Wake Forest 2010 Forum

[Dr. Review]

Today, was on the phone for an hour (til my cell phone died) and talked to a friend of mine from high school who is a 2L at Wake. It was really informative (for me at least), and shed some light on things there. It was a ton of information. I don't really even know where to begin listing it... so if you have some specific questions, I'll try to give you some info based on what he said.

Subjects included:
some pros and cons
what he did over summer of 1L, and what he has lined up for 2L summer
his plans after graduation
how he feels about the course offerings
his thoughts on the career services office
the general structure of the 1L year

and some other stuff

[sufjan]

Today, was on the phone for an hour (til my cell phone died) and talked to a friend of mine from high school who is a 2L at Wake. It was really informative (for me at least), and shed some light on things there. It was a ton of information. I don't really even know where to begin listing it... so if you have some specific questions, I'll try to give you some info based on what he said.

Subjects included:
some pros and cons
what he did over summer of 1L, and what he has lined up for 2L summer
his plans after graduation
how he feels about the course offerings
his thoughts on the career services office
the general structure of the 1L year

and some other stuff

i want to know about all of that..

[traehekat]

Today, was on the phone for an hour (til my cell phone died) and talked to a friend of mine from high school who is a 2L at Wake. It was really informative (for me at least), and shed some light on things there. It was a ton of information. I don't really even know where to begin listing it... so if you have some specific questions, I'll try to give you some info based on what he said.

Subjects included:
some pros and cons
what he did over summer of 1L, and what he has lined up for 2L summer
his plans after graduation
how he feels about the course offerings
his thoughts on the career services office
the general structure of the 1L year

and some other stuff

haha yeah if you could just like, type up a transcript of the phone call, that would be super.

[Dr. Review]

It was one of those situations where, half way through, I wished I'd been taking notes.

I'll try to do my best, but he gave me a lot of good stuff. He tried to be really balanced. For every pro, he did his best to find a con. He's a little partial to Wake though, as his mom went there for her JD, and 2 of his siblings are there currently for UG. His dad went to UNC for his JD. I'd say that Law was in his blood, except it'd be an understatement. It is literally his first name.

Here's the abridged version of some of the finer points (and by abridged, I mean painfully long, despite being a condensed version):

pros (the ones I remember atm):
size of classes and program in general
the legal writing program (he emphasized this)
quality of the education he felt he was getting
ability to participate in competitions (i.e. moot court, etc)
the fact that you get your own study carrel that you can store crap in

cons:
career services
size of the facilities in reference to number of total students attending
some of the rest are included below

he said that the school was pretty competitive, as you would expect at a tier 1, but not to the extent that there were a lot of gunners

over the summer of 1L, he worked with 2 professors doing legal research in family law, it was paid. apparently there are quite a few of these opportunities, which seems to me to be something created by the school to make up for a lackluster offering of internships. for the summer of 2L, he'll be working for what I assume to be a medium sized firm in civil litigation, which is his area of focus

after graduation, he doesn't really seem interested in biglaw. he seems like he just wants to get some good midlaw experience before he takes over his parents' firm in the small town where we grew up near Raleigh

he said that the school does have some pretty solid IP offerings, but that overall, he was a little disappointed with the number and diversity of electives, in addition to his ability to schedule them in with core electives.

essentially, the career services office sucks

1L, you go to school a few weeks earlier than 2Ls and 3Ls for some crash courses in legal writing. sections are small, ~40 people, and legal writing sections are more or less ~20. He likened the legal writing group to a "home room" in high school, at least in terms of the amount that you see them and the continuity of the group. As at most schools, your 1L is pre-scheduled, and you take what is given to you. However, Wake does something odd in that they only schedule you for 14 hours in the first semester, 15 in the second semester, and expect you to average 15/semester at the end, meaning that you have to make that hour up somewhere.
one thing about 1L that he did emphasize pretty strongly, and more or less in a negative way, is that Wake 1Ls only have one semester of torts in a 4 hour class. in both his opinion as a 2L, and mine as a 0L, torts is too important to leave to one semester.

As I said before, we're from NC, and he wants to stay here. He's in the middle half of the class (25-75), though for his privacy, I won't say where exactly he is in the class, but you can expect his answers to be typical of an average student.

We also talked a bit about my plans, where I've applied, who I've heard from, his #s and how his cycle went, why he chose Wake over UNC, etc. If you want to know more about the last bit, let me know, as this post is already longer than I wanted.

[lml09]

Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.

[sufjan]

Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.

Aug 14 is orientation for 1Ls

[lml09]

Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.

Aug 14 is orientation for 1Ls

Good to know, I don't move into my apartment until August 1 so that gives me some time to breath.

[Nicholasnickynic]

Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.
Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.

I've heard every one outside of t14 complain about career services. But I don't think its career services fault. If you are low t1, or t2, and you are in teh bottom half of your class, I'm not sure its career services fault if they can't find you a job.

[tstyler98]

Thanks for the great info!!!

Two questions, we start weeks earlier than everyone else? Like... early August? This affects my moving plans....

Can you expand on why he thinks career services suck? All I've heard so far from students is that they have been great, but I guess everyone has different experiences.

Aug 14 is orientation for 1Ls

The 14th was for 2009. This year it starts Friday, August 13th. (Friday the 13th...don't know if that is good or bad! )

Good to know, I don't move into my apartment until August 1 so that gives me some time to breath.

Don't worry...I'm moving August 1st as well. That basically gives you almost 2 weeks to get settled before orientation starts.

[sufjan]

ack...good call

[akili]

Gosh that's so soon. ...and the nerves descend

[lml09]

Gosh that's so soon. ...and the nerves descend

Yeah, it was fun when it was still 8 months away, now I'm starting to get nervous

[akili]

Gosh that's so soon. ...and the nerves descend

Yeah, it was fun when it was still 8 months away, now I'm starting to get nervous

Yeah the process is semi-fun/exciting, but the reality is definitely setting in for me. I'm still excited though. It's looking more and more like Wake, but I think I might request a deferral. (I'm coming straight out of UG and would like to work/volunteer).

[whenpigsfly]

I've heard every one outside of t14 complain about career services. But I don't think its career services fault. If you are low t1, or t2, and you are in the bottom half of your class, I'm not sure its career services fault if they can't find you a job.

This, pretty much. OCI is pretty good if you are in the top quarter or so of the class, but generally, you'll have to do the leg work yourself (but honestly, if you just expect a job to be handed to you these days, it's not really career services that has the problem.) If you want to stay in NC, they are pretty helpful, but other than that they aren't great. A 3L friend of mine asked for information about legal jobs in spanish-speaking South and Central American countries, and they gave her a bunch of info on Brazil.

But, here's really where the tight knit relationships with professors kick in. I want to do federal government work, and one of the profs is putting me in touch with a handful of his DC agency contacts. And with the DC externship program starting up next spring, the pipeline to DC will really start to pick up.

[tstyler98]

About 4.5 months to go, or as my countdown clock says - 136 days. Seems so far away, yet not that far away! I'm excited for it to all begin, but don't want to rush these next few months.

[Nicholasnickynic]

Now: engaged, living with parents.

Law school: married, living with spouse.

Can't wait!

[tstyler98]

Now: engaged, living with parents.

Law school: married, living with spouse.

Can't wait!

Congrats!

[sotomayor]

decision letter pending as of today. anyone else? i smell a rejection for me.

[kkslider]

decision letter pending as of today. anyone else? i smell a rejection for me.

yea me too. 2.9/161/URM (native american)

it's strange this cycle started so strong for me (American) and now I can't get in anywhere (Richmond/Villanova) nor any money from a damn T4.

[sotomayor]

good luck slider. i wish i had more hope. i'm urm as well, 168 lsat, but gpa < 25%. this cycle needs to end

[keemos]

I'm visiting Winston Salem friday night to saturday night. If anyone has anything they want me to look out for/report on for decision making purposes let me know.

[sufjan]

I'm visiting Winston Salem friday night to saturday night. If anyone has anything they want me to look out for/report on for decision making purposes let me know.

i've made my decision but I'm curious about nicer restaurants and bars

[Nicholasnickynic]

I'm visiting Winston Salem friday night to saturday night. If anyone has anything they want me to look out for/report on for decision making purposes let me know.

I, like the poster above, am interested in your impression of food/bars.

Two things:

You should check out 1st street draught house, its a very cool set up, looked a lot like a grad/young professional scene.

And in the question arena, If you get a chance, I'm curious about 6th and vine. (http://www.6thandvine.com). Its a wine cafe that looked really cool, but was way to busy for us (my fiancee and I) to visit.


also advice: plan ahead where you are going to eat. The place is spread out, and if you don't know where the good resteraunts are, you could end up going to crappy ones (See Moanderson's posts ). That being said, having researched a few spots, I loved the food in W-S. Better than the college town I come from anyway.

[moandersen]

I'm visiting Winston Salem friday night to saturday night. If anyone has anything they want me to look out for/report on for decision making purposes let me know.

I, like the poster above, am interested in your impression of food/bars.

Two things:

You should check out 1st street draught house, its a very cool set up, looked a lot like a grad/young professional scene.

And in the question arena, If you get a chance, I'm curious about 6th and vine. (http://www.6thandvine.com). Its a wine cafe that looked really cool, but was way to busy for us (my fiancee and I) to visit.


also advice: plan ahead where you are going to eat. The place is spread out, and if you don't know where the good resteraunts are, you could end up going to crappy ones (See Moanderson's posts ). That being said, having researched a few spots, I loved the food in W-S. Better than the college town I come from anyway.

thanks for calling me out I unfortunately did research some of the places I ate at. But I just think my expectations need to drop significantly because w-s is such a small (and subsequently not very diverse compared to what im used to) town.

im actually in hartford right now visiting uconn and it actually feels like a city, as opposed to w-s which felt more like a suburb. which for me is a positive.

[Nicholasnickynic]

I'm visiting Winston Salem friday night to saturday night. If anyone has anything they want me to look out for/report on for decision making purposes let me know.

I, like the poster above, am interested in your impression of food/bars.

Two things:

You should check out 1st street draught house, its a very cool set up, looked a lot like a grad/young professional scene.

And in the question arena, If you get a chance, I'm curious about 6th and vine. (http://www.6thandvine.com). Its a wine cafe that looked really cool, but was way to busy for us (my fiancee and I) to visit.


also advice: plan ahead where you are going to eat. The place is spread out, and if you don't know where the good resteraunts are, you could end up going to crappy ones (See Moanderson's posts ). That being said, having researched a few spots, I loved the food in W-S. Better than the college town I come from anyway.

thanks for calling me out I unfortunately did research some of the places I ate at. But I just think my expectations need to drop significantly because w-s is such a small (and subsequently not very diverse compared to what im used to) town.

im actually in hartford right now visiting uconn and it actually feels like a city, as opposed to w-s which felt more like a suburb. which for me is a positive.

Fair enough. I remember reading you come from chicago, so maybe its all perspective. I come from charlottesville (uva), and all the food I ate in W-S was better than the food here. But yeah, W-S is not for everyone.