Pepperdine Student Taking Any Questions

[waves]

I just caught up on all your q & a and appreciate your insight. I have a question regarding commuting - I live in Hollywood and am considering commuting. It's taken me from between 35 minutes with no traffic on the weekend, to an hour in the early morning on a weekday. Do you think it's a doable commute? How many all-night study sessions in the library can I expect as a first year, or is it reasonable to be able to study at home? I live in a very nice, inexpensive apartment that I'd rather not give up. I'm also an older student and think I would enjoy having more space and privacy than on campus living would afford.

[nhutchin]

It is definitely possible.  That being said it can be disadvantage for you if you have to spend a lot of your time sitting in traffic (If you do, do it I would suggest either re-listening to lectures in the car or listen to supplement CDS just so that you are using your time effectively).  I know some people that do it but you have to be disciplined in how you spend your time and not waste the study time you have.  I do know some people that have lived as far or in some cases a lot further and their grades suffered.  There are others where it did not.  For the most part you will be done with class no later than 2:30 or 3:00 so if you leave then the traffic should not be too bad.  I do not live on campus, and I usually do most of my studying at home.  For the most part I leave right when class is done because after spending all day in class I like to have a change in environment.  I tend to get more work done at home.  It depends on whether you can actually get work done at home.  If you have a lot of distractions then it might not be such a good idea to leave.  You could also stay later and the traffic could be better.  It really depends if you will mind spending all day at the law school or if you need to get home earlier.  So basically it is possible, but you do have to think about your commute cutting into your study time which could affect your grades.

[waves]

It's good to know that classes are finished so early in case I want to commute home earlier. The tape recorder / listening to lectures in the car is a great idea too! Otherwise I'm really disciplined, and wouldn't mind staying later - 8 pm or so - and studying at the school. Another reason I want to keep my apartment is that it's in an extremely quiet neighborhood and I have a great roommate, so it would be a pretty distraction free environment. Do you know about what time classes start for 1Ls? Is it around 8 am or 9 am?
You've covered a lot of my other questions through earlier posts which I really appreciate 

[nhutchin]

Every first year section has at least one class that is at 8 in the morning.  So two or three days a week you will have a class at 8.  Otherwise you will probably have classes at the 9:10 slot.  You may have one day though where you do not start class until a little later.

It sounds like you have a good setup and that you should be fine with commuting.

[craigy72]

Hi,
Do any of you know about Pepperdine's projected US News Ranking for 2009? They are scheduled to be released at the end of this month, and there is some speculation on these blogs that Pepperdine is going to drop significantly this year. One post o n"Top-law-schools" purports that Pepperdine's drop in 2009 will be the largest in US News' History. This seems counterintuitive since Pepperdine has been increasing steadily and making improvements to its faculty. Pepperdine is my #1 choice, so this is making me a little nervous. Can anyone shed light on this?
Brian

[biggame]

I would be incredibly surprised if they dropped that much. With the rankings they could drop a couple or go up a couple no one knows. I just got back from visiting the campus and meeting with all the deans. They said for the last 3 years every incoming class has had higher numbers than the last class and like you said they are getting better faculty. I would tend to think that they would go up a couple spots not drop, and definitely not drop a whole bunch, but really who knows.

[LAWANDORDER]

I posted another thread but got no response. Thought I might try it here...
Would you guys take Pepperdine ( no money) over Southewestern PT (with half scholarship)

[nhutchin]

Pepperdine.  I think the environment is completely different and it is a lot more friendly and laid back at pepperdine.  I also think you will be in a much better place to get a job after graduating from Pepperdine.  Southwestern has entertainment law connections (which Pepperdine also has) but that is pretty much it.  I also think there is a definite advantage to being part of a undergraduate institution.  I don't usually look at law schools based on rankings, but I think you would be better off going to a school that is in the top 100.  I would say if possible go and visit the two schools because they have a very different atomospheres and I think that after looking at the two you will see all that Pepperdine has to offer.  I know several people that went to visit Southwestern and did not like it.  I also know it is has a very competitive atmosphere, whereas at Pepperdine, while it is competitive in terms of grades overall the competitive nature of law school is not reflected in our daily interations with one another.

[LAWANDORDER]

Pepperdine.  I think the environment is completely different and it is a lot more friendly and laid back at pepperdine.  I also think you will be in a much better place to get a job after graduating from Pepperdine.  Southwestern has entertainment law connections (which Pepperdine also has) but that is pretty much it.  I also think there is a definite advantage to being part of a undergraduate institution.  I don't usually look at law schools based on rankings, but I think you would be better off going to a school that is in the top 100.  I would say if possible go and visit the two schools because they have a very different atomospheres and I think that after looking at the two you will see all that Pepperdine has to offer.  I know several people that went to visit Southwestern and did not like it.  I also know it is has a very competitive atmosphere, whereas at Pepperdine, while it is competitive in terms of grades overall the competitive nature of law school is not reflected in our daily interations with one another.

Got it. Thanks so much!! But, what about Pepperdine VS. Cardozo?? I know Cardozo's in NY school , but it is constantly getting more and competitive from what I hear. I think it's 52 in the rankings....

[tfrunnerxc]

Hey, I was just wondering where you recommend living out there thats not too pricy (relatively, of course.)  12,000 for just a room on campus for 9 months seems pretty steep, even for out there.  Also, how easy is it to find a place in any of these areas?  My current roommate is moving out to LA next year also and is probably going to be working in the Beverly Hills area and we were talking about living together out there, so somewhere in the middle would be ideal.  Any help you can give is appreciated!  Thanks!