Boston University c/o 2015 Applicants Forum

[Andrews989]

Third complete today....

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

Hoping for some good news!

I went 1/6, 1/10, 1/23. Can't be too much longer

[eaper]

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

I hope you're correct... except I haven't updated... so I'm not sure I hope you're correct... Conflicted.

[freaknroll]

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

I hope you're correct... except I haven't updated... so I'm not sure I hope you're correct... Conflicted.

Neither have I, stuck at 1/3.

[broncos_fan_26]

FWIW, i sent a LOCI to BU and got a response that it had been added to my file, and i still am at 12/6, so im not sure what exactly the date change means...

[zurcaled11]

Updated again today, good luck everyone!

[southernsuperstar]

updated today again...but unfortunately left my cell at home so I'm going to have to suffer til 5:30 to go home and check it

[broncos_fan_26]

updated today again...but unfortunately left my cell at home so I'm going to have to suffer til 5:30 to go home and check it

doesnt look like they're making calls today...

[gravityrides0]

updated again// gasp

[avd90]

updated 1/18 then today 1/23... should I expect to wait for another update?

slash, does BU have a UR process... or are we just complete forever

[Killingly]

I updated 3 times with the last on 12/6. Silence since then. I will be jealous if you 1/23ers get a decision

[confusedlaw]

1/13 had like 6 date changed

[coward]

My date changed last week and I was confused (1/12 then 1/18).

I am apparently not alone. I love TLS.

Good luck to everyone.

[avd90]

do we have a consensus as to why the dates change/what it really means?

[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.

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!

FYI, I'll post this last response in this thread. From here on out, we can move this discussion to the admit thread.

Regarding my career focus: My legal experience (paralegal for two years at V10, worked at DOJ last summer) has actually been litigation-focused. I've enjoyed most of it, but I've always considered myself more of a business-type. I'm a forward thinking person -- I prefer trying to avoid problems entirely rather than trying to fix them once they've arisen. People often say that the job of corporate lawyers is to avoid having to use litigators, and I think that my skill set corresponds well to that. In addition, when I worked at a firm, I witnessed the outrageous amount of mind-numbing doc review that junior litigation associates do, and I think I'd prefer due diligence work.

I should note that it's not set in stone that I'll end up in transactional practice. It's difficult to make final decisions before you actually do the work and know that you enjoy it. My summer firm has a rotational system so I'll be exposed to both before making a final decision, and I'm actually still considering clerking. But I do think that I'd be happiest on the transactional side, and I've geared most of my course selection accordingly.

Regarding composition of the student body: To your second question, having never attended BC law, I am hesitant to comment on their student body. But based entirely on my own anecdotal evidence, as well as my experience at BC undergrad, I would venture to guess that BU is more diverse than BC. BC undergrad was pretty homogeneous. That never bothered me, mostly because I fit that mold, but as far as I can tell, BU law is stronger on the diversity scale. For example, there are more LBGT students here than I ever saw at BC, which makes sense given BC's religious affiliation. Additionally, after 1L, you will often take classes with international LLM students, so that definitely contributes to the diverse feel. I wouldn't say that there is a prototypical BU student, because I think we're well-represented across the board. At the risk of oversimplifying things though, I'd say that BU feels a bit more NYU and a bit less Notre Dame.

Regarding politics: Because I transferred, I didn't take some of the more politically-charged courses here (e.g. constitutional law), but in my time, I haven't noticed a strong political slant. I would have thought coming into BU that it leaned more to the left than BC, but I haven't seen that to be the case so far. I've had professors on both sides, and none of them have been annoyingly so. On the other hand, I am taking courses like corporations, securities regulation, corporate finance, etc. Things might be a lot different if I was taking, say, "Critical Race Theory" or "Law & the Ethics of Medical Research."

[msblaw89]

updated 1/18 then today 1/23... should I expect to wait for another update?

slash, does BU have a UR process... or are we just complete forever

Yea, it means nothing haha

[broncos_fan_26]

Back to us wondering when we're gonna hear back... lol

[TrojanHopeful]

Back to us wondering when we're gonna hear back... lol

+1

12/21...still waiting!

[tebowforpresident]

Back to us wondering when we're gonna hear back... lol

+1

12/21...still waiting!

+1

12/21

[FavoriteColorGRUE]

Third complete today....

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

Hoping for some good news!

I went 1/6, 1/10, 1/23. Can't be too much longer

I'm with you guys! Complete 12/13/2011; 1/3/12; 1/10/12; 1/23/12. Here's to hoping!!

[msblaw89]

For rizzzzaaalll BU? Vanderbilt has at least one leg up on you. They mailed my decision yesterday after applying nearly 3 months ago. I think you will officially be the school I wait to hear from the longest

[ScoutFinch]

I was really hoping to get the call before the Superbowl. I need an excuse to be in Boston to support my Pats, but alas, I'm going to be stuck at 12/16 for the rest of eternity!
Also, does anyone know when BU starts making PI scholarship decisions?

[trinakat]

I applied RD with a fee waiver on 11/29/2011, received a request from BU to update my transcript with my fall grades on 1/3/2012, and then received a FAFSA/financial aid email on 1/12/2012. GAH! The wait is going to kill me, I just know it.

Oh, my numbers: 3.85/163

[Moriarty]

Also applied here! Just complete/under review on 1/19. Here we go...!

[xssch]

Received 1/6 Complete 1/12

[gthopeful]

Finally went complete just now