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Loyola Chicago Vs William Mitchell

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:59 pm
by bvenkat8325
I'm having a tough time deciding between Loyola Chicago and William Mitchell (MN). I'm interested in IP law currently, but I'm not fixed upon that at this time. I was admitted to Loyola Chicago for the part-time division (I plan on transferring into the full time program after my first year) but with no merit scholarship. I'm waiting on the award letter hoping that I received some sort of grant based on my FAFSA. I was admitted to William Mitchell with a full tuition scholarship for all 3 years with a 2.6 GPA requirement. I'm originally from California so I'm not too sure about what the reputation out here is for William Mitchell. I know that Loyola is a very reputable school and may give me a better shot at Landing a Job After School. But the debt for picking Loyola over WM is quite scary. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone has any advice or opinions. Thanks for your time.

Re: Loyola Chicago Vs William Mitchell

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:29 am
by RTFM
Where do you want to work and what do you want to do?

If you want to be in Chicago, Loyola is the clear choice. Loyola's job placement isn't as good as UIUC's or any T14s, but their job placement isn't terrible and it's a respectable school. I've worked in several Chicago law firms and met attorneys who went to Loyola--I've never heard of William Mitchell.

If you want to work anywhere else, then I have no clue. Loyola Chicago doesn't have much national reach, and I know nothing about William Mitchell.

Re: Loyola Chicago Vs William Mitchell

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:47 pm
by ThomasMN
William Mitchell is a Minnesota school, and is fairly strong in that region. However, Minnesota is a little full on law schools at the moment ( U MN, UST, Hamline, and WM ). I know quite a few people who attend, if you would like to just email someone I could pass on some contact information to you. Just PM me if you are interested.

Re: Loyola Chicago Vs William Mitchell

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:50 pm
by bvenkat8325
Thank you for your quick replies. Currently I do not know where I want to practice. If I went to either of these schools I would have to start out practicing in the Mid-West and hopefully branch out from there. I'm just unsure about which would be the better pick for me from a financial standpoint. Loyola's price tag is quite a bit more than WM, but after seeing WM drop 30 spots in the latest rankings I'm not sure if it is a smart decision to attend that law school.

Re: Loyola Chicago Vs William Mitchell

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:28 pm
by Guest21
I'm currently a 1L at WM and can say that I've had a good experience so far. I am also interested in IP, which is why I picked WM. If you want to do IP in the Midwest, WM would be a good choice. There are few schools that offer the IP curriculum and caliber of faculty matching that of WM. I also believe WM has won several IP related student competitions.

WM does have a great reputation in the Twin Cities. The region does have too many (4) law schools, but if you look around different law firms' websites, you'll find that WM grads are very well represented.

I would think a lot about where you would like to work after graduation. Both Chicago and Twin Cities have a lot of law schools, so the market will be tough regardless whether you attend Loyola or WM, but you will have a better shot if you stay in the city where you went to school.

I think full tuition scholarship offer from WM is pretty hard to pass up...especially compared to nothing at Loyola.

I wouldn't put too much stock in WM's ranking drop. Not that rankings are not important, but WM was never a top 100 school prior to last year when they made 98. My personal opinion is that most schools after #80 are relatively close together in reality anyways. WM has never emphasized US news ranking, even when they made the top 100. When I visited the school prior to enrolling, none of the administrators tried to sell me on the fact that WM is a up and coming school and that they made the top 100. WM knows its place as a reputable, established, and generally unranked regional school, and they are definitely behind the U of Minn overall. The 30 spot drop this year makes it look worse than it is. I would look at it like this: the school didn't get worse from last year, it's just that the school did especially well the year before. And again, if you're interested in IP specifically, I think you'll find that many would agree that WM has the best program in the Twin Cities, if not the Midwest.

My vote would be for WM, based on your interest in IP, scholarship offer, and desire to be in the Midwest. Let me know if you have any further questions and I would be glad to answer them.