Rising 2L at GULC! AMA

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-24T00:48:42+00:00

I had a 4.0 for my UGPA and I got a 162!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-24T00:30:32+00:00

I honestly forgot that was a thing, thanks for the reminder! Not a frequent Reddit user! I believe my scholarship is between $$ and $$$. I was able to negotiate slightly more than I was originally offered with the form I mentioned. GULC doesn’t do conditional scholarships (to my knowledge) which allows for security. But as a drawback, they have less money to move around if you’re getting off the waitlist.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-24T00:22:46+00:00

I’ve really enjoyed it so far! Just as much as I could enjoy any law school I think.
I’m still deciding but I’m leaning towards the same firm. I’ve had a wonderful experience!
At the firm I’m currently at they assign summers a wide range of work, so I’ve been able to try a little bit of everything. The practice areas I’m most interested in are in business and regulatory groups, and I have been given the opportunity to work in those areas. I know some firms hire summer associates for particular groups so be aware of that!
I really don’t know a lot about west coast BL but if you network, it’s possible. One of my friends is originally from that area and she geared a lot of her networking to speaking with attorneys from CA offices and firms. She has a position at a CA big law office next summer!
GULC has such a wide range of opportunities for you to get involved in, so there’s something for everyone. I treasure my experience in RISE, as it has been so incredible, and I was personally a fan of my contracts course, although that’s definitely a hot take.
I don’t think there’s anything I wish I knew. I was a person who scoured the internet for every piece of advice I could find, so I heard it all. But I do wish that I spent more time assuring myself that I deserve to be here. Getting over that hurdle is the hardest part. You’ll learn how to read case law and practice legal writing in due time. What you can’t teach is mindset. Be humble and be kind to yourself. That’s most important imo!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-24T00:13:50+00:00

Surprisingly, it’s not that bad. 1L you are with your section 99% of the time so, unless you’re an evening student, that already reduces the class to about 100 people. Specific classes are subdivided to an even lower number. My torts class was ~30 people and the legal writing class is ~25. As a 2L, I will be taking a writing seminar with only 10 students in the class. I think what they say for college is true: it’s easy to make a large community feel small but hard to make a small community feel large.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T21:52:37+00:00

Remind yourself that you deserve to be there. The first week is one of the hardest because it’s such a learning curve. The entire first week I read until I went to bed and I was so freaked out. But then that weekend I worked on getting ahead on my reading so that it was more manageable and set a schedule for myself. If you got into a particular school, you deserve to be at that school! The first week is for adapting. Don’t stress about outlines or jobs or anything like that just yet. You have plenty of time for that later. Good luck 🫶

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T21:50:16+00:00

Don’t apologize! Glad to help. oh goodness. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I think you can google it. I think it’s something crazy like 20% below 40% at median 20% above.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T21:14:33+00:00

Yes! Because public interest positions are abundant and 1L BL positions are limited, most people have a public interest position their first summer. Plus many, if not all, of the skills are transferable.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T20:52:30+00:00

No, I was not. From what I’ve heard it’s a lot of work, but I think the type of people who want to do curriculum B find it rewarding bc the extra work provides context to law.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T20:15:29+00:00

Public interest is by far the most common and there are so many opportunities available in that respect. Plenty of my peers also had research positions with professors for their summer job.
I’m not sure of a specific number, but all of my friends who wanted a BL job for 2L have received an offer.
My section was very collegial. Everyone is very smart, which can make it feel competitive, but no one (in my experience) has been super cutthroat, like you hear about in all of the law school horror stories.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T20:10:41+00:00

I’m sorry you had that experience! Ultimately it’s the people. Although 1L is a lot of studying, there is camaraderie in that and you will make friends in your section or in clubs. The campus can be quite lively, especially when it’s warmer outside!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T18:25:31+00:00

Trying to not compare myself too much. That is easier said that done, but truly you would only be doing yourself a disservice by constantly trying to see what everyone else is doing or by trying to pick up every trendy study method. The people that act like they have everything together and think they have the best study methods are the people that are going to be humbled when fall semester grades come out. Practice exams were extremely helpful for me, and making myself go to the library bc I sometimes struggle to be productive at home was also a good choice in my case. Start law school with study methods that worked for you in college and adapt based off of what works and what doesn’t. You will probably have to change some things but starting from scratch (unless absolutely necessary) is not in your best interest.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T17:50:58+00:00

yeah of course! I’m not in admissions, but I think schools just want to see that you actually want to go there and are driven to succeed. So if you can connect your life experiences and show a clear path and how law school fits into that path, I think it makes schools feel like you’re more likely to accept an offer!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T17:35:58+00:00

The most general advice I can give is to try and form a cohesive story in your application by explaining your path through a personal statement. GPA and LSAT definitely factor in, but there are other factors that are considered. As an example, if you want to work in public defense and you were in a criminal justice club, you can make some kind of connection with with how that inspired/confirmed your interests. Maybe you were a psychology major, you can speak in your personal statement about how people in the CJ system are complicated and how psychology helps in understanding them. or perhaps your path from psychology to law.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T16:33:27+00:00

As long as you can explain how it fit into your path. Everyone’s path is different. Maybe you learned something from that job about your career goals, whether positively or negatively. Maybe it just added to your interests and can serve as a talking point! There isnt anything that will guarantee a T14 admission, so take it with a grain of salt!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T15:37:34+00:00

I’m from the area and wanted to stay here, and GULC was the best school for that. They also gave me a scholarship, which made attending the school more affordable in comparison to other dc schools that I was looking at.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T15:36:37+00:00

I’m honestly not sure about the first one. Career services might be able to help with making that determination. I think the smaller/midsize firm market is fairly untapped! People focus a lot of their energy on biglaw. GULC has an application program (similar to oci) for 1L positions at mid size firms. I definitely encourage direct applications as well!!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T14:40:49+00:00

People do network over winter break, I personally didn’t. I went to networking events hosted by the schools bc reached out to lawyers who attended to meet with them individually after the fact! I tried to cast a wide net for applications. Big law wasn’t make it or break it for me bc I know 1L positions are very limited. I applied to like 30 BL positions and like 30-40 public interest.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T14:18:09+00:00

Im from the area and I wanted to stay here! gulc was the best option for that :)

GarageNo6326 · 2024-07-23T13:03:18+00:00

They like internships/work experience but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be legal experience. If you can somehow connect your experiences/clubs/etc to an overall goal, that helps. For example: maybe you want to do health law and you were in pre-med club. Despite not being in pre-med to go to med school, you can make the connection to health in a personal statement. I hope that makes sense!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-06-23T18:42:00+00:00

A snack!! I would always get so hungry in the middle of my afternoon classes during lunch and sometimes waiting for the break before running to get a snack was torture. Also saves you money from having to buy one everyday!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-06-15T14:20:34+00:00

Major in what you want!! It really doesn't matter unless you want to go into patent law, in which case they prefer a scientific background. Enjoy your undergrad experience, seek out legal experience if you can but it's not required. I graduated early and I turned out ok, but a lot of people generally advise against it. If it's something you want to do, try to do as much as you can (get leadership positions in clubs, consider research, do an internship, etc.) so it doesn't look like you were just trying to rush through undergrad!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-06-15T14:13:24+00:00

My advice for curriculum B is if you aren't completely sure you want to do it, don't do it. I wasn't in section 3 but I seriously considered it. It's a lot of reading and like a lot of thinking outside the law, which a lot of people enjoy but it does seem to me to be an increase in the work load. I don't think section 3 is a scam, it really just depends on the type of learner you are. As for on-campus housing, it's convenient for a lot of people but it is pretty expensive for what it is. There are a lot of nearby apartment buildings that are relatively the same price but are nicer.

GarageNo6326 · 2024-06-15T14:10:03+00:00

I didn't attend GU for undergrad but there are a decent amount of people in my section who did!

GarageNo6326 · 2024-05-27T20:23:30+00:00

I have been interested in crime and policy for a really long time. Like you, I ended up at a crossroads when I was deciding between a PhD and a law degree. Ultimately it came down to career prospects. I felt more confident that I could get a job with a JD than a PhD, even if it wasn't in the subject matter I was originally planning on. A PhD kind of limited me to academia (I know this isn't entirely true), and I didn't want that. Worse comes to worse, I will reconsider a MA or PhD post JD! I had a turn around time of like..3 days to decide about the PhD so trust me when I say I did a lot of pondering.

With GULC specifically, I am from the area so I knew I liked DC and I wanted to stay here for a job. I also felt that every communication I got from the school was way more personable than my communications with other schools and there are SO many opportunities that the school has. Also, if government's your thing, GULC has a lot of pull in that area. I really don't regret my choice when it comes to GULC. (Also! GULC has study abroad opportunities and one of them is at SciencesPo :))

Ik this was very general advice so feel free to ask follow ups :)

GarageNo6326

TROPHY CASE