University of Hawaii Law School - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know
Written: Sep 01 '00 (Updated Jan 27 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Party Hard
Cons: Study Hard
The Bottom Line: Friendly, but Competitive
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| SirMontego's Full Review: University of Hawaii, Manoa -- William S. Richards... |
The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, Manoa is the 22nd most difficult law school to gain admittance. It is also the only law school in Hawaii, has the most ethnically diverse student population anywhere, and is perhaps the only law school for 1000 miles in every direction. Founded in 1973 its graduates include judges, a governor, numerous other politicians, and pillars Hawaii's community.
Now that I made my school look good I can write what I really think. Well, the truth is that I am just finishing my second week of classes at UH Law, but in those two weeks I have gained a good perspective of the bumps and dips of this place.
Let me give a little background on myself; I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a partial academic scholarship and in three years earned my Bachelors of Science in Finance. I also took enough economics classes there to double-major, but lacked the necessary 30 additional elective hours. Previous to college, I attend a private high school in Hawaii (arguably the best high school in the state, Hawaii people know the school) where 99% of the graduates go on to college of which about 40% go on to top 50 colleges. I had a respectable SAT score, but only a slightly better than average LSAT score.
So here I am in law school.
It's sunny almost everyday at UH Law. The weather rulzzz.
A Friendly but Competitive Mentality
I sum up the mentality of UH Law as "friendly but competitive." The 2 and 3Ls (second and third year law students) often comment on who earned the top grade in each class. Nobody is out to back stab the weaker students, but don't expect your colleagues to bend over backward for you. Conversely, in our weekly library research assignments, students often help others find the books for the questions. They also allow us to work in groups, but discourage it because it does not allow each student to fully learn the methods of the library system.
The competitive nature of UH has died down from historical accounts, I heard about the people who would rip pages out of library books so that their classmates couldn't access the information, but now days nobody resorts to that.
In black and white terms, UH does have a harsh grading curve where most students earn C, but judging from the 2L class, few students drop out due to poor performance.
A Not Too Overbearing Workload
A normal weekly workload consists of briefing (reading and analyzing) about 20 to 30 cases, reading another 200 pages of other text, and 30 legal research lesson questions. This usually takes me 5 hours a day, including weekends.
One must also consider that in undergraduate, I took about 18 hours of mostly business classes every semester and did not study nearly as much as I do now.
The Modified Socratic Method
Law school classes differs from undergraduate classes in that they use a Socratic method. This means that professors randomly call on students, ask them questions, and stick with that student for an entire case or class.
UH uses what they call a modified Socratic method. Sometimes Professors call on people who raise their hands or they look down at their class list and call out names. The named student usually states the case, the parties, the facts, and other relevant information. The professors then ask about specific facts and test the student's knowledge. Unlike Scott Turow's OneL, professors at UH rarely grill and interrogate students. Few ask truly thought provoking questions. And rarely does anyone ever get embarrassed.
According to some of the transfer students, UH Law is extremely friendly to its students. If a student does not know an answer, the teachers allow other students to shout out the answer. Additionally, at some other schools, when a student answers a question incorrectly or does not know it, the teacher forces them to stand the remainder of the class. This never happens at UH.
Overall, I think the professors are a little too nice, I even had one tell me I did a good job in answering when I clearly just regurgitated the facts. It seems like the students are the ones who change the fact pattern slightly and ask the professors what happens instead of the stereotypical reverse.
Additionally, attendance is required. The administration says that the American Bar Association requires a certain number of class hours be fulfilled. Thus, everyone shows up everyday.
Pass/Fail first Semester
Initially I believed that the first semester is truly pass/fail, but it is not that simple. Professors do assign letter grades the first semester, but transcripts show only Pass and Fail. This means that summer employers can ask for first semester letter grades and do receive them, but afterward they do not really see them. Basically, the top 1L in spring has earned nothing more than respect. Conversely, if a student's overall gpa falls below probation level at any time, the administration will factor-in first semester grades if it helps.
A Few Benefits
UH Law is very generous to its own students. We have our own student lounge with computers, a refrigerator, lockers, desks, chairs, and our own in-box. The library assigns each of us our own study carol where students often decorate and store books. (the UH Med students don¡¦t even get their own study places) We also have access to some of the classrooms (combination locks) where we can study when class is not in session.
I think that all these benefits add to the overall elitist nature of the school. The mere fact that the law building is located across the street from the rest of campus combined with the parking lot being next to law library makes law students feel a little more upscale than normal undergraduates.
Those who currently attend UH have surely experienced the horrible parking problems. From what I am aware, UH Law students have a priority with parking passes. I, although living a 25 minutes walk from campus, was awarded a pass, and with it, have never experience any problems getting a stall for my dingy 1990 Accord. Without this pass, parking is often a problem.
My Class - 3 Years Of These People, Oh Boy
My class of about 80 students consists of 60% female and 25% non-Hawaii residents. We, with a few exceptions, have class together Monday through Friday in the same classroom and mostly in the same seats. Some of my more significant or standout classmates include a local news reporter, a current state representative, and a former police chief, along with doctors, and numerous people with graduate degrees.
Ages spread from 20 on up, but most of the students are like me--less than 25.
One thing that I noticed was the lack of high school rivalry. In Hawaii, for some reason, people really care where you went to high school. College is almost insignificant and degrees matter very little. But at UH Law, nobody really cares where you spent your high school years. (there are four other people at UH Law from my graduating high school class)
Pre-admission Program
The school offers a pre-admission program where certain students (Pre-Ads) take a lighter workload. From what I know about this, about 15 students with lower than average qualifications (GPA, LSAT, and whatnot—from what I can tell, they’re all just as smart as the rest of the class) are admitted to this program. They take Civil Procedure, Contracts, and Legal Research with the 1L class and a Pre-Admission Seminar class. The Legal Research class is pass/fail for everyone and the Pre-Admission Seminar is also pass fail. To matriculate, the Pre-Ads must earn a B in both Civil Procedure and Contracts. About half of them make it.
The Nice Upperclassmen
I found the 2 and 3Ls to be very friendly and go out of their way to help us new people. Some gave speeches after class on how to succeed, and are usually free to answer random stress related questions. The often approach the 1L students and ask if we need any help.
The 2Ls also organize a little sibling program where your big brother or sister gives you their old notes and other help you might need. People always talk about getting the famous Elijah Yip outlines, but I personally, don't think they're that helpful. If you come to UH Law I'll hook you up.
The 2Ls also run the majority of clubs in the Law School. These range from the standard Student Bar Association to the Surf Club and the Hula Halau.
Parties
I noticed that the law students study real hard and they party even harder. Rumor has is it that the UH Law has its own liquor license.
Everybody takes partying very seriously. The 1Ls try to outdo the parties organized by the other classes. Every year it seems like a contest on who can get the most kegs of bear and bottles of wine . . . The general consensus of the 2Ls is that the first year is loads of fun.
My Classes
Contracts (3 hours), Criminal Justice (4 hrs), Civil Procedure (3 hrs), Torts (2 hrs), Legal Research (1 hr) and Legal Method Seminar (3 hrs).
--SirMontego, look for me on battle.net
(yes, I still have time to play Starcraft)
Recommended:
Yes
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