Wow, I picked the right school

Orientation was Monday and Tuesday this week. I can't describe how, especially Monday, it left me with the certainty that this is the best school for me. Now, I'm not expecting law school to be fun, or easy, but I did have several hopes as I went through the application process: to be at a school that was not crazy competitive, where people cared about making a difference not just making hundreds of thousands of dollars upon graduation, etc. I've heard a lot of things that emphasize that so far this week.

Also, the unique thing about NUSL is the co-op program. For undergrads, this means 5 years at Northeastern - eight semesters in class, and two semesters working. For law school, this is how it's different:

Typical school:.............................NUSL:
1L - 2 semesters of class............1L - 2 semesters of class
Summer associate job.................2L - starting June, a quarter of work or school
2L - 2 semesters of class............three more quarters - alternating work/school
Summer associate job.................start 3L year in June - 4 more varying quarters
3L - 2 semesters of classes

Total:
6 semesters in class...................2 semesters + 4 quarters
(about 14 weeks each)..............(14 weeks and 11 weeks, respectively)
2 summer jobs............................4 co-op jobs
(about 11 weeks each)...............(11 weeks each)

So, in case you missed the part in bold, I'll have four jobs when I'm starting a job in May 2013, as opposed to my peers at every other law school that will have two.

There's a ton more to the co-op program - choosing fall-spring or winter-summer to work, job placements in the US or abroad, and all the possible positions. For now I'm definitely considering a co-op in DC and/or going abroad. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about this down the line.