UC Irvine Law Ranking Forum

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[sayan]

As a Cali applicant, I got nothing but love for UCI. They're doing it right.

Also, there really isn't "hate" for UCI on TLS. I think the OP is referring to Dante and maybe 2 others who shamelessly criticize UCI due to competition. Whatever, UCI doesn't owe them anything. I hope all UCI grads succeed and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Really? Dante seems like a good guy. He doesn't strike me as the type to belittle a legitimately decent school.

[Ken]

I am pretty optimistic that UCI will succeed and be ranked in the 20's. They certainly took rankings into account when they strategically offered their first year grads full scholarships so it began the cycle of taking top applicants. Overall they have a very enthusiastic Dean, Dean of Admissions and faculty and I think they will do well. It is hard to see them breaking into the top 20 as UCLA will likely siphon of the top applicants, but it will be the 3rd best UC by far in my opinion.

[mhernton]

How about a reality check?? The same 14 schools have been ranked at the top for at least 2 decades. The rankings for 15-30 haven't moved all that much either. Why is UCI going to be a barnstormer?? I have a MBA from from the UC Regents newest Business School at UCSD. They used the same marketing campaign for UCSD Business known as Rady, as they did for UCI Law. Here is Rady's profile. http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... diego.html
The school plans to position itself as an alternative to Stanford and MIT. Even with the profile, a new building, A dean with the same type of background as Dean Chem( only for business, they were contemporaries at Duke) the school still isn't ranked. No one outside of San Diego really cares about it, and most people inside San Diego, will take an Anderson (UCLA) or Marshall (USC) grad in a heartbeat over a Rady grad. This has nothing to do with the academic program at the school. I took a class on Modern Portfolio theory from Harry Markowitz himself. He's a nobel laureate. It would be like Thurgood Marshall teaching an Evidence class or something. The bottom line is that UCI has no reputation and therefore no ranking. Realistically, if you're looking for a job at Watchtell or bingham or another V50 firm, you would be shooting yourself in the foot by taking a UCI admission over any T1 school. When UCI gets its accreditation it won't be higher than T3. Michigan State has program that is a little further along, but its a relatively new as well. Its not ranked. So why would UCI be different from any of the other new law schools?? I know this little stream of consciousness won't change the OPs mind, but when reality comes crashing down, someone who has been there and done that can say, well you were warned...

[SwollenMonkey]

Top. 20.
I am sick of hearing trash talk on UCI law becuase I have no idea where its coming from. Their median GPA is 3.65, and their median LSAT is 167, and NO it did not drop when the second class wasn't offered a full ride AND the class size increased.Wanna compare that to some other law schools?

USC GPA 3.60, LSAT 167
Cornell GPA 3.67, LSAT 167
Boston University GPA 3.77, LSAT 166
Notre Dame GPA 3.6 LSAT 166

Numbers don't lie. UCI's a top 20, no doubt. ABA can't *promise* accreditation, but realistically, UCI has pretty much already been guaranteed.
I think the people that are criticizing UCI and comparing it to 2nd tier schools probably only got into 2nd tier schools and are just bitter. UCI's faculty comes from THE BEST schools in the country- schools you probably didnt even get into- so i suggest you stop whining and just get the best education you can at whatever school you DID get into.

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[Danteshek]

As a Cali applicant, I got nothing but love for UCI. They're doing it right.

Also, there really isn't "hate" for UCI on TLS. I think the OP is referring to Dante and maybe 2 others who shamelessly criticize UCI due to competition. Whatever, UCI doesn't owe them anything. I hope all UCI grads succeed and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Really? Dante seems like a good guy. He doesn't strike me as the type to belittle a legitimately decent school.

Thank you.

This may surprise you, but there are a lot of "legitimately decent schools" that are not top-ranked. However, graduates of top schools often don't recognize this fact (this shows up in hiring practices). This is why we (lower tier students) can be a little territorial. Of course, it would be better if all lawyers and law students just respected each other. Perhaps you can help change this situation after you graduate from Harvard.

[SandyC877]

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[sayan]

As a Cali applicant, I got nothing but love for UCI. They're doing it right.

Also, there really isn't "hate" for UCI on TLS. I think the OP is referring to Dante and maybe 2 others who shamelessly criticize UCI due to competition. Whatever, UCI doesn't owe them anything. I hope all UCI grads succeed and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Really? Dante seems like a good guy. He doesn't strike me as the type to belittle a legitimately decent school.

Thank you.

This may surprise you, but there are a lot of "legitimately decent schools" that are not top-ranked. However, graduates of top schools often don't recognize this fact (this shows up in hiring practices). This is why we (lower tier students) can be a little territorial. Of course, it would be better if all lawyers and law students just respected each other. Perhaps you can help change this situation after you graduate from Harvard.

[img]http://www.digitaljournal.com/img/5/4/5 ... arcasm.jpg[/ig]

I wasn't being sarcastic.

[flcath]

Top. 20.
I am sick of hearing trash talk on UCI law becuase I have no idea where its coming from. Their median GPA is 3.65, and their median LSAT is 167, and NO it did not drop when the second class wasn't offered a full ride AND the class size increased.Wanna compare that to some other law schools?

USC GPA 3.60, LSAT 167
Cornell GPA 3.67, LSAT 167
Boston University GPA 3.77, LSAT 166
Notre Dame GPA 3.6 LSAT 166

Numbers don't lie. UCI's a top 20, no doubt. ABA can't *promise* accreditation, but realistically, UCI has pretty much already been guaranteed.
I think the people that are criticizing UCI and comparing it to 2nd tier schools probably only got into 2nd tier schools and are just bitter. UCI's faculty comes from THE BEST schools in the country- schools you probably didnt even get into- so i suggest you stop whining and just get the best education you can at whatever school you DID get into.

K dude. They're still giving out half scholarships (at a *minimum*) to the entire class; most will get far more than that.

Have fun networking with your formidable alumni base of <500 26-year olds in SoCal.

Top 20. Jesus Christ, what is this trash?

Edit: To be fair, I'm sure Dean Chem's presentation was awesome, the promotional material was extra glossy, et cetera.

[1ferret!]

The audacity of hype

[Grizz]

The future ranking of UCI is probably one of my least favorite topics on TLS, as people wildly speculate to no end.

[flcath]

Btw, UCI not being ranked is the best thing possible for the school, and I'd be willing to bet that the administration is doing whatever they can to extend this honeymoon period. As it stands now, they can make grandiose claims with impunity (go big or go home: start spreading around HYI as an alternative to HYS). Once it debuts in the the mid-40s or lower, they won't be able to pull this laughable horseshit anymore.

And if you chose UCI over UCLA, then you are... actually, you're fictional.

[Danteshek]

To reiterate a point I made in another thread: the problem that people have with UCI is not the fact that UCI is striving for excellence. We accept that everyone should try to be the best they can be. The problem (from a PR perspective) is the focus on rank, which is code for saying "we are better than you". That message is arrogant, and does not show enough deference to the existing community of law schools and lawyers.

Another point that has been neglected is that it would be very easy to shut down UCI law. You could just have the students transfer to one of the other UC law schools. The professors wouldn't even have to change employers.

[1ferret!]

Whats with the easy to shut down UCI idea? Maybe, but so what? Gonna make a "do whats best for the California budget" argument?

[Danteshek]

Whats with the easy to shut down UCI idea? Maybe, but so what? Gonna make a "do whats best for the California budget" argument?

Nope. But failure is pretty common for start-ups.

[1ferret!]

C'mon man, Irvine is too big to fail....

[Matthies]

Whats with the easy to shut down UCI idea? Maybe, but so what? Gonna make a "do whats best for the California budget" argument?

Nope. But failure is pretty common for start-ups.

While I usually agree with Dante, has there ever been a law school start up failure? I mean even the for prohit ones without a school attched are doing well. LS are cash cows, all you need is a building, some books, and a few desperate t14 grades to teach and bam you got a LS.

[d34d9823]

To reiterate a point I made in another thread: the problem that people have with UCI is not the fact that UCI is striving for excellence. We accept that everyone should try to be the best they can be. The problem (from a PR perspective) is the focus on rank, which is code for saying "we are better than you". That message is arrogant, and does not show enough deference to the existing community of law schools and lawyers.

What the hell? I don't think UCI is necessarily a good choice, but what's this deference nonsense? People don't owe you respect just because you exist, you have to earn it. Which in the law school world, like it or not, is done largely through the rankings. I don't see any problem with casting a vision of being respected. Whether they can do it or not is another question.

[d34d9823]

Numbers don't lie. UCI's a top 20, no doubt. ABA can't *promise* accreditation, but realistically, UCI has pretty much already been guaranteed.

OP, no one doubts that UCIs numbers or faculty are top 20. What people question is the ability to place into BigLaw given the lack of an alumni network. There's a lot more that goes into a school ranking than just incoming class statistics. Furthermore, US News is not a reliable predictor of perceptions in BigLaw, which take much longer to change than academic reputation.

[ViP]

Btw, UCI not being ranked is the best thing possible for the school, and I'd be willing to bet that the administration is doing whatever they can to extend this honeymoon period. As it stands now, they can make grandiose claims with impunity (go big or go home: start spreading around HYI as an alternative to HYS). Once it debuts in the the mid-40s or lower, they won't be able to pull this laughable horseshit anymore.

And if you chose UCI over UCLA, then you are... actually, you're fictional.

The only thing "laughable" here is how phenomenally offended you seem to be by the hype around UCI.

[holydonkey]

It's silly to make assumptions. Until UCI is officially ranked, it remains in the 5th tier.

[d34d9823]

It's silly to make assumptions. Until UCI is officially ranked, it remains in the 5th tier.

I see a future in investment banking for you.

[doyleoil]

Sometimes I think to myself, "Man I wonder how much Ken gets paid to trash schools like Michigan and paint rosy pictures of new and unnecessary law schools."

Then I think to myself, "New life plan":

1: Start website that leads little law school lambs to the slaughter
2: ???
3: Profit

Then I think to myself, "No, I'll do it tomorrow."

[holydonkey]

It's silly to make assumptions. Until UCI is officially ranked, it remains in the 5th tier.

I see a future in investment banking for you.

Don't feed me false hope!