UConn or Kent? Forum

[come2gether]

Please let me know what you think of the pros and cons between these two schools.

[Transferthrowaway]

I know nothing about UConn, but Chicago-Kent's primary (only?) legal market is still depressed and there are very few summer associate positions available. These limited positions primarily go to UChicago, NU, Michigan, etc. students.

[landla]

It depends on a great number of factors. To list a few:
1. Where do you want to practice?
2. What do you want to practice?
3. Are you paying full price at each?
4. Do you have connections in either market?
5. Have you visited either/both and how do you feel about them?
6. Are you looking at other schools?

I know much more about UConn than Kent, but here is my brief analysis (given that I know nothing about you or your situation).

- Both are low tiered schools serving oversaturated markets. Kent serves Chicago, as described by transferthrowaway; UConn serves New York and Boston, both of which have many high quality law schools in the cities themselves. However, UConn also serves the Hartford/Connecticut market, which is decent enough - and terrific if you want insurance law. (It also serves Providence/other NE markets, but those are very small and require connections typically.)
- You must be pretty highly ranked in the class AND have excellent networking to make it in those oversaturated markets, particularly out of UConn considering the school is about 2 to 2.5 hours out of either city.
- UConn is a beautiful school with really good programs, small class sizes, great (low) prof:student ratios, etc. The downside is that it is in Conencticut, which is outside of the major markets and makes networking more difficult/is a lower esteem than many schools in those markets.

I could discuss more pros/cons of UConn, but they really depend on your interests and future plans. They do have some good programs, though. (Also, the campus is gorgeous. That shouldn't be a huge factor in the decision, but it is a nice bonus.)

Hope that helps!

Edit: I'm not voting only because I'm not sure of your situation. Just fyi.

[downing]

I go to UConn.
My opinion of the following:
Surroundings -
The campus is small but beautiful, and the library is stellar. If you don't already live somewhere in CT (a lot of students do), then you would probably end up living near the school. I live within walking distance, and so do many of my friends. What that means is that you'll be living in Hartford - the west end. One gets used to it, and I don't think it's as dangerous as some people make it out to be, but it's definitely not a nice or pretty area. If you've moved around a lot in the past it's not a difficult adjustment..

Job market -
The job market is poor across the board, but UConn is the flagship CT law school, and is the safest bet if you see yourself working in CT eventually. This has already been said a million times before, but the graduates from Yale tend to leave CT and work elsewhere. When I went to career services they weren't gung-ho about OCI prospects, but they weren't dreary. I know many of the large firms won't interview anyone less than the top 20%.

Don't know anything about Kent.

[soitgoes9]

Don't go to Kent UConn is an ok option for CT.