Boston University c/o 2015 Applicants Forum

[Worker and Parasite]

hey BigBlue did you get your scholly with your admit packet? Or was it separate?

[BigBlueLaw]

hey BigBlue did you get your scholly with your admit packet? Or was it separate?

I got it all in the packet about a week after I got the call.

[bceagles182]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

[broncos_fan_26]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

with a bceagles username? lol

[broncos_fan_26]

I am 12/6 too.... probably borderline.
sending a LOCI today... i have a lot to update them on (moved to boston, got job at law firm-- which i mentioned in updated resume--,and stuff like that) . i feel like it cant hurt.

[bceagles182]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

with a bceagles username? lol

Yeah, I went to BC for undergrad.

I chose BC over BU for undergrad, and then BU over BC for law school.

[BigBlueLaw]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

with a bceagles username? lol

Yeah, I went to BC for undergrad.

I chose BC over BU for undergrad, and then BU over BC for law school.

Why?

[landla]

How many of you are leaning towards BU so far? I'm pretty sure this is where I'll end up unless I get a surprise or two from the rest of my cycle. I was thinking about starting a BU c/o 2015 thread in the "class of 2015" forum.

I am, though it ultimately comes down to scholarship and a few more things I've yet to hear about/determine definitively.

I'd like one, so we can discuss things there and not bother people who are discussing acceptances/waiting.

[bceagles182]

Well undergrad is very different than law school. BC undergrad is objectively better than BU, and it's more my social scene. But when you choose a law school, your criteria changes.

First off, their job prospects are pretty much identical. I was interested in either Boston or NYC, and making a decision based on the subtle differences between the two would really be splitting hairs. Money was also the same, so I based my decision on a number of other factors. In most cases, I think the decision is very specific to the student.

- BU is conveniently located in Boston, whereas BC is in a suburban area about 5 miles outside the city. BC law is even less convenient than the main campus, as it's located on a satellite campus which is only accessible by bus or car. So unless you have a car, getting to BC law is a royal pain.

- If I ended up in Boston, I thought it might help to have both BC and BU on my resume for networking purposes.

- While I loved BC undergrad overall, the administration is terrible. And I've heard similar things about law school.

- BU has a new transactional (business) law program which really appealed to me. BU is one of the very best places to be if you're interested in that path (as opposed to litigation). If you want more info on that, just google Tina Stark.

[Killingly]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Did transfer from somewhere else to BU?

[pedroia]

Well undergrad is very different than law school. BC undergrad is objectively better than BU, and it's more my social scene. But when you choose a law school, your criteria changes.

First off, their job prospects are pretty much identical. I was interested in either Boston or NYC, and making a decision based on the subtle differences between the two would really be splitting hairs. Money was also the same, so I based my decision on a number of other factors. In most cases, I think the decision is very specific to the student.

- BU is conveniently located in Boston, whereas BC is in a suburban area about 5 miles outside the city. BC law is even less convenient than the main campus, as it's located on a satellite campus which is only accessible by bus or car. So unless you have a car, getting to BC law is a royal pain.

- If I ended up in Boston, I thought it might help to have both BC and BU on my resume for networking purposes.

- While I loved BC undergrad overall, the administration is terrible. And I've heard similar things about law school.

- BU has a new transactional (business) law program which really appealed to me. BU is one of the very best places to be if you're interested in that path (as opposed to litigation). If you want more info on that, just google Tina Stark.

Thanks so much for this, bceagles - it's very helpful. Can you say more about the transactional strengths of BU vs. BC? As a student there, do you feel like your expectations for a strong transactional program have been met? Do you sense that hiring law firms recognize this difference between BU and BC? From what I understand - and I could well be mistaken - many Boston lawyers, especially older ones, are pretty unaware of the strides BU has taken in the last decade or two to strengthen itself, and therefore reflexively still assume BC is the better of the two schools. Have you found this to be the case?

Thanks for answering any of these you can/want.

[bceagles182]

Hey guys -- I stumbled across this thread while searching for something. I'm a 2L at BU (ironic with my username, I know), so feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Did transfer from somewhere else to BU?

Yes.

[bceagles182]

Well undergrad is very different than law school. BC undergrad is objectively better than BU, and it's more my social scene. But when you choose a law school, your criteria changes.

First off, their job prospects are pretty much identical. I was interested in either Boston or NYC, and making a decision based on the subtle differences between the two would really be splitting hairs. Money was also the same, so I based my decision on a number of other factors. In most cases, I think the decision is very specific to the student.

- BU is conveniently located in Boston, whereas BC is in a suburban area about 5 miles outside the city. BC law is even less convenient than the main campus, as it's located on a satellite campus which is only accessible by bus or car. So unless you have a car, getting to BC law is a royal pain.

- If I ended up in Boston, I thought it might help to have both BC and BU on my resume for networking purposes.

- While I loved BC undergrad overall, the administration is terrible. And I've heard similar things about law school.

- BU has a new transactional (business) law program which really appealed to me. BU is one of the very best places to be if you're interested in that path (as opposed to litigation). If you want more info on that, just google Tina Stark.

Thanks so much for this, bceagles - it's very helpful. Can you say more about the transactional strengths of BU vs. BC? As a student there, do you feel like your expectations for a strong transactional program have been met? Do you sense that hiring law firms recognize this difference between BU and BC? From what I understand - and I could well be mistaken - many Boston lawyers, especially older ones, are pretty unaware of the strides BU has taken in the last decade or two to strengthen itself, and therefore reflexively still assume BC is the better of the two schools. Have you found this to be the case?

Thanks for answering any of these you can/want.

I don't know the specifics over at BC, but Tina Stark came to BU last year and has already implemented a number of major changes to the transactional course offerings. As a result, we are now one of very few schools nationally that offers a transactional concentration. The concentration is a certificate program designed to develop practical skills that transactional lawyers use -- contract drafting, negotiating, etc. When you come to law school, you'll quickly notice that almost every class (even corporations, tax, etc.) looks at the law through a litigation lense. This leaves graduating students who are interested in transactional practice with very few practical skills in their field, and our program is designed to remedy this. Stark has already successfully created similar programs at Emory and NYU. Here is her bio:

http://www.bu.edu/law/communications/stark2011.html

I have just begun taking Contract Drafting (the foundational course) this semester so I'll be better able to answer specifics later in the semester.

As for your other question, I did notice while networking last year that every now and then you might run into an older lawyer in town who is unaware that BC is no longer clearly better than BU. I don't think this is something to be concerned about though. The reality is that BU has been ranked higher than BC for the better part of a decade now, so that perception is quickly fading. As far hiring decisions go, it certainly no longer plays a role because people who are involved with hiring are well aware of the recent trend.

Certain firms are known to have stronger connections to either BC or BU -- for example, the firm that I will be summering at has twice as many incoming BU students as BC students. But that's simply because one school has a larger representation on the hiring committee, not because either school is perceived as a "better." If you have the grades and want to work in Boston, you will be equally well off at either school. If you want to work outside of Boston, firms often look directly at the rankings. I interviewed extensively in New York (~15 firms) through BU's OCI program and found employers there very receptive to hiring BU students.

[landla]

Just as an FYI for everyone, I made an admitted BU discussion page, as I have seen has been done in the past: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6#p5148296
It is basically just a discussion for those who have been admitted to discuss the school, Boston, pros/cons, and whatever else so that we don't combine conversations with the acceptance thread, which can get annoying for both groups. I noticed that some had been made in the past, so I thought we might as well make one now (and needed something to do during halftime earlier... but then I got distracted and didn't have a chance to post for a while).

I have spent a lot of time researching BU (and other schools) and posted a lot of helpful links on that thread, in case anyone is interested. I haven't had a chance to check them all yet, but for those that I haven't read yet, I thought they would be useful.

I'm really excited about BU, hopefully they send some money my way so that I can attend next year.

Good luck to everyone who has yet to hear!

[ScoutFinch]

My address and residency updated today, but the date is still at 12/16...strange.

[pedroia]

Well undergrad is very different than law school. BC undergrad is objectively better than BU, and it's more my social scene. But when you choose a law school, your criteria changes.

First off, their job prospects are pretty much identical. I was interested in either Boston or NYC, and making a decision based on the subtle differences between the two would really be splitting hairs. Money was also the same, so I based my decision on a number of other factors. In most cases, I think the decision is very specific to the student.

- BU is conveniently located in Boston, whereas BC is in a suburban area about 5 miles outside the city. BC law is even less convenient than the main campus, as it's located on a satellite campus which is only accessible by bus or car. So unless you have a car, getting to BC law is a royal pain.

- If I ended up in Boston, I thought it might help to have both BC and BU on my resume for networking purposes.

- While I loved BC undergrad overall, the administration is terrible. And I've heard similar things about law school.

- BU has a new transactional (business) law program which really appealed to me. BU is one of the very best places to be if you're interested in that path (as opposed to litigation). If you want more info on that, just google Tina Stark.

Thanks so much for this, bceagles - it's very helpful. Can you say more about the transactional strengths of BU vs. BC? As a student there, do you feel like your expectations for a strong transactional program have been met? Do you sense that hiring law firms recognize this difference between BU and BC? From what I understand - and I could well be mistaken - many Boston lawyers, especially older ones, are pretty unaware of the strides BU has taken in the last decade or two to strengthen itself, and therefore reflexively still assume BC is the better of the two schools. Have you found this to be the case?

Thanks for answering any of these you can/want.

I don't know the specifics over at BC, but Tina Stark came to BU last year and has already implemented a number of major changes to the transactional course offerings. As a result, we are now one of very few schools nationally that offers a transactional concentration. The concentration is a certificate program designed to develop practical skills that transactional lawyers use -- contract drafting, negotiating, etc. When you come to law school, you'll quickly notice that almost every class (even corporations, tax, etc.) looks at the law through a litigation lense. This leaves graduating students who are interested in transactional practice with very few practical skills in their field, and our program is designed to remedy this. Stark has already successfully created similar programs at Emory and NYU. Here is her bio:

http://www.bu.edu/law/communications/stark2011.html

I have just begun taking Contract Drafting (the foundational course) this semester so I'll be better able to answer specifics later in the semester.

As for your other question, I did notice while networking last year that every now and then you might run into an older lawyer in town who is unaware that BC is no longer clearly better than BU. I don't think this is something to be concerned about though. The reality is that BU has been ranked higher than BC for the better part of a decade now, so that perception is quickly fading. As far hiring decisions go, it certainly no longer plays a role because people who are involved with hiring are well aware of the recent trend.

Certain firms are known to have stronger connections to either BC or BU -- for example, the firm that I will be summering at has twice as many incoming BU students as BC students. But that's simply because one school has a larger representation on the hiring committee, not because either school is perceived as a "better." If you have the grades and want to work in Boston, you will be equally well off at either school. If you want to work outside of Boston, firms often look directly at the rankings. I interviewed extensively in New York (~15 firms) through BU's OCI program and found employers there very receptive to hiring BU students.

Thanks so much - this is very, very helpful.

A few more questions if you don't mind? How did you decide to focus on transactional rather than litigation? What aspects of it appealed to you, and/or what personality traits do you think are better suited to a transactional focus?

And about the student body: I've heard BC is more bro-ish, preppy, old boys' network, homogenous (FWIW I don't intend any of those descriptors to be pejorative - they describe me pretty well, actually). Is that so? Are there a lot of such people at BU too? Is there a "typical" BU student, as there seems to be (correct me if I'm wrong though) a typical BC student?

I'm also curious about the political climate - how big is, e.g., the Federalist Society?

Thanks so much, again!

[JDProspect]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

[moneybagsphd]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Me too. Strange.

[Killingly]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Well, it's good to know the BU adcomm is alive.

But I'm still stuck on 12/06.

[moxy]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Me too. Strange.

Same here. I don't know if it means much.

[thelong]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Well, it's good to know the BU adcomm is alive.

But I'm still stuck on 12/06.

+1

[msblaw89]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Well, it's good to know the BU adcomm is alive.

But I'm still stuck on 12/06.

+1

Getting old.. FU BU!

[eaper]

Just went complete again?!? First complete 1/12 and today 1/23...

Well, it's good to know the BU adcomm is alive.

But I'm still stuck on 12/06.

+1

Getting old.. FU BU!

12/6... T_T

[hadisious]

Third complete today....

12/1 then 1/10 and then 1/23

Hoping for some good news!

[freaknroll]

It looks like another round of phone calls is about to happen.