Notre Dame Law School c/o 2018 (2014-2015 applicants) Forum

[TirantMartorell]

Congrats to all the newly admitted, as always, I'm here for question.

Hey, I was admitted back in December. Really excited about ND, and as long as I don't get completely screwed come scholarship notifications, I'll probably be putting my deposit down soon.

I may be jumping the gun here, but I have two questions on housing. Any insight is appreciated.

1.) What would you consider to be the best housing options for 1L? I take my academics seriously, but I also plan on engaging in the social/nightlife scene as much as possible 1L year. I was originally thinking off-campus, but after reading through that "insider's guide" they sent us, it sounds like Fischer may be the way to go. Is Fischer the ND equivalent to other schools that offer housing for 1Ls (The Aston at GW, Gewirz at GULC, etc.)?

2.) On or off-campus, how do 1Ls typically find roommates? I've lived with 4 friends the last few years, and am looking for a similar dynamic in law school.

Again, I appreciate any information you may have. Congrats to the other admits, and good luck to those waiting to hear

Do any current ND students have any thoughts on this? I looked through the thread and it didn't look like there has been a whole lot of discussion on housing. Thanks.

I live off-campus and enjoy it, though it can be a bit isolating if you are not a naturally social person. A lot of 1Ls live on-campus, in Fisher. Some people like the experience but others do not. It's simple and on-campus (which is very good on home football games) but you don't have a washer/dryer in unit and no dishwasher either. If you don't want roommates, on-campus is not for you. It's about a 15-20 minute walk from the graduate housing to the law school I think.

There are some housing options near campus. A lot of 1Ls live in University Edge. If you have the money and willing to pay then the Foundry is good. There are a few complexes just east of campus near the Martins Supermarket on 23 but I'm not familiar with those.

If you don't mind living a bit far (like a 10-15 minute drive), then there are several apt complexes in Mishawaka (Indian Lakes, Runaway Bay, University Park, Addison something, and others - most of these are listed in the Insider's Guide I think). Quite a few students live in Mishawaka. The main hassle is that on home football games you will need to make arrangements to get to campus because parking is a nightmare. You will get a lot more for you money in Mishawaka and will be closer to grocery stores and restaurants, but YOU NEED A CAR FOR EVERYTHING THERE.

For roommates I recommend joining the admitted student Facebook group as soon as someone opens it. One of the students in my class opened it last year and many people found roommates for off-campus housing through the group. I have no idea how on-campus roommates work, but I do know that it was random for some people. Not every law student has another law student as a roommate.

[ManoftheHour]

29k/year. I was gone for the weekend and must have passed over the email in my phone. Will probably try to muscle for more, but for now...

#Woo

lol, I wish they would have just given you a solid $30k a year.

[mx23250]

ND is ranked #20 on the 2014 NLJ250 list with 24.46% of the Class of 2013 grads taking jobs at NLJ250 law firms. I believe they were ranked #26 last year with ~16% of the class of 2012. Not bad, ND, not bad.

[KanyeShrug]

29k/year. I was gone for the weekend and must have passed over the email in my phone. Will probably try to muscle for more, but for now...

#Woo

lol, I wish they would have just given you a solid $30k a year.

Honestly, they probably know their max offer to me is 30k/year. Therefore, that will be the number I'll "muscle" for.

[mx23250]

29k/year. I was gone for the weekend and must have passed over the email in my phone. Will probably try to muscle for more, but for now...

#Woo

lol, I wish they would have just given you a solid $30k a year.

Honestly, they probably know their max offer to me is 30k/year. Therefore, that will be the number I'll "muscle" for.

I'd gladly take 10% of that offer lol

[brrrrcat]

Congrats to all the newly admitted, as always, I'm here for question.

Hey, I was admitted back in December. Really excited about ND, and as long as I don't get completely screwed come scholarship notifications, I'll probably be putting my deposit down soon.

I may be jumping the gun here, but I have two questions on housing. Any insight is appreciated.

1.) What would you consider to be the best housing options for 1L? I take my academics seriously, but I also plan on engaging in the social/nightlife scene as much as possible 1L year. I was originally thinking off-campus, but after reading through that "insider's guide" they sent us, it sounds like Fischer may be the way to go. Is Fischer the ND equivalent to other schools that offer housing for 1Ls (The Aston at GW, Gewirz at GULC, etc.)?

2.) On or off-campus, how do 1Ls typically find roommates? I've lived with 4 friends the last few years, and am looking for a similar dynamic in law school.

Again, I appreciate any information you may have. Congrats to the other admits, and good luck to those waiting to hear

Do any current ND students have any thoughts on this? I looked through the thread and it didn't look like there has been a whole lot of discussion on housing. Thanks.

I live off-campus and enjoy it, though it can be a bit isolating if you are not a naturally social person. A lot of 1Ls live on-campus, in Fisher. Some people like the experience but others do not. It's simple and on-campus (which is very good on home football games) but you don't have a washer/dryer in unit and no dishwasher either. If you don't want roommates, on-campus is not for you. It's about a 15-20 minute walk from the graduate housing to the law school I think.

Fisher is twin beds right? That + no dishwasher might be a deal breaker for me.

[kyle010723]

ND is ranked #20 on the 2014 NLJ250 list with 24.46% of the Class of 2013 grads taking jobs at NLJ250 law firms. I believe they were ranked #26 last year with ~16% of the class of 2012. Not bad, ND, not bad.

Cant find the NLJ250 list without paying for the subscription, so I will take your words for it.

[mx23250]

ND is ranked #20 on the 2014 NLJ250 list with 24.46% of the Class of 2013 grads taking jobs at NLJ250 law firms. I believe they were ranked #26 last year with ~16% of the class of 2012. Not bad, ND, not bad.

Cant find the NLJ250 list without paying for the subscription, so I will take your words for it.

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... chool.html

This post only lists the top 20 schools, it will be interesting to see what the other 21-50 schools look like.

[ManoftheHour]

ND is ranked #20 on the 2014 NLJ250 list with 24.46% of the Class of 2013 grads taking jobs at NLJ250 law firms. I believe they were ranked #26 last year with ~16% of the class of 2012. Not bad, ND, not bad.

Cant find the NLJ250 list without paying for the subscription, so I will take your words for it.

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... chool.html

This post only lists the top 20 schools, it will be interesting to see what the other 21-50 schools look like.

I wish our tuition was only $45k....

[kyle010723]

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... chool.html

This post only lists the top 20 schools, it will be interesting to see what the other 21-50 schools look like.

So we've been 23 (23.8%); 23 (13.7%); 26 (15.8%); 20 (24.46%) from 2011 to 2014. I hope that means the economy bottomed out in 2012, or we just had a tremendous year. Could be both.

[mx23250]

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... chool.html

This post only lists the top 20 schools, it will be interesting to see what the other 21-50 schools look like.

So we've been 23 (23.8%); 23 (13.7%); 26 (below 16.3%); 20 (24.46%) from 2011 to 2014. I hope that means the economy bottomed out in 2012, or we just had a tremendous year. Could be both.

Probably both. A jump from #26 to #20 is pretty impressive, but it's hard to know how well ND did relative to the other schools it jumped ahead of until we know the % from #21+. I'd imagine most other schools only increased a couple % at best and didn't enjoy the 8% climb that ND did.

[kyle010723]

Probably both. A jump from #26 to #20 is pretty impressive, but it's hard to know how well ND did relative to the other schools it jumped ahead of until we know the % from #21+. I'd imagine most other schools only increased a couple % at best and didn't enjoy the 8% climb that ND did.

Last year the 20th was UCI with 23.2%, and the first one that broke 30% was 14th with Yale, whereas this year 20th is 24.46% and 18th USC has 29.55%. So I'd like to think the economy is improving. Although the engineer in me tells me we need more data to run some regressions, but I will pass for now.

[mx23250]

Probably both. A jump from #26 to #20 is pretty impressive, but it's hard to know how well ND did relative to the other schools it jumped ahead of until we know the % from #21+. I'd imagine most other schools only increased a couple % at best and didn't enjoy the 8% climb that ND did.

Last year the 20th was UCI with 23.2%, and the first one that broke 30% was 14th with Yale, whereas this year 20th is 24.46% and 18th USC has 29.55%. So I'd like to think the economy is improving. Although the engineer in me tells me we need more data to run some regressions, but I will pass for now.

+1. Comparing each school with last year there definitely seems to be a growing trend, albeit small for some. I'd agree it appears the economy is improving. As a biochemist, I will also pass on running some regression analyses.

[mu13ski]

Fisher is twin beds right? That + no dishwasher might be a deal breaker for me.

Yes, twin beds. No dishwasher really isn't that big of a deal, especially if you get a meal plan.

[CJ2017]

Fisher is twin beds right? That + no dishwasher might be a deal breaker for me.

Yes, twin beds. No dishwasher really isn't that big of a deal, especially if you get a meal plan.

What do you guys think of the Overlook? It's the "campus related" housing specifically for graduate and law students located just on the edge of campus. Looks about the same distance from Fisher to the law school.

[mx23250]

Fisher is twin beds right? That + no dishwasher might be a deal breaker for me.

Yes, twin beds. No dishwasher really isn't that big of a deal, especially if you get a meal plan.

What do you guys think of the Overlook? It's the "campus related" housing specifically for graduate and law students located just on the edge of campus. Looks about the same distance from Fisher to the law school.

I've looked into it (not in person, though) and if I end up at ND I'll probably live there.

[brrrrcat]

Fisher is twin beds right? That + no dishwasher might be a deal breaker for me.

Yes, twin beds. No dishwasher really isn't that big of a deal, especially if you get a meal plan.

What do you guys think of the Overlook? It's the "campus related" housing specifically for graduate and law students located just on the edge of campus. Looks about the same distance from Fisher to the law school.

I've looked into it (not in person, though) and if I end up at ND I'll probably live there.

It just seems really, really expensive. Maybe I'm just stingy.

Current students, is Clover Village a bad idea? The write up in the Insiders Guide wasn't bad. It's inexpensive and near campus and allows pets.

[mx23250]

Overlook is a bit more expensive, but it is all-inclusive, so the price includes all utilities, internet, and cable (~$200+/mo value) and is furnished. Clover Village is another I'm looking into. It's a bit cheaper, but you also have to pay electricity and since heating is by electricity, it will probably average $100+/mo. Clover Village also looks like it would be noisier due to undergrads. I'll be checking out both if/when I visit.

[brrrrcat]

Overlook is a bit more expensive, but it is all-inclusive, so the price includes all utilities, internet, and cable (~$200+/mo value) and is furnished. Clover Village is another I'm looking into. It's a bit cheaper, but you also have to pay electricity and since heating is by electricity, it will probably average $100+/mo. Clover Village also looks like it would be noisier due to undergrads. I'll be checking out both if/when I visit.

I'm changing my mind. Overlook is a super nice option if you don't already have furniture.

[lovesthelaw]

How does Notre Dame feel about students negotiating scholarships? Is that something students do by email or snail mail?

[mx23250]

Overlook is a bit more expensive, but it is all-inclusive, so the price includes all utilities, internet, and cable (~$200+/mo value) and is furnished. Clover Village is another I'm looking into. It's a bit cheaper, but you also have to pay electricity and since heating is by electricity, it will probably average $100+/mo. Clover Village also looks like it would be noisier due to undergrads. I'll be checking out both if/when I visit.

I'm changing my mind. Overlook is a super nice option if you don't already have furniture.

Even though I own a lot of really nice furniture, I'm kind of glad it's furnished because it would make it so much easier to move out/in if you do the Chicago/London program or have a SA job in another city in between semesters/years.

[kyle010723]

How does Notre Dame feel about students negotiating scholarships? Is that something students do by email or snail mail?

This is new so no good answer, but email is probably the correct answer. I would recommend attaching a pdf or email of comparable offers from peer or better schools. Better offers from lesser school are nice, but I dont think they would give much leverage in negotiations.

[frank617]

Thanks again to all current students answering questions.

If you choose to live in Fischer or O'Hara-Grace, are you paying the rent for 12 months or just during the school year?

[SparkyZZZ]

Overlook is a bit more expensive, but it is all-inclusive, so the price includes all utilities, internet, and cable (~$200+/mo value) and is furnished. Clover Village is another I'm looking into. It's a bit cheaper, but you also have to pay electricity and since heating is by electricity, it will probably average $100+/mo. Clover Village also looks like it would be noisier due to undergrads. I'll be checking out both if/when I visit.

I'm changing my mind. Overlook is a super nice option if you don't already have furniture.

Even though I own a lot of really nice furniture, I'm kind of glad it's furnished because it would make it so much easier to move out/in if you do the Chicago/London program or have a SA job in another city in between semesters/years.

Does overlook have 9 month leases or just 12?

Ease of moving is somewhat negated if you are on the hook for the full year...

[mu13ski]

Thanks again to all current students answering questions.

If you choose to live in Fischer or O'Hara-Grace, are you paying the rent for 12 months or just during the school year?

Just the school year. That is one of the main reasons why I did FOG. A lot of other places I looked at wanted a 12 month lease.

In regards to the Overlook (or whatever that new place is called for grad students)... it looks nice. It is a little bit further of a walk than FOG. And too expensive IMO. Everything is included at FOG and it is fully furnished.