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Orientation

 

Incoming 1L Student Check-List

Previous Communications

Email 1 (7/11/23)

Email 2 (7/19/23)

Email 3 (7/26/23)

Email 4 (8/3/23)

Email 5 (8/9/23)

Email 6, Part-Time Students (8/14/23)

Email 6, Full-Time Students (8/15/23)

Email 7, Full-Time Students (8/18/23)

Email 7, Part-Time Students (8/19/23)

Your GW Identity and Account Activation (Due: ASAP)

Your GW identity is a collection of elements that uniquely identifies you as a member of the GW community. If you have not done so already, please activate/claim your GW identity as soon as possible. Please refer to the GW Account Activation for New Users for step by step guidance on how to claim your account. As part of the Identity claiming process, you will receive both GW and GW Law email accounts. These accounts use the same username and password. To access your GW Law email account, login at https://mail.google.com/a/law.gwu.edu.

Undergraduate Transcript Requirement: (Due: July 1)

If you have not already done so, you must have an official copy of your final undergraduate transcript sent directly to LSAC.  Please ensure that your transcript shows the conferral of your undergraduate degree. Your final official undergraduate transcript must accompany your law school application before it is archived by the Admissions Office.  A complete, final official transcript must be received in order to finalize your Admissions file. This is a requirement of the American Bar Association (ABA).  If your final official transcript is not received, a registration hold will be placed on your account. 

New Summer Course for You (Due: July 14)

As you know, GW Law launched a new online course called An Introduction to the 1L Classroom—an innovative, highly tailored, and personal experience designed to equip you with the skills and tools you will need on Day One. This non-credit, ungraded course is at no cost to you and will include:

  • self-paced materials
  • live sessions offered at a variety of times in late July and early August with a small group of your colleagues and a faculty member 
  • networking opportunities with lawyers from our network of over 33,000 alumni
  • individualized feedback and mentoring
  • free copy of Getting to Maybe, an invaluable guide to the 1L experience

Co-led by Professors Paul Schiff Berman and Anita M. Singh, this course will cover topics ranging from reading and briefing cases, to note-taking and preparing for class, to outlining and preparing for exams, to time management and overcoming imposter syndrome. You will hear from faculty, including Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew, Professor Katie Young, and members of the part-time faculty who have thrived during and after law school in a diverse range of practices.   

There are still a few seats in the course. If you would like to participate, please complete this registration form no later than July 14 to be considered. 

Resume Submission: (Due: July 15)

Please complete and submit the Incoming Student Resume Form. Responses will be used to compile the entire class profile for faculty so they have a better sense of the 1L class.

Register for Brandeis Inn: (Due: July 15)

If you are a full-time student and would like to be added to the Brandeis Inn interest, please complete the Brandeis Inn Request Form by July 15. The Brandeis Inn has a Monday-Thursday afternoon/evening schedule as opposed to a Monday-Friday schedule. Please note that, depending on space availability across Inns, some students may be randomly assigned to Brandeis without requesting it.

Last Day to Withdraw from GW Law without Financial Penalty (Due: July 27)

We hope you all still plan to join us in August but if your plans change, please note the last day to withdraw from GW Law without financial penalty is Thursday, July 27, 2023, per the University's tuition fee policy which can be found via the George Washington University Law School Bulletin.

Apply for GW Law Footnote (Due: July 28)

Does the phrase “hiding the ball” sound like something a person does with their dog? Does a tort sound like a dessert? If so, keep reading. The Dean of Students Office, in partnership with the Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is offering the Footnote program, two additional days of orientation programming on Monday and Tuesday, August 14th & 15th. We created a schedule designed to provide participants with a preview of the law school classroom, insight into legal careers, and strategies for maintaining balance. If you are the first lawyer in your family, or you think that you could really benefit from a little insight into what to expect in your 1L year, please fill out the Footnote application. 

Mentorship Program (Due: July 28)

Sign up as a mentee for the SBA's Mentorship Program! You'll be paired with a 2L or 3L who can help answer questions, be a friend, and generally guide you through your first year of law school. The form takes less than 5 minutes to fill out. The SBA will be making matches during the first week of August and you'll meet your mentor at the end of Orientation Week at the Mentor-Mentee Meet & Greet event.

Immunization Requirement (Due: August 1)

All matriculating students who will be under the age 26 as of August 1, 2023 must submit their immunization records directly to Student Health Services. Once you receive access to your GW email address later this month, you will be able to access the portal. 

Register for your GWorld Card (Due: August 5)

The GWorld Card is the official ID card at GW and is required to access academic buildings, campus libraries, the health and wellness center, and other services. Want to avoid waiting in long lines of new students needing GWorld cards? Upload your photo today (no later than August 5, 2023); the GWorld team will have your card pre-printed and ready for pickup anytime at the GWorld Office.

Update Your Chosen Name, Gender Identity and Pronouns (Due: August 5)

If you indicated a preferred name in your application to GW Law, that name will be entered into the various digital records across campus. If you need to update this information or want to change it, you can find more information on the process on the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement website.

Provide Any Dietary Restrictions (Due: August 10)

Meals will be provided at various times during orientation. If you have any dietary restrictions, please complete our Dietary Restriction form by Thursday, August 10th to ensure your dietary restrictions can be accommodated.

Complete Orientation Reading (Due: August 10)

This year as part of orientation we are asking incoming students to read Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, by Jennifer L. Eberhardt. In addition to discussing the book during orientation, you will also use the text for your Fundamentals of Lawyering class. Professor Eberhardt will be speaking at the law school the week following orientation about the book and her work.  If you need assistance purchasing an e-copy of the book, please complete this form by August 10.

Financial Aid’s Cost-of-Attendance '202' Presentation (August 10)

The final session for the GW Law Student Living: Cost-of-Attendance '202' presentation will be in-person on August 10th at 3:00pm in the Burns Moot Court Room. If you are using financial aid, including federal student loans, for living expenses, and were not able to attend one of the eight virtual sessions, please plan to attend the final session if you will be in the DMV area. In this session, the GW Law Financial Aid Staff will present on living within the cost-of-attendance (COA) while attending law school. In this session, the COA components will be discussed in detail as well as helpful budgeting tools.

Purchase the Tuition Refund Plan (Due: August 14)

Although we hope each student will sail through the semester without incident, we know from experience that is not always the case. As a result, the university partnered with GradGuard so students can purchase insurance to protect their educational investment by reimbursing up to 100% of tuition, room, and board in the event of a medical or mental health withdrawal, based on your level of coverage. Please note that your financial aid award may affect refunded amounts. Tuition insurance is available for purchase via Student eBill prior to the start of each fall and spring semester. Tuition insurance may also be purchased from GradGuard directly via their website or by calling 877-794-6603. Tuition Insurance must be purchased prior to the start of each semester to cover tuition and other covered expenses for that term. For more information, please see the GradGuard website.

Character and Fitness Disclosures (Due: August 20)

Please ensure your application to GW Law provides disclosure of any legal volitions, college disciplinary matters, or similar issues, including any that may have occurred after you submitted your application. State boards of bar examiners will note any issue disclosed in your bar application that occurred before you enrolled in law school and specifically ask the Law School whether GW Law was aware of that issue when you enrolled. If an inconsistency exists between information obtained by the bar examiners and your law school admission application, that inconsistency could impact your admission to the bar.

Please make any necessary disclosures to the Admissions Office on or before Sunday, August 20, using the [email protected] email address. Please err on the side of disclosure. If you have questions regarding whether something needs to be disclosed, please contact the Dean of Students Office. It is in your best interest to review your law school application to GW and email any updates to Admissions now before you formally "matriculate" as a law student.

Mandatory GW SHIP Enrollment (Waiver Due: September 12)

New this year, all law students will be automatically enrolled in GW Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) for 2023-2024. If you have other acceptable coverage you must waive by September 12, 2023 at University Health Plans. Please note the waiver form will be available in mid-July.  

Registration for Accommodations (Complete as soon as possible, but no later than November 15 for Final Exams)

Students requesting an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability must contact the University’s Disability Support Services Office to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information on this process for law students, please refer to the GW Law Dean of Students Office website.

Sign up for Information from the Law School Affinity Groups (At Your Convenience)

The law school has over 80 student-led organizations that serve as the backbone of the law school community. Chief among them are the many student affinity groups which include:

  • Asian/Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA)
  • Black Law Student Association (BLSA)
  • Christian Legal Society (CLS)
  • Disability Law Society  
  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society - international law society composed of LDS attorneys, law students, and others
  • Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA)
  • Lambda Law - an organization of students interested in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) legal issues, employment concerns
  • Latin American Law Student Association
  • Law Association for Women (LAW)
  • Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association (MENALSA)
  • Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA)
  • Parents in Law
  • South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA)
  • Veteran Law Student Association (VLSA)

Each of these groups would like to welcome you personally. If you are interested in outreach, please complete this Affinity Group Interest form.

Course Schedule and Book Lists

Your fall course schedule is now available! You can view your course schedule on GWeb by logging in with your UserID and password. Navigate to the Student Records and Registration page and click Registration Menu to view your registration information. In addition, your book lists are now available. You can find your book lists by searching the bookstore website. In addition, a list will be posted to the Records Office website in August. If you cannot see the books for your course(s), that is likely because faculty have until Monday, July 31st to submit the books for their course. Please note that, while unlikely, your registration is subject to change up until Orientation and should be considered when deciding when to purchase any books. Please note that you will not have access to the MyLaw Portal and your course pages yet.

Inns of Court

As 1Ls, you are assigned to one of six Inns of Court, named after former Supreme Court

Justices, and will take all 1L classes with your Inn. You can determine your Inn by looking

at sections of Torts or Contracts to which you were assigned

Section - Inn

  • 11 - O’Connor Inn
  • 12 - Marshall Inn
  • 13 - Jackson Inn
  • 14 - Cardozo Inn
  • 15 - Brandeis Inn*
  • 21 - Jay Inn

*Brandeis Inn students will have some Section 21 courses 

Student Bar Association (SBA) First Year Team

Each year the SBA has a team of upperclass students working all summer to help welcome you to the law school. You can find more information about the First Year SBA Team here. They are working to ensure you are connected by maintaining the 1L GroupMe, Discord, and Facebook group to stay up-to-date with announcements & events while getting to know your future classmates. In addition, they are excited to bring you a week of community building events during orientation week! We'll share more details in the coming weeks; please see our save the date flyer.

Interactive Budget Tool

If you are feeling confused about how you will spend money during law school or the idea of  loans is stressing you out, you can also use the Interactive Budget Tool created by the SBA to map out your finances during law school. To use, download a copy of the budget and edit the copy with your personal information.