Michigan Law School C/O 2019 Applicants (2015-16) Forum

[WinterComing]

Also, one more question, if you don't mind: Did you find out via email or phone call or pigeon or...?

Don't you mean raven, Lord Snow?

Ha! Good point. You think Michigan has maesters?

[wilfred]

So what's the consensus on the Lawyers Club? Pretty cool digs, or a little too much like undergrad?

Current Lawyers Club resident here.

I like it a lot and I think most of the people who live here are happy with it. The 1Ls who tend to live elsewhere are those with significant others, pets, and/or former UM undergrads who already had a place. It really makes meeting people from other sections very easy and I particularly loved it at the beginning of the semester when everyone was still getting to know each other. The lounges are great for watching TV/Movies and I've never had a problem finding at least one unoccupied one. I've also found the staff to be extremely friendly and accommodating. I like the location a lot too. It's obviously the closest option for all of your classes, but it's also a pretty quick walk to the State Street convenience stores, the gyms (the Ross $200/semester one is just across the street and the free CCRB and IM Building aren't more than a few minutes away), and it's pretty easy to get to both the South U and downtown bars/restaurants. Another pretty convenient thing is that apartments in Ann Arbor tend to be 12-month leases, not school year leases. You'll never have to worry about finding someone to sublet your room.

It has its drawbacks though, some of which I knew before moving in and others I did not. The no-kitchen thing is the big one I saw a lot. I loved cooking before law school so not having an in-room kitchen was extremely disappointing at first, but now I like the convenience of someone else cooking for me. The dining hall food isn't bad and every room has a mini-fridge (I took the shelf out in mine and I would say it fits three gallons of milk on the main shelf and has a decent sized drawer as well as door shelves) and microwave. There are no meals on Saturdays which is certainly less than ideal, but I tend to use the community kitchen if I don't want to eat what's in my room or go out. The rooms can be a little hit or miss as well. The standard room is pretty much defined as "under 200 square feet, not counting the bathroom". Most of the rooms are very close in square footage, but a few lucky people will get the ~195 sq. foot rooms while an unlucky few will be stuck in the ~130 sq. foot ones (For the same price). Some of the rooms also look very different from the rest and are oddly (and, perhaps, inconveniently) shaped. That said, none of them are THAT bad and the smaller ones tend to have extra space savers like additional wall-shelves and book shelves.

Room-to-Room, the noise levels are very low. I have neighbors on both sides and I have never heard anything through my walls from them. Hallway-to-Room noise tends to be a little worse. If you happen to be by an entrance or staircase, and people are having a conversation as they walk by, you can hear them through the door. People here are pretty considerate though, so unless it's like the last day of finals or Halloween or something like that, I would never call it "noisy". One of the only "bad undergrad experiences" that I have at the Lawyers Club is with laundry. You can check online before leaving your room to make sure machines are open, and it's super easy to put money on your Student ID to use them. That said, there are only 6 washers and 6 dryers. If you want to do laundry every Sunday at Noon, it's probably not going to consistently happen.

The last thing I can think of sort of comes with the territory I guess. The Lawyers Club and Law Quad, particularly before the snow starts to fall, get a lot of visitors. Wedding photos are pretty common on the Quad and it seems like the most desirable spots are also the ones you will be walking to the most. It's never been super inconvenient or anything like that, but it can be a little annoying at times. I don't think of myself as a rude person, but when what seems like the hundredth wedding shoot of the week is taking place between your door and the dining hall at dinner time, I'm not going to wait for the shot before walking where I need to go. We also get a lot of alums come in for football games, usually between like late morning Friday and Saturday before kickoff. If you happen to like studying in the reading room, and want to either skip the game or just read beforehand, expect a lot of traffic. People love to come in to the reading room and look around for a bit. Others just tend to hangout in the Quad with their family.

Overall, I love living here and I think most of my classmates enjoy it. I know a really good number of current 1Ls who are planning to sign a lease for next year as well. I also thing that most of the drawbacks I mentioned can easily be a positive thing. We have a few alumni receptions on the Friday nights before gamedays, which are pretty good networking opportunities. The community kitchen has pots, pans and, measuring cups so you don't have to worry about buying all of that. For what it's worth, I don't think I've talked to anyone who regrets living here for 1L. In fact, I've heard from a few people that if they weren't in serious relationships or didn't have pets, they would live here as well. Hopefully that helps!

This is an awesome response - thank you for taking the time!

Thanks, that was a very helpful response! Guess that settles the question for me then.

[Jrr13]

rejected via status checker today. Oh well...I guess I'll apply next cycle!

What were your dates? (ie submit, complete?)

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Jrr24601

[GreekOmega12]

Here's hoping we wake up to acceptances

[fliptrip]

Here's hoping we wake up to acceptances

I'd be fine with that. Actually, I'd be fine with anything other than complete right now.

[gsy987]

1. I just booked a trip to Vietnam during early summertime (always been my dream to go there.)
2. My current, full-time job, requires that I stay on for 2 years before they can't take any of my signing bonus back. The two year anniversary is (of course!) on June 2.

Here's where I'm a bit nervous though... both of those things, especially #2, are things I theoretically should've thought about before I said I'd be willing to attend during summer!

Summer start begins June 2. If your two-year anniversary is June 2nd, that means you could meet the requirement for taking some of your signing bonus back by having your last day of work be June 1. That would be two years at the job. Working on June 2 would be 2 years and 1 day.

Yes you would miss orientation, but is it worth going to fall start WUSTL over Michigan because you wanted to attend orientation?

I'm also in at Northwestern w/ fall start.. which might just be worth it for me (honestly I'm kind of looking for reasons to differentiate the two schools!)

[clurrburr]

In this morning!! I submitted 11/30.

[jg61]

Accepted via status checker this morning, but no e-mail yet. Anyone else not get an e-mail right away?

[tappatappatappa]

Post removed...

[180kickflip]

hey all. Is the full (max) Darrow award full tuition plus a single $10k stipend, or is it full tuition plus a 10K stipend each year for three years?

[meowmers]

In this morning!! I submitted 11/30.

woof. i think i applied 12/01. fingers crossed. congrats!

[benwyatt]

As we near the end of January I wonder when I should give up on receiving merit aid

[jumbo2016]

E-mailed them and they confirmed I wasn't offered any merit based aid Gonna wait and hear if I get any from some high ranked schools to show them and hope for some type of competing offer

[Li'l Sebastian]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

[the_rza]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Damn man, what are your stats? I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

[curious bobcat]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Congratulations! That's incredible.

[WhiteHouse]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

If you're dead, can I have it?

JK CONGRATS

[Li'l Sebastian]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Damn man, what are your stats? I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

My stats are pretty decent for Michigan but I've got some incredible softs, especially for a K-JD.

[CJRpnw]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Damn man, what are your stats? I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

My stats are pretty decent for Michigan but I've got some incredible softs, especially for a K-JD.

Damn, congratulations! Think you're all in for Michigan now?

[Li'l Sebastian]

Damn, congratulations! Think you're all in for Michigan now?

Pretty much! I didn't think I'd even qualify for this scholarship, but if I get any better offers I'm gonna have a tough time deciding!

I'm actually looking through Darrow v. HLS threads right now to see if I can get any direction since I'm waiting on a JS2 right now. I feel just like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory once he found the golden ticket!

I went to community college and a totally unknown undergrad so I'm completely shocked by what the future possibly holds for me.

[jnwa]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

The lullaby is doing wonders!! Congrats dudeee....joinn me in Ann Arbour. Also ive spent way too much time before even getting the Darrow perusing the Darrow vs HYS threads seems like consensus is Darrow for biglaw/idk what i want to do with my law degree and HYS for academia/prestige clerking. Good luck with your decision though (Pick Mich).

[WinterComing]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Congrats, Sebastian! That's awesome!!

P.S. Clarence Darrow is rolling over in his grave because you keep pluralizing his last name.

[cdavis1024]

E-mailed them and they confirmed I wasn't offered any merit based aid Gonna wait and hear if I get any from some high ranked schools to show them and hope for some type of competing offer

Ditto....

[cdavis1024]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Holy Muppets!! Congratulations!!!

[Aeon]

OH MY GOD

FULL DARROWS WITH 10K STIPEND

*dead*

Congrats, Sebastian! That's awesome!!

P.S. Clarence Darrow is rolling over in his grave because you keep pluralizing his last name.

Well, people from (the state of) Michigan do like turning proper names into possessives. "I went to Meijer's," and so forth.