Penn Rave

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. ~William Shakespeare, Henry VI

I've spent a fair amount of time in Philadelphia this semester, but this weekend was the first time I visited for an actual academic purpose - Penn Law's Admitted Students Weekend. Certain themes were emphasized again and again (the friendliness of the students; the wonderfulness that is the University of Pennsylvania and its plethora of graduate schools one can take classes from; the affordability of Philadelphia; the regular availability of alcohol) by students and administrators alike, in both a formal and informal capacity. It was obvious we were being sold their already-desirable (or else we wouldn't have been there, right?) product, but it didn't have any of the sleaze of a car salesman pitch. I mean, even though 99% of the things I heard about Penn were positive, I didn't feel like it was fake at all and bought it hook, line, and sinker. I've yet to commit (though it feels really good to be appreciated and courted, which is definitely in Penn's favor, I'm still lamely holding out hope for schools that have yet to show me any love), but I'm very glad I went to confirm that I could really be happy there.

I don't know why I had been so worried. At the Thursday night reception, I talked to the dean - at the bar area, no less - about the strength of the faculty teaching intellectual property courses... but I also laughed with other admits over Jersey Shore. Even the mock class (I had chosen the one with Professor Amy Wax for the sole reason that she has an M.D. along with a J.D., and I just wanted to bask in her professional degree glory), conducted very much using the Socratic method, was exhilarating and not [too] frightening. Professor Wax was such a performer, very in her element in front of a class. My heart literally beat faster the whole time, and I alternated between wanting and not wanting to get called on randomly. (I eventually raised my hand and was called on to answer what I considered to be a pretty softball question.) The consensus among people I talked to after the class was "Holy crap" and "I felt so bad for the first guy she called on." Weirdly enough, on my train ride back to my apartment on Saturday, I looked out the window at the stop before mine and saw Professor Wax walking towards the parking lot. Now that I know she probably lives in my area, I'm just waiting for the day I turn down the next aisle in the grocery store and see her choosing cake mixes or something. 

Anyway, everyone I met was incredibly nice and down-to-earth, from the other admits to the current students, from the contracts and health law professor at my lunch table to the associate dean of admissions and financial aid who was genuinely supportive of my deferring law school for Teach For America. Actually, most every current student I talked to encouraged taking time to work or travel or whatever between undergrad and law school, and at least half of those I met did not enter law school straight from undergrad, which was pretty reassuring. (Now if they could just tell that to my mom who seems to think I'll be the grandma of the law school crowd because I'm deferring...)

There were surprises around every corner: a Wharton joint-degree student who used to be a quarterback in the NFL; an alum on the judicial clerkships panel who I'd met last year at a Penn State TFA event; a fellow admitted student who has spent the past few years writing musicals(!); another who happened to sublet the apartment of the only person I could use to play the "You Go To [insert college name here]? Do You Know X?" game.

So what if I heard "collegial" and "inter-disciplinary" used ad nauseum? When that's the worst thing you can say about the ASW, that's definitely not a bad thing. When the worst thing students can come up with about their school is the weather, that's definitely not a bad thing either.