for this question. I don't think anyone really answered it, and I'm still very curious.

[como]

.

[kn6542]

well... anything that makes a salary enough to live on, i suppose. work in a bank, maybe? or another sort of financial institution.

Wtf?

[VictoryFord]

Also, as far as clerkships go, I am pretty interested in doing one after law school. How are the opportunities for federal clerkships at cornell? Are they extremely hard to get? Do many people do them?

I'm also curious about this. I know that a relatively low percentage of Cornell grads do clerkships compared to peer schools. Is that self-selection, or is it just hard to get a clerkship out of Cornell for some reason? Anyone know how awesome your grades have to be to have a reasonable shot at federal district/circuit court or state supreme court clerkships?

Bump for this question. I don't think anyone really answered it, and I'm still very curious.

The viewbook I just got lists clerkships for a recent class (I can't remember if it is '08 or '09), and there are some impressive ones. I believe there were a handful of state supreme court clerkships, and I counted 4/5 US circuit court clerkships. Not bad at all, considering the size of the class.

i know this is an extreme improbability regardless of school i attend, but where do the nys ct. of appeals clerks come from, schools wise?

[tintin]

Considering that Ithaca is a small town, is there any kind of gay scene? Is it generally a gay friendly town? I currently live in a super queer town that's about the same size as Ithaca and I love it, so this would be a big plus. Anyone have info on this?

[SaraBara]

can someone help me?? i got into cornell, and i'm preferred wl at georgetown. i love cornell, but i've lived in upstate ny my whole life (i'm from buffalo and i go to the university of rochester now)... are opportunities limited by the location at all? i dont' know about 3 more years in new york!!

[woeisme]

Random question - how long to drive from Ithaca to Albany?

I did it in 3 hours a couple weekends ago. Very doable.

[woeisme]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but what kind of legal market exists in Albany? Ever hear of Cornell grads heading there?

Edit-considering living in albany in the future (explaining the incessant albany questions....sorry).

Yeah, Albany loves Cornell I think. I went to college out near Albany. I'm not sure how many go to Albany, but I'm fairly certain that most could, if they wanted.

[woeisme]

Considering that Ithaca is a small town, is there any kind of gay scene? Is it generally a gay friendly town? I currently live in a super queer town that's about the same size as Ithaca and I love it, so this would be a big plus. Anyone have info on this?

I've heard that Ithaca is the lesbian capital of the world. In any event, it has a vibrant artsy hippieshness feel too it. The town is VERY gay friendly, ... not sure about the gay scene itself.

[woeisme]

can someone help me?? i got into cornell, and i'm preferred wl at georgetown. i love cornell, but i've lived in upstate ny my whole life (i'm from buffalo and i go to the university of rochester now)... are opportunities limited by the location at all? i dont' know about 3 more years in new york!!

What's your question? Are what opportunities limited by location?

[hopeful87]

Hey! how true is it that cornell students study 6 hours a day everyday?

How's competition among students?

How diverse is the community/cornell?

[18488]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but what kind of legal market exists in Albany? Ever hear of Cornell grads heading there?

There's the NY Court of Appeals in Albany (the NY highest court)--that would make a good and plausible clerkship possibility after graduation if you do well.

[SaraBara]

well, i guess my question is, does the rural location of ithaca affect opportunities like getting internships, job placement, ect.? i'm just concerned about living in the middle of ny, rather than a big city. or does that not have an impact??

[18488]

well, i guess my question is, does the rural location of ithaca affect opportunities like getting internships, job placement, ect.? i'm just concerned about living in the middle of ny, rather than a big city. or does that not have an impact??

don't worry about this at all. firms, government agencies, and public interest groups come to ithaca all the time just to sell themselves to cornell students. everyone's heard of cornell--according to that NLJ chart floating around, we place 6th in terms of the percentage of our grads working at the NLJ250 firms (largely due to our proximity to NYC, and partly due to self-selection--we don't put out as many clerks as some similarly ranked schools).

[kn6542]

well, i guess my question is, does the rural location of ithaca affect opportunities like getting internships, job placement, ect.? i'm just concerned about living in the middle of ny, rather than a big city. or does that not have an impact??

No

[woeisme]

Hey! how true is it that cornell students study 6 hours a day everyday?

It's not.

How's competition among students?

I can't imagine that it gets any less competitive than this. Wait, I assume you're talking about how competitive it feels, right? I don't feel much competition at all. At many top schools there's a lot of competition to get onto law journals. Here, we have three journals and a small student body - so it's really not difficult (relatively, of course) to get onto one if you want. On the other hand, we have a graded legal writing course (though I'm not sure this creates much competition because there's a very tight curve in that class). In short, I don't think Cornell is more competitive than other peer schools (I'm tempted to say that it's even less so). Same thing for its feel.

How diverse is the community/cornell?

In terms of what? Pretty diverse, I guess. Relatively diverse with regards to age and race. Pretty good (read even) gender split. I'm not sure what everyone is interested in going into ... there's probably an overrepresentation of people looking to go into big law. I'm not sure.

[woeisme]

well, i guess my question is, does the rural location of ithaca affect opportunities like getting internships, job placement, ect.? i'm just concerned about living in the middle of ny, rather than a big city. or does that not have an impact??

If it has an impact on you personally, that's one thing. It will have zero impact on job prospects. If anything it might help by setting you apart. Cornell has a strong name ... it's location will not negatively affect you.

[Westmalle]

Cornell 1Ls, this thread has been very helpful. I'll be at the March 6 ASD and am excited to see the law school that y'all have been raving about.

I have some questions:
What do you guys think about the prospects for a 1L biglaw SA position? Any anecdotal evidence, particularly for IP?
I have read a lot about BRB in the Class of 2011 thread. What is it?
sbrown: In the Class of 2011, I think I read that you recently broke you arm. Can you (or anyone else that was there) tell the TLS community how this happened? Feel free to embellish, if you must.

[VictoryFord]

Dear Cornellians,

Please march down to the admissions office and demand I be admitted.

Thank You,
Victory Ford


P.S. Is there anything about Cornell that you found out after being there that you couldn't have possibly thought to ask about before attending, but now seems pretty important? The reason I ask: people seem to ask the same stuff over and over again, I don't want to miss something important that none of us can think of. Like, maybe there is a smell of syrup which makes studying impossible, etc.

[woeisme]

What do you guys think about the prospects for a 1L biglaw SA position? Any anecdotal evidence, particularly for IP?

Eh, this economy is rough first of all, though it might clear up. But more significantly, what's your UG in? If it isn't engineering-related, chances are not too good. Chances are better if it is. And your 1L GPA will matter quite a bit too.

I have read a lot about BRB in the Class of 2011 thread. What is it?

Haha, I STILL haven't gone! I will one of these days - it's a bar on campus I guess. The BIG RED BARN.

[Westmalle]

What do you guys think about the prospects for a 1L biglaw SA position? Any anecdotal evidence, particularly for IP?

Eh, this economy is rough first of all, though it might clear up. But more significantly, what's your UG in? If it isn't engineering-related, chances are not too good. Chances are better if it is. And your 1L GPA will matter quite a bit too.

I will have a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Do you know of any classmates trying to get, or have been offered, a 1L SA in IP?

[VictoryFord]

pimp

[Westmalle]

I have read a lot about BRB in the Class of 2011 thread. What is it?

Haha, I STILL haven't gone! I will one of these days - it's a bar on campus I guess. The BIG RED BARN.

That sounds awesome. How can you resist the allure of partying in a big red barn? If I go to Cornell Law and there are no chickens randomly walking around and drinking unattended beers, i will demand my tuition back!

[bishopus]

Very helpful thread, thanks guys.

I have a probably dumb question about clerking opportunities if I come to Cornell: what are my odds of clerking for the appeals court in Albany? Top ~10% of the class? Do I need to ace legal writing? Be a horrible, unforgivable gunner?