Visiting the University of Washington Forum

[Xnegd]

I just got back from my visit to UW.

It was actually very pretty, and seeing as the Law School is in a large glass building, all I could think about was the phrase "Don't Throw Stones in a Glass House."

Anyways, the students were super friendly, surprisingly so. I talked to the head of the admissions committee about that, and she said that they went out of their way to project a culture of cooperation and politeness. She said working in huge firm, you're always working with other lawyers to get the job down, so they try to get them started doing so early. Completely anti-cut throat. Every student I talked to confirmed that as well.

The professors were nice too, one just sent me an e-mil letting me know she really liked meeting me. All in all, not at all what I expected from a top T30 school. It went from being a back-up to a contender, definitely smart to visit a campus personally if you're thinking of going there.

Some students said they had lots of extra curricular activities they could do too. Any current law students from any other schools have info on what they do outside of class and studying? I'd maybe like to take some economics classes, or a foreign language. Maybe doing something that would be smart for my career, like a review or internship or something.

Anyways only two problems with the school.

1) Is the friendly atmosphere right for me? I went to Berkeley, where it was very cut-throat and competitive, with no help from the school. Very survival of the fittest. I can't decide if I want to stick to that culture to go to a different one. Maybe it would be a good change, though I'm so damned competitive, would that be good for the other student to be around.

2) More importantly, the Job prospects of UW were much less then this site projected, at least in respect to context and job levels. Here it said it was the best placing institution in the northwest, and I guess that might be true but from what I herd that isn't much. All of the students were complaining about not having OCI that year, and a lot of them were freaking out about where they were going to get a job at. So the job market from UW is not as secure as I would have thought. Something very important to keep in mind.

My LSAT score will determine my answers to these questions though. Unless I'm surprised, this might actually be a first/second choice for me.

----
*Edited the Subject so people didn't confuse this with applications and admissions, that's a different thread.

[HerseyChris]

I just got back from my visit to UW.

It was actually very pretty, and seeing as the Law School is in a large glass building, all I could think about was the phrase "Don't Throw Stones in a Glass House."

Anyways, the students were super friendly, surprisingly so. I talked to the head of the admissions committee about that, and she said that they went out of their way to project a culture of cooperation and politeness. She said working in huge firm, you're always working with other lawyers to get the job down, so they try to get them started doing so early. Completely anti-cut throat. Every student I talked to confirmed that as well.

The professors were nice too, one just sent me an e-mil letting me know she really liked meeting me. All in all, not at all what I expected from a top T30 school. It went from being a back-up to a contender, definitely smart to visit a campus personally if you're thinking of going there.

Some students said they had lots of extra curricular activities they could do too. Any current law students from any other schools have info on what they do outside of class and studying? I'd maybe like to take some economics classes, or a foreign language. Maybe doing something that would be smart for my career, like a review or internship or something.

Anyways only two problems with the school.

1) Is the friendly atmosphere right for me? I went to Berkeley, where it was very cut-throat and competitive, with no help from the school. Very survival of the fittest. I can't decide if I want to stick to that culture to go to a different one. Maybe it would be a good change, though I'm so damned competitive, would that be good for the other student to be around.

2) More importantly, the Job prospects of UW were much less then this site projected, at least in respect to context and job levels. Here it said it was the best placing institution in the northwest, and I guess that might be true but from what I herd that isn't much. All of the students were complaining about not having OCI that year, and a lot of them were freaking out about where they were going to get a job at. So the job market from UW is not as secure as I would have thought. Something very important to keep in mind.

My LSAT score will determine my answers to these questions though. Unless I'm surprised, this might actually be a first/second choice for me.

Hm, I went into the Sept LSAT thinking it would be a backup option for me, now I'm just hoping I get in because I would love to stay in Seattle.

As for anti-competitive, I hate competition, so it sounds great to me.
Regarding OCI, it seems like every place is freaking out about OCI.

Did they say anything about the workload? On a scale of Yale to Cornell, how much studying do they do?

[Oban]

Did they cancel their OCI?

[Xnegd]

I just got back from my visit to UW.

It was actually very pretty, and seeing as the Law School is in a large glass building, all I could think about was the phrase "Don't Throw Stones in a Glass House."

Anyways, the students were super friendly, surprisingly so. I talked to the head of the admissions committee about that, and she said that they went out of their way to project a culture of cooperation and politeness. She said working in huge firm, you're always working with other lawyers to get the job down, so they try to get them started doing so early. Completely anti-cut throat. Every student I talked to confirmed that as well.

The professors were nice too, one just sent me an e-mil letting me know she really liked meeting me. All in all, not at all what I expected from a top T30 school. It went from being a back-up to a contender, definitely smart to visit a campus personally if you're thinking of going there.

Some students said they had lots of extra curricular activities they could do too. Any current law students from any other schools have info on what they do outside of class and studying? I'd maybe like to take some economics classes, or a foreign language. Maybe doing something that would be smart for my career, like a review or internship or something.

Anyways only two problems with the school.

1) Is the friendly atmosphere right for me? I went to Berkeley, where it was very cut-throat and competitive, with no help from the school. Very survival of the fittest. I can't decide if I want to stick to that culture to go to a different one. Maybe it would be a good change, though I'm so damned competitive, would that be good for the other student to be around.

2) More importantly, the Job prospects of UW were much less then this site projected, at least in respect to context and job levels. Here it said it was the best placing institution in the northwest, and I guess that might be true but from what I herd that isn't much. All of the students were complaining about not having OCI that year, and a lot of them were freaking out about where they were going to get a job at. So the job market from UW is not as secure as I would have thought. Something very important to keep in mind.

My LSAT score will determine my answers to these questions though. Unless I'm surprised, this might actually be a first/second choice for me.

Hm, I went into the Sept LSAT thinking it would be a backup option for me, now I'm just hoping I get in because I would love to stay in Seattle.

As for anti-competitive, I hate competition, so it sounds great to me.
Regarding OCI, it seems like every place is freaking out about OCI.

Did they say anything about the workload? On a scale of Yale to Cornell, how much studying do they do?

Yea, we talked about workload. It's intense as a Top Tier should be, but everyone said they had time for a girl/boyfriend, and that as long as you can get up at 6am and work had good time management skill you have a normal life and join one or two clubs. They made it sound less intense then the Cornels and Boalts, plus I saw A LOT of clubs (Asians Law Association, ACLU, etc) recruiting, so I believe them.

Also others are there to help. One gal told me she had the flu and had to leave class in the middle of a lecture to go to the restroom, and when she had gotten back to class all the notes she had missed had been e-mailed to her be a fellow student without her asking. So, I think that makes probably why it seams less intense.

When I told a professor I was from Berkeley her eyes lit up, and she said it wouldn’t be nearly as intense as there, and that they don't weed out as many other schools do. However a 72 streak of no sleep and 20+ red bulls was not uncommon so if I go there, I'll at least be healthier.

*p.s. One thing I forgot to add. Sorry to be a stereotypical guy, but this is improtant, especially if you plan to find love in school. The girls at UW were super cute. So… I liked that too. It was really cold and yet they still wore miny shorts, completely breaking what I though girls in Law School were like.

[Xnegd]

Did they cancel their OCI?

Don't know the specifics. Possibly. I think it was more like they have a very limited version. I know Seniors weren't allowed to have one at all, they had to rely on their interviews they'd had the 2nd year.

[HerseyChris]

*p.s. One thing I forgot to add. Sorry to be a stereotypical guy, but this is improtant, especially if you plan to find love in school. The girls at UW were super cute. So… I liked that too. It was really cold and yet they still wore mini shorts, completely breaking what I though girls in Law School were like.

Amen to that. UW reports the male to female ratio as 4:6 too, so that's also good.

[akili]

UW is one of my top choices. It's great to hear it looks as good in real life as it does on paper!

[SamSeaborn2016]

Did they cancel their OCI?

Don't know the specifics. Possibly. I think it was more like they have a very limited version. I know Seniors weren't allowed to have one at all, they had to rely on their interviews they'd had the 2nd year.

If I remember correctly, UW works on the quarter system rather than the standard law school semester system. That probably effects OCI as well.

[HerseyChris]

I think if I end up going there (fingers crossed), I already have the perfect house picked out.
It's a bit pricey, but it's literally a two minute walk to campus and in a non frat-like neighborhood.

http://search.idxnw.com/flyer10046753.h ... n=29158297

[jcl2]

Did they cancel their OCI?

Don't know the specifics. Possibly. I think it was more like they have a very limited version. I know Seniors weren't allowed to have one at all, they had to rely on their interviews they'd had the 2nd year.

If I remember correctly, UW works on the quarter system rather than the standard law school semester system. That probably effects OCI as well.

From what I have heard, the quarter system doesn't cause any problems with OCI. OCI was terrible everywhere this year, I'm sure UW was no worse than any similarly ranked school, and if you are going to a school ranked outside of the T14 you should probably not be counting on OCI for a job anyway. I am actually very optomistic that the job prospects for the class of 2013 will be much better than for the classes of 09-11.

Here are the placement stats for the Class of 2007: http://www.law.washington.edu/career/profiles.aspx
If the economy recovers and things are even close to that good for our class I will be extremely happy. If the economy still sucks, UW will still be the best place to be for a job in the NW outside the T14 and maybe the T10, and it will still be the best place to be for a job elsewhere in the West after USC/UCLA.

And OP, please add "of" between University and Washington in the thread title.

edit: List of employers for the class of 2008: http://www.law.washington.edu/Career/2008employers.aspx Also not too bad.

[HerseyChris]

And OP, please add "of" between University and Washington in the thread title.
.

Ha, I was going to make the same request, but didn't want to come across as too pushy.

[Xnegd]

And OP, please add "of" between University and Washington in the thread title.
.

Ha, I was going to make the same request, but didn't want to come across as too pushy.

LOL!

Okay, okay. I first put it as UW, and then changed it. The "of" is in it's proper place.

[Xnegd]

Did they cancel their OCI?

edit: List of employers for the class of 2008: http://www.law.washington.edu/Career/2008employers.aspx Also not too bad.

"Morrison & Foerster LLP, Palo Alto, CA"

This is my current firm that's good to know.

[HerseyChris]

Okay, okay. I first put it as UW, and then changed it. The "of" is in it's proper place.

One thing I don't like about the search function is that you need three letters (I think), so you can't search for "UW".
But if you search for Washington you get returns on WUSTL, Washington and Lee, George Washington, etc. Perhaps UW should change it's name to UA (A for Awesome).

[jcl2]

Okay, okay. I first put it as UW, and then changed it. The "of" is in it's proper place.

One thing I don't like about the search function is that you need three letters (I think), so you can't search for "UW".
But if you search for Washington you get returns on WUSTL, Washington and Lee, George Washington, etc. Perhaps UW should change it's name to UA (A for Awesome).

That annoys me too. I don't understand why Washington and Lee is such a popular topic on this site.

[rachery]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

[Neelio]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

When did you go in review??

[jcl2]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

This thread seems to have more up to date info on this years UW admissions cycle: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&start=75

Just FYI, you might want to post this there too.

[Mosca]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

I don't have that on mine. I'm pretty sure that means that your letter is in the mail. What are your numbers?

[HerseyChris]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

I don't have that on mine. I'm pretty sure that means that your letter is in the mail. What are your numbers?

It says in her profile, 166 3.7.
Almost 100% certain that it's an acceptance.

[jcl2]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

This thread seems to have more up to date info on this years UW admissions cycle: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&start=75

Just FYI, you might want to post this there too.

Oh, and congrats! It looks like you will be one of the first acceptances this year. Is UW one of your top choices?

[Xnegd]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

I don't have that on mine. I'm pretty sure that means that your letter is in the mail. What are your numbers?

It says in her profile, 166 3.7.
Almost 100% certain that it's an acceptance.

Yep, the highest stats I met at the school were a 165-3.7, keep in mind not everyone was open to talk about them though.

[Neelio]

anybody know how long you stay in "ready for review" status? Been there since 12/16...

[jcl2]

So I just checked my status checker and in the mailings section it says:

Mail Description Mailing Date
Decision Letter 01/13/2010
App Received/Status Checker Info 11/06/2009

But my actual status still says "In Review" Did anyone else get this? Does this mean they actually sent out my letter? Is this a good sign?

I don't have that on mine. I'm pretty sure that means that your letter is in the mail. What are your numbers?

It says in her profile, 166 3.7.
Almost 100% certain that it's an acceptance.

Yep, the highest stats I met at the school were a 165-3.7, keep in mind not everyone was open to talk about them though.

I'm sure there were higher, 3.7 is below, though only slightly, the median GPA, and 165 isn't that far above the median lsat. I met a couple students there when I visited last year who chose UW over T14s, so they must have had higher numbers than that. But yes, a 166/3.7 is likely an acceptance, especially with such an early decision.

[Xnegd]

I'm sure there were higher, 3.7 is below, though only slightly, the median GPA, and 165 isn't that far above the median lsat. I met a couple students there when I visited last year who chose UW over T14s, so they must have had higher numbers than that. But yes, a 166/3.7 is likely an acceptance, especially with such an early decision.

Yea, I agree with you 100%.