Northwestern 2L taking questions Forum

[StupidQuestions]

I thought of one more. How interested are the professors in getting to know students? I floated through undergrad without hardly any professors knowing who I was (which, I'm pretty sure, contributed to my relative lack of success there). Is NU the type of place where that's going to happen again, or is it pretty easy to become relatively close with professors you get along with?

[dru617]

because people are older, are they more likely to be married or in a committed relationship or otherwise boring?

your TLS screen name precedes you.

[StupidQuestions]

I chose it carefully.

[rayiner]

I thought of one more. How interested are the professors in getting to know students? I floated through undergrad without hardly any professors knowing who I was (which, I'm pretty sure, contributed to my relative lack of success there). Is NU the type of place where that's going to happen again, or is it pretty easy to become relatively close with professors you get along with?

Take the time to talk to them, they'll talk to you.

[StupidQuestions]

How's the relationship between JD students and AJD students? In my searches for Northwestern around TLS, I saw some troubling comments about friction between JD and AJD students, or JD students and the administration. Is that still a big deal over there?

[rayiner]

How's the relationship between JD students and AJD students? In my searches for Northwestern around TLS, I saw some troubling comments about friction between JD and AJD students, or JD students and the administration. Is that still a big deal over there?

Nope.

[sidgey]

For NU Class of 2013, any recommendations (positive or negative) on prof's?

Redish is great to have for Civ Pro, but the rumors are that he is a hard grader.

Tiller is great for contracts, and he admittedly tries to max out the higher grades as much as he can while still staying within the curve.

Redish is the worst.

[sidgey]

How's the relationship between JD students and AJD students? In my searches for Northwestern around TLS, I saw some troubling comments about friction between JD and AJD students, or JD students and the administration. Is that still a big deal over there?

Nope.

AJDs play with each other and JDs play with each other. We don't mix much. Different schedules.

[sidgey]

because people are older, are they more likely to be married or in a committed relationship or otherwise boring?

your TLS screen name precedes you.

3 marriages in my section are over due to 1L year. Two are over in another section because of 1L year. Not sure about the other sections, I haven't asked. So whereas they might be married at the start, they will not be by 2L year.

[sidgey]

I saw that they like to take people with work experience. Do you think going to graduate school for two years will count as my "work experience"? By the time I get into law school, I will have two extra years of schooling and maturing.

no. i have not met one person who had grad school instead of work experience

[sidgey]

Do you miss not having an undergrad campus close by, or do you view this as a bonus?

miss. not as much night life and the older the crowd the more boring everyone is.

[sidgey]

I have more! How collegial/competitive is it? I read that there's more of a focus on collaborative team projects, like a business school. Does this mean the typical law school exam-taking skill isn't 100% of your grades in some classes? Since NU allegedly puts more of a premium on LSAT and less on GPA, do you find that a lot of people are science or engineering majors? Another student population question: because people are older, are they more likely to be married or in a committed relationship or otherwise boring? What are the politics of the student body and/or faculty like? Do you feel like the school is overshadowed by University of Chicago in reputation, or that it has forged its own unique reputation and identity?

Let's get this thread going!

More collegial than competitive, but I had one infamous person in my section who was so competitive it made all of us sick. So I'd say 90% of your peers are collegial, but there are than 10% that will ask for all the outlines and E&Es you have to borrow, but won't share or lend in return. No one likes those people though, in my experience.

Exams are 100% your first semester, and then, with the exception of the 2 core classes you take 2nd semester, you can choose classes that have exams/projects/papers as your final grade. I hate exams and <3 papers so I always choose those classes.

A lot of people ARE science or engineering majors! I hadn't heard that before coming here but its true. You've got a good ear to the rumor mill there, SQ.

See my other post re: marriage. And yes they are likely to be more boring. BUT they are also likely to be more mature. I find myself enjoying the 27+ crowd FAR more than the 24-27 year olds. My section kinda separated into those groups (there were maybe 5-10 of us that were older than 27) and I really enjoyed hanging out with the older folks than the younger folks. There's a palpable difference in maturity.

Politics: very liberal in my classes more geared towards social change. In my business classes the profs have been very conservative.

Totally separate. I went to UNC UG and felt pretty overshadowed by Duke. But here there's none of that.

[let/them/eat/cake]

How many times a week did you guys go out?

Twice per week, sometimes thrice, but on days I had plans I'd be a good boy and work really hard before I clocked out. There is a great Mac app that helped me enormously: http://visitsteve.com/work/selfcontrol/

It's a timer-based website blocker, which blocks websites in a way even us software guys can't bypass.

if you use a proxy website it doesn't block it. damnit man. e.g., type the TLS domain name into the search bar https://kproxy.com/ while running the program, and u still get to TLS. ughhhhhhh.

[SPE]

I am coming straight from u-grad and don't know anyone. I am looking at signing a lease at either McClurg or Onterie. I prefer a more social building. I would appreciate any insight about either place.

[Sauer Grapes]

....

[sidgey]

For NU Class of 2013, any recommendations (positive or negative) on prof's?

Redish is great to have for Civ Pro, but the rumors are that he is a hard grader.

Tiller is great for contracts, and he admittedly tries to max out the higher grades as much as he can while still staying within the curve.

Redish is the worst.

Do expand on that. I know that most of my classmates thnk he is the worst of our profs, but really, that is saying he's like 4th pLace at the olympics.

I'm assuming you're an AJD?

[sidgey]

Couple of questions:

1) Is PILG defunct now? The website was last updated in 2007.
2) Are the concentrations (i.e. PI under Law and Social Policy) useless?
3) Are the classes with the big shots like Epstein and Calabresi difficult to get into?


I'll have more, just give me time.

I'll take this one, as a PI fanatic myself.
1. PILG isn't defunct but the student groups here have a rather lax way of running themselves. Wait which one is the student run one, PILG or PILI? Anyway there are like 98723984 public interest resources here and PI folks get their very own special career advisor, Cindy Wilson. There are about a million opportunities that you will constantly be reminded of for public interest classes, careers, volunteer opportunities and plain fun activities (my favorite is giving out brown bag lunches on Tuesday nights).

2. The concentrations are helpful in that they provide you with the core courses that you're going to find will be prerequisites if you want to take any of the higher courses in that concentration. They're unhelpful in that they are really just for putting on your resume, and I'm not sure anyone really cares. They're further unhelpful because you may have 10 or the 11 required courses, be TOTALLY uninterested in the 11th, but the only way to put the concentration on your resume is to take it. I don' like this because I'm choosing to take all classes I love, and I can't get the business concentration without taking entrepreneurship, even though I have all the other ones out of the way. Kind of annoying, but like I said, since its just for putting on your resume, not a huge deal.

3. No. Especially because its easy to get in a class you don't get through bidding by just going in and sitting down and putting your name on the roster.

[sidgey]

Thank you for answering. More questions:

1) Did you do PI work for 1L summer? If so, was it difficult to snag?
2) Does the Chicago Public Defender's Office have a hiring freeze on? I've heard both yes and no.
3) What sort of PI orgs can a 1L get involved with? Do you find it at all difficult to network in the public interest field?

Sorry if these questions seem ignorant; I'm a small town kid and know next to nothing about Chicago.

No questions about law school are ignorant. Its not like we all took classes on what law school was like growing up. No one knows anything about law school until they really get here. Don't listen to noobs.

1. I could have, but I chose a paying job instead. I did research for a professor, and summer school classes are free here so I'm taking a class too. I'm not in SPFIF, the group where you do 20 hours of work for them during the year and then they cover your PI job over the summer. I just really wanted to do 20 hours of actual volunteer work and didn't feel like I had the time for SPFIF. But it seems to have paid off well for all my peers, so I'd recommend you get involved in it, especially since hardly anyone gets paying jobs over the summer.

2. Whoa I haven't heard anything like that. You know I don't get that. I mean they're always saying PDs suck, they're uneducated, there's a shortage of them, but then you get to prestigious law schools and everyone's all, it's SO hard to get a job in the PD office, blah blah blah. So I really don't know. But you can easily get a job in other PD offices, I know people who worked in San Fran, ok well I guess she's the only one I know who worked as a PD but I also know someone from Brooklyn law who worked as a PD in... San Diego was it? Anyway if you come in KNOWING you want to work as a PD, you'll be able to do that over the summer, I guarantee it.

3. Its so easy to network here. If you come to the PI talks, you can speak with the speakers and say "hey is there anyway I can get involved with your project" if its something you're really interested in. EX: I'm SUPER into death penalty work and I've been able to successfully network with leading attys in the field through BLSA, the Clinic, and NU Human Rights Project.


Let me know if there's a specific field of PI you'd like to go into, or a couple you're interested in exploring, and I can direct you to some people who can tell you more about it.

sidgey

edit: Summary - its super easy to get PI work over the summer. That's really about all there is in this economy. Its super HARD to get paying PI work over the summer. If you want something like that, do SPFIF, get a grant, and then do whatever unpaid PI job you want.

[Sauer Grapes]

....

[sidgey]

Redish is the worst.

Do expand on that. I know that most of my classmates thnk he is the worst of our profs, but really, that is saying he's like 4th pLace at the olympics.

I'm assuming you're an AJD?

Possibly... So, what is the basis of your opinion on Redish?

I had him. All the AJDs suffer from Redishworship. But he's a love-hate professor, and you know, as far as I can see, everyone who adores him has wound up in the top of the class (as in, my 1L class). So I can't dis the smarties!

[sidgey]

Thanks again for answering the question. I'm interested in public defense and criminal justice reform as of right now. Granted, that may change during lawl school, but these are what I'm looking into.

Keep yourself open. After taking crim and other courses 1st semester you might find that you heart contracts or constitutional law. Like I said you don't really know what the disciplines are all about until you get here.

I came out of a career KNOWING exactly why I want to go to law school and what I want to do with my degree, but I watch others who *think* they know box themselves in early. Explore... take classes across the board and see what really gets you going. And don't listen to ANYONE (because believe me everyone will tell you this) who says everyone who comes here into PI leaves working at a big firm. You can work at a big firm and still be into PI and volunteering. You can work in PI and make lots of money and you can work in PI and make no money. Its just like any other career. Take your time exploring, and don't hesitate to ask me for advice on classes or groups to get involved in.

[Sauer Grapes]

....

[hmlee]

Thank you for answering. More questions:

1) Did you do PI work for 1L summer? If so, was it difficult to snag?
2) Does the Chicago Public Defender's Office have a hiring freeze on? I've heard both yes and no.
3) What sort of PI orgs can a 1L get involved with? Do you find it at all difficult to network in the public interest field?

Sorry if these questions seem ignorant; I'm a small town kid and know next to nothing about Chicago.

No questions about law school are ignorant. Its not like we all took classes on what law school was like growing up. No one knows anything about law school until they really get here. Don't listen to noobs.

1. I could have, but I chose a paying job instead. I did research for a professor, and summer school classes are free here so I'm taking a class too. I'm not in SPFIF, the group where you do 20 hours of work for them during the year and then they cover your PI job over the summer. I just really wanted to do 20 hours of actual volunteer work and didn't feel like I had the time for SPFIF. But it seems to have paid off well for all my peers, so I'd recommend you get involved in it, especially since hardly anyone gets paying jobs over the summer.

2. Whoa I haven't heard anything like that. You know I don't get that. I mean they're always saying PDs suck, they're uneducated, there's a shortage of them, but then you get to prestigious law schools and everyone's all, it's SO hard to get a job in the PD office, blah blah blah. So I really don't know. But you can easily get a job in other PD offices, I know people who worked in San Fran, ok well I guess she's the only one I know who worked as a PD but I also know someone from Brooklyn law who worked as a PD in... San Diego was it? Anyway if you come in KNOWING you want to work as a PD, you'll be able to do that over the summer, I guarantee it.

3. Its so easy to network here. If you come to the PI talks, you can speak with the speakers and say "hey is there anyway I can get involved with your project" if its something you're really interested in. EX: I'm SUPER into death penalty work and I've been able to successfully network with leading attys in the field through BLSA, the Clinic, and NU Human Rights Project.


Let me know if there's a specific field of PI you'd like to go into, or a couple you're interested in exploring, and I can direct you to some people who can tell you more about it.

sidgey

edit: Summary - its super easy to get PI work over the summer. That's really about all there is in this economy. Its super HARD to get paying PI work over the summer. If you want something like that, do SPFIF, get a grant, and then do whatever unpaid PI job you want.

You should totally get involved in SFPIF. (Says the SFPIF board member who needs 1L help in a fw weeks...)

[LL201]

I'd just like to congratulate myself for all my hard work after starting this thread

[sidgey]

I'd like to welcome everyone to the listserv!

And Corsair, I'm a CHICK not a DUDE. Sheesh.