I was wondering if there are any people that attend this law school on the board? After a great deal of consideration, I decided to go with this law school (it was between this and Vanderbilt). I’m interested in the following issues…
a.) Best place to live for the law school. I’ve given my car away to my parents so I’ll be buying a bike. What neighbourhoods are close to the school that any of you liked? I’m looking for something that’s a little quieter and clean…but also sort of studenty.
b.) I can probably wrangle the car back if I needed to…is it worth it? I don’t want the responsibility anymore and I won’t get a new bike if I take it back…but am I going to be at a serious disadvantage if I don’t have a car in terms of weather/accessibility to necessities?
c.) What are your impressions of the law school? I chose Illinois in the end because I wanted to be closer to Chicago and I like big schools (I went to a big school for undergrad and I loved it) and it was much cheaper. How hard is it to make friends with other kids in the law school? Is everyone crazy competitive? Are the profs nice? Is the socratic method of the terrorising variety? Any information would be nice. How did you like it when you were there? (and I’m locked in so don’t be afraid to give me the good, the bad and the ugly!)
Thanks…I’m really excited and I hope to see some of you Illini there (if this message gets a response that is)!
I should mention that I’ll be there in May to hunt for my apartment. The administration told me I would still be able to find decent places. I’m banking on moving in early August, which I know is a little early but my little sis needs to be moved back up to her school in late August plus she has the MCAT going on this year so my parents are getting rid of me, first. Thanks!
I don’t have any law school specific advice. I am an Illinois alum, however…undergraduate. I loved it there and thought it was a terrific school and a terrific place to be.
Are you familiar with the area? If you are, then I don’t need to tell you this. If you’re not, you might re-consider the car thing. For one thing, it’s a cheap area to keep and insure a car. You can probably get parking for nothing if you live more than a few blocks off campus. While there is public transportation, and from what I remember, it’s pretty reliable, Champaign-Urbana really is a big, overgrown farm town. Things like buying groceries or getting two and from drugstores are NOT like they are in big cities. I’m sure you CAN get to Meier on the bus, but I doubt that you’d find it very convenient to buy groceries that way. Or to get laundry dry cleaned, get to the doctor, etc.
Also, you might find it nice to be able to get OUT of the area for awhile. You’re not going to be close to ANYTHING, and people tend to feel like escaping for a few hours now and then to somewhere more civilized.
That’s not to say it’s not a great place to live and go to school. But particularly if you’re used to the conveniences of the suburbs or more urban areas.
Housing is cheap, and you’ll likely have no trouble finding a place in August. I hope you have a great experience! If you want to contact me via e-mail about directions and stuff, I’m sure I can get them for you.
L
I just realised that last night I typed Vandy instead of Wash. & Lee (which was my other choice). Have no idea why I get those two mixed up all the time.
Anyway! Thanks Sexy Writer…if I have any specific questions, I will most definitely email you.
I have never been to the area at all…although I did live in rural/industrial IN for a while. I will reconsider not having a car but I will have a bike. Is the grocery store too far away even for that? I guess I’ll make up my mind in May, when I visit…I’ll have a better gauge of it by then. But thanks for bringing that to my attention.
General Questions if for questions with factual answers. IMHO is for opinions and polls.
I’ll move this to IMHO for you.
DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator
I actually live in Champaign-Urbana. It’s not a bad town. You may want to look in Urbana for apartments, as it tends to be quieter and less student-y than Champaign. The transportation system is very nice - my wife works on campus and takes the bus every day - back when I could walk to work we filled the car with gas maybe once a month. If you have specific questions about the town, feel free to email me at legomancer@legomancer.net.