Law School Visit

Last Friday, I did a formal visit to the University of Alabama School of Law. Obviously, this is the number one school on my list. I realize that my scores are low for UA, but still hopeful that some of my life experience and Master's degree will add to the factors. I was early on Friday and met Page, the Assistant Director of Admissions. I was happy to learn that there would be others joining in on the visit. One girl walked in and it turned out that she is a senior at Furman. A few minutes later, another lady joined in and I was happy to see that she was a fellow non-traditional student (read, "Older"). We were taken to a Torts class with Professor Randall. The topic of discussion was emotional harms. Throughout the next 50 minutes, I listened intently and formulated answers to questions in my head when they were asked. I was happy to know that with the exception of the case-specific questions, I had the correct answers. Now, after spending 18 years as a paralegal doing predominately civil litigation (which involves Tort law), I would hope that I woud know it. It was interesting to look over the students while the class was going on. Let me tell you, there was a whole lot of Facebooking going on. Only 2 or 3 students did not use laptops. After the class ended, we went back to the Admissions Office and met Stephanie, our student ambassador who would give us a tour. Stephanie is a 2L at the school and, even recovering from the Halloween/Homecoming party (by her own admission) she did a great job. Alabama has some great offerings, including areas for everyone to sit comfortably and study, in a quiet area, in a carrel in the library, or in a student lounge. They also have their own cafeteria. Before I left, I had the opportunity to speak with Page and pick her brain regarding my application and my scores. She thought that the fact I did express interest in the summer program and wrote an academic addendum explaining my undergraduate GPA was good. She felt I had done everything I could and I let her know that Alabama was my first choice and even if I didn't get in this cycle, watch for my application next year to transfer. Here are some pictures I took of the law school in the spring:

We got to spend the rest of Friday just loafing around and shopping and had a fabulous lunch at Iguana Grill. The is the first restaurant that we've ordered cheese dip (yes, we knew that costs extra!) and it came and was simply a wad of melted cheese. We found the Trak Shack and briefly considered running the Vulcan Run 10K the next morning, but passed due to the time and location of the race.

Saturday was an 8 mile run in Mt. Brook, followed by Starbucks and a quick get ready to head to T-Town. We spent some time hanging with the coolest tailgating crew in the world and then off the game, where Bama routed Arkansas State 35-0.

On Sunday, we took our time coming back home and found a great little diner, Browdy's, in Homewood. I had a cheese omelet and struggled to find the egg because there was so much cheese. Between the fundido dip Friday and the omelet, I don't know if I'll ever poop again. After breakfast we went to ride through Samford University again. Jeff asked if I wanted to get out and walk around. I wanted to see the other side of the Cumberland School of Law building, so we got out and went down some steps. You can imagine my surprise when we saw this:

This is truly a beautiful campus with a lot to offer. I am attending Open House there on November 21 and I'm really excited to learn more and see the inside. Plus, mom and Frances are going down with us and I can't wait to see it through their eyes.

So, my application is complete at Charleston and I'm waiting on notification from the other schools. The Admissions Council at Bama meets this week, as I'm sure it will at other schools too. And so, officially, the wait begins...