NYU 1L Taking Questions Forum

[NYU2011]

How does one go about joining the Dean Cup team? This is very, very relevant to my interests.

There are tryouts, they will be announced on Coases early spring semester I think. Keep our winning streak going

any misgivings about taking NYU over a lower-ranked school with $$?

Depends what school and how much money. I would definitely do it in some cases

[democrattotheend]

How do you feel about most of your professors, both in terms of teaching quality and accessibility?

Also, can someone post their schedule, just to give us 0L's an idea?

[Renzo]

How do you feel about most of your professors, both in terms of teaching quality and accessibility?

Also, can someone post their schedule, just to give us 0L's an idea?

NYU has hands-down the best faculty anywhere (ok, maybe outside of Yale).

The professors are incredible, and the school really rolls out the big guns for the first-year classes. I mean, seriously; Arthur Miller wrote the fucking rules of civil procedure. Literally. He smacked down Scalia in open court. Who wouldn't want to learn Civ. Pro from him?

I have found the professors to be very accessible. The school provides a budget for each 1L professor to take students to lunch in small groups, and most take advantage of this. To be fair, I think that in general it takes less effort to get to know faculty at a small school than at a large one (like NYU), but I don't find this to be a real limitation. It just means you need to take the extra step of approaching professors you want to get to know.

As for the schedule, I don't want to post mine (it will out me to my classmates, and I'm not 100% ready to do that). But see if you can access this without a password. It changes a bit, but hypothetically, you might have Civ Pro in A block, Contracts in F block, and Torts in E block your first semester. In addition, you might have Lawyering scheduled in M-U block, but it wouldn't meet all the time.

[democrattotheend]

It was either on here or last year's thread - someone mentioned that there's a lottery system for clerkship recommendations. How does that work? Does it mean that you can't ask a professor you have gotten to know for a recommendation directly, or is it just there for people who don't know the professors that well?

Also, what is the application process for secondary journals? Do you have to try out for them like law review, or do you just join? Can everyone who wants to do a journal do one, or are there more students than journal slots across all the journals?

[Renzo]

It was either on here or last year's thread - someone mentioned that there's a lottery system for clerkship recommendations. How does that work? Does it mean that you can't ask a professor you have gotten to know for a recommendation directly, or is it just there for people who don't know the professors that well?

Also, what is the application process for secondary journals? Do you have to try out for them like law review, or do you just join? Can everyone who wants to do a journal do one, or are there more students than journal slots across all the journals?

It's not a lottery, but a matching system, and I'm not exactly sure how it works. You submit a list of the professors you know well or think would write good letters for you, and then I think the professors rank the students that request them, or there's some sort of voodoo or something and you get matched with the professors who you want and who also want to recommend you. As I understand it, it isn't a substitute for getting to know profs or talking to them directly, basically its a a more formal request system.

All the journals use the same writing competition, but some (like law and social change) care more about the personal statement you write than others, and some do/do not consider grades. When you submit your material you also rank any journals you want to be considered for, and you will get one single offer that comes from the journal you ranked highest that also accepts you. The moot court board (which both publishes a casebook and had a competition team) is a little different, they don't use the writing competition, but instead use the brief you wrote for Lawyering.

There are a lot of journal slots, so I think your chances of getting on a journal are pretty good, but I can't say that everyone who wants a spot gets one. It might be true, but I don't know.

[NYU2011]

This was my fall schedule last year:

M: Ks 9-10:50
Lawyering 11:25-12:15
Torts 2-3:50

T: Lawyering 9-10:50
Civ Pro 12-1:50

W: Ks 9-10:50

R: Civ Pro 10-11:50
Torts 2-3:50

F: Lawyering: 9-10:50
Civ Pro 11-11:55

Keep in mind Lawyering is canceled a lot. I'm pretty sure my spring schedule was a lot less heavy on the early days.

[democrattotheend]

This was my fall schedule last year:

M: Ks 9-10:50
Lawyering 11:25-12:15
Torts 2-3:50

T: Lawyering 9-10:50
Civ Pro 12-1:50

W: Ks 9-10:50

R: Civ Pro 10-11:50
Torts 2-3:50

F: Lawyering: 9-10:50
Civ Pro 11-11:55

Keep in mind Lawyering is canceled a lot. I'm pretty sure my spring schedule was a lot less heavy on the early days.

Why is lawyering canceled so often?

Also, does anyone know anything about the Sullivan Street residences? They seem like a better deal for the amount of space you get than D'Ag, and they are closer and cheaper than Mercer. Are these apartments available to incoming students, or are they only for upperclassmen? Other than not including cable and internet, is there any reason the studios at Sullivan Street are so much cheaper than Mercer when they are about the same size?

[spondee]

Why is lawyering canceled so often?

The lawyering assignments involve a lot of professional simulations beyond the research and writing components. On the weeks of cancelled class, it's usually because simulated work is occurring - meeting with clients, negotiating with opposing counsel, arguing before an appellate court, etc. - or because of small-group critique sessions with the professor.

[mwazaumoja]

Why is lawyering canceled so often?

The lawyering assignments involve a lot of professional simulations beyond the research and writing components. On the weeks of cancelled class, it's usually because simulated work is occurring - meeting with clients, negotiating with opposing counsel, arguing before an appellate court, etc. - or because of small-group critique sessions with the professor.

However the lawyering program is being reworked next year, so none of us have any idea what it will be like.

[Renzo]

Why is lawyering canceled so often?

The lawyering assignments involve a lot of professional simulations beyond the research and writing components. On the weeks of cancelled class, it's usually because simulated work is occurring - meeting with clients, negotiating with opposing counsel, arguing before an appellate court, etc. - or because of small-group critique sessions with the professor.

However the lawyering program is being reworked next year, so none of us have any idea what it will be like.

It's not going to be that drastic a change. Either the mediation OR negotiation exercise will be axed, and ICWA will be replaced with a similar exercise.

[democrattotheend]

Does anyone know anything about Sullivan Street? It seems like more space for the money than D'Ag or Mercer. Can incoming students get Sullivan Street apartments? What are the pro's and cons of living there compared to D'Ag or Mercer?

[Barouche]

Hi! I was just wondering if you knew whether it's likely that an entering 1L can get family housing? I can apply as soon as they send me my number, which is supposedly going to be in 7-10 days. They say that if they can't get you a place, they'll contact you in the summer, but if I can't get family housing, I think I'd rather still live on campus in a D'Ag 2 or 3 bedroom. So I just wondered if I should apply first for family housing or not.

[Renzo]

Does anyone know anything about Sullivan Street? It seems like more space for the money than D'Ag or Mercer. Can incoming students get Sullivan Street apartments? What are the pro's and cons of living there compared to D'Ag or Mercer?

I know a 3L who is there and likes it, but he has a family. It's less dormy, more apartment-ey (pay your own utilities, no doorman, no common space, no computers/printers, etc.), which is why it's cheaper. I don't know about availability.

[Renzo]

Hi! I was just wondering if you knew whether it's likely that an entering 1L can get family housing? I can apply as soon as they send me my number, which is supposedly going to be in 7-10 days. They say that if they can't get you a place, they'll contact you in the summer, but if I can't get family housing, I think I'd rather still live on campus in a D'Ag 2 or 3 bedroom. So I just wondered if I should apply first for family housing or not.

I'm a little confused by your post. There is 2bd family housing in D'ag. Do you mean the odds of getting a studio?

[democrattotheend]

Do they assign each person a room within the apartment, or do you just pick your room when you get there?

Also, do a lot of people utilize the early arrival option? Otherwise, it seems like there's not much time to get settled before orientation starts.

Finally, I was wondering if it was hard to get a room in D'Ag. It seems from the informal poll on the Class of 2013 thread that a lot more people want to live there than Mercer. Do a lot of people who want to live in D'Ag not get it?

[Barouche]

Sorry for being confusing. I meant that I want any kind of family housing, but if I can't get it, I would still like the option to live on campus in non family housing.

[Renzo]

Sorry for being confusing. I meant that I want any kind of family housing, but if I can't get it, I would still like the option to live on campus in non family housing.

Oh, gotcha. I think that if you are flexible in which family option you're willing to take, you'll get something.

[NYU2011]

I think lots of people use the early arrival option. My roommate and I both did. The rooms are assigned. I'm not sure it's hard to get D'Ag, maybe it's different now but everyone I knew in Mercer wanted to be there and I knew at least one person who got D'Ag that wanted Mercer.

[Barouche]

Thanks! Do you guys know of anyone who wanted family housing and couldn't get it?

[democrattotheend]

This was my fall schedule last year:

M: Ks 9-10:50
Lawyering 11:25-12:15
Torts 2-3:50

T: Lawyering 9-10:50
Civ Pro 12-1:50

W: Ks 9-10:50

R: Civ Pro 10-11:50
Torts 2-3:50

F: Lawyering: 9-10:50
Civ Pro 11-11:55

Keep in mind Lawyering is canceled a lot. I'm pretty sure my spring schedule was a lot less heavy on the early days.

What's Ks?

[haroldfordIII]

Why is lawyering canceled so often?

The lawyering assignments involve a lot of professional simulations beyond the research and writing components. On the weeks of cancelled class, it's usually because simulated work is occurring - meeting with clients, negotiating with opposing counsel, arguing before an appellate court, etc. - or because of small-group critique sessions with the professor.

However the lawyering program is being reworked next year, so none of us have any idea what it will be like.

It's not going to be that drastic a change. Either the mediation OR negotiation exercise will be axed, and ICWA will be replaced with a similar exercise.

Is the Lawyering class Pass/Fail or is it graded?

[NYU_1L]

What's Ks?

Contracts

Is the Lawyering class Pass/Fail or is it graded?

It's pass/fail, which is a godsend.

[democrattotheend]

A few more questions about housing (sorry!):

It does not say anything about this on the website, but I am assuming roommate matchings are single-gender unless otherwise requested, right? Are co-ed apartments an option?

Also, do they typically assign roommates who are in the same section, or different sections? I am thinking it might be good to have a roommate in the same section to compare notes with, but the advantage of someone in a different section is less bathroom conflict because of different schedules.

[Renzo]

A few more questions about housing (sorry!):

It does not say anything about this on the website, but I am assuming roommate matchings are single-gender unless otherwise requested, right? Are co-ed apartments an option?

Also, do they typically assign roommates who are in the same section, or different sections? I am thinking it might be good to have a roommate in the same section to compare notes with, but the advantage of someone in a different section is less bathroom conflict because of different schedules.

Roommates are same-sex, but I think there is a procedure for allowing mixed-sex apartments with the consent of everyone involved. The roommates aren't assigned by section, and that's good. You'll be sick of the people in your section by the end of the year, its good to have opportunities to meet other classmates.

[democrattotheend]

A few more questions about housing (sorry!):

It does not say anything about this on the website, but I am assuming roommate matchings are single-gender unless otherwise requested, right? Are co-ed apartments an option?

Also, do they typically assign roommates who are in the same section, or different sections? I am thinking it might be good to have a roommate in the same section to compare notes with, but the advantage of someone in a different section is less bathroom conflict because of different schedules.

Roommates are same-sex, but I think there is a procedure for allowing mixed-sex apartments with the consent of everyone involved. The roommates aren't assigned by section, and that's good. You'll be sick of the people in your section by the end of the year, its good to have opportunities to meet other classmates.

That makes sense. Should I ask for a roommate in a different section, or do they just do it that way automatically?

Also, do most 2L's and 3L's who want housing get it, or do a lot of people get shut out and forced to find housing off campus?