Penn Students Taking Questions Forum

[underachiever]

How is the gym at Penn and how far is it from the law school?

nice!...it like 300 a year which isn't bad. I go every day before classes

[lz06]

How is the gym at Penn and how far is it from the law school?

It's about a block and a half from the law school I think... 36th and Walnut(ish). I haven't been but I know plenty of people who do and they seem to like it. Since I live in center city I go to Bally's (closer to my apartment... I don't like to have to change at school or shower at the gym etc.). You do have to pay for the gym though... I think its something around $300 for the year (works out to $25/month).

Hm that still seems kind of expensive to me for a school gym. I guess I'm just spoiled by my beautiful free gym How expensive is Ballys? I hate bringing clothes to change etc also and I plan on living in center city if I do end up at penn..

[Georgiana]

Hm that still seems kind of expensive to me for a school gym. I guess I'm just spoiled by my beautiful free gym How expensive is Ballys? I hate bringing clothes to change etc also and I plan on living in center city if I do end up at penn..

I pay $36/month for Ballys but there are better deals now thanks to the economy tanking lol. You still pay for your school gym now, they just include it in your fees. This way you only pay for the gym if you want it.

[GeePee]

Any current Penn students have thoughts on the opportunity cost of attending Penn for nearly free vs HLS? I'd like to clerk federally for a year after graduation but am currently very much undecided between career options (PI vs. biglaw vs. academia).

[Georgiana]

Any current Penn students have thoughts on the opportunity cost of attending Penn for nearly free vs HLS? I'd like to clerk federally for a year after graduation but am currently very much undecided between career options (PI vs. biglaw vs. academia).

I think this would be a tough choice for anyone who isn't (wasn't?) me. I personally would not go to HLS, I didn't even apply. I will say that if the option was SLS v. Penn, SLS would win hands down no matter the price. If that's how you feel about HLS then go to HLS.

If you do well at Penn there is nothing stopping you from doing anything you want in life, but who knows whether you will do well. That said, I know who several of the Levy's are and most of them have done well in law school (but definitely not all of them).

Are you a debt averse person? Going to a T-10 nearly free is a great opportunity, but if you're really worried about all doors being open for you no matter what the cost, go to HLS. You will have to work hard either way, but HLS probably provides a better safety net for those students who don't end up top 50% ITE, especially with P/F grading.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to reply to this or to PM me

[jc1988]

hey Georgiana, i have been living in canada for many years and there are tales of american cities that kinda scare me. Stats show philly as a city is one of the more dangerous places to live in the US. What's your experience living there for a long period of time so far? Any neighborhood you feel I should avoid?

[underachiever]

Any current Penn students have thoughts on the opportunity cost of attending Penn for nearly free vs HLS? I'd like to clerk federally for a year after graduation but am currently very much undecided between career options (PI vs. biglaw vs. academia).

HLS....opens the most doors and still is the name that creates awe. If you knew you only wanted PI I would say Penn for free but then academia and an easy clerkship route are locked out by going to Penn.

[CCA]

hey Georgiana, i have been living in canada for many years and there are tales of american cities that kinda scare me. Stats show philly as a city is one of the more dangerous places to live in the US. What's your experience living there for a long period of time so far? Any neighborhood you feel I should avoid?

I'm a 1L and can also respond to this. Penn is one of the safer areas when compared to similar law schools. From what I have seen, Penn's area is safer than Chicago, Columbia, Duke, or Berkeley. The nearby area is fine and there's plenty of security and police in the area also. I haven't seen anything that looks dangerous anywhere near the Penn area. As long as you avoid going too far into West Philadelphia (which you would have no reason to do), you will be fine. Look to university city around 30th-40th street, or center city. I also know some 1L's who live south of center city and south Philadelphia is also fine. Just avoid going too far west.

[Georgiana]

hey Georgiana, i have been living in canada for many years and there are tales of american cities that kinda scare me. Stats show philly as a city is one of the more dangerous places to live in the US. What's your experience living there for a long period of time so far? Any neighborhood you feel I should avoid?

My law school bff is from Canadia!!!!!! (shout out to Random if she ever comes back to visit me on TLS...)

Philly can be dangerous and I think we all have our "brush with death" story, but I think that is just part of living in a city, not specific to Philly.

I live in Rittenhouse and love it, its super safe and the streets are never empty. Most law students live somewhere between JFK and South (N/S barriers) and 10th and 46th (E/W barriers) and there aren't major issues that I've heard of. It's important to get a feel for the city (not just the school) when you have a chance to visit so make sure you block off some time to check out possible neighborhoods.

Once you plan your visit, you can feel free to PM me if you want suggestions on places to check out or particular buildings you might want some insight on. (And of course you can PM me/post here for other questions too!)

[jc1988]

hey Georgiana, i have been living in canada for many years and there are tales of american cities that kinda scare me. Stats show philly as a city is one of the more dangerous places to live in the US. What's your experience living there for a long period of time so far? Any neighborhood you feel I should avoid?

My law school bff is from Canadia!!!!!! (shout out to Random if she ever comes back to visit me on TLS...)

Philly can be dangerous and I think we all have our "brush with death" story, but I think that is just part of living in a city, not specific to Philly.

I live in Rittenhouse and love it, its super safe and the streets are never empty. Most law students live somewhere between JFK and South (N/S barriers) and 10th and 46th (E/W barriers) and there aren't major issues that I've heard of. It's important to get a feel for the city (not just the school) when you have a chance to visit so make sure you block off some time to check out possible neighborhoods.

Once you plan your visit, you can feel free to PM me if you want suggestions on places to check out or particular buildings you might want some insight on. (And of course you can PM me/post here for other questions too!)

hahaha thank you for your answer....maybe when i get to philly i will ask for your protection (or get a gun )...just kidding.

on housing, like i stated in a previous post, a friend who lives in sansom place told me about the roach and mice situation...do you know the names of the off-campus places that wouldn't have such problems...

the place you live in sounds really nice according to their website but i am wondering if there are places closer to the law school.

[Georgiana]

hahaha thank you for your answer....maybe when i get to philly i will ask for your protection (or get a gun )...just kidding.

on housing, like i stated in a previous post, a friend who lives in sansom place told me about the roach and mice situation...do you know the names of the off-campus places that wouldn't have such problems...

the place you live in sounds really nice according to their website but i am wondering if there are places closer to the law school.

Things closer to school: Domus, Left Bank, 2400 Chestnut, Riverloft, Locust on the Park. Of these 2400 is the cheapest I think. A shared 2br at Left Bank will be about 1200 per person including utilities, Domus is expensive but they usually have good deals because they are so expensive and cant get people to live there (its also restricted to people over 21 which means there are no undergrads living there).

[lz06]

hahaha thank you for your answer....maybe when i get to philly i will ask for your protection (or get a gun )...just kidding.

on housing, like i stated in a previous post, a friend who lives in sansom place told me about the roach and mice situation...do you know the names of the off-campus places that wouldn't have such problems...

the place you live in sounds really nice according to their website but i am wondering if there are places closer to the law school.

Things closer to school: Domus, Left Bank, 2400 Chestnut, Riverloft, Locust on the Park. Of these 2400 is the cheapest I think. A shared 2br at Left Bank will be about 1200 per person including utilities, Domus is expensive but they usually have good deals because they are so expensive and cant get people to live there (its also restricted to people over 21 which means there are no undergrads living there).

Any idea where in center city I should look if I want to keep it under $1000 for a 1br or studio? I'm very overwhelmed by this whole process haha finding an apt in my current little college town was much more simple

[underachiever]

Ah, Domus.....my dream spot, if i had rich parents!

[Georgiana]

Things closer to school: Domus, Left Bank, 2400 Chestnut, Riverloft, Locust on the Park. Of these 2400 is the cheapest I think. A shared 2br at Left Bank will be about 1200 per person including utilities, Domus is expensive but they usually have good deals because they are so expensive and cant get people to live there (its also restricted to people over 21 which means there are no undergrads living there).

Any idea where in center city I should look if I want to keep it under $1000 for a 1br or studio? I'm very overwhelmed by this whole process haha finding an apt in my current little college town was much more simple

I pay $1,000 for my studio in Rittenhouse and that includes all utilities except internet (I dont have cable). Brownstones are a cheaper way to go but they take a little more effort to find. Start checking craigslist and then look up the addresses on google maps. University City will be cheaper than Center City but I recommend you actually see the places in person before committing to anything.

[Georgiana]

Ah, Domus.....my dream spot, if i had rich parents!

Its really not a bad deal if you catch of of their specials or have a S.O. that you are going to live with in a 1br. I would consider it after my 2L summer of getting paid the big bucks but I'm quite settled in my studio and dont feel like hiring movers haha

[Georgiana]

With ASW coming up this weekend and decisions being made in the next month or two, I figured I would bump the thread in case there is anyone out there that doesn't know they can ask/send me any Penn questions

Happy ASW travels everyone!

-G

[kurla88]

Relative prestige of journals other than Law Review - does anyone care?

[Georgiana]

Relative prestige of journals other than Law Review - does anyone care?

Well as we all know, I'm on JIL... sooooo we are of course the best

JCL likes to claim that they are 2nd best but JIL has been around longer (and is closer to solvency). JBL is really for the business minded and JLASC is for those particularly interested in social justice/public interest etc.

The writing competition isn't as bad as you probably think it is, if you want to be on journal and are thinking about the JLASC app just because it doesn't req. the writing competition, I would reconsider. (if you want more details let me know)

As far as jobs go... if you want to clerk, you want to either be on LR or make board on a secondary journal. For law firms, a lot of your interviewers will be alums so they will know your journal and be able to talk to you about it (and some will ask why you are on x journal instead of y journal... I can give you my answer if you're thinking about JIL). The unofficial journals will try to tell you that no one knows the difference, but they do. They may not rank JIL v. JCL but they will know that Animal Law is not nearly as difficult as JIL/JCL/JBL.

If you're doing the journal open houses tonight... JIL will be having wine/beer/baked goods/food and will be playing beer pong You should stop in (I won't be around though unfortunately).

[motiontodismiss]

How does Penn do, recruiting-wise, outside of the northeast corridor (Specifically Chicago)? A brief look at Skadden's website shows 1 lone associate placed in Chicago from Penn Law. The rest were NY/DC/Wilmington. I know there's some self-selection there but then again, I may be wrong.

[Georgiana]

How does Penn do, recruiting-wise, outside of the northeast corridor (Specifically Chicago)? A brief look at Skadden's website shows 1 lone associate placed in Chicago from Penn Law. The rest were NY/DC/Wilmington. I know there's some self-selection there but then again, I may be wrong.

I know very few people who were looking in Chicago and most of them were looking elsewhere too. People from Chicago with a connection fare better than those who are just trying anywhere and everywhere. I know people from smaller markets (e.g. Ohio) that did well based on interviewing when they were home on break and I think its the same kind of thing. I have to admit, if Chicago is your target though I'm not sure why you wouldn't go to UChi or maybe NU given the option.

[motiontodismiss]

How does Penn do, recruiting-wise, outside of the northeast corridor (Specifically Chicago)? A brief look at Skadden's website shows 1 lone associate placed in Chicago from Penn Law. The rest were NY/DC/Wilmington. I know there's some self-selection there but then again, I may be wrong.

I know very few people who were looking in Chicago and most of them were looking elsewhere too. People from Chicago with a connection fare better than those who are just trying anywhere and everywhere. I know people from smaller markets (e.g. Ohio) that did well based on interviewing when they were home on break and I think its the same kind of thing. I have to admit, if Chicago is your target though I'm not sure why you wouldn't go to UChi or maybe NU given the option.

Shopping around. Plus rumor is Penn's the only school that doesn't hate 3 year graduates (I am one).

I'm not applying until the 2011-2012 cycle anyway. Hopefully by then the economy will be out of the shit and there won't be huge mobs of people trying to get into law schools. Right now Penn and NU seem to be my top choices. I'm not sure they'd take me given my extreme splitter profile (that is if I rock the LSAT-hopefully 6 months studying almost full time will help).

How the hell does GULC place better in Chicago than Penn? (at least from my quickie look at Skadden's placement)

[Georgiana]

Shopping around. Plus rumor is Penn's the only school that doesn't hate 3 year graduates (I am one).

I'm not applying until the 2011-2012 cycle anyway. Hopefully by then the economy will be out of the shit and there won't be huge mobs of people trying to get into law schools. Right now Penn and NU seem to be my top choices. I'm not sure they'd take me given my extreme splitter profile (that is if I rock the LSAT-hopefully 6 months studying almost full time will help).

How the hell does GULC place better in Chicago than Penn? (at least from my quickie look at Skadden's placement)

Honestly I just don't know many people who want to be in Chicago... and Gtown's class is twice as big as ours and their target market (DC) is tough to break into. Lots of things go into placement... mind boggling stuff

[motiontodismiss]

I wasn't sure if the fact that Penn doesn't place well outside the northeast corridor had more to do with self-selection (i.e. most people stay in the NEC thus can get jobs in the midwest if I actively sought them out) or if Penn really only has a strong reputation in the Northeast (a la Cornell). Some schools like Cornell place well only inside the northeast corridor generally. Michigan for some reason seems to place well everywhere. Then again, unless you're a bankruptcy lawyer, there's nothing to do in Detroit.

And yes, I'm perfectly aware that EVERY school has a stronger reputation on its home turf.

[kurla88]

Thanks for the informative response re: journals, Georgiana.

Hope all the admitted students are having a great time! Enjoy being courted while it lasts...

In unrelated news, any of the upper years take Legal Responses to Inequality? If so, are you willing to share your exam with me? I'd really like to see some samples of how to tackle Lesnick's pretty vague question.

[DelDad]

I've been asking around re:Lesnick's class for my legal writing students, but so far no luck. If I find something, I'll let you know.