Boalt student taking questions about Boalt, law school in general, work, etc.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Hey Ruskie (and/or other Boalties who have responded),

So personally I'm leaning towards Boalt right now and all i can see are the pros of going there, but i'm hoping you can give me some of the cons so I have a more realistic idea of what i'll be getting myself into. For instance, what do you (or fellow students) perceive as some of the drawbacks of Boalt? Or at least what are the areas where Boalt could improve? Are there any general complaints students have?

Also, what do you know about graduate student housing? If I do go to Boalt I'm considering living in housing for at least the first semester while i get my bearings, but I'm wondering if it's better to just come in june to try and set up a place then?

I'm sure i'm going to go to Boalt no matter what though, but i'm trying to quell that 10% of me that is considering other options.

Thanks in advance.

I think most people have very few complaints and are pretty happy with where they ended up, both in terms of school and in terms of geography.  The weather is nicer than most places (although I complain a lot because I am from the South and I am used to it being much warmer) and the school boasts top credentials while still maintaining a personable and relaxed environment.

The gripes are few, but are usually to the effect of "the building sucks, we need a new one," "the people's in the registrar's office are rude and unhelpful," "career counselors are not very helpful," and "boalt needs more money for scholarships, faculty recruitment, clinics, etc."

[IvanTrbl]

I have been toying with ditching the whole law scene and heading straight into engineering - the pay isn't as good, but the QOL is great, 40 hours a week is fairly regular, and the people are normal.

Yup.  And your job will most likely be outsourced to India within the next ten years.

NO, Lily, No.  Technological outsourcing generally opens up specialized service-sector positions in the "Home" nation (US).  (i.e. engineering)

        

[IvanTrbl]

Some service sector positions, yes.  Engineering, however, does not fall into that category.

Sure it does!!!  (however, I don't think it would be proper to begin engaging in a protracted outsourcing debate on this Boalt Q+A thread [especially considering how resourceful and helpful Ruskie has been in answering questions  ]).

The bottom line is that people in India speak English fluently and the nation  produces many more engineers than we do -- the icing on the cake is that, due to the exchange rate, they wind up costing major companies a lot less than American engineers. 

... Hence, is the essence of outsourcing.  I must concede though, I am extremely biased on the basis of the fact that my father is a partner at an outsourcing firm (only his host nation is Latvia).  

[snikrep]

I'm quite aware of outsourcing (my dad just got back from a trip to India on behalf of a major engineering firm) - I don't think it's quite the longterm juggernaut that the media has made it out to be.  Some jobs will get moved over there, but their salaries are rising and companies are realizing that, with all the overhead, they're not saving quite as much money as before.

I think there will always be demand for top notch engineers who do creative work, it's the grunt stuff that takes long hours with a lower level of skill that will be moved overseas, because it's easy to do so.  Also, the longterm goal of a lot of the Indian workers is to start their own companies, once that happens and they start to compete with us, the supply of workers will decline, salaries go up - and outsourcing will look a lot more expensive than hiring Joe Blow with a local EE degree.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

Created a new thread.

thanks. i am still here to answer any boalt/law/work related questions.

[Gary Glitter]

ruskie: update

boalt said they require top 5-10% from my shcool.

i'm at a school with a median lsat of 168 of they're requiring top 5-10% - looks like they're applying a uniform requirement across ALL schools.

who are these people.

ridiculous

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

ruskie: update

boalt said they require top 5-10% from my shcool.

i'm at a school with a median lsat of 168 of they're requiring top 5-10% - looks like they're applying a uniform requirement across ALL schools.

who are these people.

ridiculous

i don't know what to tell you. i don't make the rules. it is what it is. they probably have the same rules for someone who wants to transfer from penn.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

just thought i would give this thing a bump...keep the questions coming. i need an excuse to procrastinate.

[Gary Glitter]

typical UC lunacy. UC adcomms have lost their minds. First the spanish sat II debacle, the instate tuitition for *illegals* (a move which is in direct conflic with federal law), and now THIS

40 million people in one state, a handful of good schools and intelligent adcomms are no where to be found. 

ruskie: update

boalt said they require top 5-10% from my shcool.

i'm at a school with a median lsat of 168 of they're requiring top 5-10% - looks like they're applying a uniform requirement across ALL schools.

who are these people.

ridiculous

i don't know what to tell you. i don't make the rules. it is what it is. they probably have the same rules for someone who wants to transfer from penn.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

typical UC lunacy. UC adcomms have lost their minds. First the spanish sat II debacle, the instate tuitition for *illegals* (a move which is in direct conflic with federal law), and now THIS

40 million people in one state, a handful of good schools and intelligent adcomms are no where to be found. 

ruskie: update

boalt said they require top 5-10% from my shcool.

i'm at a school with a median lsat of 168 of they're requiring top 5-10% - looks like they're applying a uniform requirement across ALL schools.

who are these people.

ridiculous

i don't know what to tell you. i don't make the rules. it is what it is. they probably have the same rules for someone who wants to transfer from penn.

i don't really see any evidence that there are no intelligent adcoms in the UC system. are you saying that they are unintelligent because their transfer cutoff is such that would not allow you to get in?