GULC Students Taking Questions Forum

[EzraFitz]

As a current 1L, I had trouble meeting people during orientation and that has continued into the first few weeks of classes. I see other people in my section socializing and making friends with each other, but I mostly keep to myself.

Any suggestions for meeting people/making friends? I feel like since GULC is such a big school, it is easy to slip through the cracks.

Are you me

Honestly this was me until 2L. Journal helped a lot, but I just didn't connect with many people 1L.

[Glasseyes]

Any recommendations for a Criminal Justice supplement? Casebook is CrimPro: Investigation (Chemerinsky), and professor is Ohm.

I've heard that the "Constitution & Police" E&E is good, as well as Understanding CrimPro by Dressler. I believe the library has slightly outdated versions of these -- would it be worth purchasing the newest editions? And is there anything about Ohm's class in particular that would cause you to recommend a different supplement?

Dressler's Understanding books are excellent; you won't find better, but they're not hypo oriented like the E&E. It's more of a consolidated treatise, which was perfect for me. Well written, clear rules, easy to follow and use during exam prep.

I've had Ohm twice but not for any 1L classes. Great prof in general. He's a privacy scholar so I would expect a lot of 4th Amendment discussion, REP, and all that, which is pretty standard for all crim pro classes anyway. I definitely recommend him for Information Privacy if you end up liking his style.

[Minnietron]

Any recommendations for a Criminal Justice supplement? Casebook is CrimPro: Investigation (Chemerinsky), and professor is Ohm.

I've heard that the "Constitution & Police" E&E is good, as well as Understanding CrimPro by Dressler. I believe the library has slightly outdated versions of these -- would it be worth purchasing the newest editions? And is there anything about Ohm's class in particular that would cause you to recommend a different supplement?

Dressler's Understanding books are excellent; you won't find better, but they're not hypo oriented like the E&E. It's more of a consolidated treatise, which was perfect for me. Well written, clear rules, easy to follow and use during exam prep.

I've had Ohm twice but not for any 1L classes. Great prof in general. He's a privacy scholar so I would expect a lot of 4th Amendment discussion, REP, and all that, which is pretty standard for all crim pro classes anyway. I definitely recommend him for Information Privacy if you end up liking his style.

I had Ohm for Crim. Justice (Pro) last year. He teaches from Dressler. Aside from some of the CSLI cases, you can forgo the casebook and just read Dressler. PM me if you want some materials I made for his class.

[ChristineBaskets]

Thanks Minnie & Glasseyes.

So if my torts professor A) strongly recommends staying away from commercial supplements, and B) recommends that we check with "reliable" secondary sources such as Dobbs' Law of Torts ("if we need it")... Does this mean I ought to tweak my original plan of riding to victory on the back of Joseph W. Glannon?

[Glasseyes]

Thanks Minnie & Glasseyes.

So if my torts professor A) strongly recommends staying away from commercial supplements, and B) recommends that we check with "reliable" secondary sources such as Dobbs' Law of Torts ("if we need it")... Does this mean I ought to tweak my original plan of riding to victory on the back of Joseph W. Glannon?

No matter what you do, you need to learn your professor's approach to torts. Glannon is good when you're struggling with a concept, but torts is basically a random assemblage of state law cases and they can vary widely by casebook or supplement. Stuff like Palsgraf is universally taught; some profs have their own favorite cases, and you need to focus on those, whether the supp covers them or not. I found torts much easier than the other 1L classes and never really used the E&E, but again, it's all in the hands of your professor. Some profs use different policy frameworks than others; mine had us make arguments based on either corrective justice or law and economics. Hone in on that stuff first and foremost; use Glannon when the going gets rough.

Edit: hone in on the policy frameworks YOUR prof cares about; mine were just illustrative.

[Throwaonetwothree]

To any 2/3Ls who went to Professor Donohue's dinner for con law students, was it worth it? Should I make it a priority to go to it?

[navykev]

To any 2/3Ls who went to Professor Donohue's dinner for con law students, was it worth it? Should I make it a priority to go to it?

I didn't have Donohue but went to my ConLaw professor's dinner. I used her has a reference for both my 1L & 2L summer jobs. The legal profession (and life in general) is often about who you know - so I would take the opportunity to get to know your professor better. There is far more upside than downside.

[EzraFitz]

To any 2/3Ls who went to Professor Donohue's dinner for con law students, was it worth it? Should I make it a priority to go to it?

I didn't have Donohue but went to my ConLaw professor's dinner. I used her has a reference for both my 1L & 2L summer jobs. The legal profession (and life in general) is often about who you know - so I would take the opportunity to get to know your professor better. There is far more upside than downside.

Agree with this completely. I got my most glowing letter of rec from my small section teacher, and that was largely a result of many meetings that started with bonding at that small dinner.

[pizzagoblin]

Didn't see this topic in the preceding posts.

How much advantage do GULC students have over GW students in the D.C. market? Would attending GULC with debt be a more prudent decision for pursuing big law than attending GW with a near full ride?

[buckiguy_sucks]

for big law? probably a not insignificant bump at GULC but your chances aren't spectacular at DC big law at either school. if DC biglaw is your goal you may want to reach a little higher. also depending on the debt difference i still may take GW

for nearly anything else, near full ride all the way

also it seems inordinately early in the cycle to already know your debt loads

[Glasseyes]

Didn't see this topic in the preceding posts.

How much advantage do GULC students have over GW students in the D.C. market? Would attending GULC with debt be a more prudent decision for pursuing big law than attending GW with a near full ride?

Depending what kind of debt we're talking about, I think GULC goes at least somewhat further in this town than GW, unless you've got stellar grades, which you can't bank on anyway. GW's OCI is a known bloodbath. Only the top 10% make any kind of consistent headway in DC; below that, it's a total shitshow. At GW they do 100% preselect, so it's feast or famine for everyone. If you can go for ~100k or less, I'd say GULC might be worth it, though only you know your tolerance for debt. As Bucki mentioned, landing DC from either school isn't going to be easy, but if that's your only goal, I think it will be at least somewhat easier from GULC than GW. FWIW, if you can get good money from GW, at the very least you should try to negotiate with GULC for more.

[ChristineBaskets]

Didn't see this topic in the preceding posts.

How much advantage do GULC students have over GW students in the D.C. market? Would attending GULC with debt be a more prudent decision for pursuing big law than attending GW with a near full ride?

As a 1L I don't have anything to offer on the GULC vs GW front that you haven't already surmised from Law School Transparency, TLS, etc.

But I do want to stress one thing (and you may already know this, but just in case): in October, you have no idea what your final, post-negotiation scholarships are going to look like.

Apply to lots of T20 schools (even ones you wouldn't consider attending, tbh), and then relentlessly - but politely - negotiate up until literally the final hour. That was the advice I got on here, from GlassEyes I believe, and I was skeptical especially considering GULC's reputation for being "stingy." But I negotiated all the way up until June and I ended up actually getting a larger post-negotiation scholarship from GULC in comparison to what I got from GW.

EDIT: A very helpful step in this process for me was getting GULC to waive my tuition deposits. YMMV on that front depending on your stats, I suppose.

[ZVBXRPL]

Didn't see this topic in the preceding posts.

How much advantage do GULC students have over GW students in the D.C. market? Would attending GULC with debt be a more prudent decision for pursuing big law than attending GW with a near full ride?

As a 1L I don't have anything to offer on the GULC vs GW front that you haven't already surmised from Law School Transparency, TLS, etc.

But I do want to stress one thing (and you may already know this, but just in case): in October, you have no idea what your final, post-negotiation scholarships are going to look like.

Apply to lots of T20 schools (even ones you wouldn't consider attending, tbh), and then relentlessly - but politely - negotiate up until literally the final hour. That was the advice I got on here, from GlassEyes I believe, and I was skeptical especially considering GULC's reputation for being "stingy." But I negotiated all the way up until June and I ended up actually getting a larger post-negotiation scholarship from GULC in comparison to what I got from GW.

EDIT: A very helpful step in this process for me was getting GULC to waive my tuition deposits. YMMV on that front depending on your stats, I suppose.

When do law schools typically notify applicants of award packages?

[Hand]

When do law schools typically notify applicants of award packages?

It varies by school; some will have already told some applicants, but many have not. GULC doesn't start the scholarship process until February or so.

[ZVBXRPL]

When do law schools typically notify applicants of award packages?

It varies by school; some will have already told some applicants, but many have not. GULC doesn't start the scholarship process until February or so.

And yet it still pays to apply early before scholarships given out. Can you explain? Do those that give in february allocate early and then notify later or do the whole process later?

[Glasseyes]

When do law schools typically notify applicants of award packages?

It varies by school; some will have already told some applicants, but many have not. GULC doesn't start the scholarship process until February or so.

And yet it still pays to apply early before scholarships given out. Can you explain? Do those that give in february allocate early and then notify later or do the whole process later?

Applying earlier theoretically gives you a better shot at acceptance; scholarships are handled differently by school, so who's to say how that impacts the availability of aid. GULC often doesn't make aid offers to people who don't ask for money, so speak up and speak up often until they start to loosen up the purse strings.

[Thelaw23]

When do law schools typically notify applicants of award packages?

It varies by school; some will have already told some applicants, but many have not. GULC doesn't start the scholarship process until February or so.

And yet it still pays to apply early before scholarships given out. Can you explain? Do those that give in february allocate early and then notify later or do the whole process later?

Applying earlier theoretically gives you a better shot at acceptance; scholarships are handled differently by school, so who's to say how that impacts the availability of aid. GULC often doesn't make aid offers to people who don't ask for money, so speak up and speak up often until they start to loosen up the purse strings.

Even if, say, you're a prime candidate for higher ranked schools?

[Gray]

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[Thelaw23]

Ugh, I'm going to need to start researching how this whole negotiation process works...

[calpolisci2016]

Can someone speak to how recruiting goes for Georgetown students outside of DC/NYC? Specifically, California, Chicago, and maybe even Dallas? Does the Georgetown name have significant currency in those markets?

[Glasseyes]

Can someone speak to how recruiting goes for Georgetown students outside of DC/NYC? Specifically, California, Chicago, and maybe even Dallas? Does the Georgetown name have significant currency in those markets?

The name definitely carries weight, but NY and DC offices show up in greater numbers at EIW. A lot of firms interview for multiple offices at once, allowing you to preference your choice of office, and others do interviews for individual offices only. I can't speak to the power of the brand name in other markets specifically, , but I know plenty of folks outside the uppermost GPA range (presumably above median) heading to CA.

[BmoreOrLess]

Can someone speak to how recruiting goes for Georgetown students outside of DC/NYC? Specifically, California, Chicago, and maybe even Dallas? Does the Georgetown name have significant currency in those markets?

The name definitely carries weight, but NY and DC offices show up in greater numbers at EIW. A lot of firms interview for multiple offices at once, allowing you to preference your choice of office, and others do interviews for individual offices only. I can't speak to the power of the brand name in other markets specifically, , but I know plenty of folks outside the uppermost GPA range (presumably above median) heading to CA.

Yep, most people I know who wanted another major market other than NYC/DC got it in some form, but I also am presuming these people are all at least above median. I don't think I knew anyone trying for Chicago though.

[20170322]

Just submitted!!!

Props to Gtown for being cool with fee waivers.

[calpolisci2016]

What is the median range and generally how hard is it to achieve such grades? I understand the nature of the beast requires that 50% are below median, but can I assume that if I work hard enough at it, I will not fall into that bottom half? In other words, are people who are in the bottom quartile placed there largely because of extenuating circumstances, lack of effort, motivation, etc.?

[Gray]

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