Law School Rants and Raves

Now that I am a seasoned veteran of law school vet of two weeks, I have very strong opinions about the BYU law school. So here it goes.

RAVE

I figured it is best to start with the positive right? I love my classes. Yes, there is a lot of work. Yes, there is a lot of reading, but I really enjoy the way that the teachers go over the material. Most professors at the law school teach by what has been deemed "the Socratic method" (though as one professor claims, "Socrates would never know it."). The basic idea is that a student is singled out, and they are then asked a series of question which delve deeper and eeper into the theories behind the case that was studied the night before (sometimes the hour before). I really have enjoyed this type of learning, because it allows you to explore the concepts right there in the classroom, while interacting the professors.

That leads to the second reason I have enjoyed law school so far. The professors seem genuinely interested in us as students. There is almost a sense of camaraderie, as if the professors see us as potential equals. It is a rewarding experience to feel that you are valued by your superiors.

RANT

WHERE IS MY FINANCIAL AID? I have tuition that is due, rent to pay, etc. I applied for financial aid almost 4 months ago, and I have yet to hear a peep from the BYU administration beyond my estimate loan allowance. It is almost the exact opposite of the experience I have at the law school. I feel like there is no respect, and I am talked down to by the people I have spoken to at the financial aid office. Yes, I understand that they have a lot of people who call in quite upset about not having any of their aid doled out yet, but when the office sends an email saying "pay your tuition or else we will cancel all of your classes and redact your admission" people tend to get angry (especially when we are waiting for YOU, financial aid office).

Good Newses!

What exactly is the plural form of "news"?

A couple of good things to announce here, I will go down in the order of perceived "goodness"

As I am sure many of you already know, and have read of my lovely wife's blog, we had the bwun! Here are all the juicy (do you catch that? because labor is messy... and juicy... so it is funny because... never mind) details that not even Roni probably remembers!

We arrived at the hospital around 6 AM (still a horrible time to be arriving anywhere, if you ask me), and they got Roni all set up to be induced. They started giving her the pitocin to get the contractions going. Roni has been having pretty consistent contractions for a while now, so the pitocin wasn't really doing much as far as we could tell.

The fun really started at 9, when the doctor came in and determined that Roni was far enough along to get her water broken (is it really her water, or is the the bwun's water that got broken?). After that, the contractions really started going, and Roni could tell that they were really doing something.

The nurse came back in around 10, and said that nothing much had changed, and shortly after that, the contractions got REALLY bad. By the time they checked her an hour later, she was fully effaced and dialated, and said that she was ready to start pushing, but that we had to wait for the doctor to get there around noon.

Around noon, a nurse came in and said that the doctor would be in soon, and Roni should start trying to push. After one push (not even one contraction), the bwun's head almost starting coming out, so the nurse decided NO MORE PUSHING, at least until the doctor came in. We waited almost another hour, and around 12:45 the doctor made it in.

When he entered the room, they started having Roni push again, and by the time the doctor had his gown on, it only took one and a half contractions for the bwun to enter the world! At 1:09 we officially had our newest addition to the family. Evan Tarleton was born at 7 lbs and 5 oz kicking and screaming. I thought he was cute right off the bat, but Roni reserved judgement until he was washed off to make her call. Personally, I think he is getting cuter by the day. Check out Roni's blog about the bwun to see pictures of the cute little guy.

The other good news?

Well, my interview with BYU went quite well. I thought it was going to be a very in depth interview with all sorts of trick questions. I was surprised, however, because it was fairly straight forward. The dean asked why I wanted to go to law school at BYU, and then he told me why he wanted me to go to law school at BYU. So hopefully, I'll be going to BYU in the fall to start my legal education!

Wish Me Luck!

I was contacted earlier this week by BYU Law School, and they said they would like for me to meet with the Dean of Admissions. I asked my old boss if she had any idea what it was about, or if she could give me heads up on what the interview was for; she said she couldn't go into details, but that the interview is "good news." Wish me luck!

Good News

I have received my first letter back from a law school that I applied to. And it was good news! The University of the Pacific accepted me into their program, and they have even offered to fly me out to take a tour of the campus. UoP is one of my top choices for where to go for law school, so now I can at least rest assured that I can go to law school at a place I like.

They also mentioned a scholarship for half tuition, and they'll pay for my books the first year. I'm glad that my first response from a law school was a positive one!