WashU 1L taking questions

[coconut368]

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?

old exams are very readily available online.  if a particular professor hasn't posted them, you can just ask and  he or she will make them available through course websites (particularly if it's a visiting prof).

grades are always going to be somewhat arbitrary, and since everything is graded anonymously, it's truly a reflection of how you perform relative to others during those three hours.  profs are different in their distributions (which are always available from the previous years online as well).  for example, my contracts professor clustered everything around the mean, so he only gave 4 grades above a 90 whereas other profs spread them out, arguably giving those students more of an advantage overall.  but if you prepare, you'll do fine. everyone is in the same boat, and you've just got to determine through the course of the semester what that particular professor is interested in getting back on an exam.

i don't think professors are out to trick you (many of them will say that up front).  they just want to help you learn the material.  they don't play "hide the ball" either in class or on an exam (at least not the one's i've had). 

[LegallyAccepted]

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?

Now these are great questions!!!

[coconut368]

(sorry, i'm kind of new at this board...not sure if this posted the first time)

old exams are very readily available online.  if a particular professor hasn't posted them, you can just ask and  he or she will make them available through course websites (particularly if it's a visiting prof).

grades are always going to be somewhat arbitrary, and since everything is graded anonymously, it's truly a reflection of how you perform relative to others during those three hours.  profs are different in their distributions (which are always available from the previous years online as well).  for example, my contracts professor clustered everything around the mean, so he only gave 4 grades above a 90 whereas other profs spread them out, arguably giving those students more of an advantage overall.  but if you prepare, you'll do fine. everyone is in the same boat, and you've just got to determine through the course of the semester what that particular professor is interested in getting back on an exam.

i don't think professors are out to trick you (many of them will say that up front).  they just want to help you learn the material.  they don't play "hide the ball" either in class or on an exam (at least not the one's i've had).

[cisforcookie]

heh. thank you. that's good to hear.

as for the arbitrary part. I'm comfortable with the idea that my grades are determined based on one test and not on a semester worth of "work." there are just so many stories of students going through a semester and then sitting down for an exam and finding it mostly unrelated to anything they had done so far in the year. if test banks are widely available, then I don't expect that this would be too much a problem then.

[Betsy 1]

I was wondering what your feel for the fed. gov. job market from WUSTL is.  I have that fantastic full scholarship they've been giving out this year, but I'm wondering how I would fare in my career goals from WUSTL.  I'm interested in working for a federal gov. agency like the EPA and the like.  Any feeling for this?

[upgrade]

I was wondering what your feel for the fed. gov. job market from WUSTL is.  I have that fantastic full scholarship they've been giving out this year, but I'm wondering how I would fare in my career goals from WUSTL.  I'm interested in working for a federal gov. agency like the EPA and the like.  Any feeling for this?

Have you looked into the recently passed Federal LRAP?  If your job with the federal government qualifies you for the 10 year loan forgiveness and maximum of 15% of discretionary income for monthly payments, I would definitely be heading to one of your other options.

WUSTL is a great school and I am on the wait list there (yes I potentially have something to gain from you going elsewhere), but I think a jump from WUSTL to Michigan vastly improves your chances of getting the job you want.  Even without the LRAP, Vanderbilt is a school with a more established reputation that is practically paid for. 

[LegallyAccepted]

How are job prospects in TX for WUSTL grads?

[wustl3l]

I just checked our database and students reported working at the following places:

Locke Liddel
Andrews Kurth
Akin Gump
Jones Day
Smith Carr
Baker Botts
Chalker Flores
Kelly Hart & Hallman
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr
Bexar County Courtys
Harris County D.A.
Research Asst to a UT prof

Now take this data with a grain of salt as it is self reported and for both 1Ls and 2Ls but it should give you an idea of where some people end up.

[LegallyAccepted]

THank you, that info is very helpful.  But, how difficult do you think it would be to get a job in TX?  Like I have stated previously, I am a TX resident and want to return to TX.  I am currently considering Tulane and WUSTL, but leaning heavily to WUSTL.  I just want to make sure that it won't be that difficult for me to get back to TX from WUSTL and that I could get a decent (mid-BIGLAW) job.  When at the ASD, I talked to a 3L who will be working for Jones Day and he gave me some great info, but I want to ask as many people as possible to get more of an overall view.

[wustl3l]

For biglaw (i.e., $160K jobs) I think WUSTL might be a little better because the firms will dip a little further down in the class. For midlaw I think it will be about the same because Tulane has more alumni in the area. Tulane might work out better if you're in some situation where you're having to carve out your own path, career wise. At any rate, it's not like you're going to be some pariah in TX coming out of WUSTL.

There's no science behind my reasoning, just what I've seen from my friends at both WUSTL and Tulane.