WUSTL Students Taking Questions

[studymaster]

verbal diarhea, huh? its easier to discredit my statements if you actually pay attention to your spelling, for one.

as for my analogy, i stand by its relevance. maybe you should try to make an argument that cant be misinterpreted so easily. hopefully you can work on that in the next 3 years.

I was crystal clear.

Spelling is window-dressing. Though they always say if you can't attack content...

[bjmichel77]

whatever you say, buddy. hope i see you at the open house, and we can continue this lively debate. until then, i'm going to surrender the forum to those with actual questions, and not waste time bickering.

[jadedV]

Hey OP, were you around the other day for ASD? I enjoyed the day... wish I would have stayed around for Happy Hour though

Hey, I was there too! Who were you?

Who was I, or who am I...?

Touche. You're obviously a word ninja, the smokebombs and black clothing made you undetectable. I think you migth even have been at table #4? Am I right..? Or totally crazy?

Nope, nope, nope... not table #4. Maybe I was undetectable. PM me if you still want to keep guessing

[Ali]

How is OCI conducted?
I know some schools have a lottery system, so you can only interview with certain employers. How is it done at WUSTL??

Thanks for taking our questions.

[Dadric]

Wash U 1L as well here, dropping by occasionally to answer questions.

...unfortunately, OCI isn't my area of expertise, so I'll have to leave that to others =/

[hwmyones]

Ya I wanted to work at home far away from STL this summer so I went about it my own way, so I didn't participate in OCI.

[angeleyez09]

Hi all, I have a few questions. . .

1. How is the curve and is there a ranking system?
2. Is the area around WUSTL safe? I heard St. Louis is crime ridden.
3. Do most professors have an open door policy or are they disinterested in students?

[Leeroy Jenkins]

How is OCI conducted?
I know some schools have a lottery system, so you can only interview with certain employers. How is it done at WUSTL??

Thanks for taking our questions.

From what I read, it's something like 70% firm picked, 30% lottery.

[steindle]

Topping this.

The crime issue is one that seems to get a lot of play in discussions re: St. Louis. It is a concern for me, but I'm also accustomed to the way in which cities work and know that a few blocks can make the difference between a warzone and a beautiful area.

It's my understanding that "North St. Louis" (i.e. the vast majority of areas north of Page Avenue) is what gives the city its tough reputation. If you look at any crime or specifically murder map of St. Louis, you'll find 75-80% of the problems in this area.

Below that, the city appears to be as safe as any other mid-sized American city. There are some pockets of trouble in Benton Park, etc, but by and large there are a lot of very stable, relatively safe areas in "South City:" the neighborhoods of Tower Grove South, Bevo, The Hill, Dogtown, Holly Hills, etc barely have had a murder between them in the last 4-5 years.

As far as I can tell, the area immediately around the college is relatively safe too -- at least Wyndown/Skinker, Delmar, and especially Clayton (which is not in the city proper anyway). Central West End is very close via Metro and is known as a safe, active, and "ritzy" area. Soulard and Lafayette Square are also relatively desirable areas with a lot of artistic activity and relatively cheap housing stock.

This is what I've garnered from a lot of research and a 2-day trip to the city, so don't go all on what I have to say. I'm curious if a currently WUSTL student can agree or disagree with my assertions?

[hwmyones]

Topping this.

The crime issue is one that seems to get a lot of play in discussions re: St. Louis. It is a concern for me, but I'm also accustomed to the way in which cities work and know that a few blocks can make the difference between a warzone and a beautiful area.

It's my understanding that "North St. Louis" (i.e. the vast majority of areas north of Page Avenue) is what gives the city its tough reputation. If you look at any crime or specifically murder map of St. Louis, you'll find 75-80% of the problems in this area.

Below that, the city appears to be as safe as any other mid-sized American city. There are some pockets of trouble in Benton Park, etc, but by and large there are a lot of very stable, relatively safe areas in "South City:" the neighborhoods of Tower Grove South, Bevo, The Hill, Dogtown, Holly Hills, etc barely have had a murder between them in the last 4-5 years.

As far as I can tell, the area immediately around the college is relatively safe too -- at least Wyndown/Skinker, Delmar, and especially Clayton (which is not in the city proper anyway). Central West End is very close via Metro and is known as a safe, active, and "ritzy" area. Soulard and Lafayette Square are also relatively desirable areas with a lot of artistic activity and relatively cheap housing stock.

This is what I've garnered from a lot of research and a 2-day trip to the city, so don't go all on what I have to say. I'm curious if a currently WUSTL student can agree or disagree with my assertions?

Any urban area will have crime. There are areas of St. Louis you just wouldn't go to, and for the most part, that is where the crime is. The area around school is pretty safe regardless of any comparisons, but for another midwest comparison, the University of Chicago is in a MUCH worse area.

[Paul Ramone]

random question: how nice is the new Danforth Center.

I graduated from Wash U's UG in 2006, and we only had that piece of crap Malinckrodt Center.

[jadedV]

random question: how nice is the new Danforth Center.

I graduated from Wash U's UG in 2006, and we only had that piece of crap Malinckrodt Center.

I can answer that one... It's VERY nice.

[hwmyones]

random question: how nice is the new Danforth Center.

I graduated from Wash U's UG in 2006, and we only had that piece of crap Malinckrodt Center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMYUlAoQeA

[Leeroy Jenkins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMYUlAoQeA

ew, you enticed me to click on that at work!

[SmittyLaw]

Do you need a car living there as a law student?

[superflush]

Does the law school have a separate gym/recreational facilities from the Undergrad?
I know the nearby Forest Park has tennis courts, what about the school it self?

1. No
2. Yes
--LinkRemoved--

What is the gym that law students can use??

Online it says that South 40 Fitness is only for undergrads.

Do law students use the McWilliams Fitness Center ??
Are they serious with this website??: http://www.restech.wustl.edu/~webath/mcwilliams.html

[gk101]

what is the grading curve like?
where do most students live during 1L?
is it necessary to have a car (how is the parking situation on campus)

[rhit2004]

what is the grading curve like?
where do most students live during 1L?
is it necessary to have a car (how is the parking situation on campus)

The curve for 1L classes is a mandatory 86.5-87.5 class mean. How the professor distributes grades to get that mean is at their discretion.

Note: At WashU you get a numerical final grade (0-100) and not a x.xx/4.00

[hwmyones]

what is the grading curve like?
where do most students live during 1L?
is it necessary to have a car (how is the parking situation on campus)

Like rhit said, your GPA is out of 100, on a 70-100 scale. Mean ends up between 86.5-87.5. In the 1L class this year, top 1/3 was 89.29 and top 1/4 was 90.00 exactly.

Most students live in either University City (just north of Campus) or the Central West End (east of campus and the park). U-City is walkable to campus while you need to drive from most other areas. There are students sprinkled in other neighborhoods but those are the two predominate ones.

Depending on where you live, it is not completely necessary to have a car. Parking is $400 for the year and there are two parking garages right next to the law school. Most people who have a car bought a parking pass. St. Louis generally though makes it necessary to have a car. The metro exists but it's not the most functional public transportation.

[Ali]

Where and in what kind of jobs do students (during Summers) and grads get placed?

[ArsenalGunner]

Question about housing. Im not going to be able to make it to St. Louis till Aug so no housing day. Im very wary of St. Louis because of all the things/crime i heard about in that area. ( I've visited yes, and i really liked it) my question is where is the nicest/safest place to stay? I would prefer to be in Clayton rather than the CWE. I want a place with 24hr security/doorman(my parents requests not mine lol). Does anyplace come to mind? Name of apartments, loft or high-rises that are pretty popular? any price range thanks!

[hwmyones]

Question about housing. Im not going to be able to make it to St. Louis till Aug so no housing day. Im very wary of St. Louis because of all the things/crime i heard about in that area. ( I've visited yes, and i really liked it) my question is where is the nicest/safest place to stay? I would prefer to be in Clayton rather than the CWE. I want a place with 24hr security/doorman(my parents requests not mine lol). Does anyplace come to mind? Name of apartments, loft or high-rises that are pretty popular? any price range thanks!

The problem with Clayton is that it's not an area really set up for people in their early-mid 20's. The high rises that are there seem to be full of much older people (and are set at a much higher price range as well). There are a few buildings spread around the area around school that are full of undergrads that meet your requirements. The best one i can think of is the Dorchester. It's on Skinker, about a 10 minute walk from the law school. Right on the west boundary of Forest Park. Every other high rise like that that young people live in is in the Central West End (Towne House, Montclair, etc.) Hope that helps. I didn't live in a high rise so I don't know that much about it.

[Ali]

Kinda stupid question, but I didn't see it mentioned on the Health Insurance Services website.
Does the Health insurance plan cover Dental also??
Or do we need to take out a separate plan?

Thanks guys./

[hwmyones]

Kinda stupid question, but I didn't see it mentioned on the Health Insurance Services website.
Does the Health insurance plan cover Dental also??
Or do we need to take out a separate plan?

Thanks guys./

I have no idea if the health insurance covers dental. Luckily, nothing went wrong for me last year so I didn't have to use it once. Plus, my dad happens to be a dentist and I dont really pay for any dental issues. Hopefully someone else can answer your question.

[ksp405]

For budgeting purposes, which books will I absolutely HAVE to buy before class starts because of reading assignments? Can I expect to only need to get the casebooks beforehand, or anything like that?