Gonzaga Forum

[Chroanizz]

Heyo,

Got back from Spokane late last night so I didn't have time to type a follow-up to my visit. Anyways, I loved the campus and city. Simple as that. If the only things you've seen of the campus are photos, I think you're in for a surprise when you're confronted with its size. Although law students wouldn't necessarily use the campus as regularly as the undergrads the campus is fairly large. From walking around the campus, it appeared as if the university had purchased a huge number of the houses/apartments around the university and were leasing them out to undergrad students.

The new law school building was equally as impressive. It sits on the river and walking path which leads directly downtown in one direction or Idaho (no kidding) in the other. The building was four floors of offices, classrooms, the law library, clinics, a court room, etc. Aside from my tour guide, the students I walked by gave a friendly nod and the ones I had a quick word with were incredibly nice and full of info. The classrooms are large amphitheater-style rooms with projectors, microphones, wi-fi and all that jazz. I was told the Socratic method was still used in some of the classes where it was the primary system of teaching while other courses didn't use it at all. Study rooms in the library were on the second floor, isolated and very quiet with a ton of students working in study groups. I was told the library was open VERY late but at some point in the night you have to use a key-card (or code?) to get into the building.

One thing I noticed about the Spokane area was, as cheesy as this sounds, how god damn nice everyone was. At times, it honestly felt like I was in Pleasantville. EVERYONE was very straight laced, polite, cheery, and extroverted. Granted a large number of my acquaintances were waitresses/bartenders with incentive to be overly nice. I'm fairly certain even the 7/11 worker across the street cracked a joke about a bag of chips I bought. I honestly did not run into a single individual who came across as mopey or cranky in the entire city (just wait until our first exams, 1Ls)......

[Chroanizz]

I remember reading earlier in this thread someone mentioning that the city was lacking women. Bullshit. The place is crawling with girls. I was with my parents and throughout the day I had to consistently make an effort not to make it overly obvious during my double takes. My neck hurt more from girl-watching than from the five hours on the plane. If you're not a runner right now, I guarantee you'll run the path along the river when you get there. I felt like I was accidentally let into a Curves.

The campus obviously prides itself on wellness and staying fit. There was a triathlon going through the center of campus on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon there was a bike poker run. One thing that is important to me is the weight-room/gym. It was large, had good equipment, and tops my current gym by far.

I drove around the city into some of the areas that I've been told many of the law students live such as Brown's addition and the South Hill. My only issue was the distance these areas were from campus. I'm not going to be bring my own vehicle, will use public transportation, and will look for an apartment somewhat closer than those two areas. The rent on the apartments were ridiculously low. For an apartment with like 2 other roommates, you could easily find a place paying about $325 a month. I'm planning on following that sort of living arrangement and need some roommates if anyone is interested in possibly setting something up.

If I had one complaint about my entire trip to Spokane, I'd have to say it is the lack of diversity. It is very white; at least around the university and downtown. If you don't have any issue with it, it's not a problem. I grew up in an area which was very similar, but it was one thing that I did notice about the part of the city I saw. Someone said earlier that it was around 95% white and they definitely weren't lying.

I was, overall, very impressed with the law school, the campus, and the city. I easily see myself living there for three years and enjoying it. I could do some serious work in the law building. It's quiet in the library and had good layouts to the classrooms. The downtown had a ton of bars (read: necessities) and stores for clothes/grocery shopping and shit like that. I secured my seat when I was there, so I'll be there in August. Sorry the post is so long. Hope this helped a little. Talk to everyone soon.


P.S. I took a couple pics on my blackberry of the outside of the law building if anyone's interested. They're nothing too different than the pics on their website though.

P.P.S. The drop out of T100 doesn't bother me. It was tied for 100 when I applied and I knew it could happen. Doesn't change my perception of the college at all, and I assume it's the same with employers.

[kilgore_trout]

Wow, thanks for the report! Very informative.

Did you have a chance to talk to anyone about the legal market or job prospects in Spokane? Did you get a sense of where the graduates end up working? (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, etc.) Do you think it would place better in the PNW than U of Idaho or Willamette?

[dibs]

wtf. my application went complete today. i submitted at the end of january. haha.

[dibs]

wtf. my application went complete today. i submitted at the end of january. haha.

and my status checker goes "application in review" today. 1 day complete -> review is the fastest i've seen by FAR.

[Norwood]

Yep Gonzaga by far the quickest turn around time I've seen from any law school. I went complete to decision rendered in less than a week.

[dibs]

i wonder if that means applications are down this year.

[MBZags]

Heyo,

The new law school building was equally as impressive. It sits on the river and walking path which leads directly downtown in one direction or Idaho (no kidding) in the other.

Yeah, the Centennial Trail is awesome; there are so many scenic views. As for being fit, Gonzaga definitely prides itself on that. The school was ranked the 25th fittest campus in the nation a while back.

I'm glad you appreciate the atmosphere generated by the population in Spokane. Some people actually don't like it. We had a discussion in one of my classes where a couple people were turned off by the friendliness, and one girl was disturbed that waitresses kept calling her "honey."

If any of you guys like sushi, make sure you go to RAW or Sushi.com when you're in Spokane.

[NewLoretta]

Anyone still waiting on Gonzaga?? Anyone rejected from Gonzaga that has a 160 LSAT??

[dibs]

Anyone still waiting on Gonzaga?? Anyone rejected from Gonzaga that has a 160 LSAT??

still waiting. app went in review last tuesday.

[NewLoretta]

Wierd...I also submitted in January. It seems like people with my stats have already received offers from Gonzaga. I wonder why the wait for some of us??

[dibs]

no idea. submitted beginning of march, application finally went complete 2 weeks ago, and went under review last week. seems pretty fast to me, but then again i haven't been waiting long for a decision. i could very well end up that way.

what are you stats, if you don't mind me asking?

[NewLoretta]

3.25 GPA- Political Science Major, 160 LSAT. Seems like I am ok when I look at the law school graph numbers.

[NewLoretta]

Still waiting...

[Norwood]

have you tried contacting them? 4 months does seem like a REALLY long time for them.

[dibs]

my decision letter was mailed out yesterday.

[raperez129]

Still waiting too...

[NewLoretta]

Looks like my decision was mailed out too...now waiting...Has anyone else waited 4 months to hear from GU?

[raperez129]

I got a "Decision Made" today, 05/05/2010!

[NewLoretta]

raperez129- when did you submit your completed application?

[raperez129]

raperez129- when did you submit your completed application?

March 1st, after I received a fee waiver.

[bschroeder]

Someone had mentioned earlier in the thread that they suspected Gonzaga's drop in the recent rankings would affect the decisions of those still holding onto their acceptance offers and they might withdraw to go to a higher ranked school. Do people think this is probable? I am just curious if Gonzaga will have to go further into their wait-list as a result.

[echelon]

Got into GU yesterday after initially being placed on the waitlist. They gave me a solid scholarship as well. All of a sudden instead of moving to Chicago (Loyola Chicago) - I'm likely moving to...Spokane. Can't win them all, but hopefully future-me thanks present-me for making a financially prudent decision.

[rockababy123]

Congrats on the Gonzaga acceptance!

[dibs]

anyone know how gonzaga places in seattle?