IOWA 2012 Forum

[sebastian0622]

There is a small operation named Quadhawk that I had good experience renting from, not sure if they have anything available:

quadhawk.com

[brupe]

Go with Heritage Property Management. Most of their properties allow dogs/cats which is great. Plus they're super lenient when it comes to your deposit, unlike other companies who make up reasons to take it all. Heritage is great, I rented from them for 3 years and LOVED them.

[shredderrrrrr]

im on the prelim waitlist, should i send a loci

The prelim waitlist is such an odd thing. It's better than the schools who do essentially the same thing (saving your application to take a second look at later) without any notification though.

An LOCI can't hurt at all.

That is if anyone is still interested in Iowa after the snow we got last night. I have about 5 inches at my house in Urbandale.

The strong winds and blowing snow today is brutal. Now to go walk to class...

[Opie]

im on the prelim waitlist, should i send a loci

The prelim waitlist is such an odd thing. It's better than the schools who do essentially the same thing (saving your application to take a second look at later) without any notification though.

An LOCI can't hurt at all.

That is if anyone is still interested in Iowa after the snow we got last night. I have about 5 inches at my house in Urbandale.

The strong winds and blowing snow today is brutal. Now to go walk to class...

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because the bus stops right outside.

[sebastian0622]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

[Opie]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

True, I suppose. I've actually never missed an entire class in all of UG though. I left early once, and we were basically done anyway. I even went to class the day after surgery with my face all taped up. I'm such an auditory learner that I get mire from a lecture than anything else. Not sure how that's going to go in Law School, but we'll see.

[shredderrrrrr]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

True, I suppose. I've actually never missed an entire class in all of UG though. I left early once, and we were basically done anyway. I even went to class the day after surgery with my face all taped up. I'm such an auditory learner that I get mire from a lecture than anything else. Not sure how that's going to go in Law School, but we'll see.

While not having near as impressive of attendance as you, I feel ya. While I do miss class from time to time, I can't stand it. I hate missing material.

[chrisbru]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

This is not true 1L year. While I agree that my presence isn't needed, all of my professors so far except one have taken attendance, and reserve the right to drop you from the class or dock your grade if you miss more than 3 or 4 classes. Which is ultimately stupid, because I don't feel like being in class helps me (though MOST people do get a lot out of class.)


ALSO: Please read if you are interested in living in Coralville
One of my roommates is moving out. His car is having problems, and he can't afford to buy a new one, so he's moving within walking distance of the law school in anticipation of the car dying. So, I'm hoping to keep the law school roommate cohesion in tact, if any incoming 1L's are interested

*$350/month plus about $80/month utilities for a large bedroom (I think it's 16 feet by 12 feet... easy to fit a queen bed, desk, dresser, couch, and TV) and full reign of the rest of the house (besides bedrooms, of course.)
*Share a bathroom with one other law student, who currently lives with me
*Parking in the driveway
*Fully furnished living room/kitchen, so the only stuff you need is in your bedroom
*55" TV with PS3, Wii, Nintendo 64, and Apple TV
*Large fenced in backyard with infrared grill, fire pit, yard games, etc.
*7 min walk to express bus to campus (though roommate and I both drive to class)
*5 min walk to the mall, close to other shopping, Wal-Mart, restaurants, etc

Must be ok with a small, 10 pound, hypoallergenic, girly dog.

[nickjive]

How much are parking passes if I were to drive to class?

[Flappy Scribbleneck]

Anyone else get an email from Professor Whiston?

[Opie]

Anyone else get an email from Professor Whiston?

Yes, got it today. Still bitter that I thought it was money at first.

Chrisbru, that's an awesome offer, and if I end up at Iowa, I am definitely interested.

re: class, I just feel like I get the most out of discussions. I imagine I will be a frequenter of office hours because of it. I get far more by skimming a chapter of something and discussing it with someone who understands it than reading it in detail twice and taking notes. I'm a rare auditory learner.

[apeopleshistory]

.

[Opie]

Anyone else get an email from Professor Whiston?

Yes, got it today. Still bitter that I thought it was money at first.

Not bitter, just sad disappointment.

I'm not bitter that I haven't got any money. I'm just bitter that they send me anything at all when I'm waiting for money.

[Smumps]

Anyone else get an email from Professor Whiston?

Got it also, also hoped it was scholarship information - still a nice touch, however. Iowa has really went above and beyond in the contacting me department!

[btw384]

Anyone else get an email from Professor Whiston?

Yes, got it today. Still bitter that I thought it was money at first.

Not bitter, just sad disappointment.

I'm not bitter that I haven't got any money. I'm just bitter that they send me anything at all when I'm waiting for money.

+1

I keep hoping that Iowa will send me a nice scholly letter and make it rain, but its been a few weeks since my acceptance now. I'm quickly losing hope.

[JOThompson]

How much are parking passes if I were to drive to class?

They're expensive, maybe $80-100 per month? Whatever the exact figure is, don't waste your money. You can park at the church across the street for $100-150 a semester. That fee is also negotiable.

[Opie]

How much are parking passes if I were to drive to class?

They're expensive, maybe $80-100 per month? Whatever the exact figure is, don't waste your money. You can park at the church across the street for $100-150 a semester. That fee is also negotiable.

What does everyone else do without all of this golden TLS wisdom?

[chrisbru]

How much are parking passes if I were to drive to class?

They're expensive, maybe $80-100 per month? Whatever the exact figure is, don't waste your money. You can park at the church across the street for $100-150 a semester. That fee is also negotiable.

Yeah, Myrtle parking lot is $695 for 9 months I think. I park at that church and it's awesome. Also, you can usually find classmates that have driveway spots they are willing to part with for some beer money.

[nickjive]

How much are parking passes if I were to drive to class?

They're expensive, maybe $80-100 per month? Whatever the exact figure is, don't waste your money. You can park at the church across the street for $100-150 a semester. That fee is also negotiable.

What does everyone else do without all of this golden TLS wisdom?

Yeah, no kidding. Solid advice.

[shredderrrrrr]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

This is not true 1L year. While I agree that my presence isn't needed, all of my professors so far except one have taken attendance, and reserve the right to drop you from the class or dock your grade if you miss more than 3 or 4 classes. Which is ultimately stupid, because I don't feel like being in class helps me (though MOST people do get a lot out of class.)


ALSO: Please read if you are interested in living in Coralville
One of my roommates is moving out. His car is having problems, and he can't afford to buy a new one, so he's moving within walking distance of the law school in anticipation of the car dying. So, I'm hoping to keep the law school roommate cohesion in tact, if any incoming 1L's are interested

*$350/month plus about $80/month utilities for a large bedroom (I think it's 16 feet by 12 feet... easy to fit a queen bed, desk, dresser, couch, and TV) and full reign of the rest of the house (besides bedrooms, of course.)
*Share a bathroom with one other law student, who currently lives with me
*Parking in the driveway
*Fully furnished living room/kitchen, so the only stuff you need is in your bedroom
*55" TV with PS3, Wii, Nintendo 64, and Apple TV
*Large fenced in backyard with infrared grill, fire pit, yard games, etc.
*7 min walk to express bus to campus (though roommate and I both drive to class)
*5 min walk to the mall, close to other shopping, Wal-Mart, restaurants, etc

Must be ok with a small, 10 pound, hypoallergenic, girly dog.

What do you mean by saying your presence in class isn't needed? I obviously know very little about the actual law school process. Are classes similar to UG where you are supposed to read for each class session and then the teacher gives relevant information in class (including stuff not in the textbook that you will be tested on)? Or is it basically just read the book, study, and take the final?

[Opie]

This is the nice thing about the law school. You really don't have to walk to class because attendance doesn't matter.

Fixed.

This is not true 1L year. While I agree that my presence isn't needed, all of my professors so far except one have taken attendance, and reserve the right to drop you from the class or dock your grade if you miss more than 3 or 4 classes. Which is ultimately stupid, because I don't feel like being in class helps me (though MOST people do get a lot out of class.)


ALSO: Please read if you are interested in living in Coralville
One of my roommates is moving out. His car is having problems, and he can't afford to buy a new one, so he's moving within walking distance of the law school in anticipation of the car dying. So, I'm hoping to keep the law school roommate cohesion in tact, if any incoming 1L's are interested

*$350/month plus about $80/month utilities for a large bedroom (I think it's 16 feet by 12 feet... easy to fit a queen bed, desk, dresser, couch, and TV) and full reign of the rest of the house (besides bedrooms, of course.)
*Share a bathroom with one other law student, who currently lives with me
*Parking in the driveway
*Fully furnished living room/kitchen, so the only stuff you need is in your bedroom
*55" TV with PS3, Wii, Nintendo 64, and Apple TV
*Large fenced in backyard with infrared grill, fire pit, yard games, etc.
*7 min walk to express bus to campus (though roommate and I both drive to class)
*5 min walk to the mall, close to other shopping, Wal-Mart, restaurants, etc

Must be ok with a small, 10 pound, hypoallergenic, girly dog.

What do you mean by saying your presence in class isn't needed? I obviously know very little about the actual law school process. Are classes similar to UG where you are supposed to read for each class session and then the teacher gives relevant information in class (including stuff not in the textbook that you will be tested on)? Or is it basically just read the book, study, and take the final?

Law classes are completely different than UG classes. Depending on how Socratic they are, they could be completely foreign to you.

In a strict Socratic class, the professor will call on a student (who does not get to volunteer and may not get to opt out when called) to state the case from the reading. The student will state the facts, relevant rules, and holding of the court. The professor may interrupt the student dozens of times during this portion in order to get clarification of anything that isn't perfectly clear and unambiguous. Then, once the case is stated, the professor will ask other questions about the case, or may change aspects of the case to create hypothetical situations to present to the student to see how the student thinks the hypotheticals may change things. Some professors interrogate the same student for the whole class, some move around. Some let students pass if they aren't prepared, other try to find the unprepared student and question them until they are a miserable pile of goo on the floor. You are supposed to glean knowledge and skill from this weird exercise. Most students think it's pretty useless and in some schools don't go to class at all because you can completely ace the final without any of the class interaction.

Most professors don't use a completely Socratic format though. I am obviously a 0L, so I don't really know much about Iowa. The one class I did go to (Hovenkamp's Antitrust class) was not all that Socratic (as non-1L classes tend to be). He did call on a student at random to state the case, and he did ask some questions (mostly about how this case related to another that had been studied earlier in the semester), but between points he lectured briefly and explained some of the concepts (such as the call rule in commodities trading, and commodities trading in general) that were necessary to understand the implications of the facts.

I think strictly Socratic has greatly gone out of style, but I've heard you should expect some of it 1L year at least. I'm told it lends itself well to Contracts and Torts.

Any non-0Ls out there want to speak more specifically to Iowa?

[sebastian0622]

The majority of my professors even in non-1L courses call randomly on students.

Attendance doesn't matter because the stuff you cover in class is stuff you've already read and know. If you've read thoroughly and understand what you've read, few professors really help you understand the issue any better. I mean, a lot of it can't be understood any better because it's fairly simple. Law is not rocket science.

I missed more class than anyone in one of my classes last semester but set the curve in that class because the class time was of little or no value. Just put together a good outline of the materials (or find one from a student or buy a commercial one) and study it a few days before the final. As long as you kept up with the reading throughout the semester, you can "re-learn" the material in no time flat and do well on the test.

That's probably not the most responsible advice, but it works for me. I miss a lot of class and spend little time studying, but I do eventually read everything assigned to me and really hit the studying hard for a few days before each final, and that works for me.

[Opie]

The majority of my professors even in non-1L courses call randomly on students.

Attendance doesn't matter because the stuff you cover in class is stuff you've already read and know. If you've read thoroughly and understand what you've read, few professors really help you understand the issue any better. I mean, a lot of it can't be understood any better because it's fairly simple. Law is not rocket science.

I missed more class than anyone in one of my classes last semester but set the curve in that class because the class time was of little or no value. Just put together a good outline of the materials (or find one from a student or buy a commercial one) and study it a few days before the final. As long as you kept up with the reading throughout the semester, you can "re-learn" the material in no time flat and do well on the test.

That's probably not the most responsible advice, but it works for me. I miss a lot of class and spend little time studying, but I do eventually read everything assigned to me and really hit the studying hard for a few days before each final, and that works for me.

I've heard that the most important thing is to keep up with the reading and have your outline as done as it can be before classes end so that you can actually study instead of spending that time finishing the outline.

Some have said that class time actually hurts them because it makes them think certain things are more important than others because they were addressed in class, when really that isn't true at all.

[sebastian0622]

I take reading notes throughout the semester. If I'm kind of behind on reading because I screwed off or whatever for a few days, I might skip taking some notes, but I take notes on probably 80% of the reading during the semester. Then, I basically have an outline done by the end of the semester. Just have to go back in and fill in the gaps.

[sebastian0622]

Some have said that class time actually hurts them because it makes them think certain things are more important than others because they were addressed in class, when really that isn't true at all.

Not only that, going to class means you have to be prepared to discuss the cases in a level of detail that is completely unnecessary and unhelpful. You might get called on and be asked to name minute details of the case. These details have no bearing on the overall point(s) of law that you need to take from the case in terms of preparing for the test. So if you skip class, you don't have to waste the time reading that closely at the risk of being unprepared for class if called on.

This is a big part of the reason why you can't tell how good students are based on how smart they sound in class. I probably sound like a jackass in class because I don't study the cases that well, but my grades are usually top 1/4 or so. I don't study the cases that well because they don't help on the test. I use that time to screw off, pace myself, take good notes for an outline, and learn and remember the overall points of law from the cases. My first semester, I probably sounded fairly smart in class b/c I studied the details, but I got by far my worst grades of any semester of law school.