UNC Law student(s) taking questions Forum

[YouDontKnowMe]

My turn to ask a question. What does HTH mean? Have I been kept out of the loop?

[DeeCee]

My turn to ask a question. What does HTH mean? Have I been kept out of the loop?

HTH = Hope that helps.

Also, it is sometimes it is used sarcastically, although I don't ever use it that way so my apologies if anyone thought I was being rude.

[diegoforlan10]

I've been "Application Complete" since 1/10...should I be worried? Is anyone else in the same boat as me or could I possibly have been overlooked?

Also, anyone know if UNC is SO diverse-friendly that they'd give a boost to a non-URM hispanic?

edited to sound less neurotic. I swear I'm not F5ing the status checker all day...

[Dabearsss]

I've been "Application Complete" since 1/10...should I be worried? Is anyone else in the same boat as me or could I possibly have been overlooked?

Also, anyone know if UNC is SO diverse-friendly that they'd give a boost to a non-URM hispanic?

edited to sound less neurotic. I swear I'm not F5ing the status checker all day...

Don't be worried about your 1/10 application complete date...there's a long, long, looooong list of us complete since December and even November. You're not overlooked...you're just playing the waiting game like the rest of us. Sorry, can't answer your other question as I simply don't know UNC's tendencies toward non-URM hispanics. Good luck to ya though!

[Tyson22]

I've been "Application Complete" since 1/10...should I be worried? Is anyone else in the same boat as me or could I possibly have been overlooked?

Also, anyone know if UNC is SO diverse-friendly that they'd give a boost to a non-URM hispanic?

edited to sound less neurotic. I swear I'm not F5ing the status checker all day...

Don't be worried about your 1/10 application complete date...there's a long, long, looooong list of us complete since December and even November. You're not overlooked...you're just playing the waiting game like the rest of us. Sorry, can't answer your other question as I simply don't know UNC's tendencies toward non-URM hispanics. Good luck to ya though!

I have been complete since October so I wouldn't worry about it. Although, to be honest, I am having trouble taking my own advice!

[diegoforlan10]

I've been "Application Complete" since 1/10...should I be worried? Is anyone else in the same boat as me or could I possibly have been overlooked?

Also, anyone know if UNC is SO diverse-friendly that they'd give a boost to a non-URM hispanic?

edited to sound less neurotic. I swear I'm not F5ing the status checker all day...

Don't be worried about your 1/10 application complete date...there's a long, long, looooong list of us complete since December and even November. You're not overlooked...you're just playing the waiting game like the rest of us. Sorry, can't answer your other question as I simply don't know UNC's tendencies toward non-URM hispanics. Good luck to ya though!

I have been complete since October so I wouldn't worry about it. Although, to be honest, I am having trouble taking my own advice!

Damn! I won't complain again then. I can't believe Carolina is taking so long. I know I applied relatively late in the cycle but I've heard back from most schools already. What could possibly be taking them so long? Huge number of applicants?

[Tyson22]

I have heard back from everywhere else so I am just waiting on UNC. I guess that they know they can basically wait until the application cycle is over before they give out the majority of their acceptances and that students will still come. I am planning on going to another school's accepted students day, but hopefully I'll hear back from UNC prior to then. My fear is that I will be waitlisted and not get a "real" decision until the summer.

[skw]

Carolina always has significant numbers of admits in mid-March. I don't think you should necessarily worry that you've been overlooked. If you're concerned, you can put in a call to Dean States just to make sure and show your interest level is still high. Good luck to all of you -- hope to see you in the Fall.

[YouDontKnowMe]

I've gotten a question about housing and I know more people will be looking for the same information later, so I'm going to go ahead and put some of my thoughts about it right now.

Some places where a lot of law students live

Meadowmont
Very nice, has a pool, 24-hour fitness center, and 24-hour business center (with free printing, which is great near the end of the semester when you're printing off multiple versions of 50-page outlines). Within walking distance of a Harris Teeter. However, very expensive, especially if you get a one-bedroom (think $1200/month). Has a bus stop right next to it, but that stop is only reached by the V-route, which only comes about every 40 minutes to an hour. If you're in a hurry to get home from the law school, you might have to catch one of the other bus routes to the Friday Center and then run across 54, which doesn't have a crosswalk unless you want to go 10 minutes out of your way to walk through the tunnel. Overall a good place but only if you have deep pockets.

Alta Springs
A lot like Meadowmont, but the fitness center and business center aren't 24-hour, and it's also not particularly convenient to any bus routes. A lot of people who live there drive to the Friday Center and catch a bus. It's a short drive, but walking it is just long enough to get annoying when you have to do it every day. Also, I don't live there so I might be wrong, but I visited it twice while looking for housing and my impression was that it seemed a bit fratty/Jersey Shore. Meadowmont has a lot of old people in it whereas Alta Springs is a lot more student-oriented, so if you're easily annoyed by thumping stereos, you might want to look somewhere else.

Finley Forest
A neighborhood of condominiums which are closer to the Friday Center and a lot cheaper than the other two. It has a pool and tennis courts. However, since all the condos are owned by individuals, there's no single Finley Forest website that you can go to to look at prices. You can find them on Craiglist and on chapelhillrent.com (go over to the left and click "advanced search" and type Finley Forest in the keywords box). They're also different levels of well-kept-ness, so you'll probably want to visit a few. If you live in the north part of the neighborhood, you'll be close to the Friday Center. If you live in the south part, you'll be close to the 54 Park & Ride. The S-route goes to that lot about every 15 minutes. It'll be a slightly long ride in the mornings (30 minutes, maybe?) because it goes around to the med school and hospital first, but it goes straight from the law school to the 54 P&R in the afternoons.

A lot of people also live in the Carborro direction, but I don't know that area very well so someone else will have to step in. Wherever you're looking, though, you should make sure there's at least one bus route that goes between somewhere near the law school and somewhere near where you live. I know several people who have to walk a long way to get to a bus stop and then transfer buses to get where they need to go, and when you spend an hour getting to school and an hour getting back home every day, it gets very old very quickly.

[solotee]

Thanks for taking questions! Can you guys talk about what you know regarding 1L summer associate positions? I know UNC does really well placing 1Ls in public defenders' offices, but what about the private practice paid summer positions? Does Career Services help? Or is it mainly done through personal connections?

Thanks in advance!

2L UNC student here. Career services played an important role in helping me land my 1L paid SA position at a NC firm. Among the things they helped me with, they set up a mock interview for me with a real big law firm partner (which later turned into a real interview). That interview helped me get my feet wet so that I was prepared when it came to the real deal.

In all I had about 8 1L OCI interviews, two call-backs and 1 offer with a market paying firm. Not a minority, no relevant work experience, straight out of undergrad. What helped me was a high gpa (3.9), and strong ties to NC.

Btw, one of the call-backs was for an out of state firm for which I had no ties to.

My suggestion would be to try your best fall semester in terms of grades. If you have ties to NC, you should be competitive for a 1L SA position. I have friends who worked paid 1L SA gigs from OCI as well, and I know others who applied independently on Dec. 1st, and received their 1L summer associate positions that way (I was too focused on grades to be applying independently before exams).

Good luck.

[dextermorgan]

Thanks for taking questions! Can you guys talk about what you know regarding 1L summer associate positions? I know UNC does really well placing 1Ls in public defenders' offices, but what about the private practice paid summer positions? Does Career Services help? Or is it mainly done through personal connections?

Thanks in advance!

2L UNC student here. Career services played an important role in helping me land my 1L paid SA position at a NC firm. Among the things they helped me with, they set up a mock interview for me with a real big law firm partner (which later turned into a real interview). That interview helped me get my feet wet so that I was prepared when it came to the real deal.

In all I had about 8 1L OCI interviews, two call-backs and 1 offer with a market paying firm. Not a minority, no relevant work experience, straight out of undergrad. What helped me was a high gpa (3.9), and strong ties to NC.

Btw, one of the call-backs was for an out of state firm for which I had no ties to.

My suggestion would be to try your best fall semester in terms of grades. If you have ties to NC, you should be competitive for a 1L SA position. I have friends who worked paid 1L SA gigs from OCI as well, and I know others who applied independently on Dec. 1st, and received their 1L summer associate positions that way (I was too focused on grades to be applying independently before exams).

Good luck.

This is really reassuring. Obviously you are near to top of the class. Do you have any idea about where those other students with 1L positions fall in the class?

[adelefan]

and I know others who applied independently on Dec. 1st, and received their 1L summer associate positions that way (I was too focused on grades to be applying independently before exams).

Good luck.


This is really reassuring. Obviously you are near to top of the class. Do you have any idea about where those other students with 1L positions fall in the class?

Thanks for the job info! (Also, thanks to the other students helping out in this forum.) Obviously you had a very successful first semester. Have any tips you could give on certain study strategies or any mistakes that you wish you could have avoided? I think some other students in this forum talked about how you have to personalize your style of studying, so I am aiming more at the issue regarding what generally worked for you. How did you discover this method of studying? In other words, how do you find out what works for you, or is it just being lucky enough to figure out how to study/review/outline on your first shot?

(I hope my question makes sense.)

[solotee]

Thanks for taking questions! Can you guys talk about what you know regarding 1L summer associate positions? I know UNC does really well placing 1Ls in public defenders' offices, but what about the private practice paid summer positions? Does Career Services help? Or is it mainly done through personal connections?

Thanks in advance!

2L UNC student here. Career services played an important role in helping me land my 1L paid SA position at a NC firm. Among the things they helped me with, they set up a mock interview for me with a real big law firm partner (which later turned into a real interview). That interview helped me get my feet wet so that I was prepared when it came to the real deal.

In all I had about 8 1L OCI interviews, two call-backs and 1 offer with a market paying firm. Not a minority, no relevant work experience, straight out of undergrad. What helped me was a high gpa (3.9), and strong ties to NC.

Btw, one of the call-backs was for an out of state firm for which I had no ties to.

My suggestion would be to try your best fall semester in terms of grades. If you have ties to NC, you should be competitive for a 1L SA position. I have friends who worked paid 1L SA gigs from OCI as well, and I know others who applied independently on Dec. 1st, and received their 1L summer associate positions that way (I was too focused on grades to be applying independently before exams).

Good luck.

This is really reassuring. Obviously you are near to top of the class. Do you have any idea about where those other students with 1L positions fall in the class?

One of the students that received a 1L SA gig received a below median grade in one of his classes, though he excelled in the rest of his classes. He still managed to snag a paying job. But he probably had other things going for him. So it's not impossible to get a paid gig without top 10% grades.

[solotee]

and I know others who applied independently on Dec. 1st, and received their 1L summer associate positions that way (I was too focused on grades to be applying independently before exams).

Good luck.


This is really reassuring. Obviously you are near to top of the class. Do you have any idea about where those other students with 1L positions fall in the class?

Thanks for the job info! (Also, thanks to the other students helping out in this forum.) Obviously you had a very successful first semester. Have any tips you could give on certain study strategies or any mistakes that you wish you could have avoided? I think some other students in this forum talked about how you have to personalize your style of studying, so I am aiming more at the issue regarding what generally worked for you. How did you discover this method of studying? In other words, how do you find out what works for you, or is it just being lucky enough to figure out how to study/review/outline on your first shot?

(I hope my question makes sense.)

My only advice is to try to figure out how to take a law school exam as soon as possible (think by mid-October). I focused less on reading and focused more on application. My first practice exam was a mess (think C material). But with each practice exam, I got better and better until it came down to the real deal.

Lastly, when it comes to the last month of the semester, the sooner you can switch from outlining to application (practicing hypo's), the better. Many people outline up until exams without actually trying to solve a hypo. Come exam time, they scramble to answer the big obvious issues while the prepared students are racking up points answering the many nuanced issues that everyone else is missing.

Everything you need to learn on how to take a law school exam is on TLS. Read it over and over.

[NCSU>UNC]

38th, awesome.

[YouDontKnowMe]

This is probably a copyright infringement, but I figure I won't be sued because the administrators would want you guys to hear this (and also because I'm a penniless law student):

"Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Friends of Carolina Law,

Early this morning, March 13, 2012, US News & World Report released its 2013 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools," containing its annual ranking of law schools. The reported ranking for UNC School of Law will be 38th, down from 30th last year, a surprise and a disappointment to us.

In many measures weighed by US News, Carolina Law remains among the top 20 or 25 schools nationally. Our reputational ranking continues to be very strong: 19th nationwide among lawyers and judges and 20th among law faculty and administrators. Our overall selectivity among applicants is 11th in the nation according to US News. Indeed, in the fall of 2011, we enrolled the strongest class in our history measured by median LSAT scores, thanks to talented applicants and very strong admissions efforts. Our North Carolina bar passage rate in the summer of 2011 was also strong at 92.8%, placing us 25th among the top 50 law schools. Our student/faculty ratio has also improved slightly (although we anticipate that the biggest impact of our six-year hiring campaign will be felt in 2013, when our full-time faculty will have risen to 62 or 63, up 20 from 43 in 2006).

With these strong performances, what explains the shift in our rankings? A close look points toward two principal factors: law school resources and employment figures. The US News methodology expressly awards 15% of its weight to a combination of "expenditures per student," "library resources," and "student/faculty ratio." In each of these categories, law schools with low tuitions and declining state support, such as Carolina Law, fall dramatically behind schools where tuitions and fees have soared into the $30,000 to $40,000 range and beyond, yielding more "expenditures per student." Yet we are troubled by the reported declines in our employment success. The percentage of our May graduates employed at graduation fell from 65.2% last year, for the Class of 2009 to 51.9% this year, for the Class of 2010 (the US News measures are always two years behind the present). Measured nine months later, the percentages of Carolina Law graduates dropped from 90.7% employed among the Class of 2009 to 84.9% among the Class of 2010. These figures reflect, in large part, the well-documented national downturn in legal employment nationwide. Yet we know that each number also represents a talented person, a fine potential lawyer, and a treasured Carolina Law alumnus who is ready for, and deserves a meaningful legal job.

We disagree with the US News methodology, we should add, which treats graduates who are seeking further graduate education, and those who declare they are not currently seeking employment, as unemployed. If we look only at the fraction of the class of 2010 that was seeking work but unemployed, after nine months, they constitute only 5.02% of the 2010 graduating class, leaving 94.8% either employed, in graduate school, not seeking work, or whose employment status was unknown. Even if we add all of those graduates whose employment status was unknown (9 in all) to the ranks of the unemployed, 91.6% of the May 2010 class was either employed, in graduate school, or not seeking work. Yet the US News's different measure, we realize, was applied to all schools evenhandedly, and our steadfast objective, in good times and bad, is to find meaningful employment for 100% of our graduates. Toward that end, Carolina Law and its resourceful Career Services Office will redouble its vigilance in assisting all law students and graduates with summer jobs and permanent employment. We will also turn to our alumni to help, as they are able, in this difficult legal employment climate.

We did not need US News to remind us that we have still farther to travel to become the very finest truly public law school in the nation. Yet that remains our goal. We will work every day to keep Carolina Law affordable and our students’ graduation debt low; we will build upon our continued success in attracting brilliant students to Chapel Hill; and we will enlarge and strengthen our already splendid faculty. We'll expand our curriculum reform to make students more ready for practice, and we will prepare students for success on the bar. Finally, we will help every single graduate find meaningful, permanent, long-term employment. That is our mission. We'll be about it today and every single day in the future."

- Dean Boger

[skw]

To the question on how to find a study style that works for you, here's what I did and what I recommend:

Read all the threads on TLS about how to succeed in law school -- read them again -- think about what is consistent with these suggestions that has worked for you in the past. Start there. Take LEEWS (buy a used copy) before school starts. You will not have time to do the course once 1L begins. Skim Getting to Maybe. It helps with mindset in approaching law school in general and exams. Practice exams. Practice exams. Practice exams. CRITICAL to success. Do as many as possible. WRITE OUT answers to E&Es and other supplements along the way. Begin WRITING OUT TIMED answers to PTs at least a month out (if not more).

The worst advice I got (which I ignored, thank goodness) was not to start outlining until Fall Break. This is horrible advice. You should be outlining all along, starting at the very beginning. Review and organize your outline. Tab it and make a table of contents. Then, know it cold and only use it as a back-up. (Plus, each semester I've had one closed-book exam -- to me it didn't matter much since I believe you must know the material by heart to do well, but many students freaked out at the prospect of not having an outline during the exam).

[DeeCee]

The worst advice I got (which I ignored, thank goodness) was not to start outlining until Fall Break. This is horrible advice. You should be outlining all along, starting at the very beginning. Review and organize your outline. Tab it and make a table of contents. Then, know it cold and only use it as a back-up. (Plus, each semester I've had one closed-book exam -- to me it didn't matter much since I believe you must know the material by heart to do well, but many students freaked out at the prospect of not having an outline during the exam).

I did not ignore this advice, and it was to my extreme detriment. Do not wait until Fall Break! My grades suffered tremendously as a result. I began outlining and using supplements from day one this semester because waiting to understand the material until six weeks prior to exams heavily impacted my grades.

That said, do the best you can. If your first semester grades are low, from my personal experience, there is still a chance you can obtain a paid 1L gig. However, do not be fooled as 1L paid opportunities are slim without top grades.

[UNClaw2015]

My turn to ask a question. What does HTH mean? Have I been kept out of the loop?

HTH = Hope that helps.

Also, it is sometimes it is used sarcastically, although I don't ever use it that way so my apologies if anyone thought I was being rude.

This may seem like amuch more trvial question, but I have been trying to find a cute UNC LAW sweatshirt and I have been unable to find one. . . any suggestions? I checked all the stores on Franklin Street and the Student Center I also looked online. The only one I found was a non-hooded sweatshirt that was gray and had black block lettering (boring).

[UNClaw2015]

Hi guys,

I'm a 1L and an old TLS veteran from the admissions process days, and having this forum helped me out a lot with the morale and generally just knowing what's going on, so I thought I'd pay it forward. PLUS I've been told that it'll help prospective students' image of the school if there's someone around who knows a little bit about what it's like to go here and is willing to take questions. And I want to do whatever I can to make you love UNC the way I love it.

SO SHOOT. But please be patient if I take a little while to respond. And I'll try to get some other students on here to help me along.

EDIT: also note that the creepy man in the picture is not me.

Can you explain the bus system in chapel hill to me, I know it is free and I did the route planer thing, but I am going to be living in the park on ephesus church road, and from what I heard at the weekend event I went to, the bus system can take much longer than the route planner says, is this true?

Have you ever taken the bus system, what is it like, is there anything I need to know about it?

[skw]

My turn to ask a question. What does HTH mean? Have I been kept out of the loop?

HTH = Hope that helps.

Also, it is sometimes it is used sarcastically, although I don't ever use it that way so my apologies if anyone thought I was being rude.

This may seem like amuch more trvial question, but I have been trying to find a cute UNC LAW sweatshirt and I have been unable to find one. . . any suggestions? I checked all the stores on Franklin Street and the Student Center I also looked online. The only one I found was a non-hooded sweatshirt that was gray and had black block lettering (boring).

If you want UNC Law garb, the best option is to wait until you're here and walk through the Rotunda at lunchtime. Assorted law student groups sell UNC Law gear. Other than that, I've not seen any around. There may be someone peddling UNC Law clothing during ASD (I think that's coming up...)

[DoctorSpanky]

Can you explain the bus system in chapel hill to me, I know it is free and I did the route planer thing, but I am going to be living in the park on ephesus church road, and from what I heard at the weekend event I went to, the bus system can take much longer than the route planner says, is this true?

Have you ever taken the bus system, what is it like, is there anything I need to know about it?

I went to UNC for undergrad and rode the buses nearly every day. (Except for the spring and fall days, when the long walk is a better choice because the town is so damn beautiful.) The buses are clean, free, and relatively punctual. If you are on one of the main bus lines, they can get super crowded and sometimes pass you by because they are full. If you are in a more obscure area, the bus may come once every 40 minutes or so. You will adjust to this quickly and schedule your commute around it. Having to shift your morning schedule by twenty minutes or so to make sure you catch a bus is a very small price to pay for reliable, free transportation all over town.

[YouDontKnowMe]

Can you explain the bus system in chapel hill to me, I know it is free and I did the route planer thing, but I am going to be living in the park on ephesus church road, and from what I heard at the weekend event I went to, the bus system can take much longer than the route planner says, is this true?

Have you ever taken the bus system, what is it like, is there anything I need to know about it?

I went to UNC for undergrad and rode the buses nearly every day. (Except for the spring and fall days, when the long walk is a better choice because the town is so damn beautiful.) The buses are clean, free, and relatively punctual. If you are on one of the main bus lines, they can get super crowded and sometimes pass you by because they are full. If you are in a more obscure area, the bus may come once every 40 minutes or so. You will adjust to this quickly and schedule your commute around it. Having to shift your morning schedule by twenty minutes or so to make sure you catch a bus is a very small price to pay for reliable, free transportation all over town.

Although the bus to my apartment stops on weekdays after 7:00 and on the weekends, which seemed like a pain the ass for a while (because I was used to the buses running almost 24-7 in undergrad, although granted there wasn't as much ground to cover), but then I got used to it.

[UNClaw2015]

I've gotten a question about housing and I know more people will be looking for the same information later, so I'm going to go ahead and put some of my thoughts about it right now.

Some places where a lot of law students live

Meadowmont
Very nice, has a pool, 24-hour fitness center, and 24-hour business center (with free printing, which is great near the end of the semester when you're printing off multiple versions of 50-page outlines). Within walking distance of a Harris Teeter. However, very expensive, especially if you get a one-bedroom (think $1200/month). Has a bus stop right next to it, but that stop is only reached by the V-route, which only comes about every 40 minutes to an hour. If you're in a hurry to get home from the law school, you might have to catch one of the other bus routes to the Friday Center and then run across 54, which doesn't have a crosswalk unless you want to go 10 minutes out of your way to walk through the tunnel. Overall a good place but only if you have deep pockets.

Alta Springs
A lot like Meadowmont, but the fitness center and business center aren't 24-hour, and it's also not particularly convenient to any bus routes. A lot of people who live there drive to the Friday Center and catch a bus. It's a short drive, but walking it is just long enough to get annoying when you have to do it every day. Also, I don't live there so I might be wrong, but I visited it twice while looking for housing and my impression was that it seemed a bit fratty/Jersey Shore. Meadowmont has a lot of old people in it whereas Alta Springs is a lot more student-oriented, so if you're easily annoyed by thumping stereos, you might want to look somewhere else.

Finley Forest
A neighborhood of condominiums which are closer to the Friday Center and a lot cheaper than the other two. It has a pool and tennis courts. However, since all the condos are owned by individuals, there's no single Finley Forest website that you can go to to look at prices. You can find them on Craiglist and on chapelhillrent.com (go over to the left and click "advanced search" and type Finley Forest in the keywords box). They're also different levels of well-kept-ness, so you'll probably want to visit a few. If you live in the north part of the neighborhood, you'll be close to the Friday Center. If you live in the south part, you'll be close to the 54 Park & Ride. The S-route goes to that lot about every 15 minutes. It'll be a slightly long ride in the mornings (30 minutes, maybe?) because it goes around to the med school and hospital first, but it goes straight from the law school to the 54 P&R in the afternoons.

A lot of people also live in the Carborro direction, but I don't know that area very well so someone else will have to step in. Wherever you're looking, though, you should make sure there's at least one bus route that goes between somewhere near the law school and somewhere near where you live. I know several people who have to walk a long way to get to a bus stop and then transfer buses to get where they need to go, and when you spend an hour getting to school and an hour getting back home every day, it gets very old very quickly.

You may not know anything about this place, and apparently it changed management a few months ago and they redid the units. But we are thinking about staying at the Park it is on Ephesus Church road. I attached the link as I do not know what it used to be called. http://www.theparkatchapelhill.com/ But I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it or the area. It seems like a nice area, but I really do not know much aout Chapel hill.

[UNClaw2015]

Also what classes does everyone take their 1 l year, when should we get our schedule and how will we know what books we need and where do you suggest we purchase them from?