Davis 1Ls taking questions/donations Forum

[20160810]

I'll try and check in here periodically and answer questions for people to the best of my ability. In the meantime, I know there are a handful of other UCD TLSers, so you guys should jump in here and answer questions as well.

[ncarolinafan042]

Thank you for taking questions...we'll see about the donations!

Davis is my #1 choice for Fall 2010.

3.55 LSDAS GPA, 12/05 LSAT
Non-URM
Top UG
Good Softs, Work Exp.
LOR from Davis Law Grad

I'm ranging from 158-162 LSAT. I've researched and figured that a 164 will most likely get me accepted. Still a lot more studying to go. Finishing a class and the bibles. Do you have any particular suggestions other than a strong PS to get me over the hump? What do you think my bottom LSAT score will be to get onto the WL?

Also, how has davis been academically? Was it what you expected?

Thank you!

[Headybrah]

let me preface this by saying I don't know nothing about from which I speak


Anyways, Im very interested in Davis but I have a few quick questions

1. Why doesn't Davis have a stronger Enviro law program, I haven't really examined the professors yet but I know they are a leading Agriculture research university I would assume they would have a strong enviro law program especially because Ca is so far ahead in terms of state environmental regulations. Your thoughts? Why don't they rank in the enviro law rankings?

2. How is Davis? Im in Santa Cruz now and thinking Davis might be a bit small and isolated, which is fine I kind of need that for my academics - is there enough to do outside school though?

3. How is the student body you like your classmates? Competitive?

4. Whats the deal with the new building?

thanks much - thinking of a trip up sometime soon

[Borhas]

I'm applying to a bunch of UC's and UC Davis has a rep for best quality of life, so it's kind my top choice at the moment, and I'm from another small city/cow town in Virginia so I'd don't mind towns or cows, but I've only visited Southern California I have no idea what the rest of California is like ...so with that in mind...

what sort of out door activities are nearby? I'm into fishing, skiing, and hiking
how's the law school community outside of law school (social life) and more to the point how are the girls looking?
how far is it to the nearby cities?
Do people actually go from Davis to the Bay Area or is it too far away?
Do they give decent merit aid money?
how much time do students spend studying... and on a related note, do you have free time ever?


I don't know about donations but if I ever make it to UC Davis I'll buy you a beer

[annapavlova]

How many cows have you tipped since you've been in Davis?

[jms1987]

I also would like to know more about the school. I posted in another thread about this, bit I'll put it here too-

Would it be a good bet for me to check out this school even though I'm out of state?

I read that Davis is very liberal, as a conservative/libertarian would I be comfortable there? I'm open to others opinions but at the same time I'd rather not be the "only" one of my type

[yo!]

Thank you for taking questions...we'll see about the donations!

Davis is my #1 choice for Fall 2010.

3.55 LSDAS GPA, 12/05 LSAT
Non-URM
Top UG
Good Softs, Work Exp.
LOR from Davis Law Grad

I'm ranging from 158-162 LSAT. I've researched and figured that a 164 will most likely get me accepted. Still a lot more studying to go. Finishing a class and the bibles. Do you have any particular suggestions other than a strong PS to get me over the hump? What do you think my bottom LSAT score will be to get onto the WL?

Thank you!

I cant really help, but I am in a silmilar situation, so hopefully someone will answer. Davis is also my #1 choice for fall 2010.

3.51 LSDAS GPA, strong upward trend (3.93 in junior and senior year).
Also taking Dec. LSAT
Non URM
Weak ass UG (CSU)
Avg. softs, work exp is not law-related but in the green industry
LOR from a part time Davis professor who teaches pre-law courses, and two other decent ones.
LSAT prep scores in the exact same range as you. I hover around 160, but I haven't done enough studying yet.

Also applying to U Oregon, UNLV, Mcgeorge, and maybe a few others.

Am I being paranoid, or do I need atleast a 166 to be in the running?

[DoctorNick189]

Splitter-friendly? 2.99/176.

How imperative is it to have a car on campus?

[hellogoodbye1]

I also had similar questions:

1. How is the Davis? What is there to do around campus?
2. How is Davis with merit scholarships? I have a 3.82/163. Do you think I would have a chance for any money?
3. Ditto to the car question, and is there good public transportation?

Thanks so much!

[econtutornv]

I haven't seen SBL answer any of these yet so I (Also a Davis 1L) figured that I'd answer what I can...

I also had similar questions:

1. How is the Davis? What is there to do around campus?
2. How is Davis with merit scholarships? I have a 3.82/163. Do you think I would have a chance for any money?
3. Ditto to the car question, and is there good public transportation?

Thanks so much!

1. Davis is great, though it really is what you make of it. I have a few friends who never leave town and I have a few friends that leave every weekend. Personally I fall somewhere in the middle as I head home once or twice a month. There's enough to do here that I haven't been bored yet.

2. Don't quote me on this but I don't believe that Davis gives out "merit scholarships". However, Davis does throw around a good deal of grant money, which is theoretically need based but from the people I've talked to it tends to wind up in the hands of people with above median LSAT's/GPA's. Take this with a grain of salt as without surveying the entire class it's impossible to know.

3. Public transportation is outstanding here. The bus runs frequently, and at late hours. However, I never ride it in good weather as you really can reach just about anything here on a bicycle. Since our new "Big-Box" store opened (a Target) there really is nothing that you need that you can't ride a bike to. There are a few commuters from Sacramento or Woodland (obviously, you'd need a car for either) but if you're living in Davis public transit/biking should be more than adequate for everything but road trips.

Splitter-friendly? 2.99/176.

How imperative is it to have a car on campus?

Splitter-Friendly?

To be honest I wouldn't know. However, I'm a weak splitter here and they let me in... I would like to say though that with a 176 you really should carpet bomb the T10 (maybe excluding HYS as they seem to be stringent about GPA) and any place you can see yourself going in the T20. Davis is great but I wouldn't pass up a chance to attend UCLA or USC (Hell, even a shot in the dark chance at CCN) to go here.

How imperative is it to have a car on campus?

See above

Thank you for taking questions...we'll see about the donations!

Davis is my #1 choice for Fall 2010.

3.55 LSDAS GPA, 12/05 LSAT
Non-URM
Top UG
Good Softs, Work Exp.
LOR from Davis Law Grad

I'm ranging from 158-162 LSAT. I've researched and figured that a 164 will most likely get me accepted. Still a lot more studying to go. Finishing a class and the bibles. Do you have any particular suggestions other than a strong PS to get me over the hump? What do you think my bottom LSAT score will be to get onto the WL?

Thank you!

I cant really help, but I am in a silmilar situation, so hopefully someone will answer. Davis is also my #1 choice for fall 2010.

3.51 LSDAS GPA, strong upward trend (3.93 in junior and senior year).
Also taking Dec. LSAT
Non URM
Weak ass UG (CSU)
Avg. softs, work exp is not law-related but in the green industry
LOR from a part time Davis professor who teaches pre-law courses, and two other decent ones.
LSAT prep scores in the exact same range as you. I hover around 160, but I haven't done enough studying yet.

Also applying to U Oregon, UNLV, Mcgeorge, and maybe a few others.

Am I being paranoid, or do I need atleast a 166 to be in the running?

A 166 to get in here? Yes, you're being paranoid. UGPA and LSAT are what matters most, I came from a certainly less than stellar out-of-state undergrad with mediocre softs and I'm here!

Also, not to be a dick but when I asked my former bosses about McGeorge (5 alums) they told me flat out "Don't go there".

I also would like to know more about the school. I posted in another thread about this, bit I'll put it here too-

Would it be a good bet for me to check out this school even though I'm out of state?

I read that Davis is very liberal, as a conservative/libertarian would I be comfortable there? I'm open to others opinions but at the same time I'd rather not be the "only" one of my type

What about the school would you like to know more about?

Would it be a good bet for me to check out this school even though I'm out of state?- Absolutely, I'm from out of state and it didn't seem to harm my chances at all (my Sallie Mae account balance however...)

Davis is pretty liberal, it's a college town in Northern California! However, it's not like you're indoctrinated in the glories of radical feminist Marxist dialectic while being swaddled in a USSR flag while you're here. My professors have done an excellent job of hiding their political leanings. However, if you're afraid of "teh ghey", or want a school with a definite fundamentalist bent I recommend Liberty or Regents. Conservatives and libertarians get along just fine here (and there are plenty of conservatives and libertarians here), just don't expect to hear epic poems about the awesomeness of supply-side Jesus on the streets or in the classrooms.

How many cows have you tipped since you've been in Davis?

Sigh, none yet. However, I have partaken in watching cow TV

I'm applying to a bunch of UC's and UC Davis has a rep for best quality of life, so it's kind my top choice at the moment, and I'm from another small city/cow town in Virginia so I'd don't mind towns or cows, but I've only visited Southern California I have no idea what the rest of California is like ...so with that in mind...

what sort of out door activities are nearby? I'm into fishing, skiing, and hiking
how's the law school community outside of law school (social life) and more to the point how are the girls looking?
how far is it to the nearby cities?
Do people actually go from Davis to the Bay Area or is it too far away?
Do they give decent merit aid money?
how much time do students spend studying... and on a related note, do you have free time ever?


I don't know about donations but if I ever make it to UC Davis I'll buy you a beer

what sort of out door activities are nearby? I'm into fishing, skiing, and hiking

If you like outdoor activities you will love Davis. Fishing is easy enough down at the Sacramento river. Skiing? Seriously? Davis is less than three hours away from some of the best skiing in the country at Lake Tahoe! Hiking, where there's skiing there's mountains and Davis is no exception. Yosemite national park is a few hours away too!

how's the law school community outside of law school (social life) and more to the point how are the girls looking?

The law school community outside of law school, for me at least, has been fantastic. While what they say about law school being "clique-ish" is true, everybody here has a good time and is pretty respectful of each other. As to the question of how the girls look... No comment as I don't want to hear about it one way or another in class tomorrow! BTW, as a piece of advice to anyone going to law school and not just Davis- Don't date any of your classmates; there are reasons you don't dip your pen in the company ink and those reasons are amplified when "the company" is guaranteed to have the same 200 people in it for the next three years. Also, why bother dating law students when there are thousands of women with questionable morals (they're called undergrads )running around the town looking for someone who can buy beer?

How far is it to the nearby cities?

Davis is about an hour away from San Francisco, ten minutes away from Sacramento, three hours away from Reno and around 8 hours away from Los Angeles.

How much time do we spend studying?

This varies; I've seen some people burning the midnight oil at the coffee shops around town and I know some people don't read anything for class. Personally I spend about 4 hours a day studying Sunday-Thursday, 2-3 hours at home and another hour or two at lunch, give or take a few hours if I have a writing assignment due. I have yet to experience finals here but I have a feeling that those numbers will drastically increase in a few weeks. I will say that at first I was spending 7-8 hours a day studying. Once I figured out what the professor's wanted in class and what I'd need for the finals this has been whittled down.

let me preface this by saying I don't know nothing about from which I speak

Anyways, Im very interested in Davis but I have a few quick questions

1. Why doesn't Davis have a stronger Enviro law program, I haven't really examined the professors yet but I know they are a leading Agriculture research university I would assume they would have a strong enviro law program especially because Ca is so far ahead in terms of state environmental regulations. Your thoughts? Why don't they rank in the enviro law rankings?

2. How is Davis? Im in Santa Cruz now and thinking Davis might be a bit small and isolated, which is fine I kind of need that for my academics - is there enough to do outside school though?

3. How is the student body you like your classmates? Competitive?

4. Whats the deal with the new building?

thanks much - thinking of a trip up sometime soon

1. I have no idea. Enviro wasn't a big draw for me here. We do have an Enviro journal and enviro firms do hire here. Remember, if you're getting hired by an environmental law firm it's far more likely that you'll be working on slashing rain forests than saving them...

2. Answered above. Plenty to do in town. Davis may be in its own little bubble but it's ten minutes from Sac.

3. Mostly answered above. Everybody is pretty friendly though. I haven't seen any competitive behavior, we send notes to absent students, share books in class if someone forgets theirs, etc. I'm loathe to say it's kumbaya here, but it kind of is

4. I wish I knew! We were told that it'd definitely be finished before the start of our 2L year and it looks like they're making good progress on it. It's not really a new building so much as it is adding a huge expansion on our old one.

Thank you for taking questions...we'll see about the donations!

Davis is my #1 choice for Fall 2010.

3.55 LSDAS GPA, 12/05 LSAT
Non-URM
Top UG
Good Softs, Work Exp.
LOR from Davis Law Grad

I'm ranging from 158-162 LSAT. I've researched and figured that a 164 will most likely get me accepted. Still a lot more studying to go. Finishing a class and the bibles. Do you have any particular suggestions other than a strong PS to get me over the hump? What do you think my bottom LSAT score will be to get onto the WL?

Also, how has davis been academically? Was it what you expected?

Thank you!

On admissions questions I can only give you my own anecdotal experience as someone who went through two cycles before heading off to law school.

More than anything it's a numbers game. LSAT and UGPA matter far more than UG quality or less than absolutely stellar softs (stellar softs= winning an olympic medal, curing a terminal disease, etc...). Get that 164+, write a decent PS and you should have no problem getting in here.

Academically Davis has been great. Law school's been everything I hoped it would be, the professors are interesting and without a doubt really know their stuff. To be honest I expected to have to read a little bit more every night but aside from that it's fallen pretty well within expectations. The biggest surprise, I didn't think I'd enjoy going to class nearly as much as I have.

[LvingLegend]

After reading the TLS profile on UC Davis it seems its a waste to go w/o a graduate degree. Is this true?

[jms1987]

Thanks for the reply, that was quite helpful.

[econtutornv]

After reading the TLS profile on UC Davis it seems its a waste to go w/o a graduate degree. Is this true?

???

What about the TLS profile made it seem like it would be a waste to go w/o a graduate degree? I certainly hope this isn't true as the vast majority (90%+) of my 1L section is screwed if this is the case!

[Borhas]

thanks, econtutornv

[ViP]

I have a 3.83 and a 163, and I am seriously considering Davis.

I have good LORs, good PS, and I'm getting my apps in very soon.

1) How strong are my chances at Davis? I know my chances are pretty good, but I actually want to know just how strong they are, given your knowledge of fellow classmates and their numbers? LSP says I'm an "Admit," but I'm not that convinced.

2) What made you choose Davis over Hastings (assuming you applied/were accepted to both)?

[yo!]

A 166 to get in here? Yes, you're being paranoid. UGPA and LSAT are what matters most, I came from a certainly less than stellar out-of-state undergrad with mediocre softs and I'm here!

Also, not to be a dick but when I asked my former bosses about McGeorge (5 alums) they told me flat out "Don't go there".

Thanks for the help, and no worries about McGeorge, it is a safety and my last choice. If I'm being paranoid, what kind of LSAT will I actually need? My numbers don't look that good compared to their admitted students:
Score Percentiles
25th 50th 75th
GPA 3.41 3.62 3.78
LSAT 162 164 167

I am below the median GPA, so I probably need atleast a 165 to compensate. Am I wrong?

[General Tso]

Question for SBL: will you consider your choice a bad one when Hastings passes Davis in next year's USNWR?

I like how UC Davis now lists its ADMITTED students' medians and not its MATRICULATING medians. Could it have something to do with Hastings 3.6/164 median in the class of 2012?? Hmm

[Borhas]

how come on the TLS rankings the median 25% and 75% are at 3.45-3.75 for GPA 158-163 for LSAT?

I'm guessing the numbers they put on their website are for admitted students, and not attending students

[General Tso]

how come on the TLS rankings the median 25% and 75% are at 3.45-3.75 for GPA 158-163 for LSAT?

I'm guessing the numbers they put on their website are for admitted students, and not attending students

that is correct...they list admitted students not attending students medians.

and the TLS profiles are outdated

[Borhas]

how come on the TLS rankings the median 25% and 75% are at 3.45-3.75 for GPA 158-163 for LSAT?

I'm guessing the numbers they put on their website are for admitted students, and not attending students

that is correct...they list admitted students not attending students medians.

and the TLS profiles are outdated

Is LSN up to date?

their numbers are:

25th GPA: 3.35
25th LSAT:160

75th GPA: 3.73
75th LSAT:164

anyone think a 3.31/165 is good enough for Davis? according to Law school predictor I have a "consider" so does that give me like a 50% chance or something?

[Veritas]

SBL! I'm COMING FOR YOUUUU

[Mr. Matlock]

SBL! I'm COMING FOR YOUUUU

I'd be careful SBL. He appears to own a car that can drive through large trees.

[econtutornv]

A 166 to get in here? Yes, you're being paranoid. UGPA and LSAT are what matters most, I came from a certainly less than stellar out-of-state undergrad with mediocre softs and I'm here!

Also, not to be a dick but when I asked my former bosses about McGeorge (5 alums) they told me flat out "Don't go there".

Thanks for the help, and no worries about McGeorge, it is a safety and my last choice. If I'm being paranoid, what kind of LSAT will I actually need? My numbers don't look that good compared to their admitted students:
Score Percentiles
25th 50th 75th
GPA 3.41 3.62 3.78
LSAT 162 164 167

I am below the median GPA, so I probably need atleast a 165 to compensate. Am I wrong?

how come on the TLS rankings the median 25% and 75% are at 3.45-3.75 for GPA 158-163 for LSAT?

I'm guessing the numbers they put on their website are for admitted students, and not attending students

that is correct...they list admitted students not attending students medians.

and the TLS profiles are outdated

Is LSN up to date?

their numbers are:

25th GPA: 3.35
25th LSAT:160

75th GPA: 3.73
75th LSAT:164

anyone think a 3.31/165 is good enough for Davis? according to Law school predictor I have a "consider" so does that give me like a 50% chance or something?

To tell you the truth I have no idea what the actual medians for Davis are. The dean of admissions told us during intro week that of the attending students the median was 163/(can't remember GPA, think somewhere between 3.5 and 3.65). This doesn't synch up with anything I've seen on another website, including Davis's own. If you're really curious about it I'd suggest taking a look when LSAC's new info comes out or when USNWR puts out their newest rankings.

I was accepted here with a 164/3.33 and I didn't apply until February. Whether this is good news for everyone with a sub-median GPA or the adcomm's found my rather banal PS and softs compelling I don't really know. If you have an LSAT>162 or 3.7+ GPA I'd say it's worth your time and the $75 to apply.

Something to consider: one of the deans openly admitted during intro week that they are forced to game the rankings. He said that once they have stabilized the LSAT median of the incoming class they have a huge incentive to take higher GPA's, regardless of LSAT (within reason of course), as GPA medians are far easier to improve. What does that mean for everyone applying? If you're above median on LSAT and your GPA is causing you to worry, apply early! This applies to every school you're looking at, apply early!




....Edited for poor Engrish, apparently there is no "g" in within....

[Borhas]

thanks again. Fortunately, I applied last week, but they said they randomly select which ones to review so for all I know my app may be the last to review... but I guess the sooner it gets in the greater the odds that they randomly review. Oh well who knows. I'm taking the LSAT again, but I hope they don't just put my application aside until then, because I think I've got a good shot right now and at the moment I'd REALLY like to Davis or Hastings.

[LvingLegend]

After reading the TLS profile on UC Davis it seems its a waste to go w/o a graduate degree. Is this true?

???

What about the TLS profile made it seem like it would be a waste to go w/o a graduate degree? I certainly hope this isn't true as the vast majority (90%+) of my 1L section is screwed if this is the case!

"In general, it has been said that the career resources at the law school are average and campus recruiting is standard; however, those with just a BA tend to have to work a bit harder to catch the same opportunities as those that already have another advanced degree."