Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[luckyme]

this may have been covered, but how cold is it? is the weather tolerable?

[CyLaw]

- Has anyone felt limited by the small number of courses offered at Cornell? In the (awesome) binder they just sent, there was a seemingly comprehensive list of courses, and it wasn't as long as I was expecting. Do you find there is an adequate range of courses for your interests?

A 2L or 3L may be better at answering this one, but my feeling from looking at the courses I need to course from next year is that I hope to find the time to take all the courses I saw that I want to take. While I wish Cornell had more tech law based courses, I think there are plenty of courses to feel out my schedule with classwork that I want to learn. Also, you can take a few courses outside the law school and apply them to your JD, so that adds a little to the course list.

- How much is there to do around Ithaca? In what neighborhood(s) do law students tend to live and hang out? Do law students ever get group houses so that they can have the law school community experience without the limitations of on-campus housing?

Different weekends have different things going on in town. There are a lot of outdoor activities around ithaca, and as long as your have a good group of people to hang out with, boredom is not a problem.

Collegetown is where you will see most law students (at least the ones I know), because it is closet to the law school.

And plenty of students get apartments together. What are the limitations of on-campus housing?

[CyLaw]

this may have been covered, but how cold is it? is the weather tolerable?

Of course it is tolerable. Humans can live in Ithaca year-round.

Granted, I may not be the best person to comment on Ithaca weather. After a month back in Iowa, I can't wait to return to Ithaca where there is no wind chill and I don't feel like I'm going to get frostbite every time I step outside.

[mths]

this may have been covered, but how cold is it? is the weather tolerable?

toasty 10 degrees there atm

[Excellence = a Habit]

- Has anyone felt limited by the small number of courses offered at Cornell? In the (awesome) binder they just sent, there was a seemingly comprehensive list of courses, and it wasn't as long as I was expecting. Do you find there is an adequate range of courses for your interests?

A 2L or 3L may be better at answering this one, but my feeling from looking at the courses I need to course from next year is that I hope to find the time to take all the courses I saw that I want to take. While I wish Cornell had more tech law based courses, I think there are plenty of courses to feel out my schedule with classwork that I want to learn. Also, you can take a few courses outside the law school and apply them to your JD, so that adds a little to the course list.

- How much is there to do around Ithaca? In what neighborhood(s) do law students tend to live and hang out? Do law students ever get group houses so that they can have the law school community experience without the limitations of on-campus housing?

Different weekends have different things going on in town. There are a lot of outdoor activities around ithaca, and as long as your have a good group of people to hang out with, boredom is not a problem.

Collegetown is where you will see most law students (at least the ones I know), because it is closet to the law school.

And plenty of students get apartments together. What are the limitations of on-campus housing?

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

[let/them/eat/cake]

- Has anyone felt limited by the small number of courses offered at Cornell? In the (awesome) binder they just sent, there was a seemingly comprehensive list of courses, and it wasn't as long as I was expecting. Do you find there is an adequate range of courses for your interests?

A 2L or 3L may be better at answering this one, but my feeling from looking at the courses I need to course from next year is that I hope to find the time to take all the courses I saw that I want to take. While I wish Cornell had more tech law based courses, I think there are plenty of courses to feel out my schedule with classwork that I want to learn. Also, you can take a few courses outside the law school and apply them to your JD, so that adds a little to the course list.

- How much is there to do around Ithaca? In what neighborhood(s) do law students tend to live and hang out? Do law students ever get group houses so that they can have the law school community experience without the limitations of on-campus housing?

Different weekends have different things going on in town. There are a lot of outdoor activities around ithaca, and as long as your have a good group of people to hang out with, boredom is not a problem.

Collegetown is where you will see most law students (at least the ones I know), because it is closet to the law school.

And plenty of students get apartments together. What are the limitations of on-campus housing?

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

Sweet hat. Go Steelers. That is all.

[Excellence = a Habit]

- Has anyone felt limited by the small number of courses offered at Cornell? In the (awesome) binder they just sent, there was a seemingly comprehensive list of courses, and it wasn't as long as I was expecting. Do you find there is an adequate range of courses for your interests?

A 2L or 3L may be better at answering this one, but my feeling from looking at the courses I need to course from next year is that I hope to find the time to take all the courses I saw that I want to take. While I wish Cornell had more tech law based courses, I think there are plenty of courses to feel out my schedule with classwork that I want to learn. Also, you can take a few courses outside the law school and apply them to your JD, so that adds a little to the course list.

- How much is there to do around Ithaca? In what neighborhood(s) do law students tend to live and hang out? Do law students ever get group houses so that they can have the law school community experience without the limitations of on-campus housing?

Different weekends have different things going on in town. There are a lot of outdoor activities around ithaca, and as long as your have a good group of people to hang out with, boredom is not a problem.

Collegetown is where you will see most law students (at least the ones I know), because it is closet to the law school.

And plenty of students get apartments together. What are the limitations of on-campus housing?

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

Sweet hat. Go Steelers. That is all.

Agreed, and love your tar.

[vexion]

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

Yes, Hughes is the only on-campus, university-owned housing for the law students (near enough to the law school, anyway.) And Hughes will suit your needs if you want to live dorm-style. Like you said, there are gorgeous houses in Collegetown, but I find that most times the ones that are pretty on the outside are trashy on the inside, and vice-versa.

I live on Dryden Road about a five-minute walk from the law school, and I think I really lucked out with price and location. My advice, when looking for housing, would be to start early. For my part, I searched Cornell's Off-Campus Housing Office database (--LinkRemoved--), as well as Craigslist, and called and set up viewings in advance of Admitted Students Weekend in March. I had a spreadsheet with a number of addresses and landlord names and phone numbers, and after ASW I did about twelve showings in a day, and signed a lease that day on the best one. If you don't start early, most of the nicer and cheaper places in Collegetown will be leased by the summer. :/

[Other25BeforeYou]

I'm specifically interested in the innocence clinic, the capital punishment clinic(s) and the international law clinic. And has anyone done multiple clinics? I don't know how I would narrow it down to just one.

Lots of folks do more than one clinic in their time here. I'm not sure there's any limit on the number you can do. I haven't done a clinic yet (planning to next year), but the people I know who did the death penalty clinic want to do it again because they liked it so much.

[let/them/eat/cake]

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

Yes, Hughes is the only on-campus, university-owned housing for the law students (near enough to the law school, anyway.) And Hughes will suit your needs if you want to live dorm-style. Like you said, there are gorgeous houses in Collegetown, but I find that most times the ones that are pretty on the outside are trashy on the inside, and vice-versa.

I live on Dryden Road about a five-minute walk from the law school, and I think I really lucked out with price and location. My advice, when looking for housing, would be to start early. For my part, I searched Cornell's Off-Campus Housing Office database (--LinkRemoved--), as well as Craigslist, and called and set up viewings in advance of Admitted Students Weekend in March. I had a spreadsheet with a number of addresses and landlord names and phone numbers, and after ASW I did about twelve showings in a day, and signed a lease that day on the best one. If you don't start early, most of the nicer and cheaper places in Collegetown will be leased by the summer. :/

TITCR. Dryden = cheaper than the stuff like right in the four-corner intersection part of college town, not that much further away, and usu more space, and no real hill to speak of. Did this 1L year and def recommend it.

[D10S]

I'm sorry if this has been mentioned before, but can anybody provide information on the JD/Master en Droit joint degrees? Cornell is one of my favorites to attend (in 11/24/10), but I think I read somewhere around here that this joint degree programme really does nothing to enhance your career prospects; it might actually hurt them. Is this true?

[Excellence = a Habit]

Thank you Cy Law! It's good to hear that about the range of courses. I tend to forget that I'm not going to be able to take as many classes as a law student as I did as an undergrad. By the limitations of on-campus housing (just hughes hall, as far as I know), I meant things like sharing bathrooms and not having real kitchens... these things aren't a big deal, of course, and I would probably share a bathroom in a group house as well. It's just been a while since I lived on a campus. I actually visited Ithaca today and I thought the Collegetown area had some gorgeous houses! Thanks for the tip

Yes, Hughes is the only on-campus, university-owned housing for the law students (near enough to the law school, anyway.) And Hughes will suit your needs if you want to live dorm-style. Like you said, there are gorgeous houses in Collegetown, but I find that most times the ones that are pretty on the outside are trashy on the inside, and vice-versa.

I live on Dryden Road about a five-minute walk from the law school, and I think I really lucked out with price and location. My advice, when looking for housing, would be to start early. For my part, I searched Cornell's Off-Campus Housing Office database (--LinkRemoved--), as well as Craigslist, and called and set up viewings in advance of Admitted Students Weekend in March. I had a spreadsheet with a number of addresses and landlord names and phone numbers, and after ASW I did about twelve showings in a day, and signed a lease that day on the best one. If you don't start early, most of the nicer and cheaper places in Collegetown will be leased by the summer. :/

TITCR. Dryden = cheaper than the stuff like right in the four-corner intersection part of college town, not that much further away, and usu more space, and no real hill to speak of. Did this 1L year and def recommend it.

Wow, thanks for all this. I had no idea I would have to commit so early. Very good to know. And ah yes, the old pretty-on-the-outside, ugly-on-the-inside trick.

I'm specifically interested in the innocence clinic, the capital punishment clinic(s) and the international law clinic. And has anyone done multiple clinics? I don't know how I would narrow it down to just one.

Lots of folks do more than one clinic in their time here. I'm not sure there's any limit on the number you can do. I haven't done a clinic yet (planning to next year), but the people I know who did the death penalty clinic want to do it again because they liked it so much.

Good to know! Maybe I should start with the death penalty one then...

[mbw]

Clinics: I'm doing a real estate litigation clinic (yeah, doesn't sound sexy, but we're slated to go to trial this spring against a defendant with deep pockets, which is unusual for any clinic here.) It's been a great experience, especially since there are so few of us (4) and we work directly with a great professor and local attorneys. Most clinics are one semester, but a few are two (mine is two.) It's also nice to get away from the curve.

Hughes: I wouldn't count on Hughes, unless people have already received placement information. I heard firsthand from a very reputable source that Hughes is slated to be turned into administrative offices soon -- to help deal with the overcrowding the school is currently facing. On-campus housing then will be the same as other grad programs -- throughout campus.

[alexyoshi]

can't wait til hughes dining becomes a bar.

[CyLaw]

can't wait til hughes dining becomes a bar.

It's not?

That explains the looks I've been getting there.

[tipler4213]

tag

[vexion]

tag

Try the "Subscribe Topic" button at the top of the page.

[Sig218]

I got accepted last year and opted to postpone a year.

I just went up to Ithaca today to look at apartments. I looked at the Carriage House Apartments on Pleasant Grove Rd. Anyone have any information on this apartment? I searched the forums but couldn't find anything. They're offering a studio with everything included (except electric) for $860.

I'm going to look at an apartment in CT tomorrow that's a 15 minute walk from the law school and much closer.

Also, are there any negatives to living a little farther off campus (aside from having to bus in everyday)?


Thanks.

[modmx]

Can someone please give a rundown of housing available/reasonable for Cornell Law School. I see some discussion on this page already, but a quick list and opinions on some possibilities would be greatly appreciated. I am in the same boat as a poster above, as I want to avoid the limitations of undergrad style housing (but then again...not every school can have their own Regent Parks Luxury Apartments)

Also, how much of a part of the university as a whole do the law students feel? Is there a strong sense of collegiality amongst the law students and the students of the university as a whole? Thanks

[vexion]

Also, are there any negatives to living a little farther off campus (aside from having to bus in everyday)? .

Negatives: the one day you miss the bus, the one day you need to get to the law school on short notice and can't, and that we probably won't see you out at the Palms every midnight since it's such a long trip for you.

[vexion]

Can someone please give a rundown of housing available/reasonable for Cornell Law School. I see some discussion on this page already, but a quick list and opinions on some possibilities would be greatly appreciated. I am in the same boat as a poster above, as I want to avoid the limitations of undergrad style housing (but then again...not every school can have their own Regent Parks Luxury Apartments)

The closest living accommodations to the law school are Hughes Hall, the 1L-only dorms attached the to school. They're suite-style, so iirc you live in one dorm by yourself or with a roommate, share a bathroom with about four other people, and share one kitchen with all 40~ people in Hughes. I still haven't been in one of the rooms, but I've been in the common areas. It's not nice, but it's cheap and super convenient. You get what you pay for. During ASW (Admitted Students Weekend) in March or April, they'll offer a tour of Hughes. Of course, that's the "undergrad style housing" you were talking about.

As for other stuff, the general rule is the closer you live to the law school, the more expensive and smaller it is. The law school is on the very southern edge of campus, and campus is built on a giant hill. At the top of the hill, abutting the southern edge, is Collegetown. Collegetown apartments are a 5- to 10-minute walk to the law school. Collegetown is also where all the bars and restaurants are, so it's convenient for your social life. Typical Collegetown rents are about $1,000 for a studio. If you shop around, you can get lucky, but the cheaper, nicer ones tend to rent by March or April.

Further out is Lower Collegetown, which is about a 20-minute walk, uphill. Lower Collegetown is more like $600-$1,000, but $1,000 gets you a really nice place. There's one company, Novarr-McKesey, which owns a number of big complexes at the bottom of the hill and runs a shuttle service to campus in the morning. They're popular with law students, though a little on the pricey side. Check out their website, give them a call.

In the opposite direction (further up the hill from the law school,) you could live on West Campus or North Campus, or even out by the airport, but the housing out there tends to be a long walk from the law school (again, 20 minutes.) You can either take the city bus or some apartment complexes run a shuttle (like Gun Hill.)

Outside of that, you can live pretty much anywhere you want in town if you're willing to take the bus every day. At the bottom of the hill is The Commons, which has some much more reasonable apartments (Collegetown will gouge you,) but you wouldn't want to walk it if you didn't have to. Some people live way out, like an hour walk from the law school, and either drive in or take the bus. Driving in isn't for the faint of heart, cause parking passes cost an arm and a leg (there's a lot at the law school which is pretty much faculty only, and passes cost like $700/month or something ridiculous.)

In general, I would look for housing early. Like I said in an earlier post, what I did was use Cornell's Off-Campus Housing Office (--LinkRemoved--) and Craigslist. Cornell's got a good spreadsheet of all the apartment complexes near the law school at http://dos.cornell.edu/cms/ocho/upload/ ... G-2010.pdf. Also they have a searchable database on that first site I linked, where landlords can list their own properties, but it's totally empty right now. Which is weird, cause it wasn't when I looked late last February. But they redid the whole site this year, so it's possible there are some barriers to people using it, or all the listings got wiped or something. Anyway, if you live a long way from Ithaca, set up some showings during the Saturday of ASW. That's how you find the best deals.

Also, how much of a part of the university as a whole do the law students feel? Is there a strong sense of collegiality amongst the law students and the students of the university as a whole?

They don't. Law students don't really mix with the university at large at all. I mean, you could if you wanted to. There's nothing holding you back from going to undergrad events, or talking to people at the gym or whatever. There's a GPSA (Graduate & Professional Student Association) which hosts some joint events for the grad school kids, but I haven't seen much out of them in my first semester here. You can talk to the law school's GPSA rep about it. I know a few people who are dating grad students in other colleges, and we've had a couple JD vs MBA flipcup tournaments (that the MBAs made a poor showing at,) but that's about as close as you get to collegiality.

[CyLaw]

Just wanted to add that there are apartments in West Campus that our only a 10 min walk to campus with not that bad of a hill even in snow.

Edit: Also student parking passes are about $650 per year. Obviously you can't park in the faculty spots however.

[Other25BeforeYou]

Some people live way out, like an hour walk from the law school, and either drive in or take the bus. Driving in isn't for the faint of heart, cause parking passes cost an arm and a leg (there's a lot at the law school which is pretty much faculty only, and passes cost like $700/month or something ridiculous.)

There are cute villages around Ithaca with nice one bedrooms running $600-700 with utilities included, about a ten minute drive from campus. This more than makes up for the $100/month it costs to park in the parking garage about 1.5 blocks from the law school in collegetown. There are also folks who drive into Ithaca and park at shopping centers and then takes the bus that runs from those shopping centers. However, most the people I know who do this aren't really into the whole going out drinking at the palms thing, and tend to prefer to spend their evenings at home.

I live off of West Campus, and I think it's pretty ideal. People who live off of West and in the part of Cayuga Heights that is close to north campus (over the suspension bridge to Central Campus) generally pay about $300 less than in collegetown, and are a 15 minute walk from the law school. When it's too damn cold to walk from my place off of West there is a bus stop a block away with a bus that comes every six minutes and stops right at the law school.

[danidancer]

100% agree with what everyone else has said, just wanted to add: I'm currently living right on the border between Collegetown and Lower Collegetown and I pay $800 for a one-bedroom apt. that's about a 15 minute walk from school down the hill. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this hill everyone is talking about, it's a 15 minute walk there but only a 10 minute walk home... That being said, it's not that bad, and I walked it everyday at the beginning of the year. Since I like to study at home though, lugging all of my books up the hill with me in the morning was not fun at all, so I started taking the Ithaca bus (aka TCAT - http://www.tcatbus.com/) and then walking home in the afternoon/evening. TCAT is free for Cornell students their first year at Cornell and the line I'm on is a 5 minute ride and comes every 15 minutes in the morning, so it's really convenient. Be sure to look up the route/schedule information when you look at places - some of the more remote areas have very infrequent service (think once an hour - if you miss your bus, you're screwed).

Location was, and still is, probably my most important consideration when I was apartment hunting (which, by the way, I did in JUNE, so don't stress too much). I really like having the peace of mind of knowing that I can walk to school if I have to, and I love being walking distance to all the Collegetown bars and restaurants.

OK - back to summer job hunting!

[modmx]

Vexion, thank you for the great post! very insightful

I want to get a one bedroom or a studio so that I can focus on my studies for my 1L year, and Collegetown seems to be a good balance of privacy and social life.

Too bad Cornell still hasn't completed my application.....unbelievable