text:
Moderator Note: This thread was originally written as a TLS Content Competitions entry, and was one of the best contributions we received there, but we've received complaints that it was hard to find in that forum. It has been moved to the Transfers forum and stickied here to make it easier for people interested in transferring to find. If you are newly interested in transferring, reading this post is the first thing you should do.
Note: This is a work in progress (and probably out of date now that the transfer cycles just ended), but please correct me or offer suggestions if you think something is wrong/inaccurate.
Advice for Transferring to Another Law School
I. Introduction
II. Why Transfer?
III. Where to apply?
IV. What are my chances?
V. Do Softs Matter?
VI. The Application Requirements
VII. Personal Statement
VIII. Letters of Recommendations
IX. Early Action Transfers
X. Is it Worth It to Go?
XI. Other FAQ
XII. Recommendations
I. Introduction
I am writing this article and thread in hopes of helping out all the lucky 1L's out there who have crushed their first year exams. In addition, I am doing this upon request and I just really wish I had more help when I was transferring.
Yep, this is another long article, but more importantly, I will try to be as comprehensive as I can. There are many transfer types (part time to full time, lateral transfers, transfers down, joint degree transfers, etc), but I try to focus more on transfers into the T14 from the non-T14. This is not only one of the most common types of transfers, but also what my own experience consisted of. Plus, the name of this site is "top law schools" right? Finally, much of the transferring application mirrors that of the normal application (you pretty much submit the same things), so I will try to address the relevant aspects unique to transferring.
Due to the unique nature of transfers, there is literally like NO good information out there on this controversial process. Why? Well, first of all, only a few people from each law school may decide to transfer. The transferring population is just miniscule compared to normal admissions process. Second, law schools themselves face a conflict of interest. They want to keep their best students and not surprisingly, keep the subject of transferring on the down-low. Third, successful transfer students will not be around on campus to offer advice because they are now at a new school. Thus, I hope demystify this stressful yet exciting process that plagues the summers of a small group of former 1L's. Since this site's name is "top law schools," I am guessing many people here will consider this backdoor route into the top law schools.
Just to give you a quick background, I attended Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) and transferred to Boalt Hall after my 1L year. Most of the information here comes from the yahoo transfer apps, talks with professors/students, various blogs/websites, forum threads on TLS, Law School Discussions, and my own personal experience/observations. I have tried to read EVERYTHING I could find over this past year related to transferring. Thus, in a sense, I am really compiling all of the information I have found over the past year.
Oh and to sum up the *obvious* key to success in transferring – GET GOOD GRADES (more on this later).
II. Why Transfer?
This may be obvious, but let us stay in perspective. Understanding why you (or others) may want to transfer helps you choose where to apply, helps you write your personal statement, helps you explain to your professors when you ask them for LORS, and helps you better answer questions during interviews.
The MOST popular and perhaps strongest reasons are:
-Employment prospects/job placement/better OCI/better prestige/academia/clerkships
-Personal reasons/geographical desires/family/spouse/significant other/parents/kids
Other reasons:
-The current economy
-Because it is the right "business decision" (from perhaps an investments/return point of view)
-To negotiate a scholarship at your current law school (this is a great reason to "apply" to transfer)
-Stronger faculty or desire to work with a certain professor
-Smaller class size, greater diversity, better alumni network and connections
-Better placement in a geographical area
-Better public interest or loan forgiveness
-Better specialty in a field of law
-Greater variety of courses offered (like in one field of law) or a better curriculum
-Location (near an undergrad campus versus no undergrad campus nearby)
-Better looking members of the opposite sex (seriously), this is not a reason you should ever admit or mention, but friends have stated that this is a time where you start considering marriage and finding your soul mate, which may be hard to do if you live in the middle of nowhere or away from a university campus (for some, placing yourself in an optimum environment to reproduce is "biologically" important, and I cannot believe I just said that)
-Stronger clinical programs/journals/externships/extracurricular activities
-Better name and reputation to help bring in clients later
-Personal ambition (after all, if better is possible, then good is not enough)
-Personal desire/dream to go to one school, maybe to return to your undergrad or because you were rejected/waitlisted originally
-Shame/guilt (I often see this with people who attended top undergraduate schools, who feel a unique pressure to attend top law schools)
-Respect/Self-Confidence (for some, this is a very strong reason)
-It goes on your resume forever, which may be important as lawyers often change jobs (aka the name of your school will follow you until you die)
-Because they accepted you, because HYS accepted you
-You just do not like your current school and it blows (this may be a real reason, but not one you should EVER mention or admit, remember to stay positive)
-To make your parents proud. We all know that we should follow our own dreams, not our parents. However, the warmth and satisfaction you get from making your parents genuinely happy after all they have put you through is priceless. For me, this was something that was always in the back of the mind (perhaps as a sort of immigrant mentality to succeed).
-To make up for your past mistakes on the LSAT/GPA. Some of us did not realize we needed high GPA's early in college and did not have enough time to study for the LSAT because we decided to go to law school too late. Others just had a bit too much fun in college because...well...it is college. Whatever the reason, transferring is the opportunity of a lifetime to correct those errors if you want to call them, and put you back on track.
-Being able to participate in 2 OCIs and thus actually getting MORE interviews (this is another reason you should not admit outright and I address this in the FAQ section below)
-Even if you plan on staying, you should at least apply to transfer so you can use any acceptances as a bargaining tool for bigger scholarships at your old school
In case you did not know, some common cons include:
-Giving up your 1st year grades
-Giving up your scholarship and paying a lot more for the new school
-Giving up Law Review
-Giving up some study abroad possibilities
-Doing the entire law school application over again and paying the money for the applications
-Some transfer stigma
-Moving to a new place and losing your old friends
-Probably not being able to use your 1L year professors for clerkship recommendations, but maybe you can get them for other recommendations still
III. Where to Apply?
This is pretty much like back when you first applied to law school. Obviously, where you want to apply will depend on how much you want to pay (applications still costs $60-$100 dollars), where you actually want to go, and whether you can actually get in. I will try to address some of this below, but the details are up to you. I have noticed that transfer students generally apply to fewer schools than when they first applied to law school.
Here are the number of transfers each T14 school usually accepts as well as some other transfer friendly schools. Note that this is the number of students who ended up transferring. There is no data on how many students the schools accept or what their yield rate is, but I would guess it is similar to their normal acceptance rate/yield rate (or it could be higher, which is why most schools do not report it). Also, any "data" you see here will reflect whatever I can find as of 2009.
Number of People Transferring into the T14
1. Yale ~10-12
2. Harvard ~30
3. Stanford ~12 (DarlayBoo, MarkTwain, and jwbayou5 say it is more like 16-20, but it will likely be cut down back to 12)
4. Columbia ~45-60
5. NYU ~45-50 (according to rayiner, it was cut down to 31 this past year)
6. Berkeley ~30-40 (my transfer class in 2009 looked like there were 50+ transfers at orientation, though as of 2011 it appears that Boalt has likely reduced its transfer class size)
6. Chicago ~15-25
8. UPenn ~25
9. Michigan ~30
10. Duke ~12-20
10. Northwestern ~20 according to their website (Law School Numbers says 40)
13. Cornell ~5-10 according to their website (Law School Numbers says 18), though they only receive about 75 applications every year
Other Popular Schools to Transfer To:
15. Texas ~15
17. Vandy ~25
20. Emory ~30
20. Boston University ~5-10 (according to Coolgrnmen, BU took about 20 people in 2011)
30. Fordham ~30-40
39. UC Hastings ~15-20
45. American ~65
52. Florida State ~60
55. Case Western ~30
71. Loyola (Los Angeles) ~35
71. Miami ~20
77. Rutgers, Camden ~45
85. Santa Clara ~25-30
If you want to think transfer friendly, GULC tops the list, which has about 100 students transferring in every year (it must accept a lot more too). Other transfer friendly schools in the T14 include NYU, Columbia, Berkeley, and Michigan.
IV. What are my chances?
This is quite the black box. If predicting regular admissions was hard, then this will be fun. We are not admissions officers, so the process continues to be shrouded in mystery. Sometimes, you will have the numbers but still get dinged. Most of my predictions below are based off what I have seen off the yahoo transfer apps (which is often incomplete because students do not update or completely fill out the tables).
Basically, your chances depend on three things:
1) 1L ranking/GPA, and
2) The current school you attend
3) Softs (this barely matters but still does)
Transferring is a numbers game (like your GPA/LSAT for regular admissions), but MUCH more so. Generally, the better your school is, the lower your ranking can be and vice versa. See below for details for general trends that I have noticed. Note that these are just estimates (and really just my guesses) on the rank required to get in. There are ALWAYS going to be exceptions.
To transfer into HYS you need:
-top 5-10% at a Top 20
-top 5% at T1
-top 1% at a mid-upper T2
-Other notes: People in the top 1% in the Top 20 generally have a lock on at least one of the holy trinity. I could not find a record of anyone in the lower T2/T3/T4 transferring into HYS. Yale and Stanford only appear to take people in the T1 and up. Also, people in the T2 who transfer to Harvard are pretty much always ranked #1. People have stated that HYS only takes transfers who had a shot as an undergrad. My guess is that this is partially true for YS but not H. I do believe that you need above average softs for HYS, but the data seems to show that numbers alone can do the job.
-according to XxSpyKEx, there was 1 guy who went to HYS from a T4 because he co-authored an article or something
-according to utilitarianjac, someone with a 4.0 from Pepperdine transferred to Yale
-xeoh85, who wrote the legendary article on doing well in law school, was #1 at UCLA and was accepted as a transfer at all of HYS
To transfer into the T14 you need:
-top 10-15% at T1, top 5-10% for CCN
-top 5-10% at a T2, top 5% for CCN
-top 1-2% at a T3/T4
-Other notes: Depending on how far up you want to transfer, you may even succeed if you are ranked top 20-30%. For example, if you are transferring up like 10-15 spots, top 20-30% maybe enough (like a lateral transfer). Also, people in the T3/T4 generally only have a shot at transfer friendly schools in the T14.
To transfer into the T1 you need:
-top 10-20% at a T2
-top 5-10% at T3
-top 5% at T4
-Other notes: Depending on just exactly where you are and how far up you want to transfer, you can again make the jump by being in the top 20-30%.
To transfer into the T2 you need:
-top 10-20% at a T3/T4
To lateral/transfer down/part to full time at the same school/part to full time at different schools/T3 to T4 (there is like no data on this stuff):
-Generally you want to be in the top half to transfer from part to full time, but this totally depends on the school
-To transfer down, I would also say you should be in the top half and maybe top 1/3 to be safe
-To lateral, top 1/3 is generally okay, and maybe top 25% if you are trying to lateral within the T14.
Other notes: Remember that much of the same standards for schools still apply. For example, Penn still prefers to take students that want to be there (even though yield protect is not a factor). Yale and Stanford are still incredibly hard to predict even with great numbers. Northwestern still likes students who have work experience and such. Lastly, if you are way above the percentile ranges listed above (for example, you are top 5% when I said top 10% or you are top 1% when I said top 5%) then you might be considered a "lock" if such a thing exists.
V. Do Softs Matter?
If you ask me about softs, the answer is a resounding no. The transferring process appears to be even more numbers based than normal admissions. In fact, my guess is that your 1st year grades and the rank of your current law school account for 90-95% of your decision at most schools. The rest of the application is more of a double check to make sure you are a good student with good ambition. As always, good softs may matter in tie breakers and can definitely hurt though if you mess them up. When people with the right numbers get dinged, my guess is that the softs went wrong somewhere.
Softs probably do not matter because your first year grades are very strong predictors for OCI success at big firms and even for bar passage rates. Also, I feel like there are enough transfers with good grades applying that softs just do not come into play.
I will try to comment on some common softs and questions. Oh and, when I say small boost (below), I think of it is equivalent of a 1% increase in your rankings. When I say medium boost, I mean it is equivalent to a 5% increase in your rankings. When I say big boost, I mean it is equivalent to a 10%+ increase in your rankings. Just as a reminder, I am seriously pulling this out of the back of my head based on what I have seen. Nobody except the admissions officers really knows your chances, and my guess may be just as good as any (hopefully).
URM: There really is no evidence of URMs getting a boost in transfer admissions. We can ask the yahoo groups to add in a column in their database to indicate URM status, but so far that has not happened. Also, the transfer class is generally pretty small that adding more URMs do not really change the diversity statistics of the law school as a whole. With that said, I do believe URMs get a little boost, but it just does not seem to work the way normal admissions do.
Unique Softs: Yes, this will probably give you medium to big boost. Oh and when I say unique softs I mean some seriously awesome softs like winning a gold medal in the Olympics, starting your own Fortune 500 company or having a seriously tough life (think Sotomayor). The thing about this is that you would probably have had this soft in your original law school admissions, but who knows, maybe you won the Nobel Prize during your 1st year of law school. =P
Awards: You know what I am talking about. Everyone who does well gets a ton of these awards (Dean's List, Scholarships, CALI awards, Honor Societies etc.). These come automatically as a result of your high GPA, and since everyone gets a ton of these plus no additional work was required to get these things, I doubt they matter at all.
Law Review/Moot Court: No again. First of all, if you are transferring, then you are not even going to be on the law review or moot court team at your old school. Getting onto law review via a write on competition or onto moot court via an oral competition probably gives you a little boost, but again, many applicants have these on their resumes.
Extracurricular Activities/Work Experience: Leadership always looks great, and the fact that you can participate in clubs and do well shows a lot. In addition, if you did a ton of meaningful stuff in undergrad or had some good work experience, you would get a little boost as well. You might get a medium boost at Northwestern if you did like 5+ years of serious work.
1L Summer: If you have a big firm 1L summer associate position (somehow) or one of those big firm diversity scholarship jobs, I would guess that you get a small boost. The rest of the typical research assistants, judicial externships, public interest work, etc. are just far too common and do not really add much to your application. I do think it is important still to actually do something during your 1L summer, rather than nothing at all.
Personal statement/LORS/Dean's Certificate: These things are really just used as a double check to make sure that you can write, that you participate in class, and that you are not getting in trouble at school. It can give you a little boost at the most. Most personal statements and LORS sound the same anyways. Now, if you have COMPELLING reasons for transferring (like your wife and kids are over in that area or your slowly dying parents are in that city), then I would guess that it may give you a medium boost if you mention it in your personal statement.
Undergrad GPA/LSAT – Definitely not, though Harvard says it matters. Your undergrad GPA and LSAT are supposed to predict your success in law school during your first year. Now that you have your first year grades, the predictive values of those two things go down the drain. I bet a 4.0/180 will raise an eyebrow, but then again you could have probably gone to HYS to begin with. However, the prestige of your undergrad education may also give you a small boost (only if it is really up there).
Going to a Local School: I am very tempted to say that going to a local school gives you a small boost (Loyola ->UCLA; Hastings -> Berkeley; Temple/Villanova -> Penn; American -> GULC; Brooklyn -> NYU/Columbia, etc). I realize that top schools often receive more applications from local schools, but my gut instinct here seems to notice this small pattern of favoritism. Another reason may be that top schools like to cherry pick the best students from the lower local schools. This allows them to weaken the competition (so to speak) while simultaneously increasing their own reputation.
A few final notes: Do not worry about too much about softs. If you have the numbers, you will be fine. If you have bad softs, you might get dinged at a few places, but you should still get in somewhere.
VI. The Application Requirements
In case you forgot, most applications require:
-The Application Form
-Application Fee ($60-$100)
-Personal Statement (1-2 pages, often requiring you explain why you want to transfer)
-Resume (usually with your 1L summer experience added in)
-2 LORS (Letters of Recommendations, usually from professors), some schools have special forms for LORS, but I am pretty sure most schools prefer you use LSAC. Feel free to email them to double check.
-Official Undergraduate Transcripts (and any non-law school/graduate school transcripts)
-LSDAS Report and the $12 fee
-1st Year Law School Transcript (w/ class rank)
-Dean's Certificate/Letter of Good Standing, this is the one thing you have to do that you did not have to before (in addition to sending the 1st year grades). You generally can ask the registrar, the admissions office, or the Dean's office to (reluctantly) send one for you. Some schools also require you to use their own form for the Dean's Certificate, so just give it to appropriate office when you ask them (it will not be sent through LSDAS).
If you have applied to the law school before, you would obviously have to use new materials. If you have not, then I do not see how the law school actually know if you used parts of your old personal statement or something. However, I do recommend you use new recommendation materials since many things have changed. For things like your resume, I would just update accordingly. Many schools will want you to resend in your undergraduate transcript as part of your LSDAS, even if you sent the same one last year.
Pay attention to any special application requirements. What this means is, you may have to start doing some work early. For example, if the application requires an Undergraduate Dean's Certification (every school calls it something different), then you likely want to start doing this in May or something (it "May" take a while).
Also, pay attention to the due dates! Stanford, Berkeley, UVA, and GULC are due on June 15, while the rest have deadlines in July. Most schools realize you may not have received grades by June 15th, so just email them to tell them that and send it in once you get it. They may even allow you to send the Dean's Certificates or the LORS in after that date. However, you still have to send the rest of your application in.
Below, I have tried to list any unusual requirements and this past year's due dates.
1. Yale – due July 1, the legendary Yale 250 word personal statement,
2. Harvard – due July 1
3. Stanford – due June 15, Undergraduate Dean's Certification
4. Columbia – due July 15, Biographical/Personal Profile Sheet, Undergraduate Dean's Certification
5. NYU – due July 15, Undergraduate Dean's Certification, no LORs required, NYU also appears to require you to use paper forms for the College/Law School Transcript, LORs, and Undergraduate/Law School Dean's Certifications
6. Berkeley – due June 15
6. Chicago – due July 1, no paper applications
8. UPenn – due July 15, complete by August 1
9. Michigan – due July 21, only 1 LOR required
10. Duke – due July 1
10. Northwestern – due July 1, only 1 LOR, one legal writing sample
10. UVA – optimal deadline is June 15
13. Cornell – due July 15
14. GULC – due June 15, only 1 LOR
Like the normal admissions process, the applications are looked at on a rolling basis. However, most law schools do understand that grades are often released at a crawling speed, so if your school is a bit slow, it is not a huge deal.
VII. Personal Statement (PS)
This is just not a fun thing to do. Ever. However, you know the drill, just write about yourself. Most schools have general instructions that ask you to write about your background and why you want to transfer, so go for it.
Before I even get to writing the oh so dreaded essay, I want to reemphasize that the PS is a lot less important than people think. The weight of the transfer PS pales in comparison to regular law admissions PS or your undergrad admissions PS. Most people write about the same things (their epic studying as a 1L and how they want to have better employment prospects), so it ends up generally sounding the same. I would not spend too much time trying to come up with something super unique. In fact, the most important thing is probably to just not have any errors (duh), since the PS can still hurt.
What I Did
My PS was 2 pages double spaced, which allowed me to single space it for those that asked for one page. In addition, the first half of my PS was about my background (high school, college, and law school) while the second half focused on why I wanted to transfer.
I also used one paragraph about my background from my old PS (from when I first applied to law school) as part of my new transfer PS. If you did not originally apply to the school during regular admissions, I would say feel free to use a good apportion of your old PS in your new one (some parts may need to be tweaked of course).
What do you write about?
You can write whatever you want. Seriously. Some people do not even address why they want to transfer and they will be fine (not every school inquires for your reasons for transferring, especially since it is usually kind of obvious). Some people recommend tailoring your PS to the schools you apply to, but this understandably takes longer.
Everyone struggles with what to write about. I cannot really help you there, but just use the same methods you did when you wrote your other PS. Regarding the why you want to transfer section, write about certain professors/clinics/journals at the school. Talk about smaller class sizes or geographical preferences. I also talked about the obvious employment benefits, and spent another paragraph on my interests in potentially clerking. Perhaps the new school has a better curriculum in a certain field of law. Basically, just do your research. I would see the "Why Transfer" section above for more motivation.
Regarding optional essays, you can do them if you want, but again I doubt they will have much influence. I personally did not write any. For schools like Penn (or maybe Michigan) who really like students who actually want to be there, I would either address your reasons for transferring in your PS or in one of their optional essays.
If you struggle with the PS, I feel your pain. Why would we want to write about ourselves and how awesome we are? We are all too humble for that.
VIII. Letters of Recommendation (LORS)
Talk about awkwardness. However, this is not particular a hard thing to do. You have all asked for LORS before, and I would say this is a lot easier to do than the PS. All you do is hand the professors the paperwork and they do the writing, right? It is technically pretty simple and there are a gazillion ways to go about doing it. There may be some awkwardness, but chances are, your professors have dealt with this situation before. Both of my LORS came from professors who were incredibly nice and supportive.
Remember, LORS are not very important compared to your grades and stuff. Perhaps some professors will even have a boilerplate format with minor tweaks for most students. I heard of people not going to class or office hours but just showing up randomly and having successful transfer cycles despite any strong bonds with the professor. Professors will probably understand that it is tough to bond with you when there are 100 students or something in the class.
Preparing for Good LORs During the Year
Hopefully you decided to transfer rather early and can prepare to get good LORS. What this means is you always go to class, do not sleep in class, and try to ask occasional questions/minor participation. In addition, you will go to office hours, which is the most important part. During office hours, you will ask productive questions AND bond with the professor by asking some non-law questions (about their background or their career paths). In addition, your will demonstrate your personality and unique backgrounds so that they will remember you and have things to say when they later write your LOR. I did not go to office hours just to get LORs, I had real questions to ask (and I hope you will too). Plus, going to office hours is a great way to read your professors to prepare for exams.
I personally did not talk about transferring with my professors, mostly because of strong anti-transferring policies at the time. However, many transfer students have been very open and talked to professors about the topic during the year, asking for their opinion. I think this is a great idea and I would have done it if I was not scared out of my mind by my school. People have said that professors have been surprisingly open and understanding when talking about transferring, so do not be shy and feel free to just ask them for their advice and their take on transferring. This also makes it a lot easier for when the time comes for you to actually ask them for an LOR.
Choosing A Professor:
Oh boy, this is a tough one. You need to recognize the conflict of interest that exists. Professors are duty bound by the school to try and keep good students. On the other hand, they are paid by the school to provide services (like LORS) to students in a sense and also duty bound to help their own students out (as a human being in a master/apprentice relationship).
Here are some things you should consider:
1. Your personal bond with the professor – Did he or she really like you? Did you guys bond in office hours? Does she even know who you are?
2. Your grade in the class – If you did well enough to consider transferring, this generally should not be a problem. However, do pick professors that gave you A's. It makes it easier for them to say things about you, especially if you tried hard by not sleeping in class and going to office hours.
3. How nice your professor is – You want someone to write a good LOR with nice things to say. Some professors have high standards and tough exams, and may not think so highly of students. Try your best to make a read on your professor's personality in this manner.
4. Whether your professor loves students – This piggybacks on the niceness factor, but you will notice that some professors care more about students than others. Did the professor have office hours four times a week or just once Friday afternoon? Did he look busy and frustrated every time students came to ask questions or did he look happy or relieved? Pay attention to whether your professor truly loves students (aka you as a person). Some professors will consider you their student no matter what you do. These are the professors you want. On the other hand, some professors care more about the school they work for. A few of my professors showed a ton of pride for the school while others hinted at how transferring was bad. One of them even posted horror stories of students who transferred. I would recommend you avoid these professors.
5. How long they have taught at your law school – Is your professor new? If so, she may feel less attached to the school and thus there is less of a conflict of interest. One of the professors I asked for a LOR was a visiting professor and lo and behold, there was no conflict of interest (I could tell). He was very happy to help me out. On the other hand, if your professor has taught at your school for 20 years, he or she may be more attached to the school. However, he or she may be used to this process, since students likely ask them for LORS to transfer every year. Is your professor an associate dean or on one of the school boards? This is another factor that increases the conflict of interest.
6. Communication and ability to get things done – This may not be common but there are incredibly intelligent yet absent-minded professors out there. Make sure you pick a professor who is reliable. Does he answer or respond to email? Can you contact him or her if problems arise? Does he sometimes forget things or is he slow in getting things done?
7. Your professor's alma mater – This may be obvious, but it is a lot less awkward to ask your professor for a recommendation to Harvard if she went to Harvard. She will understand and may even give you some tips.
How to Approach Your Professor:
Meeting with your professor in person is the way to go. The reason I suggest this is that you guys will probably want to talk about it. You want to give the professor time to "judge you." Finally, there are too many stories of students trying to catch professors by email or phone and then end up getting ignored.
If you can, try to do these things as early as possible, perhaps before spring finals kick in. If you do it during the semester, just go to office hours (alone) and ask them for the LOR. Sometimes if other students are there, stay a bit afterwards. Most professors are also willing to schedule private separate appointments with you.
If you have to meet with your professor after finals, this will be harder, but still doable. Many professors work from home during the summer, so they will be harder to find in person. I asked some of my friends who were research assistants for the professors in order to figure out when the professors would be available. In addition, you can just send them an email asking them to meet and say you want to go over exams or something (if you do not want to bring up the transferring issue over the phone/email).
What I did During the Meeting:
Please prepare for the meeting. When I met with my professors, I had a manila folder with all the paperwork prepared so that I could just hand it to them. I chose my professors very carefully and assumed they would say yes. Thus I was able to print out the LSAC and other forms with their info on it ahead of time. It was also hard to catch the professors during the summer so I only wanted to meet with them once (rather than meeting with them a second time afterwards to hand them the forms).
Inside the manila folder, I gave them my transcript from last semester, my resume, my old personal statement (or new one once I had it), the LSAC form, a stamped envelope, and an introduction sheet explaining everything. If you think you can catch your professor a second time, you can hand them the LSAC form or recommendation forms on a later date.
What I did during the meeting was just talk about a few other things (usually about how hard their final was) and then just saying something like "I am thinking about transferring and would you be comfortable with writing an LOR for me? This may or may not be an awkward meeting, but I mentioned that there may be a conflict of interest and I apologized to them. Lastly, I would also explain your reasons for transferring to the professor.
If your reasons are less than noble (or you do not want to risk insulting the professor/school by saying you want to go to a better school with better employment prospects), then feel free to just tell them you want to "apply" to transfer in order to obtain a better scholarship from your current law school. Think of it as standard procedure and that all law students who do well should throw in an application to transfer. This is especially true in this economy, where schools are lacking funds and may be a bit cheaper when it comes to scholarships. I honestly think this is one reason most professors will understand. From reading other people's stories though, most professors are generally supportive of the transferring process and will understand that law school is a business and that you want to better yourself. Plus, they likely went to a top school.
I also asked my professors to send me an email confirmation for when they have sent the letter. This request was written down on the instructions sheet as well as mentioned in person during the meeting.
Lastly, please give your professor a TON of time to do this. Now, I gave both of my professors 1-2 weeks, but they understood my time constraints since grades came out late. Yes, I waited until my grades came out and THEN decided to transfer. Some professors will want 3-4 weeks, so try to do this early (before grades come out) if you have to.
IX. Early Action Transfers (Chicago, Georgetown, Miami, Hofstra, Case Western)
Yes, this does exist and is a fairly recent phenomenon from what I hear. In case you did not know, you can transfer after your fall 1L grades (*gasp*) and without your spring grades. A decision is usually give in April or May. The application process has the same requirements as normal transfer admissions but with earlier dates:
6. Chicago, due April 15 - THIS is BINDING (you have to go if you are accepted)
14. Georgetown, due March 16
19. WUSTL, due March 16
55. Case Western, due March 30
71. Miami, TBA (or rather, it does not say anything on their website)
100. Hofstra, due May 15
Currently, these are the only schools that have this option. Your GPA for spring 1L semester is generally irrelevant (though C's or lower might raise an eyebrow). Chicago also requires you get "consistent" grades throughout the year. When asked, the Chicago admissions office said this meant that you should not drop more than 0.2 or 0.3 points on your GPA or drop more than 10-20%.
Update: As of February 21, 2012, USC now has an early action transfer program. http://weblaw.usc.edu/how/transfer/earlydecision.cfm
Should I Do Early Action?
This is a personal decision, but let us first weigh the pros and cons below.
My personal recommendation is to go for it, but only if you really want to go to the school. Only a few schools allow early action so far, and you are totally limited to these schools. If you had spectacular knock-em dead grades first semester, you will likely get similar grades second semester. I have actually never heard of anyone getting top grades 1st semester, then getting average grades 2nd semester (though I am sure it is possible). Basically, once you "get it" and understand how to succeed on law school exams, it stays with you.
Though I had straight A's, I did not apply early action. I was pretty sure I would do equally well second semester and I was not really interested in Chicago or Georgetown. Finally, I did not want to take the risk and have lower second semester grades. As a result, my 2nd semester grades were just as good as my first semester grades.
Pros (for transferring early action)
-only depends on one semester worth of grades, technically allowing you to slack off second semester (though not recommended)
-just to repeat and emphasize, you are possibly making up for your mistakes on the LSAT and 4 years of slacking off in college with just one semester of hard work (which actually sounds like a good deal and a much easier path into a good school right?)
-being accepted so early gives more preparation time for an easier transition to the new school
-gives more peace of mind, especially for spring finals
-you can participate in the new school's regular law review write on competition in May instead of the special one in September for transfers (or… you might even be able to try law review twice if you fail the first time in May)
-easier to get LORS during the year than during the summer since professors are still around and have office hours
-the decision is not binding, you can still apply to other schools even if you get in (but you would have to put down a seat deposit then withdraw the application later)
-you would technically already have acceptances before the regular cycle as a backup
-you might be able to negotiate for a scholarship at your current law school much earlier when they have more money still
-it also might be slightly easier to get in since you are applying early and the transfer class has not been filled yet
-you have to be fairly certain you want to go to the school, since they usually require you to put down a seat deposit of like $500 within a month of accepting you (long before the deadlines for normal transfers)
-really only limited to the schools listed above (and just Chicago and Georgetown in the T14)
-doing this all during spring semester means you jeopardize spring semester grades, which are still important for fall OCI
-you also have less time to do write PS, get LORS, and stuff during the school year so the quality of your application may suffer, plus you will likely be looking for a 1L summer job which also takes up time
-you also have less professors to ask for LORS (as you would depend mostly on fall 1L professors), and it would might be weird to ask your spring semester professors for LORS to transfer before you get a grade in their class (which will likely be good considering your 1st semester performance)
-your second semester grades may be even better
-this is obviously not indicative of anything, but very few people do early action transferring (probably because they do not know about it)
What are my chances?
Before you decide to apply, you also have to figure out your chances. To be honest, I have no data and also have just never heard of anyone applying to transfer early action to Miami, Case Western, or Hofstra. Pretty much everyone on the forums talks about early action transfers to Chicago and Georgetown, so I will focus on that.
Unlike early action for regular admissions into law school, the requirements for early action transfers are stricter. You need slightly higher grades than regular transfer admissions. My guess is that because they cannot see your second semester grades when making their decision, they have to bank on the fact that people who do well first semester will also do well second semester (because they "get it" and already figured out legal reasoning/analysis). Therefore, your first semester grades need to be higher than my guesses above for regular admissions. I will also admit that there is even less data on early action transfer admissions, so this is just my extrapolation and guess as usual. Also, I seriously have never heard of anyone doing lateral transfers or transfers down via the early action process.
To transfer into the Chicago you need:
-top 5% at T1/T2
-top 1% at T3/T4
-Other notes: Chicago does not take many transfers to begin with, and I am guessing they do not take very many students for early action. Depending on exactly where you are in the T1, top 10-15% may be okay if you are only like 10-15 rankings lower.
To transfer into Georgetown you need:
-top 10% at T1
-top 5% at T2
-top 1% at T3/T4
-Other notes: Remember that GULC is very transfer friendly and takes quite of bit of people early on if they have the numbers. Again, depending on exactly where you are in the T1, top 20-30% may be okay if you are only like 10-15 rankings lower.
X. Is it Worth It to Go?
The majority will usually say yes. Seriously though, you should have decided this before you apply. Otherwise, why spend all that effort and money if you ultimately decide not to go (unless you did it purely for scholarship negotiation purposes)? However, these questions pop up all the time (you know what I am talking about, the "should I go to this T14 vs. stay at my old school" threads), so I will try to address what I have seen and what I think you should do.
Oh, and I think you should transfer.
Before I even read your file, I recommend transferring because that most of the time, that is the right answer. When people ask if they should transfer after they have applied and been accepted, it is usually because they get cold feet. All of a sudden, moving to a new place looks like a hassle. That law review invitation just came, along with a beautiful scholarship letter. Plus, you suddenly realize it might be nicer to be number one at a small hamlet than second in command to all of Rome (as Julius Caesar put it). If you need me to allay your insecurities, then I will. Go transfer.
Now, when someone asks whether they should stay or go, a few factors come into play time and time again:
1. Which schools (obviously)
2. Geographical Preferences – where you want to work and whether you have a spouse there
3. Scholarships (could be half tuition, full tuition, full tuition + living stipend, etc.)
4. Employment goals (big law versus government public interest versus clerkship/academia)
5. Law review
Ultimately, whether you stay or go is a personal decision. These are the factors that generally guide the forum polls (on TLS/yahoo groups). Some say, that these are the only factors that should matter when deciding to go or not. By the way, law review should not be a reason to stay but people factor it into their decision every time. You can often still try out for law school or get onto a great journal. In addition, the reputation of your newer school (assuming you made a big enough jump) will be likely better for clerkships and academia than staying at your old school and making law review.
There are just far too many possibilities when it comes to these factors. Here are some common situations where transferring (instead of staying) is not an obvious choice.
T14 + full ride -> HYS
-This is another common 50/50 if you have no clerkship/academia thoughts
-If you are at CCN, you should probably stay if you have no clerkship/academia thoughts
Top 20/lower T14 + full ride -> non-HYS T14
-If you are transferring into CCN, this becomes sort of a 50/50, if it is non-CCN, you should stay
T1/T2 + full ride -> mid/lower T14
T3/T4 + full ride -> T1
-This is another 50/50, TLS will say to transfer, but in real life, I feel like a lot of people struggle with the decision (and a good number of them ultimately stay)
Moving up 10-20 spots and not into top 10 schools
-Generally you should probably just stay
If you have a geographical preference at your old school + full ride + no big law or academia desires -> non-HYS T14
-I would almost say that you should stay for this one too
Basically, if you are unsure, feel free to do a poll on TLS. The prevailing result is usually to transfer to the more prestigious school (especially if it is T14) barring strong geographical preferences and tons of money.
Lastly, whether you should go or not mirrors the regular admissions process, so this should not be too tough.
Other FAQ
What do I do about early deadlines when I have not even heard back from other schools?
This often arises with Berkeley, Stanford, and GULC, who have June 15 deadlines. People get their acceptances and must accept by around mid July. However, they have not heard back from HYSCCN.
Here are some obvious answers, but you can:
1) ask for an extension
2) ask the schools you have not heard from to politely "hurry up" and tell them you really want to go there
3) accept at the school but withdraw later (for example, Berkeley requires some integrity but no seat deposit, so I am sure they will understand if you have to accept early but later go to Harvard)
4) just go to Berkeley, Stanford, and GULC because those are good schools already
What happens if my school does not rank or does not give out letter grades (for early action or regular admissions)?
I would not worry about this. Schools can have seen applications from various schools every year and can figure this out. Straight A's at T2/T3/T4 schools are going to be generally impressive and likely in the top 1%. Even if you are at Berkeley and trying to transfer out, they can make a general guess depending on how many HH/H/P's you have.


text:
The consumption, creation and dissemination of information should not be inhibited by the lack of technical skills. Tools should be as open and accessible as the open societies they build. This is the main objective of In The Field Online and its information platform: to provide a software framework in which anyone can change any component of a mobile-powered information system so that an organization or individual with minimal technical skills can use it to make information accessible to their communities.
I started In The Field Online during my time at the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford University in 2005. The focus of my fellowship was to find ways to improve the news coverage in troubled areas and war zones. The project focus grew to include how to share and distribute any information in emergency situations as well as, in environments where information is not open and readily available. The work was covered on CNN, BBC, PBS and also one of 25 highlights on Discovery International.
In The Field Online provides a complete cellphone-powered content management system, allowing any organization to setup a complete regional cellphone-powered information system with no technical skills.
The three main outcomes of the project will be:
The platform seamless integrates with Facebook and Twitter, enabling organizations to distribute their content efficiently even without extensive knowledge of best practices in social media.
A central component to the project is to add an extensive micro-donation support for the creators, editors and maintainers of the users of the platform.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
BRISTOL — The Bristol Police Department has scheduled its second forum on crime and drugs in Bristol. It will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Holley Hall. A third-party facilitator has agreed to manage the discussion.
Chief Kevin Gibbs will start off the forum by answering some questions that came up at the end of the last meeting on July 31 and since then.
"I'll present a report on what has been happening since the meeting and we will then try to discuss some concrete next steps to address the issues we are all facing so we can build on the progress already showing," Gibbs said.
He suggested that anyone who has a question for him could ask it at the Sept. 11 meeting, or email Gibbs the question beforehand, which would give him an opportunity to get accurate answers rather than guess or get back to them later. His email address is [email protected].
"It is my hope the forums can continue with a stronger focus on community involvement," Gibbs said. "I will, of course, remain active with the group as it proceeds."


text:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
NEW YORK -- Kelley Drye & Warren, an international law firm with its primary office in New York City, violated federal age discrimination law through its compensation system, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.
According to the EEOC's suit, in Kelley Drye's system, attorneys who practiced law after turning 70 years of age received dramatically reduced compensation compared to similarly productive younger attorneys solely because of their age. The EEOC further charged that Kelley Drye unlawfully retaliated against Eugene T. D'Ablemont, an attorney who has practiced law at the firm for over 40 years, by further reducing his compensation after he complained about this discriminatory policy and filed a charge with the EEOC.
"Law firms that single out older attorneys for adverse treatment simply because of their age run great risk of violating the federal prohibition on age discrimination," said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. "This lawsuit should serve as a wake-up call for law firms to examine their own practices to ensure they comport with federal law."
The EEOC's lawsuit, Civil Action No. 10- CV-0655, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said that Kelley Drye requires all partners to give up their ownership interest in the firm at the age of 70. If an attorney continues to work, his or her compensation consists of an annual "bonus" payment in an amount totally within the discretion of the firm's executive committee. Since D'Ablemont turned 70 in 2001, even though he routinely has obtained over $1 million in fees annually from his clients, his compensation has been substantially less than younger lawyers at the firm with similar productivity. Moreover, in 2008 and 2009, after D'Ablemont had complained internally about Kelley Drye's age-based compensation system, ultimately resulting in his filing of an age discrimination charge with the EEOC, the firm reduced his bonus payment by two-thirds even though his productivity remained the same.
This alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age-based employment discrimination against those aged 40 and older, and which also bars employers from retaliating against those who complain about such unlawful practices. The EEOC filed suit only after attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.
"A law firm's compensation for its attorneys should be based on ability and productivity, not on age-based stereotypes about declining effectiveness," said Elizabeth Grossman, regional attorney in the EEOC's New York office.
Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., director of the EEOC New York District Office, added, "More and more attorneys are effectively practicing law into their 70s and beyond. This is also seen by the fact that most current Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are over 70 years old."
In FY 2009, the EEOC received 22,778 age discrimination charge filings, the second highest level ever, accounting for 24% of its private sector caseload. EEOC's age discrimination charge data are available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/adea.cfm.
The EEOC is the government agency responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Further information about EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.


text:
Loading feed...
"So for the "small percentage of users" T-Mobile says are having problems with the T-Mobile G2x they've put together a quick help sheet internally to try and troubleshoot the primary problems."
Having trouble with your G2x? Well, you are not alone and T-Mobile is here to help. T-Mo has released a trouble shooting document for their staff telling them now to fix several common issues that G2x users are experiencing. Unfortunately, a large number of these "known issues" are still pending as they will require an update from LG to get things rolling. Perhaps G2x users will be able to sleep better at night knowing that T-Mobile and LG are on the case. Anyone out there having problems?
Copyright 2007 - Thoughts Media Inc. | Privacy Policy | Created by Creative Pattern.com


text:
Kustom Signals International Distributor Conference Brings Several Countries Together
Lenexa, Kans. – Kustom Signals, Inc. hosted its Second Annual International Distributor Conference Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 in Nassau, Bahamas. Conference attendees from around the world participated in interactive training and education sessions featuring product enhancements, marketing support and sales techniques.
International distributors joined the local Bahamian law officers in hands-on training with Kustom Signals products, including video products G3 Vision and Road Warrior and the bestselling, ProLaser 4 and LASERWitness. The training was so successful the Nassau police department walked-away writing several citations using the latest in laser speed guns.
"The opportunity to trial products and discuss sales strategies with other international distributors is invaluable," said Ray Rooke, Britax Automotive. "Familiarizing myself with the features and functionality of the products helps me better serve my customers. I look forward to this opportunity each year."
In appreciation and recognition of Kustom Signals distributors, the conference ended with an awards banquet. Britax Automotive, Australia received top honors for highest revenue sales.
R. Nichols Distributors, Inc., Canada, also received a platinum level award. Awards were presented to all distributors, acknowledging their role in Kustom Signal's success in 2012.
"Kustom Signals' International Distributor Conference provides our partners with an unmatched experience, starting with hands-on training and networking with our worldwide partners and finishing with an awards banquet honoring our valued distributors," said Peter Seidman, Vice President of International and Domestic Sales, Kustom Signals Inc. "We look forward to this opportunity to learn and celebrate our shared success each year."
Kustom Signals is committed to providing its distributors the needed tools to reach its third year of continued international growth. Details for the 2013 conference will be announced mid-year.
About Kustom Signals
Established in 1965, Kustom Signals Inc., a Public Safety Equipment Company, designs and manufactures a complete line of speed enforcement, speed awareness and in-car video systems for law enforcement agencies, along with the Contour product line. For more information, visit www.kustomsignals.com
Request more product info from Kustom Signals Inc..
Thank You!


text:
'Coriolanus,' 'We Need to Talk About Kevin': Betsy Sharkey's picks
"Coriolanus" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin" -- two exceptional dramas that dropped in briefly in December to qualify for Oscar consideration -- are back in theaters for their real run. And they are certainly worth your consideration as well.
On the one hand there is "Coriolanus," Ralph Fiennes' modern-day take on Shakespeare's great war story with its brash mix of fighting, politics, economics and clashing egos.
Fiennes has proven to be as superb a director as an actor; he does both in "Coriolanus." With a talent-packed cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler and Jessica Chastain and a truly exceptional Brian Cox, it's a sprawling story filled with big ideas and bigger action, and definitely worth the big screen.
On a more intimate level, there is the tragedy of Greek proportions with its family betrayals and loyalties stretched to the breaking point in "We Need to Talk About Kevin." It features yet another searing performance by Tilda Swinton, one of the top actresses working in the field today, and a fine job by the talented teenager Ezra Miller.
They play mother and son in this dark, stark disaster. Saturated with despair, it is not easy watching, but it couldn't be more affecting. Sometimes you just have to let a film break your heart.
Betsy Sharkey's best film picks of 2011
The thrill of 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'
'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo': Wow
-- Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times film critic


text:
I am a blogging mom of three who sums up her chaotic days with humorous rants in between cleaning peanut butter off the ceiling fan and keeping my youngest occupied in the lazy Susan. Put your feet up and laugh at me. My neighbors do!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Just look...
16 comments:
- Christina said...
ROFL!!! That is crazy!
- January 10, 2008 at 6:43 PM
- Mari said...
WHAT? I have to wonder how many of these they are selling!
- January 10, 2008 at 6:51 PM
- Deb in OPKS said...
Oh my goodness! Who thinks of these thing?!!! Thanks for the laugh.
- January 10, 2008 at 7:04 PM
- Mommy to those Special Ks said...
Umm ewwwww! LOL
- January 10, 2008 at 7:11 PM
- Julie said...
Well, I have always been jealous that men could go while standing up...LOL
There's this thing for lazy male sportsfans...I don't know what it's called, but it is basically a sheath that goes on like a condom, and the pee just goes down a tube which empties "conveniently" into a bag that is attached at the ankle, which can be emptied at halftime.
- January 10, 2008 at 7:25 PM
- Alison said...
I could have used one of these on my walk the other day!!! I think this should be the prize for your next contest!!
- January 10, 2008 at 8:39 PM
- My Semblance of Sanity said...
haha alison - that is hysterical!!!!
- January 10, 2008 at 9:21 PM
- Heather said...
LMAO....ok as if standing on the highway with your pant leg hiked up and pee drizzling down your leg isn't suspicious enough to EL Highway Patrol....Poncharelli will now catch you when you discard your waste ridden "shoe box" roadside. After all, it's gotta be biodegradable...right?
- January 10, 2008 at 9:56 PM
- Lisa said...
How in the world did you come across this?!?!
LOL Can't wait to ask my hubby if we can get some of these... with my most serious face on of course.
- January 10, 2008 at 10:32 PM
OMG, HOW GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, and did I mention YUCK????? You gotta love the goofy smile on the woman's face - Hi! Look at me! I'm peeing in a funnel and, gosh, here comes a car down the road!!!!
As my one year old says, "Yuck. Gross." Enough said!
- January 11, 2008 at 2:20 AM
- Tracy said...
All I can say is that all of my dreams have come true. Now we truly are man's equal.
- January 11, 2008 at 7:36 AM
- Dawn said...
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAA!!! Snort! Seriously, where did you find that? ROFL!
- January 11, 2008 at 10:47 AM
- Melissa said...
I think the BEST part of the ingenious marketing is the last paragraph:
"...make sure that the hole at the toe end of the P-Mat is funnelling the urine out somewhere other than on your feet."
Holy Cow! Now, I hope they paid that writer a bunch o' dough!
- January 11, 2008 at 11:09 AM
- Tracey said...
I can top that one. Google "Shenis". It's a similar system for urinating outdoors, only, more.... You have to check it out.
- January 11, 2008 at 12:13 PM
- Shellie said...
Gee, when I was little I was so jealous of my big brothers that they could pee standing up, but I don't know... Hahahahahahahaha! Thanks for the laugh.
- January 11, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Yes, Michelle, where DID you find that? Also, I, too, was wondering about the rolled up pants leg. Great new toy if she's got to roll up her pants leg to wipe up the spillage. GROSS!
BTW - Congrats to Heather. That cheese was gross, too. You get the eww award for tonight.... but in a good way.
- January 13, 2008 at 10:24 PM


text:
Voters Approve $18 Million For New Bureau Building
SOCORRO, N.M. November 8, 2012 – As most New Mexicans watched election results filter in Tuesday night, administrators at New Mexico Tech were paying close attention to voting on Bond Issue C.
An architect's rendering of the proposed Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources building that will be constructed in 2013 on the current site of the ISD building.
An architect's rendering of the proposed Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources building that will be constructed in 2013 on the current site of the ISD building.
"I was fairly confident that we'd get the bond issue passed," Tech President Dr. Daniel H. Lopez said. "But I had no idea that it would be by that big of a margin – never in my wildest dreams."
Lopez said he is grateful to New Mexico voters for seeing the need for capital improvements in higher education.
"I think that reflects our ability to inform the public more clearly about why Bond Issue C was important to pass this year," he said.
Bureau of Geology Director Greer Price said he's delighted about the passing the bond.
"Many of us have worked toward this for a long time, and it will be a huge benefit not just to the bureau but to all who use it," Price said. "
Lopez said the university will work with the N.M. Department of Finance to issue the bonds, a process that will take about six months to complete. In the interim, Tech will assemble construction documents and prepare for soliciting construction proposals.
Miguel Hidalgo, director of special projects at Tech, said the new building will be an 83,000 square-foot, three-story space, with 32 percent dedicated to laboratories, 43 percent offices and 25 percent publications and storage. The Bureau's current operations are divided between the Gold Building and the Bureau of Geology Building, which are separated by Workman Center.
The new building will be constructed between Weir Hall and Bullock Avenue. The Information Services Department building will be razed to make room for the new building.
Price said the new facility will benefit students on campus, including work space for graduate students involved in research with bureau staff, classrooms, and new laboratory facilities, which will (for the first time) all be housed in one place. Public facilities will all be vastly improved and more accessible, Price said, including the Mineral Museum, the Geologic Information Center, the Subsurface Library, and Publication Sales Office.
Joe Franklin, director of ISD, said his operations will move into the Gold Building. The Bureau is consolidating its operations in that building to make room for ISD during construction. After construction is complete, ISD will make the Gold Building its permanent home. The future of the existing Bureau of Geology building has not been determined. Lopez said he'd like to raze that building to make room for additional campus parking.
For the duration of construction, campus will lose about 100 parking spaces in the lots near Weir Hall, ISD and the Skeen Library. Commuters will have to park along the streets or at Macey Center.
Tech initially secured state funding for architectural services about four years ago. Van Gilbert Architects developed conceptual plans in early 2009. The plan for the new Bureau was basically put on hold for two years after the unsuccessful G.O. Bond election in 2010.
The next G.O. Bond initiative in 2014 will include two New Mexico Tech construction projects: $16 million for replacement of Jones Hall for the Chemistry and Materials Engineering departments and $16 million for a Wellness Center, which will replace the gym and the swim center.
By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech


text:
And, we recognize what a difficult decision this can be! Women who don't want to breastfeed are being put under more pressure with little help or understanding for how they may feel, or what obstacles they may face. We are here to help you. It is no fun being on the fence.
Believe me, I know, because I was a mom who was on that fence! That's why I'm urging you not to wait until after the baby's birth–like I did–to make your decision. Do your research now. The fact is, that while breastfeeding comes easily for some moms, for most moms, the hardest time to learn about breastfeeding for the first time, is after the baby is born, when new mothers are exhausted, vulnerable and at the mercy of myths and misinformation. Believe it or not, hospitals, nurses, doctors, families, and friends, while well-meaning and competent, may not be educated on the latest about breastfeeding and frequently have their own barriers to work through (see AAP, Policy statement on Human Milk). Add to that any personal unresolved issues you may have and now you have put yourself at an even greater disadvantage if you do decide to give it a whirl. Breastfeeding is just one of those important life events where you will do better if you are prepared and can hit the ground running. You wouldn't show up to run a marathon without a strong resolve, some coaching and proper shoes, right? So, the best thing you can do for yourself and your baby is to explore the feeding issue – both your feelings and the facts about it–now, before the baby is born.
To help you make your decision, I've put some suggestions below–these are merely suggestions, the ones that I wish someone had mentioned to me before my first baby was born. I hope that they are helpful, and that you will take what you like from them and leave the rest. In any case, I wish you only the best on this amazing journey into motherhood.
If you don't want to breastfeed:
- Find someone you trust to talk to. Choose someone you respect, admire and trust who will listen to you compassionately and help you sort out your feelings without judging you. I was too afraid to admit that I didn't want to breastfeed to anyone, and kept my feelings bottled-up, which only made things worse. Whether you choose a friend, relative, or professional, the person(s) you talk to should not push their agenda on you. A good sounding board should neither hit you over the head overbearingly with the benefits of breastfeeding nor should they easily let you off the hook from trying breastfeeding at all. He/She should help you understand yourself, what is factoring into your decision and most importantly, should be positive and encouraging! Becoming a parent is a transformation on many levels, and as you explore your feelings, you will grow and mature and be more ready to take on that transformation.
- Get to the bottom of what's bugging you. There are a million reasons why women choose not to breastfeed, and we've heard them all. All of them are valid, because any feelings a woman has about breastfeeding are real and important! Unless you get to the bottom of what's stopping you from embracing breastfeeding, you won't have the chance to separate fact from fiction. For example, some women fear they won't be able to make enough milk, perhaps because their mothers didn't nurse or had difficulties–but we now know that more than 95% of women are physically capable of breastfeeding. Like a lot of women, I was afraid of what breastfeeding would do to my ta-tas, not realizing that pregnancy itself, not nursing, is the culprit. [Rinker, Brian: "Breastfeeding Does Not Create Sagging Breasts; Study Throws Out Old Wives' Tale, Amer. Society of Plastic Surgeons] Others are anxious about nursing in public, or disapproval from in-laws or friends. Some are plain squeamish. Some women have suffered sexual abuse —if this is the case for you, as it is the case for possibly 25% of women, we urge you to get help from a qualified professional, such as Penny Simkin (listen to this Motherwear podcast with her, it's amazing) and join a support group. You may find and meet other mothers who have been able to work through this difficult barrier and have gone on to nurse successfully or have pumped—for some, it has even become an empowering, positive and healing experience. In any case, you will know you are not alone). Still others fear that their medications won't allow them to breastfeed. Unless you are in touch with what's bothering you, you'll never find out if there is a way to deal with it—plus, once you get it out in the open, you might find out it loses it's power over you. Regardless of what you decide, chances are you will have a lot more peace and serenity, and be better equipped to handle questions or even nosybodies.
- Weigh the risks. While there has been lots said about the benefits of breastfeeding, research has shown that knowing the benefits alone is not impactful enough, just as knowing the benefits of eating broccoli hasn't kept us away from fast-food joints. What everyone needs to know is that studies suggest that there are very real risks associated with feeding artificial baby milk (ABM)–commonly known as infant formula.
To what degree is breastfeeding associated with a reduced risk of disease?
(excerpted from www.breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2007/04/how_much_does_b.html )
"A new meta-analysis (study of studies) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helps answer that question. (This study looked over 9,000 studies on breastfeeding from developed countries, weeded out the ones with poor methodology, and came up with an overall percentage for each one. This is harder than it sounds because "breastfeeding" is defined differently in each study. Nevertheless, here is what they found.)"
Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of the following diseases for your baby:
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): 36% lower risk
- Type 1 Diabetes: 19-27%
- Type 2 Diabetes: 39%
- Leukemia (acute lymphocytic) : 19%
- Leukemia (acute myelogenous): 15%
- Asthma: 27%
- Gastrointestinal infections: 64%
- Lower respiratory tract diseases: 72%
- Atopic dermatitis: 42%
- Acute otitis media: 50%
Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of the following disease for mothers:
- Type 2 Diabetes: 4-12% lower risk
- Ovarian cancer: 21%
- Breast cancer: 28%
This study looked at the relationship between breastfeeding and only some of the diseases that breastfeeding provides some measure of protection against. More research is needed, but the evidence is growing all the time.
Bottom line is, only you and your doctor can weigh any risks from current medications you are taking vs. the risks of feeding your baby formula, and you owe it to yourself to be educated. You should also be aware that the World Health Organization says that screened, donated, pasteurized milk is a more suitable alternative than artificial milk (formula). They state that formula should only be used as a last resort–a message that certainly hasn't made it into the mainstream! Hopefully, one day human milk banks will be as ubiquitous as blood banks, and all mothers who can't breastfeed will have better choices.
4. Make your decision.
If You are Leaning Away from Breastfeeding:
You've done exhaustive research and have confidence that you have made the best decision for you and your family. Some things you may want to consider:
- You can always stop breastfeeding if it is not right for you. If you don't try, it is a lot harder to start (but not impossible) if you change your mind! Consider that lots of women regret not breastfeeding, but we know of no one who regrets having breastfed.
- Pumping. Many women who are uncomfortable with nursing directly for whatever reason have pumped successfully, often for a full year. Kudos to them.
- Donated, Screened, Pasteurized Breastmilk. See www.hmbana.org to see if this is a feasible choice for you, if not, become an advocate so that some day more moms have this much better feeding option.
- A friend or relative nursing your baby, or donated milk through a network. This is very controversial due to the risk of any communicable diseases, however we hope that someday through a thorough screening process women who can not breastfeed can be matched with a volunteer who can nurse their baby. Once again, only you can weigh the risks and make the best choice for you and your family. Organizations that are helping parents connect with informally donated human milk are Human Milk for Human Babies (www.HM4HB.net), Eats on Feets (www.eatsonfeets.com) and Milk Share (www.milkshare.com). Please note that for liability reasons, Best for Babes does not officially endorse informal milk sharing, but believes strongly that moms deserve access to information about all milk sharing options.
- Organic Infant Formula. If pumping, donated breastmilk or a surrogate breastfeeder are simply not options, then we encourage you to use Organic artificial baby milk (generic is fine) as it will not contain pesticides or milk products from cows treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. Choose one that does not include artificial DHA & ARA as these chemicals are not organic, their efficacy in formula has not been proven and there is more research needed on potential side-effects such as gastric upset in infants.
- Have a good answer. Finally, if you choose not to breastfeed, we urge you to have a plan of how to handle well-meaning but overzealous do-gooders, and have a "stop them in their tracks" response at the ready. Unfortunately, we have heard a few horror stories of women who have been hassled for giving a bottle by complete strangers, and we are on your side, babe, no one has the right to intrude upon you! Women who judge other women for not breastfeeding make the problem worse. Try saying: "Thank you for your concern, and thank you for respecting that this is a personal decision no mother takes lightly." You can even encourage them to read the Best for Babes Mission & Credo!
If you are leaning towards breastfeeding:
Take baby steps. If you are one of those people (like me) for whom adopting healthy lifestyle choices is challenging, treat it like deciding to work out: set small, achievable goals, and give yourself lots of praise and rewards. I am not one of those people who could commit to training for the marathon, but I was able to get myself (kicking and screaming) to sign up for a 5 mile race. Similarly, when I was nursing my son, I kept saying, "okay, I'm going to do this just until Sunday, and then I am going to quit," and then by the time Monday came around, I postponed weaning for another 7 days. Try committing to the first 6 days, then commit to another week, and so on, and you might find that the first month has gone by before you know it! Add another week at a time, and soon the first 4-6 weeks of the Learning Curve (link to (http://www.bestforbabes.com/prepare-the-learning-curve-of-breastfeeding/) will be over and you will have gotten the hang of it. In fact, just like those of us who hated going to the gym at first but came to enjoy the incredible feeling they have after an intense workout, your feelings about nursing may change as time goes on. You may even succumb to its ambrosia-like effects and fall in love with it!
Surround yourself with a cheering squad. It's really, really important (did we say VERY!) to find people who believe in you, will cheer you on and remind you that you can do it! To lean on the sports analogy again: my husband bought me a membership to the gym and for four years I used it maybe 10 times. He liked to tease me that every time I went it cost him $500. Now I go to the gym at least twice a week. What changed? Two girlfriends roped me into going to an exercise class (the same ones that proceeded to sign me up for that 5 mile race), and what I would have hated doing alone, was actually fun to do with some friends. When my son was born, I thought I would never make it past a week of breastfeeding, let alone six months, and with the encouragement of others, I ended up nursing my son until he was almost a year and a half! If you don't already have these women in your life, then go find them. You will find a ready-made cheering squad at a great breastfeeding support group. You'll meet some great moms, learn lots of tips it would take you hours of internet surfing to find, and you'll probably enjoy the whole transition to motherhood and nursing even more. You may even end up surpassing your expectations!
Here are some tips to find other nursing moms:
- "Store front" birth and breastfeeding education centers: These are springing up all over the country, particularly in and around urban centers, and are a fabulous resource for prenatal classes, support groups, doulas (labor coaches and postpartum assistants), and postnatal help from LCs.
- Many lactation consultants (LCs) run their own groups or can steer you in the right direction. You can find the LCs in your area at www.ilca.org.
- La Leche League (www.llli.org). This is the largest and oldest resource for free mother-to-mother breastfeeding support groups and help.
- Some hospitals offer breastfeeding classes and support groups, but do your homework first: Don't go to a class at a hospital that has a low breastfeeding success rate! We've attended some classes that were dull and a turn-off, and worse, presented incorrect information.
- Yoga Studios and Gyms: Many offer prenatal exercise classes — a great place to connect with other moms who are planning on nursing. Some great yoga studios offer post-natal classes that include baby and nursing time!
- "Natural" or eco-friendly baby stores and health food stores. Healthy and green living is hip and there are lots of cute and stylish baby stores selling slings, organic baby clothes and bedding and the like, some of them are running support groups during off-hours or can point you to other resources. Many health food stores have seminars for moms, plus they often have seating/eating areas where you can have lunch and nurse on a future shopping trip. Important: if the first group you go to turns you off, keep trying different groups until you find one where you connect. If you don't want to commit to breastfeeding, try committing to going to a breastfeeding support group at least 4 times during the last two months of your pregnancy. Even if you just listen, you'll learn a lot, and you'll feel a lot better about your decision.
Find women you trust, and then take what you like and leave the rest. Just like an athlete would never hire–and would actually fire–a coach who said "give it a try," didn't have faith in you, or couldn't bring out your best and help you succeed, you should take no less from the women (and the professionals) in your life. If you don't like a particular breastfeeding group, keeping trying different ones until you find one that you do! All too many women get turned off by one person and then throw in the towel. Just remember, one overbearing militant breastfeeder does not speak for the rest of us–there are lots of great groups out there. Even if you only find one other nursing mother you like, at least you won't be doing it alone! Beware of friends who have unresolved feelings themselves. You want to stick with the winners–women who have succeeded at breastfeeding and women who are self-aware enough not to rationalize. Basically, you want to find women who can cheer you on and bring out your best.
Find out what motivates you and make a list.
If you breastfeed, know that you will have days when you feel like super-nursing mom, and days when you're tired, cranky, rushing around, and not in the mood. For those days, having a handy list that reminds you in your own words why you are doing this will help you get over the hump. When I felt like throwing in the towel, I thought about how my older sister would probably never let me live it down that she had breastfed for a year (granted, she lives in Europe, where it is much easier to breastfeed). I thought about the unpleasant smell of formula and how my initial reaction the first time I smelled it was that I wasn't sure I wanted to give something artificial to my perfect, new, and clean baby (plus when I supplemented it made him painfully constipated). I thought about how the hormonal surge during let-down helped my post-partum depression, and that bonding with my baby during nursing made me feel good about myself as a mother. I reminded myself that I did not want to deal with washing and sterilizing bottles (I'm very forgetful and dreaded screwing up the mixing or leaving something behind). I think I turned the corner for good the day my mom pointed out how adorably my son quivered with joy every time I unbuttoned my blouse. In short, you may be motivated by breastfeeding's incredible health benefits or you may not, but the key is to use whatever works for you. Also, try using imagery (See Learning Curve: See Yourself Successful) to help you achieve your goals. Imagery–positive mental imaging of your success–is a terrific tool and is what great athletes, entrepreneurs and leaders do and it works. In the early days and weeks, you may have to take it one feeding at a time, but you can do it!
Know what is truly second best. We understand that for many women, the hurdles to breastfeeding are truly too great. For example, although most medications are perfectly safe to take while breastfeeding, there are a few that are not. There are also some women who have been sexually abused and are too scarred from their experience to breastfeed. Still others face intense family and peer disapproval (another good reason to attend a support group–you'll get lots of great strategies for dealing with disapproval). But here is the deal: as per the World Health Organization the second best thing to your breastmilk is not formula – it's donated, pasteurized and screened human milk! So, even if you cannot — or choose not — to breastfeed, consider the second best and safest alternative for your babe. Let's make donor milk as widely available as donated blood–your baby, and all babies, deserves the best! For more info, contact The Human Milk Bank Association, www.hmbana.org.
Written by Bettina Forbes, CLC
Brought to you by Best for Babes®
© 2008 by Best for Babes®, All Rights Reserved.


text:
I'm looking for an open source knowledge base system that uses tags, rather than free-text search to identify articles (a lot like serverfault does).
I've looked at twiki, which many people suggested, but haven't found what I'm looking for. Basically I want to be able to create and tag articles, and provide an easy way for anonymous users to search based on tags.
OK, here's some more detail regarding what I want. Basically, all the knowledge base systems I have seen so far are a collection of articles, each article with a title. Most of them allow you to categorise articles into groups and sub-groups. Users of the system can search for information using a title search, for example "How do I print from AwesomeProduct?" - which then shows a list of any articles that match that search text.
This is fine and dandy when your KB is for one version of the software product (the mythical AwesomeProduct ver 1.0). However, the development team then go ahead and create a new version (ver 2.0) that adds many new features and changes some existing features.
Now, how do we support both products in the same KB? The Naive method is to copy all articles from 1.0, and update them for 2.0, adding and removing articles in 2.0 as required. We can then add text at the top of every 1.0 article that says:
"this articles applies to 1.0 only, to see the 2.0 version, click here" (or something similar)
The problem with articles being indexed in the system by title is that it's very hard to filter based on meta-data like version. What happens when we create version 3.0 or 4.0?
The end-situation here is that you have a mess of articles. They're hard to search, hard to filter, and even harder to manage.
The solution (it seems to me) is to use tags, rather than text as the article index mechanism. So articles can be tagged with a tag representing the software version, topic area etc. etc. Users can then filter based on tag - an example search might be "version_1 printing" - which straight away gives a list of articles with all these tags.
So that's what I'm looking for - a KB system that uses tags, rather than text to index many articles. I'm sure I could build something with drupal, but I was hoping for something that worked out-of-the-box.


text:
has appointed Robert Bucker dean of the recently created
. Bucker, who has 40 years of experience in fine and performing arts, will oversee a college that includes the School of Architecture, School of Art and Design, School of Music, and School of Theatre and Film. Bucker succeeds Barbara Sestak, who has returned to her academic program, architecture.
Bucker takes over a college housed primarily in two recently renovated buildings: Lincoln Hall and Shattuck Hall. The College of the Arts, formerly known as the School of Fine and Performing Arts, has 2,750 students majoring in arts programs. Architecture, film and graphic design are among the college's rapidly growing programs.
Bucker was Dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication at California State University. He began his career as a middle school and high school vocal music teacher and choral director in Missouri. He served as the director of education for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the voice chairman and choral conductor for the Presidential Scholars in the Arts program, founded by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Prior to his current position, he was the dean of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Peck School of the Arts, and dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
-- David Stabler


text:
We're down to the wire on Christmas shopping. How about you relax and not worry about the rest of those stocking stuffers? Instead make a donation to a local charity-- in honor or your friends and family members. Most local charities at this point, are desperately trying to figure out how they're going to come through for the families relying on them this Christmas. Families who won't have the means to buy gifts for their children or a turkey for their table.
Your donation could be used to adopt one of those families and provide the kids with warm clothing or toys. Or maybe even a Christmas dinner. At Vermont Woods Studios we're working with a local school where we know our donation is being put to work for people in our own community who need it the most. The staff tells me they are seeing a greater need for food and winter clothing in their student families now than they can ever remember. Many families that donated to projects like this last year are now in line to receive.
The Salvation Army sponsors Adopt A Family for Christmas projects across the country. You local churches probably do the same.
It's not too late to help. You then either write a check or purchase food for a Christmas dinner. So simple, but it means so much!


text:
The Associated Press
GAO, Mali (AP) -- Malian soldiers scoured the city of Gao on Monday for remnants of the radical Islamic fighters who invaded the town and engaged in an hours-long fight with soldiers before French and Malian forces regained control.
GAO, Mali (AP) -- Malian soldiers scoured the city of Gao on Monday for remnants of the radical Islamic fighters who invaded the town and engaged in an hours-long fight with soldiers before French and Malian forces regained control.
Sunday's brazen assault marked the first time the jihadists had penetrated the city of mud-walled buildings since they fled two weeks ago. The attack also showed the al-Qaida-linked militants' intent to fight for control of Gao, which they had ruled for nearly 10 months.
However, French President Francois Hollande said Monday his goal is that "not one space of Mali's territory be under the control of terrorists."
"The essential part of the Malian territory is today liberated, but we haven't finished our task. There are still terrorist pockets, notably in the extreme north of Mali, and operations are still being conducted by a certain number of groups," Hollande said from Paris.
Lt. Col. Salihou Maiga with the national police said Monday that at least 14 suspects had been arrested following searches in the area and would be transferred to Bamako, the capital.
At least five of them were being held inside a building that smelled of urine with a tiny barred window. The metal door was secured with two padlocks.
Inside the police station, at least eight people facing interrogation by authorities sat on the floor without handcuffs or restraints.
"People were terrorized by Sunday's attack, but all the people have returned
to the city now," Maiga said. "Calm has been restored."
At least six French armored personnel carriers patrolled the empty downtown streets where the black-robed Islamic radicals had battled for more than five hours with Malian soldiers the day before. The checkpoint to the city where suicide bombers have now twice targeted Malian soldiers also was heavily fortified.
"Our forces are right now patrolling the city to dismantle the pockets of resistance," said Daouda Sidiki Dembele, a communications officer with the Malian army in Gao.
Hundreds of Gao residents gathered around the heavily damaged police headquarters in the center of the city early Monday where body parts lay strewn about. The al-Qaida-linked militants concentrated their attack on the police center in northern Mali's largest city.
"Yesterday we heard the gunfire and hid in our homes all evening," said Soumayla Maiga as he stood with friends near the heavily damaged offices. "We were stunned when we came out and saw what happened."
The radical Islamic fighters from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, had ruled Gao for nearly 10 months before they were ousted at the end of January.
The black-robed jihadists, armed with AK-47 automatic rifles, returned to the city by crossing the Niger River in wooden boats to launch their assault Sunday afternoon, said French Gen. Bernard Barrera, citing the Malian military.
By nightfall French military helicopters flew overhead to patrol the city. Two explosions rang out overnight, but early Monday the only sounds in the city were the morning call to prayer from mosques and barking dogs.
Malian Lt. Col. Nema Sagadam said it was unclear how many jihadist fighters had penetrated the city in Sunday's attack, though at least 10 were killed by Malian forces. Malian soldiers fired on the police building because the radical Islamic fighters were hiding inside, she said.
"We used heavy arms to attack the building because it was infested with militants who were firing at people," Sagadam said.
The walls and ceiling inside the police building were heavily stained with blood, and the damage was consistent with an explosion, suggesting a suicide bomber may have blown himself up inside the police offices during the fighting.
Residents who had cowered in their homes during the heavy gunfire cautiously ventured out onto the streets where groups in circles looked at the human remains.
Women used their veils to cover their noses and mouths as they passed two blown off legs lying in the sand. The remains of a disemboweled donkey also were in front of the police building.
Two civilians died from gunshot wounds, while 10 were wounded, according to Dr. Moulaye Djiteye at the Gao hospital. The body of a third man was carted away later Monday morning; residents said he had been hit by a stray bullet while riding by on his motorcycle.
Ten other people were treated for their wounds at the hospital, Djiteye said.
Islamic militants had previously clashed with Malian forces on the outskirts of town, but Sunday's attack was the first time of fighting in the city center.
The dramatic assault highlights the challenges ahead for the Malian and French forces, who initially drove the militants out of the city after facing little resistance.
"Have we finished? No. Because there are still, in a more or less organized way, groups that can carry out attacks or guerrilla operations," Hollande said at a news conference Monday with the president of Nigeria, the country commanding the West African military mission in Mali.
While the suicide bombers have not killed anyone other than themselves, residents said at least one of them had been living in a known jihadist hideout for seven months. The house where the young man stayed also had been visited by the one-eyed Algerian terror leader Moktar Belmoktar, who was the architect of last month's attack on a BP plant in Algeria in which at least 37 people were killed.
In the former jihadist stronghold of Timbuktu, meanwhile, the Malian military continued to receive tips from civilians about stores of ammunition left behind by the Islamic extremists.
On Monday, a unit led by Capt. Adama Diarra received a phone call alerting it to a stash of grenades hidden inside a carton for powdered milk. The box was found by children in a cemetery that the fighters had used as a part-time base, he said.
"The children saw the box and they were trying to open the sachets of milk when they saw something metallic poking out. Luckily they were smart enough to call their parents, who alerted us," he said. "We are continuing to find arms every day."


text:
Sponsored by Infinite Marketplace and Shopping Idol
|Welcome to Philadelphia Hotel Discount Reservations. We offer the greatest discounts on Philadelphia pennsylvania hotels, motels and resort properties. A wide selection of Philadelphia Hotels close to downtown, airport and other major attractions.
Anaheim, CA
Anapolis, MD
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Charlotte, NC
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Cincinatti, OH
Cleveland, OH
Colorado Springs, CO
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Grand Canyon, WY
Hartford, CT
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Knoxville, TN
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Maui, HI
Memphis, TN
Miami, FL
Minneapolis, MN
Myrtle Beach, SC
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Oakland, CA
Orlando, FL
Palm Beach, FL
Palm Springs, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR
Raleigh, NC
Reno, CA
Richmond, IN
Rochester, NY
Sacramento, CA
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Jose, CA
San Francisco, CA
Santa Fe, NM
Silicon Valley
St. Louis, MS
Tampa, FL
Tucson, AZ
Washington D.C.
Yellowstone, WY
Valley Inn San Jose
San Jose Airport Hotels
Hotels of San Jose