UC Hastings 2011 Forum

[Lasers]

So Borhas (or any other current students) I was wondering if you can answer a question for me. Yesterday I met an ex Hastings student who left after first semester because she hated it. She said the main reason she didn't like it was because there was no sense of community at all and nobody hung around campus ever (no one in the library, no one in lounges, etc) and the general environment of the school was disappointing. Obviously you guys don't feel that way or I guess you would have left - but can you guys say what you think of the campus community? I'm not looking for a really tight-knit community (this isn't college again), but I do value at least a sense of community. Thanks!

this is a concern of mine as well, especially when davis apparently has a very strong sense of community. i'll be sure to find out more about it tomorrow during the ASD.

[Borhas]

So Borhas (or any other current students) I was wondering if you can answer a question for me. Yesterday I met an ex Hastings student who left after first semester because she hated it. She said the main reason she didn't like it was because there was no sense of community at all and nobody hung around campus ever (no one in the library, no one in lounges, etc) and the general environment of the school was disappointing. Obviously you guys don't feel that way or I guess you would have left - but can you guys say what you think of the campus community? I'm not looking for a really tight-knit community (this isn't college again), but I do value at least a sense of community. Thanks!

from what i gather from a close friend who is a 1L at hastings now, it's all what you make of it. I don't think there's a close community there in the sense that not everyone is knowing everyone else at a personal level, but if you seek the people you want to be close with, then you'll find it (as long as you're not a weirdo). I feel like that student had some high (or different) expectations of what she imagined law school community to be and was in for a major disappointment.

precisely... the school gives out a ton of money to student orgs like (APALSA- Asian-Pacific Law Students Association... SALSA -South Asian...) Free beer every other Thursday... opportunities are there. I don't even live in the Tower and I feel like part of a community here. But I try to be social. I genuinely value helping others, hearing about their life etc...



On the other hand, I don't think it's fair for me to say you'll have an experience just like mine and you'll enjoy yourself like I do (because we are different people). I feel lucky to have met a lot of fine people that I consider to be reliable friends.. But I will say, that probably anyone can feel integrated. Just be genuine, friendly, and do stuff (extracurriculars, social clubs, volunteering). Do those and I have a hard time thinking someone would end up isolated.

All in all, I'd say there is a strong sense of community from my perspective. I mean, there are only 400 students in our class, and 75 in our section. I already know people so well, that I'd be worried that at a smaller school I would feel socially stifled. All in all I'd bet that we are one of the more chill and laid back student bodies in the country. This is San Francisco after all, if you can't be open and comfortable here, where would you fit in better? This is like the most open and tolerant society I've ever lived in. Granted, I moved to SF/Hastings from VA. But I've found all the "cut throat" "competitive" rumors to be baseless.

[ilovesf]

precisely... the school gives out a ton of student orgs like (APALSA- Asian-Pacific Law Students Association... SALSA -South Asian...) Free beer every other Thursday... opportunities are there. I don't even live in the Tower and I feel like part of a community here. But I try to be social. I genuinely value helping others, hearing about their life etc...

On the other hand, I don't think it's fair for me to say you'll have an experience just like mine and you'll enjoy yourself like I do. I feel lucky to have met a lot of fine people that I consider to be reliable friends.. But I will say, that probably anyone can feel integrated. Just be genuine, friendly, and do stuff (extracurriculars, social clubs, volunteering). Do those and I have a hard time thinking someone would end up isolated.

Thanks a bunch! I was expecting an answer like this, I just wanted to confirm that this girl wasn't having a typical Hastings experience.. I'm sure law school is what you make of it regardless where you go. Now to the most important question... does Hastings still have free Mitchell's ice cream on Fridays??

[Borhas]

I've eaten a lot of free ice cream here, but I don't think there's free ice cream every friday anymore

[ilovesf]

I've eaten a lot of free ice cream here, but I don't think there's free ice cream every friday anymore

WHAT! I thought it was a nice small thing they did for the students/faculty.

[Borhas]

I think beer on the beach may have replaced that

but I love beer on the beach

[ilovesf]

I think beer on the beach may have replaced that

but I love beer on the beach

Well beer is great too.. what beach?

[Borhas]

beach= concrete patio in front of the 198 building... well there are *some* trees

don't expect any sand though

[ilovesf]

beach= concrete patio in front of the 198 building... well there are *some* trees

don't expect any sand though

Haha okay, I was kind of wondering why everyone would go to a real beach.. sounds fun though!

[nireca]

I just went on the admitted students website and was able to click on the hyperlink for "Award Letter" for the first time. It prompted me to a login site but as far as I know I haven't received login information from Hastings. Does anyone know how to access the award? Does Hastings send you login info as you get an award?

Yea, I saw this too and was wondering what the deal was. I tried a ton of different name combos using my LSAC# as the password but didn't have any luck. However, I did manage to find this little nugget on their website:

"Some admitted students will receive scholarship offers along with their letter of admission; additional scholarship awards will be made by letter in the middle of April."[--LinkRemoved--]

Soo, I guess if we didn't get anything in our admissions packet then we still have a few weeks before we hear about awards. Too bad, because deposit deadline for my #1 contender is April 7th.

[lemoned88]

There's a login in your admit mail. Bottom left hand corner, I believe.

[drdolittle]

precisely... the school gives out a ton of money to student orgs like (APALSA- Asian-Pacific Law Students Association... SALSA -South Asian...) Free beer every other Thursday... opportunities are there. I don't even live in the Tower and I feel like part of a community here. But I try to be social. I genuinely value helping others, hearing about their life etc...

On the other hand, I don't think it's fair for me to say you'll have an experience just like mine and you'll enjoy yourself like I do (because we are different people). I feel lucky to have met a lot of fine people that I consider to be reliable friends.. But I will say, that probably anyone can feel integrated. Just be genuine, friendly, and do stuff (extracurriculars, social clubs, volunteering). Do those and I have a hard time thinking someone would end up isolated.

All in all, I'd say there is a strong sense of community from my perspective. I mean, there are only 400 students in our class, and 75 in our section. I already know people so well, that I'd be worried that at a smaller school I would feel socially stifled. All in all I'd bet that we are one of the more chill and laid back student bodies in the country. This is San Francisco after all, if you can't be open and comfortable here, where would you fit in better? This is like the most open and tolerant society I've ever lived in. Granted, I moved to SF/Hastings from VA. But I've found all the "cut throat" "competitive" rumors to be baseless.

This is what I've experienced as well, though I haven't been as social by design. But the opportunities are definitely there.

In a professional school, a sense of "community" is created by virtue of the common experience. Davis has spent a lot of effort branding itself as having a community feel above and beyond this. I can't speak to what it's like to attend Davis, but I suspect this claim is overblown. Of course having a single law building and a smaller class will create a unique environment at Davis, I just don't buy that this necessarily translates to a meaningful community atmosphere. If anything, Hastings' larger student body increases one's chances of meeting like-minded students, to form real communities/connections that will last beyond law school.

But if you're undecided about Hastings/Davis, I can't stress the importance of visiting. I did this last year and changed my mind on where to go afterward.

[sfGmall]

I have to miss both the ASD--really bummed about that, but I'm going to stop by and visit it next week. For those who are able to go, please post your thoughts back in the forums when you can! Thanks! -sfG

[nireca]

There's a login in your admit mail. Bottom left hand corner, I believe.

That's what I thought too at first. However, the page we are talking about will not accept the login information provided in the acceptance letter. It wouldn't make sense if it did since everyone gets the same generic username and password and this section of the site would have to be specific to individual students.

[ilovesf]

There's a login in your admit mail. Bottom left hand corner, I believe.

That's what I thought too at first. However, the page we are talking about will not accept the login information provided in the acceptance letter. It wouldn't make sense if it did since everyone gets the same generic username and password and this section of the site would have to be specific to individual students.

Yeah it didn't work for me either. My guess is that it is a password for FAFSA or something, not your UCH ID.

[nireca]

There's a login in your admit mail. Bottom left hand corner, I believe.

That's what I thought too at first. However, the page we are talking about will not accept the login information provided in the acceptance letter. It wouldn't make sense if it did since everyone gets the same generic username and password and this section of the site would have to be specific to individual students.

Yeah it didn't work for me either. My guess is that it is a password for FAFSA or something, not your UCH ID.

I tried to use the email address I gave them in my application to reset the password but i received an error message stating that the email address was not recognized by the system, which leads me to the conclusion that usernames and passwords have not yet been issued

[santoinettea]

I've officially decided I won't be attending Hastings (good luck to all). I want to withdraw, so as to give room to those on the waitlist. I can't find information on the website or anywhere in the packet about withdrawing. I just see that a May 1st deposit is due; is not paying this the only form of "withdrawing"? Thanks!

[whathojeeves]

I've officially decided I won't be attending Hastings (good luck to all). I want to withdraw, so as to give room to those on the waitlist. I can't find information on the website or anywhere in the packet about withdrawing. I just see that a May 1st deposit is due; is not paying this the only form of "withdrawing"? Thanks!

Send an email to the main admission email address. There are samples around TLS. Something like:

Dear xxx (or to whom it may concern)

After careful thought, I have decided to withdraw from consideration as
a member of the class of 2014 at XXXXXXXXX. I appreciate your offer of
admission and am certain that I would receive an excellent legal
education at your school. However, I am weighing several offers more heavily
at this time, and would like to withdraw my application at this point.

If there is a letter or form that is required to officially
withdraw, please let me know, otherwise I would appreciate a reply email confirming my withdrawal.

Thank you for your consideration of my application and your offer of
admission.

Sincerely,
Applicant

LSAC NO XXXXXXX

[FireNextTime]

So Borhas (or any other current students) I was wondering if you can answer a question for me. Yesterday I met an ex Hastings student who left after first semester because she hated it. She said the main reason she didn't like it was because there was no sense of community at all and nobody hung around campus ever (no one in the library, no one in lounges, etc) and the general environment of the school was disappointing. Obviously you guys don't feel that way or I guess you would have left - but can you guys say what you think of the campus community? I'm not looking for a really tight-knit community (this isn't college again), but I do value at least a sense of community. Thanks!

this is a concern of mine as well, especially when davis apparently has a very strong sense of community. i'll be sure to find out more about it tomorrow during the ASD.

Ex-student probably not being totally honest about her reasons for hating law school. I sincerely doubt her impressions of law school were actually and honestly based primarily on her social-life success and not on her own general dissatisfaction at studying law and/or lot in life.

Anyway, Hastings is like every other law school: It puts 100s of mostly 20somethings into one big pot and stirs it up. There is certainly a shared experience. There are certainly multiple social events every week. And most everybody here is smart and nice and decent. We all like pizza. We all like music. And movies. Etc.

Bottom line: If you can't connect to people while attending Hastings (or any law school), then, to put it kindly, it's not the fault of Hastings or any of its 1,200 other students.

[santoinettea]

I've officially decided I won't be attending Hastings (good luck to all). I want to withdraw, so as to give room to those on the waitlist. I can't find information on the website or anywhere in the packet about withdrawing. I just see that a May 1st deposit is due; is not paying this the only form of "withdrawing"? Thanks!

Send an email to the main admission email address. There are samples around TLS. Something like:

Dear xxx (or to whom it may concern)

After careful thought, I have decided to withdraw from consideration as
a member of the class of 2014 at XXXXXXXXX. I appreciate your offer of
admission and am certain that I would receive an excellent legal
education at your school. However, I am weighing several offers more heavily
at this time, and would like to withdraw my application at this point.

If there is a letter or form that is required to officially
withdraw, please let me know, otherwise I would appreciate a reply email confirming my withdrawal.

Thank you for your consideration of my application and your offer of
admission.

Sincerely,
Applicant

LSAC NO XXXXXXX

Thank you! This is really helpful!!

[mushroom3]

does anyone know what they are wearing to the ASD? i know that the email said smart casual, but i don't want to be too casual or too dressy

[Lasers]

just wearing a v-neck sweater over a shirt, jeans, chucks. maybe a bit casual, but clean. pretty much anything is fine from what i've heard, so long as you don't look disheveled.

[ilovesf]

does anyone know what they are wearing to the ASD? i know that the email said smart casual, but i don't want to be too casual or too dressy

jeans, sweater, boots or flats depending on weather.. dont worry - what you wear doesnt really matter as long as you dont look like a slob.

[lucky277]

Anyone receive need-based awards/grants yet?

[rubbersoul89]

Just got back from the ASD and I must admit, I was really impressed! Before I went I was leaning more towards Davis, but now I am seriously thinking about Hastings.

By the way, I heard that we should be getting emails (or maybe letters?) about financial aid on monday because they were compiling all of the info on Friday. I'm pretty sure the girl I talked to go this info from one of the Deans, so I think it's pretty reliable.

What did everyone else who was there think of the ASD?