Albany Law 2010 thread

[iamprov]

Any other folks starting their 1L at ALS this August?  Heard good things? Bad? How has the apartment hunt in the state capitol been for you?

Some thoughts on my end:

1.  The students I spoke to all said they had a good experience there, but didn't care for the administration.

2. I went to the school on Tuesday, and there were a lot of students there cramming for bar review.  All looked as though their heads were about to pop.

3.  the apartments around the law school area are inexpensive, but many are decrepit, esp. around Lark Street.

4.  You don't get to pick your section/professor for 1L...do other schools do this?

5.  You seem to need to be in the top 20% at least to get a job in NYC.

6.  The school hosted Alan Dershowitz as well as Ralph Nader last year.

[Dreamlover15]

  Im currently on the waitlist...so Hopefully!!!  Wish me luck!!

[button127]

Any other folks starting their 1L at ALS this August?  Heard good things? Bad? How has the apartment hunt in the state capitol been for you?

Some thoughts on my end:

1.  The students I spoke to all said they had a good experience there, but didn't care for the administration.

I've had a chance to speak with a few people that graduated this year and they said they loved it as well, didn't mention the admin stuff though. I'll have to ask.

3.  the apartments around the law school area are inexpensive, but many are decrepit, esp. around Lark Street.

I have to disagree. I'm right on State like 50yds from Lark and my apt is great. 95% of the buildings around the Lark area are historically renovated. Just stay on the law school side of Central and Washington Ave and you'll be fine. And NEVER venture into Arbor Hill, lol. Park is right next to me and the people are incredibly nice to my surprise

schools do this?

5.  You seem to need to be in the top 20% at least to get a job in NYC.
.

I'm didn't get to ask the people that went there as far as class rank and placing down state, one kid just casually mentioned that people on law review automatically got jobs in NYC it seemed, though if they were on law review their ranks is likely above 20% I'm assuming.

Have you moved to Albany yet? At this point I'm trying to guesstimate my living expenses and other costs to take out in loans. Trying to get a feel for it.

[iamprov]

I found a studio apartment on the corner of Madison & robin for around $600 w/ heat.  It's tiny, but only about 1/3 mile from the law school.  I guess I'm just used to getting a bit more for my $$ as is the case in Providence.  I'm sure I'll find some thing better for next year...But yeah, I'm totally psyched to begin school.

[m34ch]

I though on a whim I'd check the pre-law discussion forum...

Welcome to Albany Law!  I'm a 2L (still hard to not think of myself as a 1L) and I really like the school.  I don't have much of a problem with the administration, other than raising the price every year.  The school is definitely on the way up, and while I can't talk about jobs in NYC, I've got a pretty sweet job with the State this summer.  That is definitely Albany's strength.

In terms of apartments, I wouldn't exactly know, because I live in a house about 10 minutes away.  What I can tell you is that driving in every day does not suck, and that unfortunately you might be too late to get good apartments off of Lark St. I'm sure you'll find something you can stomach for the year.

You don't get to pick any classes until your second year, but actually I'm pretty grateful for that.  There are definitely some professors who are better than others, but most are decent. 

Anyway, good luck this year; see you in the halls.

[fruitopia]

I'm starting ALS this August. My girlfriend and I actually came down in April to apartment hunt for the day in hopes of getting it out of the way. We saw an absolutely dreadful place on South Swan (the current tenant was being evicted), an overpriced and somewhat rundown apartment on Park, and then, much to my relief, a nicer, more tolerable place on a side street off Oakwood. Sorta pricey, but I'm fortunate enough to at least have my girlfriend to split it with. It seems like there's a lot of variaton in terms of neighborhood quality here. The same street can be beautiful in one spot and disgusting further down.

I'm looking forward to getting started with school. The only slight frustration I have had so far is with the financial aid office, which has given me some conflicting answers to questions. I just got my bill, which has a scholarship credit, but none of my loans yet applied. (I assume this is normal, but what do I know).

[iamprov]

You don't get to pick any classes until your second year, but actually I'm pretty grateful for that.  There are definitely some professors who are better than others, but most are decent. 

Yeah, I'm not sure if other schools also keep their students from picking their 1L sections.