GULC 1L Taking Questions Forum

[Gtown1L]

Though I was only a lurker, this site was very helpful during my LSAT prep and application process last year and I would therefore like to give back.

Ask away!

[bwv812]

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[dpw4040]

How does it compare with columbia and duke? That is if you have had some experience with either. If not no problem.
Do you know anyone or have any experience personally with the dual degree programs? How is the JD-MSSP viewed there on campus or there in Washington?

[Supernova]

Do you know anything about the difference between FT and PT? As in...are they treated equally...do they have the same opportunities for journals, clinicals, etc? Is it easy to transfer from PT to FT after 1L? Are PTs looked down upon if they don't have jobs and are just taking classes?

Thanks for any insight.

[bwv812]

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[neskerdoo]

Apparently a few years ago the incoming transfer class of 2Es was booed by the incoming class of 1Ls when they were introduced in a commencement ceremony at the main campus.

what?! please elaborate!

[bwv812]

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[hefferlump]

Oh, weird. I've never heard that!

I did talk to one transfer 2L and he mentioned that it was really helpful to have joined a journal from the perspective of getting to meet people. It sounded like they had a separate write-on competition just for the transfer students.

[scoutfinch80]

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[Fordhamhopeful]

Wait, so USNWR now factors PT students grades in a school's overall numbers? I thought that this idea was proposed, I didn't know it was implemented already.

[Harry Ballsogna]

What were your experiences with OCI?

Everyone always says that below median at GULC is screwed...your thoughts on this?

[neskerdoo]

are you asking what the experiences of these 1L's was at OCI?

[bwv812]

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[Harry Ballsogna]

are you asking what the experiences of these 1L's was at OCI?

ha, I misread. I thought someone responding above was a 3L, not a section 3 1L

[Harry Ballsogna]

What were your experiences with OCI?

Everyone always says that below median at GULC is screwed...your thoughts on this?

OCI was great; not so much for the 2Ls.

My impression is that there are enough people who don't want biglaw and enough people with surprisingly poor social skills that being in the bottom half isn't the automatic kiss-of-death. Bottom-third is more challenging, but good interview skills should go a long way.

Thanks, this makes sense. I always wonder why people act like there is such a hard cut off at 50%.

[bwv812]

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[vl2104]

Going back to the Part-timers... What does it take to transfer from PT to FT? Do you need to be like in the top x% of the PT class?

[kurla88]

I will now attack you with questions.

How is DC? Do you find GULC to be extra political due to its location? (Hard to make comparisons, I know.) What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?

How bad is 1Ling so far? ^.^

[smaakit]

I'm a Section 4 1L--just wanted to give some answers out, cause I also benefited from this site

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?
I live in Cleveland Park. It is safe, nice, on the same line as the school. $1241 for a large studio. Most 1Ls *seem* to live on campus, but I have pets, and thus excluded from dorm life.

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?
I mostly only see the students in my section. People seem friendly. I haven't had any unpleasant dealings with anybody at all. I don't feel like I lost out by attending a school with a large student body. The sections are broken down into even smaller sections for Contracts and Legal Research & Writing, so not all the classes have all 120 of us in there.

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever?
The class appears diverse to me. Hard to tell about religion, but definitely gender and age vary. There are kids right out of undergrad, and then there's a student who is actually a professor of English on the G'town main campus. There seems to be diversity of sexual orientation as well. As for race, I don't want to make sweeping statements...just suffice to say that all major races are represented.

I'm not getting into your first question, because personally I don't love DC. This is just me. I am from NYC. I am not used to the Metro closing, not used to not having skyscrapers and cabs everywhere. The things that most people love about DC (parklike atmosphere, slower pace) really drive me bonkers.

Also there seems to be no shortage of student groups, however I do not belong to any as I do not have the time. I don't know where people get the time for those things. They must be more efficient studiers than I am.

All in all, I really love GULC. The administration is really student-oriented and will work with you. The faculty is intelligent and interesting. Hope you found at least something in my post helpful!

[danko]

Another Section 4 1L here.

Politics - I would think people at any DC school will be more interested in politics than usual, though students are top schools are likely to be interested in politics anyway. You are certainly more likely to have classmates who have previously worked in the field. It's pretty cool to be able to step one foot off campus and see the Capitol Building looming over you. The Supreme Court is just a few blocks away as well.

What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?
I think this is where the size of the school works to its benefit. There are an almost unlimited array of activities (on or off campus) and student groups

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?
A good proportion of the 1L's live on campus, in a building reserved for 1L's. A lot of others live in apartment buildings just a few blocks away. I'm one of the few with a long commute, but most people can walk, bike, or take a short metro ride to school. Rent is expensive, even if you're willing to commute.

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?
Because we have two small section classes, you get to know those classmates pretty quickly. The larger section is like a class within your 1L class, and it's about the same size as sections at other schools. We just have more of them here.

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)
It's definitely diverse here, especially when you consider the school as a whole. There are all sorts of LLM programs and programs for foreign-trained lawyers, as well as the evening program, so you are much more likely to come across people with interesting and varied backgrounds than at most schools. But the 1L's are primarily people who are either straight out of undergrad or who have worked for just a couple of years.

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?
It's standard East Coast weather, comparable to Philly or Charlottesville, slightly better than New York, much better than New England, way better than Chicago.

How bad is 1Ling so far?
The first couple of weeks were tough, since then it's actually been pretty enjoyable.

[bwv812]

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[Gtown1L]

I will now attack you with questions.

How is DC? Do you find GULC to be extra political due to its location? (Hard to make comparisons, I know.) What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?

--DC is great, I love living here. There is something for everyone and enough of it to keep you busy for the short spans of free time you may have. I don't find GULC to be extra political, though politics, especially with the upcoming election, are often a topic of conversation. There are tons of student groups and unlike those at my undergrad, they actually hold interesting and relevant events on regular basis.

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?

--I live in Gewirz, the student on-campus housing. It's not bad at all- super convenient, clean, and great for getting to know people. The rent is semi-pricey considering how much nicer an only slightly more expensive apartment would be, but for the first year I completely encourage living in Gewirz. I would guess that approximately half of 1Ls live on-campus and half live off.

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?

--I've found it very easy to make friends, and although some cliques have developed, I continue to make new friends from other cliques. I honestly can't imagine GULC being any smaller- I already know almost everyone in my section and numerous people in other sections and think that any smaller of a student body would be stifling. People here are more social than I expected- there's always a good turnout of 1Ls at bar review.

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)

--Race- fairly diverse; religion- quite diverse; gender- about equal numbers of males and females; sexual orientation- the LGBT community is well represented in my section, though I do not know how indicative this is of the student body as a whole

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?

--I'm from California, and the weather here really isn't that bad. Granted it's only October, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the weather thus far. Ask me again in January....

How bad is 1Ling so far?

--Also not that bad. Yes, it's a lot of work, you read and brief for hours on end, but you do have free time if you work efficiently.

[hefferlump]

Another §3 1L here....

How is DC? Do you find GULC to be extra political due to its location? (Hard to make comparisons, I know.) What kind of on and off-campus activities are available? Student groups?
I don't love DC either, but it isn't a bad city and I'm getting to like it more as time passes. BUT, I know that, as much as I LOVE the city of Chicago, Georgetown, more than DC, was the right place for me to be. I get the impression that our campus is pretty active, I don't know if it's politics or just passion about social justice causes in general. But, I'm in §3 and we're known for being overinvolved in things and public interest oriented. That being said, it's pretty liberal around here and there's a TON of Obama activism going on. I'd say just about everything's available off-campus and the student groups are pretty active.

Where do you live? How is the housing situation? Rent? Where do most 1Ls live?
I live on Capitol Hill and there are a decent number of us who do (close to school without being the dorm). I pay $1200 for a 1-bed basement apartment. I think there will be more people on the Hill when we become 2Ls and they can't all live in Gewirtz. I do feel like there's some division between the Gewirtz residents & the "commuters," in terms of social life. I think part of that is that the general stereotype (definitely not always true) that the Gewirtz "kids" are straight out of undergrad and the off-campus people are...not.

Is it pretty social and easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all by going to a LS with a comparatively larger student body?
I think it's awesome. I love my section-mates and everyone's been really easy to get to know and hang out with. It is SO like being back in the cafeteria in high school though: we tend to travel in packs and are always looking for our friends to eat lunch with! I don't think I've lost out by going to a big school. I think the worst part is going to be choosing classes and the big-ness just means you've got more people to try and befriend.

How diverse do you find the class is in terms of race/religion/gender/age/sexual orientation/whatever? (F the stats.)
I think it's pretty diverse. We seem to have a fair number of African-American women, but not men. And a TON of guys who are Orthodox enough to wear yarmulkes every day. It's different diversity than I'm used to, but I think it's ok. We don't really talk about religion. It's a sticky point, because the main gripe most women have with the school is the policy on reproductive rights and health care. That comes out of the Catholic tradition and I think it might be a reason why people aren't particularly chatty about it.

How sucky is the weather, really, for someone who likes cold?
DC is hot and humid and nasty in the summer. But, the fall and spring are lovely. It feels really, really cold right now, but I think that's because it just happened so quickly! I mean, the weather sucks, but you come here for the school and the town, not the weather. I don't think anyone would live in DC if the weather was the only factor.

How bad is 1Ling so far?
Not too bad. The reading's more reasonable than grad school and I've been able to keep up with it the whole time. BUT, I'm super worried about even finding the time to outline...which is probably what I should be doing instead of checking in here and watching TV shows. I do love the cool people that I go to school with and I've really enjoyed getting to know them! And, really, law school's been kind of fun so far.

[jpfrawg]

Is section 3 so impacted that it necessitates applying early? (eg. Fills up by January)

Has the reading for S3 picked up a lot?

What do you know about the testing? Will there be questions like, describe how a Formalist judge would interpret UCC 2.x.x.?

[bwv812]

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