University of Florida 1L taking questions Forum

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Gator_Law

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University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Gator_Law » Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:53 pm

I haven't seen anyone taking questions about UF law so I'd be happy to answer them. I should be able to help with anything about the school, housing, Gainesville in general, and more.

jms1987

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by jms1987 » Tue Nov 06, 2012 3:34 pm

Is it possible to enroll in the JD and tax LLM at the same time?

Gator_Law

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Gator_Law » Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:28 pm

jms1987 wrote:Is it possible to enroll in the JD and tax LLM at the same time?
You have to had already earned a JD before enrolling in the LLM program(s).

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by jms1987 » Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:24 pm

Gator_Law wrote:
jms1987 wrote:Is it possible to enroll in the JD and tax LLM at the same time?
You have to had already earned a JD before enrolling in the LLM program(s).
Ah, ok thanks.

grantev

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by grantev » Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:57 am

What would you say the ratio of out-of-state students is? I can't seem to find much info on that. UF is one of my top picks because I have family in Florida and can see myself living there long-term. I just graduated from Michigan with a 3.6 GPA (architecture major, kind of unique for LS) and a 161 LSAT. What do you think my chances are?

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rcrdriv

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by rcrdriv » Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:10 am

grantev wrote:What would you say the ratio of out-of-state students is? I can't seem to find much info on that. UF is one of my top picks because I have family in Florida and can see myself living there long-term. I just graduated from Michigan with a 3.6 GPA (architecture major, kind of unique for LS) and a 161 LSAT. What do you think my chances are?
I'll chime in here, I don't know any actually have any hard info to back this up, but from talking to students and faculty it's around 50% UF UG, then 30% from around FL, and then the remainder out of state. Probably less to be honest.

162 and 3.6 is about UFs median, so you've got a shot.

rad lulz

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by rad lulz » Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:49 am

grantev wrote:What would you say the ratio of out-of-state students is? I can't seem to find much info on that. UF is one of my top picks because I have family in Florida and can see myself living there long-term. I just graduated from Michigan with a 3.6 GPA (architecture major, kind of unique for LS) and a 161 LSAT. What do you think my chances are?
Nah you're not unique. You're just like every other dood with a worthless UG degree.

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DougieFresh

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by DougieFresh » Wed Nov 14, 2012 4:44 pm

What are your impressions of Gainesville in general? Im talking outside the law school - social activities, quality of life, cost of rent, things to do?

How many out of staters are able to qualify for in-state tuition for 2L and 3L?

What is the job outlook for recent grads? I have seen the numbers on Transparency Report, and UF does pretty well in placing for jobs requiring a JD. Could you talk a little bit about that?

Would it be fair to call a JD from UF a good value in comparison to other schools?

jms1987

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by jms1987 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:02 pm

grantev wrote:What would you say the ratio of out-of-state students is? I can't seem to find much info on that. UF is one of my top picks because I have family in Florida and can see myself living there long-term. I just graduated from Michigan with a 3.6 GPA (architecture major, kind of unique for LS) and a 161 LSAT. What do you think my chances are?

I asked about this when UF was at my university's law school fair, and she (asst. admissions dean) said around 10% are OOS.
Last edited by jms1987 on Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Gator_Law

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Gator_Law » Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:57 pm

grantev wrote:What would you say the ratio of out-of-state students is? I can't seem to find much info on that. UF is one of my top picks because I have family in Florida and can see myself living there long-term. I just graduated from Michigan with a 3.6 GPA (architecture major, kind of unique for LS) and a 161 LSAT. What do you think my chances are?
About half of the people in my section went to UF for undergrad. There are also a lot of people from UCF, FSU, Miami, USF, and just about every other state school. There are a lot of people from all sorts of out-of-state schools, but most of them either lived in or have family in Florida.

I do know 3 people who went to Michigan for undergrad. I've also met people who went to Michigan State and Central Michigan, so there are a decent amount of people from Michigan here in general.

I think you have a pretty good shot at getting in. Good luck!

Awkward

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Awkward » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:11 pm

how many letters of recommendation did you send in?
would I be foolish to send in none?

dabbadon8

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by dabbadon8 » Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:15 pm

What is you opinion of Balls? Personally I love Balls but it's not everyone's thing.

florida1949

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by florida1949 » Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:53 am

DougieFresh wrote:What are your impressions of Gainesville in general? Im talking outside the law school - social activities, quality of life, cost of rent, things to do?
I just finished undergrad at UF.

Gainesville is very much a college town. Midtown is a pretty fun bar area albeit it's very fratty and mostly a younger crowd. Downtown is a little older and decently nice.

Cost of living is dirt cheap, you can easily find two bedroom apartments for $500/month. I live in a (IMO) very nice 3/4 apartment for $333 + utilities.

Also, gamedays are awesome at UF and definitely something to be experienced.
dabbadon8 wrote:What is you opinion of Balls? Personally I love Balls but it's not everyone's thing.
haha Balls is awesome, gotta be wasted to enjoy it, but that's easy when doubles are $2

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Gator_Law

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Gator_Law » Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:45 pm

Awkward wrote:how many letters of recommendation did you send in?
would I be foolish to send in none?
I only had one, though very solid, letter of rec with my application.

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Awkward » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:12 am

Hmm not what I wanted to hear but thanks.

In terms of the academic admission statement did you send in a statement specifically tailored to UF requirements or a general personal statement?

sorry for asking seemingly ridiculous questions but UF is a top choice. I want to be accepted with (hopefully) some scholarship $

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PickMe!

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by PickMe! » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:38 am

Ummm ... okay. I'll ask. Is there some sort of hurricane preparedness plan? If so, how does a possible evacuation factor into your studies, grades, and so forth?

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iShotFirst

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by iShotFirst » Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:28 am

You hardly need to worry about hurricanes in Gainesville, come on. Its far inland, heavy rain is about the most your gonna get.

Gator_Law

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Re: University of Florida 1L taking questions

Post by Gator_Law » Sun Nov 18, 2012 12:00 pm

florida1949 wrote:
DougieFresh wrote:What are your impressions of Gainesville in general? I'm talking outside the law school - social activities, quality of life, cost of rent, things to do?
Gainesville is definitely a true college town in every sense of the word. Everything in this city is tailored to the college and students like to joke about the people who live here but are in no way affiliated with the school. We call them "ACR's (Alachua County Residents).

If you like to drink (which, even if you don't, you will learn to quickly) there are an array of different bars around the city. Some people prefer the really packed, crappy bars in midtown. Personally, I'm not a big fan of these places but I've never been a "club" kind of guy. I prefer to go to smaller, less crowded/noisy places with good beer. Everybody seems to have found which places they prefer and which places to stay away from. Drinking at Wilbert's, the law school supplies + convenience store 10 feet from the college, is also an after class (or before) tradition. There are also a loooot of law school events at various bars around the city.

There are also a lot of outdoor activities, intramural sports, law school fitness clubs (yoga, running, biking, etc).

For me, the biggest non-school related activity is football/basketball season. I went to an UG with awful sports, and have always been a fan, so coming to a huge SEC school was a plus for me. I went to the first 5 home football games and had a blast at each of them.

For football games, you can register your tickets with the law school and each game you will be placed in the "law block". The law block is a big section in which all of the law students sit so you don't have to find people you know in your particular section of the stadium. The block also moves around every game, so you get a chance for some great seats occasionally. I felt this made the games much more enjoyable because I knew most of the people around me.

The cost of living in Gainesville is about as cheap as it gets. I currently have my own 2/1 and am paying ~$600 per month (not including cable/internet and electric) a little less than a mile from the school. There are tons of comparable apartments around the city, and some of the cheaper ones are really close to the school. The most I have ever heard of someone paying was $1200 / month for a really nice place that is ~1400 sq ft. You can also choose to live in one of the many houses surrounding the law school, which can cut your rent as low as $300 / month. For me, it was all about finding the biggest place for the cheapest, and I couldn't be happier with my apartment. It's definitely old but it's perfect for what I needed. I could always cut my rent in half by getting a roommate, though I like having an office/bedroom combo.

There really is no comparison between Florida law schools when it comes to cost of living. Gainesville is far cheaper than Tallahassee (FSU), Miami, Stetson (St. Pete), Barry (Orlando), Nova (Ft. Lauderdale), St. Thomas (Miami) and any others that I'm forgetting.
PickMe! wrote:Ummm ... okay. I'll ask. Is there some sort of hurricane preparedness plan? If so, how does a possible evacuation factor into your studies, grades, and so forth?
I've never really thought about nor looked into it haha. I've lived in Florida for a long time and only been through one bad hurricane so it isn't really a factor. Plus, Gainesville will never take a direct strike from a hurricane and it's much further inland than were I used to live.
Awkward wrote:Hmm not what I wanted to hear but thanks.

In terms of the academic admission statement did you send in a statement specifically tailored to UF requirements or a general personal statement?

sorry for asking seemingly ridiculous questions but UF is a top choice. I want to be accepted with (hopefully) some scholarship $
My statement was not at all tailored towards UF law. I wrote I guess what you would describe as a "hardship" personal statement. I suppose my situation was somewhat unique so I can't really give you too much advise on how to tailor your PS.
Last edited by Gator_Law on Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

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