In at Miami! Forum

[2009 Prospective]

I'm thinking of emailing the asst dean of admissions (who sent my letter) to let him know I can fly down in the next few weeks to set up an interview/hand deliver a LOCI. Thoughts on this strategy?

I'm not sure that the very small boost you would get in showing up in person would be worth the cost of the flight. If you're absolutely dying to go there though, it would really show your interest I suppose. I'm just not sure it would really be worth it.

Good luck nonetheless.

[mrman17]

Has anyone begun looking for housing? Anyone else considering the Brickell/downtown area?

I'm considering Brickell. Prices look high on craigslist, despite the campus tour guide saying it was pretty cheap. Are you planning on using a realtor? I feel it might be worth it.

I've found some decent places with 1br/1bath for around $650, but most are further away from campus. I'm thinking about buying a cheap condo (thanks to the foreclosure crisis) that would allow me to have a lower monthly payment. We'll see. I really want to go on the tour of neighborhoods to give me a better idea of where I should live.

[SpencerPratt]

I'm thinking of emailing the asst dean of admissions (who sent my letter) to let him know I can fly down in the next few weeks to set up an interview/hand deliver a LOCI. Thoughts on this strategy?

I'm not sure that the very small boost you would get in showing up in person would be worth the cost of the flight. If you're absolutely dying to go there though, it would really show your interest I suppose. I'm just not sure it would really be worth it.

Good luck nonetheless.

Thanks for the response. I would need to visit the school regardless, so I could kill two birds with one stone and really show my interest, but you're right - if I don't get in, it would be a waste of money. I really would like to stand out, though.

[kbigs]

Has anyone begun looking for housing? Anyone else considering the Brickell/downtown area?

I'm considering Brickell. Prices look high on craigslist, despite the campus tour guide saying it was pretty cheap. Are you planning on using a realtor? I feel it might be worth it.

I've found some decent places with 1br/1bath for around $650, but most are further away from campus. I'm thinking about buying a cheap condo (thanks to the foreclosure crisis) that would allow me to have a lower monthly payment. We'll see. I really want to go on the tour of neighborhoods to give me a better idea of where I should live.

Really? 1brs/1bath in Brickell for $650? Wow, that seems like a great deal. Where did you find them, if you don't mind me asking? If I had $ for a down payment, I'd probably purchase a condo as well. Now would be the time to buy.

[bacan]

isn't brickell the most expensive place to live in miami?

[mrman17]

Has anyone begun looking for housing? Anyone else considering the Brickell/downtown area?

I'm considering Brickell. Prices look high on craigslist, despite the campus tour guide saying it was pretty cheap. Are you planning on using a realtor? I feel it might be worth it.

I've found some decent places with 1br/1bath for around $650, but most are further away from campus. I'm thinking about buying a cheap condo (thanks to the foreclosure crisis) that would allow me to have a lower monthly payment. We'll see. I really want to go on the tour of neighborhoods to give me a better idea of where I should live.

Really? 1brs/1bath in Brickell for $650? Wow, that seems like a great deal. Where did you find them, if you don't mind me asking? If I had $ for a down payment, I'd probably purchase a condo as well. Now would be the time to buy.

I don't remember how many of those cheaper apartments were in Brikell. I've just been checking a number of different sites: craigslist, rent.com, apartments.com, yahoo real estate, Miami Herald, etc. I've really just been searching all over the web. Sorry I don't have any better information for you.

[2009 Prospective]

I'm thinking of emailing the asst dean of admissions (who sent my letter) to let him know I can fly down in the next few weeks to set up an interview/hand deliver a LOCI. Thoughts on this strategy?

I'm not sure that the very small boost you would get in showing up in person would be worth the cost of the flight. If you're absolutely dying to go there though, it would really show your interest I suppose. I'm just not sure it would really be worth it.

Good luck nonetheless.

Thanks for the response. I would need to visit the school regardless, so I could kill two birds with one stone and really show my interest, but you're right - if I don't get in, it would be a waste of money. I really would like to stand out, though.

Good luck. It certainly would be better than doing nothing at all so if you think it's worth the chance, go for it. As long as you go in with the expectation that it might not amount to anything (only to be pleasantly surprised hopefully).

[Edge427]

Yes and no. It used to be the most expensive, but the housing boom or whatever you want to call it REALLY dropped prices. It's a great time to buy those condos and hold onto them for 3-4 years.

One thing is to make sure you find out what the "maintenance fees" are in those buildings. A lot of the buildings in downtown miami are only 1/3 or 1/2 occupied, so when the housing crisisthingamajig hit, management increased the maintenance fees substantially.

[rcsbball11]

isn't brickell the most expensive place to live in miami?

Yes it is definitely not amongst the cheapest. Everyone I have known who have lived there have paid $1300/1br for rent, but who knows maybe you can find a good deal nowadays. The cheapest areas to live are Kendall & South Miami and the most expensive are Brickell, Downtown, and South Beach and in the middle/upper price range are Coconut Grove and Coral Gables.

[js87]

Yes, Brickell is somewhat expensive, but prices are cheap now. There's so much inventory; buildings open for 2-3 years are still only 50% occupied. I've been looking at some foreclosed 1 bedroom apartments in the mid 150s, and some foreclosed/short sale 2 bedrooms in the high 100's to low 200's. I'm from South Florida, and compared to my area, that's cheap. However, like someone said, the maintenance fees can be outrageous in some of the buildings with 30% occupancy ($700+ a month, wow). I Of course it's all relative. It'd probably be expensive in Oklahoma

The benefit of Brickell is being able to take the metromover/metrorail (mass transit train, elevated subway) almost directly from your apartment to school. Miami traffic is terrible, and the law school parking lot is not great.

[holmesNYC]

Anyone else doing the alumni online chat thing at 8:00 p.m. EST?

[kbigs]

Anyone else doing the alumni online chat thing at 8:00 p.m. EST?

i'm thurrr.

[kbigs]

What did those of you in the chat think? Glean any new, useful info?

[TKM]

ACCEPTED AT UM!!!!!!! First acceptance feels great!!

[holmesNYC]

What did those of you in the chat think? Glean any new, useful info?

Eh. I felt like a lot of the information was very general. For the most part, I could have been in the chat for any school, but that may have been a result of some of the general questions that were being asked. I had a specific question, also asked by another admitted student, that remained unanswered. I also asked about the difficulty in finding work in NY. Unfortunately, there were no alumni present who are currently practicing in NY. There was that one guy who worked in NY about 15-20 years ago and is now overseas. Most of the alumni indicated that it wasn't hard for them to find work outside of FL, namely in DC and Boston. I'm not discounting that information, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt as the experiences of these very involved alumni may not be representative of the majority. As with any more regional school, I think that class rank and ability to network will play a big factor in being able relocate easily.

If I wanted to do tax law or public interest, I might have found the chat more beneficial. Perhaps the most useful information for me was about housing. Oh, and everyone seemed to rave about the litigation skills program. That was good to hear.

Thoughts from anyone else?

[Boyk1182]

I had a specific question, also asked by another admitted student, that remained unanswered.

Do you mind sharing what that question was..? I was going to go to the chat, but I figured the answers you'd get were exactly the answers I could have predicted getting... Basically what someone considering attending would want to hear. I am leaning toward Miami, however, waiting for my cycle to finish up first.

ability to network will play a big factor in being able relocate easily..

I think this is especially important, moreso down the road than right after graduation. I don't think people weigh this heavily enough when talking about prospects for given schools.

[TKM]

Is anyone going to Law day on the 27th?

[TKM]

If you are offered a scholarship is it in the admissions packet or sent later?

[General Tso]

If you are offered a scholarship is it in the admissions packet or sent later?

Sorry buddy. Happened to me as well.

[TKM]

If you are offered a scholarship is it in the admissions packet or sent later?

Sorry buddy. Happened to me as well.

I haven't received my packet yet.

[General Tso]

If you are offered a scholarship is it in the admissions packet or sent later?

Sorry buddy. Happened to me as well.

I haven't received my packet yet.

I think it's with the acceptance. I didn't get anything. When did you apply? If you applied after Jan 20, I am thinking they probably will use the same excuse with you.

[snaps]

from what i understand, they send scholarship info after sending the acceptance packet.

but i didn't get a scholarship...

i'll be down there for the ASD. looking forward to it!

[geoanthem]

I got mine separately 2 weeks after my acceptance and I think its the same for everyone. However this late in the process I don't know if they are giving out much more (if any) in terms of scholarship. Hope this helps

[kbigs]

Has anyone tried scholarship negotiation with Miami?

[ShadowRabbit]

Is anyone going to Law day on the 27th?

I had no plans on it, but now that I'm racking up waitlists left and right and florida is dragging their feet, unless I hear something this week, ya, probably gonna head down there next friday and check it out.