The Law School Files

It's over

2004-12-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

I feel like a HUGE burden has ben lifted from my shoulders. I don't know how i would describe my first semester of law school. It was everything that i thought it would be, and yet i managed to not be prepared... That pisses me off because i really feel like i prepared myself well and then just didn't follow through... that's typical, but still frustrating.

Exams were ok. I think i did ok, but once again, i could have done better. I have a lot of ideas of how i plan to handle next semester, hopefully i'll be able to accomplish those goals.

The countdown has begun

2004-11-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Exams are in less than a month....

Maybe you didn't see what i typed...

EXAMS ARE IN LESS THAN A MONTH!!

Now that i've yelled that I don't feel any better but it was kinda fun to type it.

The good news is that it is entirely possible that i will do well on my exams. The bad news is that it is going to take every ounce of concentration i have available. I'm reaching to the depths on this one.

I sat down and devised a plan that will ensure good grades and it's completely possible. The problem is that there are 100,000,000 other things that need to be done simultaneously. But like i told my friend... don't panic and don't give up.

Mid Term

2004-10-19T09:49:00.000-04:00

I would say that midterms are a blessing and a curse. i have had midterms in two classes... one doesn't count at all and the other could count if i did better on it than i do on the final. Let me just say that if i do worse on the final i need to find another profession.

At any rate, I took my contracts midterm on Monday. I walked in after about 5 hours of sleep and without having studied at all. Now sometimes people try to say they haven't studied but they really mean that they didn't study that much. I will put it like this... I am about 100+ pages behind in the reading and I didn't open my book since the previous Thursday. So i didn't study AT ALL. I also didn't have two of the three books that i needed for the midterm.

My performance was laughable actually. I mean what else could i do? I can't let it get me down b/c there's nothing i can do about it. But you best believe a change is gonna be made before the final.

Falling behind

2004-09-22T13:31:00.000-04:00

That's what i'm doing... and to be honest i dunno if i'm gonna catch up

It's Picking Up

2004-09-13T18:46:00.000-04:00

The amount of required reading is definitely increasing. Unfortunately i don't feel like i've found my comfort zone yet. But i am able to keep up with the reading and i know how important that is. For some reason there are certain classes where i feel like the teacher is speaking another language.

The worst part of having ADD is that it's not like you can just set your mind to it and fix it. Today was my first time being called on in Torts class and I swear it was like she was speaking a foreign language. I'm not sure if it was because i didn't have complete mastery of the material or what but it was like i couldn't understand her words... it created a bunch of anxiety.

*sigh*

Better luck next time

Week 2 Comes to a Close

2004-09-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

I'm not even sure where to begin. I'm exhausted... I know that much. But it's more than just waking up at 6:30 and not leaving school until 8 or 9. It's more like the mental health issues. It's no secret that i suffer from a couple of mental health issues and it's also no secret that i am probably a bit worse off because of situations i put myself in. I'm cool with all that and i have no problem admitting that. I do have a problem when it affects what i do on a daily basis and that's where i am now.

I've made an appt with the campus' psychiatry dept to be probbed, evaluate and tested all over again for ADD. I am sure that i will need to provide additional documentation from my past psychologist and psychiatrist and all that stuff. That doesn't bother me... What bothers me is the fact that i will be required to meet with them once a week. That is a hug time commitment and i'm not sure how it's all gonna affect my studying

I guess only time will tell

I can see trouble a mile away

2004-09-01T11:42:00.000-04:00

So i'm starting to see exactly what classes i'm not gonna like or at least that i will have trouble with and contracts is one...

This class does not hold my attention AT ALL. Next week the plan for this class is to leave the laptop in my locker and take some old fashion notes. I'm not sure what it is about the class or why i can't/don't want to pay attention but everyday that it happens, i fall a bit further behind and i need to nip that in the bud ASAP.

I guess concentration has always been an issue for me. I think that this setting is the first time that i can actually say, "I'm gonna need to know this" so i want to be able to focus and pay attention.

1L Week One

2004-08-27T20:20:00.000-04:00

I don't really know what to say about the past week. It was exciting, i met a lot of new and interesting people and i might even venture so far as to say i may have made some friends.

My main observations about the past week are:

The work is indeed manageable... I just need to motivate myself to do it
There are definitely people in my section that will have me wanting to hurt them by mid October
Some classes are interesting... others are not
Some professors are interesting... others are not
I need to focus

I don't think that any of those "revelations" are particularly earth shattering but the first one will be essential for me to keep in mind. I've been taking ritalin for the past week and it helps... next week i'll talk to the folks at the Health Center about getting a referral so that i can get my perscription refilled. In other healthcare news, I lost a bottle of Zoloft... That's just scary. Hopefully i'll find it soon.

I'm debating whether or not i want to go the study group route. If I do I will probably seek out some folks from the summer program i was in, or i might stick to my hermit like ways and just do it on my own.

Let the Games Begin

2004-08-21T09:03:00.000-04:00

Orientation is over... and now it's time for the real work to begin. I'll admit that i feel a bit uneasy about the next couple of weeks. I thought that course was a good opportunity for me to get a leg up on the competition but either i didn't learn anything or i don't remember what i learned.

Yesterday we did a writing assignment in a group where we briefed a case... my ideas about the case were WAYYYYY off. I'm assuming the task of issue spotting will get easier... if it doesn't, i'm not sure what i'm gonna do.

And so the journey begins

2004-08-19T17:39:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of orientation... I will begin this by saying... My school is
W H I T E... like lilly white even.

No, i'm not a racist. But i have done this before. Been at a school where the majority of the faces were not like mine. It's not that i expected anything different, it's just that it didn't really hit me until 8:30am today. I met a girl in the starbucks while waiting on orientation to begin. Cute little brunette. We talked about this and that and the start of the law school experience and things were nice. We left starbucks and headed into the school. Almost immediately i ran into two of my black friends. I introduced them to my new pal and continued to chat it up. When i mentioned sitting outside for a few minutes, while waiting on things to get started, my white "friend" declined. About three minutes later she exited the building with a few other white girls and sat at the next table over. No words were exchanged... in fact, for the rest of the day when i saw her she looked away and didn't return my smiles. I quickly took the hint.

Now some might argue that maybe she simply didn't like me or the other girls and I'm just fine with that. But i suspect there was something much deeper than that.

c'est la vie.

In other news, orientation was a terrible bore. I see the necessity of it, but it was a rehash of the information that i've spent the last 10 days getting. nevertheless i made the best of it and tried my best to meet new people. The downside of participating in that summer workshop is that we all tend to just stick together now. it's great to have a familiar face but i think it also makes us less approachable and i can't help but wonder whether or not i'm missing out on some opportunity to meet more people.

One thing that i noticed about the school is that all of the professors seems genuinely committed to our growth and development. I had that in undergrad as well, but i was too silly to actually make use of it. I'm determined to be more active in law school and do what it takes to make sure that i leave this school with no regrets.

I came i saw...

2004-08-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

So i've been going to the financial aid office EVERY day. Today i actually got to speak to the lady who cancelled my loan... after spending 5 minutes being told that there was "no way" the office could have cancelled my loans. She too tried to tell me that she couldn't have done it... i insisted she was wrong. She finally checks the website and WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?!?! My loans have been cancelled!

As of 2:30pm the loan was uncancelled (is that a word?)

Let's hope they stay that way.

I will not accept defeat

2004-08-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

So today i was checking my loans online because that's what you do when you're obsessive compulsive like me. My private loan says "canceled"...
I call and ask why and all they say is that someone from my school "canceled" it...

Tomorrow i will go and throw myself to the financial aid wolves... if they tell me that for some reason it will not be reinstated i will not be in school this fall. I will be an unemployed female looking for a job.

I just want it to all work out. I'm ready to do the work, i just need to get in that classroom.

Pray for me (as usual)

Briefing One's First Case

2004-08-11T17:37:00.000-04:00

I attempted to brief a case last night... =-/

I was at a loss... i must've read the case itself at least 3 times and then tried to brief it. disasturous. Actually it wasn't that bad. it was just VERY time consuming. If that was a legitimate assignment, i dunno if i would have had time to do anything else.

This is going to be an enormous test.

I am ready.

Day One

2004-08-09T21:39:00.000-04:00

Well kinda...

Today was the first day of that Summer Program i applied for and all in all it was a pretty good experience. I need to work on stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit more. Apparently i'm fairly shy. I'm trying to get to a point where i can just start convos with people but i guess i don't feel like i have anything to say. I'm trying though. I even thought up some topics to bring up tomorrow!!

lol

That's pathetic i know but i have a lot of things i need to work on and my "shyness" is one of them.

The program itself is rather interesting actually. The idea is to get us up to speed before classes start so that we can hit the ground running. Hopefully that will work. Unfortunately, only time will tell.

The Wheels Turn Slowly

2004-07-29T14:36:00.000-04:00

So today i bought all my text books :-/ $600+ that i really don't have. Of course the "budget" estimates that books for the semester should be like $450.... so before i have even received my refund check... i'm over the budget.
*sigh*

I honestly don't get it. I mean if the school works with a bookseller and the bookseller determines the price, why can't the school better estimate the cost of books? I'm sure they'll rationalize that you don't have to buy "optional" books (although the professors will vehemently disagree) and that you can buy used books. I'll admit i'm a bit of a book snob, but i just can't sort thru someone else's highlights and underlining to determine what i think is important. It's psychological.

I'm also a little bothered that the school budgets for "personal expenses" based on Health Insurance costing $770... the actual cost of health care is $950. I'm sure this seems very nitpicky but when you aren't allowed to work, every bit helps.

My final financial aid rant is this: You can borrow up to an additional $2000 to cover the cost of a laptop... cool. The laptop has to be purchased after 7/1 but before classes start... cool. The school disburses $1000 per semester to cover the costs.... not cool. Lemme show you some numbers so y'all don't think i'm insane:

	Full-time Student	Part-time Student
Tuition	$30,528	$21,489*
Fees - General/SBA Sports Center Technology Fee	340 130 110	248 60 40
Housing@ 955 per month	8,596	8,596
Board/Food@ 301 per month	2,709	2,709
Books**	915	630
Transportation	1,880	1,880
Personal***	2,600	2,600
Total	$ 47,808	$ 38,252

Living expenses are based on the nine month academic year

Costs by Semester

Tuition and Fees	$15,554	$10,918.50
Books	457.50	315
Living/Personal Expenses	$7,892.50	$7,892.50
Total	$23,904	$19,126

Now let's look at a few things off the top... they're budgeting $955 a month for rent... in the DC metro area... yes, it can be done but it is HIGHLY unlikely. Transpo: $1880. If you park that's about $832 leaving you $116 per month for transpo for 9 months. That's great if all you need is gas and you never have to have your car serviced, and you have a small car with good gas milage. Of course with $995 a month for rent you're living nowhere close to campus and you're probably stressed out because you have to drive an hour a day to get to and from class. Yes, you could take metro... but at the least you're spending about $60 a month which leaves you an extra $154 a month. Perhaps that can go towards rent so that you can actually live close enough to only pay $60 a month for metro.

So ok let's look at the charges on my account:

Date	Description	Charge	Credit
07/26/2004	Stud Technology Fee	55.00
07/26/2004	Activity Fee	170.00
07/26/2004	Tuition	15,264.00
07/26/2004	Sports Center Fee	65.00
07/26/2004	Health Insurance Fee	950.00

hmmm... this equals: $16,449
plus the $600 for text books and we're at $17,049
This brings my rent/personal expenses down to: $6855... that's quite a bit less than the "budget" is it not?

In all fairness, let's add that $1000 for the laptop ($7855) and then drop it down to $6255 since i have to pay for the entire laptop upfront and not $1000 per semester as the school seems to think is appropriate.

Soooo.... I have $6255 or $1563.75 to last me from September to December... and *by law* i am not allowed to work.... anyone see any problems?

Pray for me y'all

I Got In

2004-07-23T00:37:00.000-04:00

I received an email today telling me that i had been accepted into the program that i mentioned last time... I'm ecstatic and a bit unnerved. I'm not sure what will happen to me in law school, but i know i'm off to a good start.

*raises glass*

CHEERS

Getting Ahead

2004-07-14T10:09:00.000-04:00

I've applied for a 10 day course at my school designed to help prepare 1Ls for their first year. I had been toying with the idea for some time and decided to go ahead and apply. The cost is included in the tuition and upon completion i'd receive 2 credit hours. I think it'd be a good opportunity for me to get in there and get my mind working right away and to meet some of my classmates since i've punked out of every happy hour.

Registration Paperwork

2004-07-09T11:24:00.000-04:00

I have officially begun the registration process for law school. I received the forms yesterday and printed everything out. I even went ahead and faxed back my forms today.
*pats self on back*

It's funny because now that i think about it, school is JUST around the corner. Just last month i was complaining about how long everything was taking, but now... it's like right there.

I'm also applying to take a "prep" course for law school. It's not one of those $1000 programs offered by a third party. This one is actually offered by the school and the cost is covered in my tuition. Additionally, upon satisfactory completion, I will receive 2 credits towards my JD.

Hopefully i will be selected. I am still afraid that i am not on the same level as my peers. I think that participating in the program will give me a chance to get my brain working and ready to go.

Can't Win for Losing

2004-06-22T08:56:00.000-04:00

So I spent yesterday celebrating my grant until about 5pm. That's the time that i received an email from the financial aid office stating that although i had been approved for reimbursement for the purchaseo f a laptop, i was *not* approved for an increase to cover additional health care. That means no visits to the psychiatrist and no perscriptions... that's a very bad and scary thing for me. I'm appealing the response to my appeal now... hopefully it'll all work out

Grants

2004-06-21T11:08:00.000-04:00

They are your friend... and i like friends...

That being said i just found out i have received a 10k need based grant... which is a good thing... because i really needed it. That will significantly reduce the amount of the loan that my brother cosigned for and i know that will help everyone in my family rest a bit easier.

*puts up feet*

Think any more of these things will roll in?

And now time to relax

2004-06-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

I submitted my letter of resignation yesterday and i have secured an apt. My second loan has gone through and now there is nothing i can do but wait.

I'm really looking forward to school starting. I wish i had more info... a class schedule or something, but i guess i just need to be patient. The hardest thing about this whole process thus far has been the waiting. You have to wait to take the LSAT, wait for the results, wait to hear back from the schools... waiting is tiresome. So for now i will relax... until the next crisis surfaces.

Snail's Pace

2004-06-03T10:47:00.000-04:00

All i can do now is wait. I feel like i should be preparing... and I probably will be going to get some books soon, but i feel like everything is at a standstill. I realized that i have never even seen the school i'm gonna be attending. I should probably do something about that in the near future.

The funniest thing about this whole turn of events is that I've never gone to a school that ppl had heard of. I mean Hampton is fairly well known among the black folks that i know, but American is like the first "real" school I've gone to. I'm sure it'll be an experience. I admit that i am a bit worried about the possible conflicts with my classmates of different socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities, but i've grown a lot over the past few months and i know i'm ready to handle it.

My last day at work is gonna be 7/16. I'm gonna use those 4 weeks to relax, get ready and prepare myself for the most rigorous 3 yrs of my life. I'm excited and terrified. I know i will do well... i'm just ready to start proving myself

Money Ain't a Thing?

2004-05-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

As I said, my private loan was approved and everything is ok on that... but upon further review it has become apparent that the money alloted for living expenses won't be nearly enough to cover things such as my health expenses and prescriptions. So, i had to fill out another loan application to supplement the rest of the money *sigh*
I know that it will all be worth it... but right now, it sure as hell doesn't seem like it.

Looking back on this whole process i can honestly say there there are a LOT of things that i would have done differently, but overall i am satisfied with the results so i won't worry about it too much.

Time to go!

2004-05-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

The loan application that my brother submitted was approved so this fall i will be attending American University. I can't even begin to explain how lucky i am to have this opportunity. I'm just ready to get started. Over the next few weeks i'll be quitting my job... getting a new apt and hopefully finding time to relax. Time for my next big adventure :)

It goes on and on

2004-05-14T09:08:00.000-04:00

So the first cosigner loan was rejected... apparently sometime in 1999 (yes, 5 yrs ago) my mother was a week late on a car payment, so they turned down her application to be a cosigner... I understand the importance of credit when you're dealing with this much money... but i mean.. 1 week late... in 1999 *shakes head*

So, the new thing is that my brother is going to cosign the loan. That is a very tricky situation. My brother is mildly retarded and pretty much makes decisions based on the information we (my family) gives him. By that i mean, if we say, "hey cosign for this loan, things will be fine", he'll sign for it. Of course we tell him about the amount of the loan, the terms, and things like that, but ultimately, he trusts us to lead him down the correct path. My concern with the loan is that should anything happen to me, he will ultimately be responsible and i don't like that at all. My plan is that as SOON as i am out of school i will consolidate all the loans and have his name removed. The last thing i want is for something to happen to me and for him to be left paying my debts.

I should know by the middle of next week whether or not the loan has gone thru. if it has, i will be at American in the fall, if it hasn't... then i need to reevaluate my entire life and figure out my next step.

*sigh*

Decisions Decisions Decisions

2004-05-03T09:56:00.000-04:00

My mother sent back the paperwork on Friday for my loan tio go to American. If everything goes through ok, I'll be there this fall. I've spoken to a few people about the school and everyone seems to feel very strong about it so I think I'm making the right choice. My only regret is that I won't be leaving the area. The new plan is to spend summers working outside of DC.

I spend quite a bit of time reading message boards dedicated to discussing law school issues for new and current students. I must admit, I am a bit disheartened by the negative comments made regarding minorities. I can tell that some of it is meant to shock and upset people, and that stuff doesn't irk me. The problem i have is the less obvious stuff. It amazes me how afraid some of these people appear to be of black people. Things like "i don't want to go to that school because it's in a bad neighborhood. "Bad neighborhoods" are black 95% of the time. I feel like I'm going back to high school all over again. The difference is that in high school i didn't even know who i was, so i just tried my best to fit in. Now, i have it pretty much figured out and now i have to decide just how much of that i'm going to let come out on a day to day basis.

Just when i think things are getting easier...

This is why I don't read...

2004-04-28T08:31:00.000-04:00

So i've found myself continuing to compare schools, even though i've decided (supposedly) where i am going. The good news is that nothing is set in stone at this point. I can go to whichever school i choose and not worry about a daggone thing. That's comforting... but i just don't know what to do.

The fact of the matter is, i don't want to be a 6a - 10p lawyer. I don't want to have to bill 2500 hours. i don't want to have to leave out at the crack of dawn and come home when everyone is asleep. If i go to American, that is what i will have to do. My student loan payments will be somewhere around $2,000 and i just can't be in that kind of debt. American is an excellent school with tons of resources, but i just can't see myself in that position when i want to start a family soon after i graduate.

Being a female really sucks sometimes.

Relief

2004-04-26T09:54:00.000-04:00

So I've made my decision... kind of. I have decided that I will be going to Loyola University... unless (u knew it was coming) American offers me tons of money. The truth is, I would LOVE to go to American. I just can't justify putting myself into that kind of debt. I don't want to be the kind of lawyer that would earn the salary that i would need to pay off those loans, so I will do what's best for me. I'm very excited and EXTREMELY glad to be leaving the "area". I've had enough of DC, I need to be away from it for a nice long while. And who knows where I might turn up three years from now :)

So now i begin the prepping phase. I feel like i have so much to do in such a short amount of time. Today I plan to get everything in order and start making plans to get outta here!

The Cost of Indecision

2004-04-23T11:09:00.000-04:00

So far "indecision" has cost me $950. That's the price i've paid to pay seat deposits at two schools. Today I will be sending out my deposit to Loyola... and I'm still undecided. The problem is I can't pass up $21k. I have dreams of going to Loyola and spending summers in DC. Living with the parents and saving all the money... that would be nice. But i'd actually probably live with the sister... or one of them. But anyway... That's what i'm dealing with... This sucks

Panic

2004-04-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Panic is indeed starting to set in and I'm back to the Ritalin and Zoloft cocktail. I honestly cannot decide on a school. My newest idea is to just go to American and try to spend summers elsewhere. The problem with that is if i want to move upon graduation, i won't have the money to do it. I cannot believe how difficult this whole process has become. I wish i had put more thought into ranking schools before I applied.

Thinking Outside the Box

2004-04-21T12:06:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I decided to do some snooping around to try to determine the best school for me. So, i compiled a list of all of the law firms in Chicago and in DC that don't traditionally recruit at Loyola and American respectively. I just sent a brief email asking them about their feelings about the school and how competitive the schools are with others in the area.

To be honest the response that i receive (the fact that i got any respone) was amazing to me. Recruiters have asked me to call them, called me, etc and have been genuinely willing to make themselves available to answer my questions. The information that i am getting from them is fairly standard, but i am hearing that it might be easier to go from DC to Chicago than to go from Chicago to DC.

I am leaning heavily towards American, but it absolutely SUCKS that they haven't offered money. I think that i will be trying to work in other cities in the summer, and making the best of the education that American will provide. My newest task will be trying to come up with a plan that will enable me to continue working part time while going to American. It'd be nice to keep my stock options and to not have to leave such a great company.

Full Court Press

2004-04-19T09:23:00.000-04:00

The pressure is officially on. I'm in the home stretch of the whole law school thing and now is the time for me to really make a decision. I paid my deposit for American last week and Loyola's is due on 5/3. But i'm still not sure where i want to go. There are so many factors that i must take into consideration... ranking, bar passage rate, money, employment rate, etc etc

The advantages of Loyola are fairly obvious... i wouldn't incur anywhere near as much debt and I would probably be able to take a job that i really like after graduation because my debt load won't be crushing. On the other hand, it's a smaller school... not sure of the reputation in the area... not as many varied course offerings.... But i am receiving a scholarship named after a retired Judge who would most likely be able to put me in touch with lots of important people and the presence of his name on my resume may prove to be invaluable... but I've always wanted to go to American... there's something about the idea of practicing law here in DC. Having lived in DC all my life would put me in a good situation because it would be easy to convince a law firm that i would plan on being there for awhile. But Chicago is such a friendly city.

*sigh*

So yeah, I'm not even close to making a decision.

2004-04-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

shhhhhhhhhh

I feel like i'm hiding out over here... but the powers that be have forced me to censor myself... so check back here for info on me!