UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[elterrible78]

A lot of students live in Regents, but when I went to Yelp the reviews were pretty bad, and it seems pricey. Is it really as bad as yelp says it is? People drinking and smoking in the hallways, nonfunctional gym, no cable?

Also, what is the walkability of the area around the law school if you don't drive? It seems like a grocery desert.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

I moved out of Regents because I was pretty unhappy with a lot of what was going on there, and it seemed to be getting worse. The management is not particularly responsive to anything, and the gym debacle was one of the final straws (in a nutshell, they closed it down for like five months to renovate it, and it ended up being worse than it was, in the opinions of many). I never really saw people smoking or drinking in the hallways, although going from the 34th floor to the 35th by the stairs was a reliable way to get a contact high. It's also overpriced for what it is, I think.

I'm not sure what you mean by walkability. I wouldn't call HP a grocery desert, but it's not great either. Hyde Park Produce and Treasure Island are the best bets, but they're not actually that close to the law school. Whole Foods (if that's your thing) should improve the situation, but I'm not sure when it's actually slated to open. I managed there for 1L year with no car, and had no problems whatsoever, though. Having a car would make life easier (particularly for going to Jewel Osco, Mariano's, Trader Joe's and whatnot), but is not necessary by any means.

[Robb]

Get a bike with a basket. Super useful, makes getting groceries easier. Hyde Park Produce and Treasure Island are about 5 minutes from the law school on a bike. But also agree a car is helpful-I had one for 1.5 years, and it was very, very convenient to have, especially when you're feeling lazy, or it's raining or snowing, and you want to make a run to trader joe's.

[landshoes]

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[Wedge Antilles]

If you don't like regents park it's nobody's fault but your own. It's been the best opportunity of my law school career and only the highest quality of U Chicago students live there. The management truly cares about your maintenance and quality of life issues and the accommodations are unique to anything else you'll be exposed to in the t14. If you can't hack it at regents you better take a really good look at yourself because you might not be cut out to be a lawyer.

[UofCforme]

For those with a car or a lift-pass or whatever, we also now have a Walmart Neighborhood Market that is infintely better than any other grocery option in HP. Unfortunately it is probably too far away for those without a means of transportation other than walking.

[WheninLaw]

If you don't like regents park it's nobody's fault but your own. It's been the best opportunity of my law school career and only the highest quality of U Chicago students live there. The management truly cares about your maintenance and quality of life issues and the accommodations are unique to anything else you'll be exposed to in the t14. If you can't hack it at regents you better take a really good look at yourself because you might not be cut out to be a lawyer.

I enjoyed this.

[Rahviveh]

If you don't like regents park it's nobody's fault but your own. It's been the best opportunity of my law school career and only the highest quality of U Chicago students live there. The management truly cares about your maintenance and quality of life issues and the accommodations are unique to anything else you'll be exposed to in the t14. If you can't hack it at regents you better take a really good look at yourself because you might not be cut out to be a lawyer.

I disagree with this. There are not many members of the Uchicago law review who live in regents. The best among us live elsewhere.

[Rahviveh]

Looking back on it, I wish I had taken more black-letter law classes because I didn't really learn anything substantive in the Corporate Lab.

Don't listen to this dork. You don't learn anything substantive in black letter law classes either.

[WheninLaw]

If you don't like regents park it's nobody's fault but your own. It's been the best opportunity of my law school career and only the highest quality of U Chicago students live there. The management truly cares about your maintenance and quality of life issues and the accommodations are unique to anything else you'll be exposed to in the t14. If you can't hack it at regents you better take a really good look at yourself because you might not be cut out to be a lawyer.

I disagree with this. There are not many members of the Uchicago law review who live in regents. The best among us live elsewhere.

Actually, the majority of LR live(d) in HP. It cannot be beat.

[CorporateLab]

Looking back on it, I wish I had taken more black-letter law classes because I didn't really learn anything substantive in the Corporate Lab.

Don't listen to this dork. You don't learn anything substantive in black letter law classes either.

Although this is mostly true, there are several classes that I honestly found useful during my time as a summer associate: federal regulation of securities, business organizations, secured transactions, tax, and bankruptcy. For example, I wouldn't want to be at a law firm trying to figure out for the first time ever what perfection of a security is, or what "cramdown" is in a bankruptcy case.

In terms of non-black-letter-law classes, I've also heard some really good things about some of the classes that teach negotiation and contract drafting, although I cannot speak from personal experience about their usefulness.

[zhenders]

Groceries:

I don't know if this option appeals to anyone else, but I'm a fan of www.peapod.com ; it's certainly more expensive for some things, but factoring in gas, time saved, and not having to worry about a car and such is nice. If you already have a car and know you're bringing it, maybe it's not as helpful -- but if you're thinking about bringing a car and paying for parking for the purpose of groceries, it might be worth it to at least check peapod out and see if it's an option you like. I haven't used it in HP, but I punched in the zip and it looks like it delivers no problem. For the things I buy, it's really not more than 2%-4% more expensive than a standard grocer.

Has anyone else used this or a similar service?

[Rahviveh]

Looking back on it, I wish I had taken more black-letter law classes because I didn't really learn anything substantive in the Corporate Lab.

Don't listen to this dork. You don't learn anything substantive in black letter law classes either.

Although this is mostly true, there are several classes that I honestly found useful during my time as a summer associate: federal regulation of securities, business organizations, secured transactions, tax, and bankruptcy. For example, I wouldn't want to be at a law firm trying to figure out for the first time ever what perfection of a security is, or what "cramdown" is in a bankruptcy case.

In terms of non-black-letter-law classes, I've also heard some really good things about some of the classes that teach negotiation and contract drafting, although I cannot speak from personal experience about their usefulness.

Ok I thought I knew who you were. I guess I was wrong

[elterrible78]

Groceries:

I don't know if this option appeals to anyone else, but I'm a fan of http://www.peapod.com ; it's certainly more expensive for some things, but factoring in gas, time saved, and not having to worry about a car and such is nice. If you already have a car and know you're bringing it, maybe it's not as helpful -- but if you're thinking about bringing a car and paying for parking for the purpose of groceries, it might be worth it to at least check peapod out and see if it's an option you like. I haven't used it in HP, but I punched in the zip and it looks like it delivers no problem. For the things I buy, it's really not more than 2%-4% more expensive than a standard grocer.

Has anyone else used this or a similar service?

I definitely used Peapod during 1L, and it was great. I had 0 problems with it, and it came in handy given HP's limited grocery shopping options.

[Robb]

Peapod is great for frozen and pantry foods... but they have low quality veggies, so if you are picky about your veggies like me you'll still want to go to Hyde Park Produce and pick those out. My roommate has also used instacart, and he seems to really like it.

And even though it's true that there's usually not a huge markup, when you add in the delivery fee and tip, it's probably 10-20% more depending on how much you order.

[zhenders]

Thanks to both of you who chimed in about PP in Chicago. I hear for produce HPP is pretty phenomenal and worth it regardless; I basically live on enormous amounts of both meat and vegetables, so I know I'll be checking it out first thing for sure.

[beepboopbeep]

Thanks to both of you who chimed in about PP in Chicago. I hear for produce HPP is pretty phenomenal and worth it regardless; I basically live on enormous amounts of both meat and vegetables, so I know I'll be checking it out first thing for sure.

If you have a produce-heavy diet HPP will be your best friend. Cheap and fresh. Good luck getting, like, cereal or chocolate chips or other normal grocery items there, though, unless you only buy the hella expensive organic versions of everything anyway.

The more grocery stores I go to outside of HP the less I hate treasure island, tbh.

[zhenders]

Thanks to both of you who chimed in about PP in Chicago. I hear for produce HPP is pretty phenomenal and worth it regardless; I basically live on enormous amounts of both meat and vegetables, so I know I'll be checking it out first thing for sure.

If you have a produce-heavy diet HPP will be your best friend. Cheap and fresh. Good luck getting, like, cereal or chocolate chips or other normal grocery items there, though, unless you only buy the hella expensive organic versions of everything anyway.

The more grocery stores I go to outside of HP the less I hate treasure island, tbh.

Word; I've heard just about everything there except for produce is expensive as hell. I really eat super-simply; it's just shit tons of veggies and shit tons of meat. The A.M. is eggs and bacon and greens. Plus eggs and bacon.

[Rahviveh]

Peapod is great for frozen and pantry foods... but they have low quality veggies, so if you are picky about your veggies like me you'll still want to go to Hyde Park Produce and pick those out. My roommate has also used instacart, and he seems to really like it.

And even though it's true that there's usually not a huge markup, when you add in the delivery fee and tip, it's probably 10-20% more depending on how much you order.

There's also apps like uber now where you can pay people to pick up your groceries.

I usually just use zipcar once a week and go to wf south loop. 10$ for an hour and you get all your groceries. Obviously won't be necessary once the new whole foods opens near regents. Hopefully it drives those other two shitholes out of business

[skers]

Thanks to both of you who chimed in about PP in Chicago. I hear for produce HPP is pretty phenomenal and worth it regardless; I basically live on enormous amounts of both meat and vegetables, so I know I'll be checking it out first thing for sure.

If you have a produce-heavy diet HPP will be your best friend. Cheap and fresh. Good luck getting, like, cereal or chocolate chips or other normal grocery items there, though, unless you only buy the hella expensive organic versions of everything anyway.

The more grocery stores I go to outside of HP the less I hate treasure island, tbh.

Word; I've heard just about everything there except for produce is expensive as hell. I really eat super-simply; it's just shit tons of veggies and shit tons of meat. The A.M. is eggs and bacon and greens. Plus eggs and bacon.

HPP is great for produce, especially since you can get stuff like fresh lemongrass which is super rad. Not a great place to get meat since it's really pricey.

[zhenders]

What is Elements like, and what is its' exam format? The website was cryptic at best. Thanks in advance!

[skers]

What is Elements like, and what is its' exam format? The website was cryptic at best. Thanks in advance!

Dude, don't even begin to worry/think about exams. It's summer. Go make bad life decisions.

[UnicornHunter]

Elements will differ a ton based on who your prof is too. Definitely not worth thinking about now, for what it's worth I enjoyed it.

[WheninLaw]

What is Elements like, and what is its' exam format? The website was cryptic at best. Thanks in advance!

I will tell you all about the exam and how to crush it. In November.

[KMart]

What is Elements like, and what is its' exam format? The website was cryptic at best. Thanks in advance!

I will tell you all about the exam and how to crush it. In November.

I'll take this advice. In November.

[WheninLaw]

What is Elements like, and what is its' exam format? The website was cryptic at best. Thanks in advance!

I will tell you all about the exam and how to crush it. In November.

I'll take this advice. In November.

You got it. FWIW, I ended up High Honors (mostly due to smart class choices, not intelligence), and I'm happy to share any advice/outlines/whatever with any 0Ls. Always feel free to PM me.

Edit: Emma is the smartest person here, so PM her for substantive questions