Accepted at Miami!!!!

[SleepyGuyYawn]

futurejd,

From all that I've heard, the first year is the hardest -- not necessarily b/c the workload is less (although since you become more efficient in your second year I think the workload is a bit easier to handle than in 1L), but more b/c you're not struggling to figure law school out.  I would suggest you read the book "One L" by Scott Turow.  It overdramatizes the first year a bit (b/c it's Harvard in the late 70's), but it basically gives you an idea of what you go through in the first year.  

My impression is that you are basically introduced to a whole new language and framework and for much of the first semester students struggle to reach a tipping point where they begin to be able to put what they're learning into some context.

To be sure the first year is the most stressful -- I don't think you'd find many people who would argue about that.  I have two friends -- one a 2L and one a 3L -- and both tell me that the stress is about the worst thing about the first year.

You also may want to check out some blogs of law students.

Some blogs from UMiami Law Students:

http://tortyum.blogspot.com
http://jasonbwolf.blogspot.com
http://lawfool.blogspot.com
http://bricksonthebrain.blogspot.com
http://barsk.schteino.com

I think, if I remember right, that the first four are first years and the last is a second year, but don't quote me on that.

[cascagrossa]

Would it be a good/bad idea to live in the North Miami Beach/Hallandale area and get to UM by public transportation every day? Is that too far?

I've heard Coral Gables is expensive.

that would be an absolutely terrible idea unless you enjoy incredibly long commutes every day.  north miami beach is very far from coral gables.

[SleepyGuyYawn]

Would it be a good/bad idea to live in the North Miami Beach/Hallandale area and get to UM by public transportation every day? Is that too far?

I've heard Coral Gables is expensive.

See my earlier post about South Beach ... Miami Beach is farther away from Coral Gables than South Beach.  Trust me, unless you want to get to law school in an hour and a half, don't plan on taking public transportation from Miami Beach to the law school.  I stayed in Miami Beach at a hostel when I was in Miami and it was easily 15 miles to Coral Gables -- maybe a few more miles actually.  And the bad thing is that there's just no public transporation that would work for you.  You would have to take the bus into downtown Miami and then transfer to the elevated train.  But the bus is quite slow and b/c you have to make a detour into downtown, you'd have to travel like 20 miles probably on public transportation -- and I don't know how much you've traveled on the bus in your life, but 20 miles on public transportation everyday is an absolute nightmare.  It would seriously take you well over an hour on a good day.

Even driving from North Miami Beach would take you a while -- traffic in the morning is probably pretty bad.  And from all that I've heard, parking is bad at Miami.

You are right that Coral Gables is a bit expensive, but it's not nearly as bad if you share with one or two others.  The law school tries to help 1L's find roommates (one of the few law schools to do such a thing I believe).  They have over 70% of students coming from out of state so there are plenty of students who you'd be able to share with (I get the impression that Miami recruits very heavily from out of state b/c Floridians tend to want to go to Florida and Florida State b/c despite being in the middle of nowhere (gainesville) and in Talahassee (FSU) they are cheap for in-staters.

I think you'd be better off to find out from the law school where other law students live and check those areas out.  My suspicion is that North Miami Beach will end up being a lot more expensive than Coral Gables (from what I heard when I visited) anyways.  

[futurejd20]

I was just wondering because my family owns a condo in North Miami Beach, so I would be able to get free rent etc. but thanks for the heads up. I definitely don't want to commute that far. I guess I will just suck it up and pay for a Coral Gables place. Also, I don't think having roomates would be a good idea for me since I get annoyed by any kind of noise when I'm studying. I can get by in Undergrad, but probably not law school.

[SleepyGuyYawn]

Wow, a condo in Miami?  That's cool -- could be worth driving in your second or third year... but yea, I wouldn't recommend it your first year.

I hear you about the noise -- but you always could drive to your condo (if you catch non rush hour traffic) in the afternoon to do your studying there

[cascagrossa]

i dont know, north miami beach is pretty far.  the office i worked at over the summers is in north miami beach, its like a 45min+ drive in traffic from the um campus(i live like 5 mins south of it).

[SleepyGuyYawn]

But a free condo to live in?  Even w/ a 45 minute drive it might be worth it in the second or third year...But then I'm kind of cheap.

[Linzy628]

i hope i can find an apartment that allows dogs. I know I need to live alone my first year. I dont think any roomate would put up with my dog anyway, she barks (as most dogs do) and that would annoy anyone. She even annoys me.

I am smiling right now. On the news they are warning ice fisherman about the dangers of thin ice. I'm so happy this is my last winter in MI for at least the next few years.

[midjeep]

Crud, I knew I should have applied to Miami. People with my stats have already been accepted, so I bet they are now going to only admit people with higher stats.

[Linzy628]

what are your stats?