BU Law: A Study in Character
Brynn Felix (’18) discusses character and community at BU Law.
Take a look at any law school admissions website and you’ll see a myriad of metrics by which law schools are compared: student demographics, employment and bar passage rates, distinguished faculty and alumni, unique program offerings—the list goes on. And yet, perhaps the most important feature of a law school is the one factor that cannot be quantified: the people. This vague and extremely personal “fit” standard is why students are encouraged to visit schools before accepting offers of admission.
But even school visits cannot capture the essence of a law school. It’s not until you are in class, sitting among accomplished peers—with whom you are set up to compete from day one—that a community’s character emerges.
After three semesters here at BU Law, I can attest to that special something that admissions data often fails to convey: my fellow students are really nice people. And as a prospective student, I think you should know this.
This week has been more challenging for me than others. I’ve had to skip class and readjust assignment deadlines—a classic case of groovus interruptus. We all experience this at some point or another. Even minor disruptions add stress by undercutting momentum and setting you back to a point where catching up feels nearly impossible. Familiar, no?
In this case, my saving grace is my community. I didn’t have to ask friends to send me notes from the classes I missed this week; they just showed up in my inbox. Another classmate emailed a heads up about a tweak in the syllabus. Knowing I would be absent, one even followed up with a professor to make sure that the lecture would be recorded! Last year, when I was briefly hospitalized, my classmates took it upon themselves to set up shifts to ensure that I would never be alone—including classmates I hardly knew—and made sure I got home okay and had groceries to sustain me. These are folks with busy lives of their own, who are balancing families with the unyielding demands of school, and yet they unhesitatingly offer friendship, resources, and their precious time.
While writing this in the middle of the McCausland Commons, my crim pro syllabus floated off my table and landed at the feet of my neighbor, a 3L whom I’d never seen before. After picking it up and handing it over, we struck up a conversation about his experience in crim pro last year, which evolved into a discussion about his current schedule and future plans. By the end of this 5-minute diversion, I ended up with a solid line up of recommended seminars and the offer of a crim pro outline.
Admissions brochures encapsulate many important dimensions of a school, but a school’s character remains elusive until you experience it first hand. Acts of kindness are the norm, not the exception in this law school. Here at BU we take care of each other.