Some questions:
Who are the good/bad profs and why? Who do I need to watch out for?
What is the workload like in terms of hours per week studying, etc?
How are the internship/job prospects looking for summer after 1L?
Are any students transferring out after 1L?
What are some good bars near campus? 
etc etc
thx for any input
The professors from what I can tell are mostly very very good. There are no "Paper Chase" professors as far as I can tell. I had three really good professors Glancy, Hammond, and Manaster. But you really shouldn't worry about any of that stuff because the only teachers you have first year are the ones that they give you, so you really have no choice about the matter. Don't worry, I think they go pretty easy on 1Ls the first semester, so you'll get used to whoever you have. Second year you pick whoever you want, but by then you'll have met/learnt about many other professors.
Studying? It's really an individual thing. If you know that you are the kind of person who needs to have theior nose in a book to stay on top, then that's what you'll have to do. If, on the other hand, you know that you waste time when you try to study 6 hours per day, you should just do what you normally do. But in either case, you really have to STUDY SMART. DO NOT think that as long as you read, read, read all the cases and brief all the cases that you will succeed on exams. YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE OLD EXAMS TO DO WELL. Whether you spend 6 hours or 3 hours per day is sorta irrelevant if you neglect to do old exams and hypos. You'll have the information, but you won't know how to apply it to the type of fact patterns that typically make up law school exams. Some of you already know this, but...
Like many T2 schools, 1Ls have limited opportunity to do big firm stuff and even paid internships. I don't know what most 1Ls at SCU are doing this summer, but I am pretty sure that it is mostly unpaid clerkships. From what I have seen, there are opportunities, but they're not the pick of the litter, but still satisfactory. And of course, if you start early and make yourself known to firms/organizations, etc, you could have a good shot at some strong summer experiences.
Any transferring 1Ls? I really don't know. I think that the top 0-15 percent of the class are seriously looking at transferring (just a guess), but many will probably stay because either (a) they are gonna do IP law, or (b) SCU seems like it throws a lot of money to the top 10-15 percent at the start of 2L year. I was looking at transferring, but once I realized that I would not be able to replace the large scholarship that I have, it put everything in perspective. So it looks like i'll be staying.
Santa Clara is kind of a one horse town if you know what I mean. Most of the good hotspots are in San Jose, not around SCU. The one bar I know around SCU is "The Hut". It's pretty much a dive bar with cushioned seats, but you know...
I live in Sunnyvale about 4 miles from SCU. I take the bus everyday cause I don't have a car. It's ok though. I originally was slated to stay in the Villa, but I could not afford it really so I pulled out. It seems to be the nicest of the law school housing, and I might even decide to live there next year. It's a bit expensive though. If I can find a place within a mile or so of SCU, then I would take it and save the money. Right now I spend half as much as I would if I was in Villa.
And one more thing. When you start school in august, you will see other students rushing and standing in line for an hour to pay 120 dollars for each of their 6 textbooks (and at the end of the semester finding that they can only sell them back for less than half). DO NOT DO THIS. If you do, you wil be wasting a HUGE amount of money. I paid about 1/3 of the total cost of my books by buying them online, including shipping. I got all of the current editions and there were no marks in the books. The books will be in the library weeks before school begins. You can order them online and have them by the time school starts. So make sure you look at places like Half.com and Amazon.com. I can't tell you how surprised I was to see that so FEW other students even thought about buying used books. I guess they had money to burn.
HTH
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