WashU 1L taking questions

[coconut368]

Hey everyone!

I'm a WashU 1L, and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.  Good luck with your decisions!

[botbot]

0L LSAT + GPA ?

Cost of Attendance?

1L summer job?

[NYU2011]

WUSTL with 30grand a year, UIUC with 30 grand a year, or NYU with nothing.

[tashakies]

Thanks for taking the time to answer Qs!
What are the job prospects like for students who graduate median or below 50% on the East or West coast? How competitive are the students, academics and atmosphere in general? What is the grade curve like? Any regrets choosing WashU?

[RockShox007]

To go off tahakies--

When I visited (last year), the tour guide said that career services was taking steps towards broadening opportunities in CA (ie- more CA biglaw recruiting).  Anecdotally, have you seen this happening yet?

[wustl3l]

Thanks for taking the time to answer Qs!
What are the job prospects like for students who graduate median or below 50% on the East or West coast? How competitive are the students, academics and atmosphere in general? What is the grade curve like? Any regrets choosing WashU?

Not trying to hijack this thread but it is tough at or below the median but not impossible. I know people with market paying jobs with those kinds of grades on both coasts but they put in a lot of work to get there (e.g., working contacts, lots of mass mail, etc.). East coast is easier.

Not competitive at all. For better or worse, VERY laid back.

Don't know what to say about the curve. We use a numerical system instead of grades so there is generally some explaining to do with employers who don't know about it. Profs just have to have a set median so there is some variation from class to class with profs who give more super high grades than others.

No regrets, but it was also the best school I was accepted at.

[wustl3l]

To go off tahakies--

When I visited (last year), the tour guide said that career services was taking steps towards broadening opportunities in CA (ie- more CA biglaw recruiting).  Anecdotally, have you seen this happening yet?

In my class everyone that I know of that wanted west coast go it but generally it was through the off campus interviewing program, resume collect, or through direct application.

[LegallyAccepted]

tag

[coconut368]

sorry i'm a little late in responding -- i'll try to answer a bunch at once.

jobs: i finished in the top third this semester (they do not rank or give percentiles outside that cutoff) and i have a summer job at a big firm.  i just got a call from a very good friend who also finished in the top third and landed a job clerking for a judge in california. (overall 1L summer jobs are a take what you can get kind of thing, but we had an intercession program before second semester started that focused solely on getting a summer job.)  getting out to the coast is not as daunting a task as it sounds from wash u. the reputation is only going up, and it's well-respcted.  i have definitely seen more efforts to get people to the west coast because obviously we have a large contingent of students who want to go there. i think they had a west coast job fair not too long ago.   

atmosphere: like wustl3l said, it is very laid back. something about the atmosphere here just takes the competitive edge off. it's collaborative and non-threatening. plus the faculty are great.

sure, the curve sucks, but i personally think we're at an advantage with the grading system.  a few years ago they raised the mandatory mean to 86.5-87.5 from an 83.  the downside to that is everyone is SO crunched (the difference for our class between top 25% and top 10% was less than 2 points.  the upside is, your grades can look higher and if you've missed a cutoff you've likely only just missed it. 

hope this helps.

[cisforcookie]

how available are old exams? how much do you feel that your grades are a fair reflection of your talent/work ethic? do you feel that professors play "hide the ball" much, and give out confusing exam questions to trick students?