BC/BU OCI Forum

[EagleMe]

Do gov/PI employers participate, or is BC's OCI more of a BigLawl thing? Prosecution gunner here.

PI and gov't employers have a separate "OCI" for students looking to go that route (IIRC there is one later in the fall, and there's definitely a round of interviews in the winter). The fall OCI is more firm-centric.

[BlueLotus]

Anyone doing the BC Philly off-campus interviewing program?

[Anonymous User]

any suggested bidding strategy for top 5% and LR at BU? i know some people say to put the most popular firms with the bigger classes toward the top. what firms will i want to bid high? which firms typically tend to fill out first?

[Anonymous User]

any suggested bidding strategy for top 5% and LR at BU? i know some people say to put the most popular firms with the bigger classes toward the top. what firms will i want to bid high? which firms typically tend to fill out first?

I was top 10% with LR at BU. I found that bidding didn't really matter all that much. The very top firms and the firms that were a good fit with me were going to select me anyways, and the others were going to reject me based on yield protection. I would just rank stuff based on your personal interest. Just know that you have to make a stronger case for why you don't want to go to Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin if you interview with smaller firms.

[Anonymous User]

any suggested bidding strategy for top 5% and LR at BU? i know some people say to put the most popular firms with the bigger classes toward the top. what firms will i want to bid high? which firms typically tend to fill out first?

I was top 10% with LR at BU. I found that bidding didn't really matter all that much. The very top firms and the firms that were a good fit with me were going to select me anyways, and the others were going to reject me based on yield protection. I would just rank stuff based on your personal interest. Just know that you have to make a stronger case for why you don't want to go to Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin if you interview with smaller firms.

I am a different poster who is top 5% and LR at BU. Can you elaborate on the "yield protection" thing? Are the firms that do this generally the ones that list lower GPA cutoffs on Symplicity? I am genuinely interested in lots of the non-Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin firms and I'm wondering if there is a good way to demonstrate my interest to those firms.

[Anonymous User]

any suggested bidding strategy for top 5% and LR at BU? i know some people say to put the most popular firms with the bigger classes toward the top. what firms will i want to bid high? which firms typically tend to fill out first?

I was top 10% with LR at BU. I found that bidding didn't really matter all that much. The very top firms and the firms that were a good fit with me were going to select me anyways, and the others were going to reject me based on yield protection. I would just rank stuff based on your personal interest. Just know that you have to make a stronger case for why you don't want to go to Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin if you interview with smaller firms.

I am a different poster who is top 5% and LR at BU. Can you elaborate on the "yield protection" thing? Are the firms that do this generally the ones that list lower GPA cutoffs on Symplicity? I am genuinely interested in lots of the non-Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin firms and I'm wondering if there is a good way to demonstrate my interest to those firms.

There are some firms that are very prestigious and hard to get into that are not Ropes/Wilmer/Goodwin (e.g. Choate comes to mind). Even though I was top 10% with Law Review, I was not given a screener with firms like Bingham, K&L Gates, and a few others. Maybe it was my lack of Boston ties instead of yield protection... who knows. However, I did get an offer from Brown Rudnick, because I really sold them by expressing interest in their unique practice groups. The more authentic you can come across with firms, the better luck you'll have.

[Anonymous User]

BUMP! BU preselects should be coming out soon. BTW did everyone who bid on Foley and Lardner get the email about self reporting your race?

[Anonymous User]

The race/identity form doesn't mean anything. I got those from firms that never gave me an interview.

[Anonymous User]

Just to add to the thread for people trying to figure their chances in the future, here's how I made out from the bidding for BU OCI Session I:

BU 2L. I am between top third and top half of my section, strong Boston ties, strong undergrad, and lots of extracurriculars, related experience, and such. I'm interested in transactional (more specific, but I want to stay anonymous) work. I bid on pretty much all of the non-CT New England firms in my interest areas as well as some NYC and DC ones and one in DE. Seven preselects, ten alternates.

[Anonymous User]

Hey, BU 2L here...

The CDO email we got last night said that we could can change the time slot of an interview at any time during the pre-select sign-up period. So... how do we do that? I've signed up for a bunch of interviews, but my "scheduled interviews" tab is empty, and now, for each firm, I have no idea which time slot I signed up for.

[Anonymous User]

Hey, BU 2L here...

The CDO email we got last night said that we could can change the time slot of an interview at any time during the pre-select sign-up period. So... how do we do that? I've signed up for a bunch of interviews, but my "scheduled interviews" tab is empty, and now, for each firm, I have no idea which time slot I signed up for.

No idea how to reschedule. I just tried to see if I could reschedule one (just to let you know how), but I cannot figure it out, either. I think your best bet is to email the CDO asking and then (if you don't hear back) call when they open Monday. Obviously, that isn't ideal, since someone might take the time slot you want by then, but I don't see any other way. Sorry and good luck!

[Anonymous User]

BUMP! BU preselects should be coming out soon. BTW did everyone who bid on Foley and Lardner get the email about self reporting your race?

Got this as well. I think they send them to all of the applicants. I also assumed this with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel forms I had to fill out. I think these are just things they make all applicants do, but for some reason (maybe Symplicity only lets you require cover letter, resume, transcript), they didn't do it through Symplicity. (I may also just not want to hold out hope!)

[Anonymous User]

Hey, BU 2L here...

The CDO email we got last night said that we could can change the time slot of an interview at any time during the pre-select sign-up period. So... how do we do that? I've signed up for a bunch of interviews, but my "scheduled interviews" tab is empty, and now, for each firm, I have no idea which time slot I signed up for.

No idea how to reschedule. I just tried to see if I could reschedule one (just to let you know how), but I cannot figure it out, either. I think your best bet is to email the CDO asking and then (if you don't hear back) call when they open Monday. Obviously, that isn't ideal, since someone might take the time slot you want by then, but I don't see any other way. Sorry and good luck!

Thanks for the reply. Is your "scheduled interviews" tab also empty? I'd also like to be able to see the names of the interviewers for each firm, but it seems like you can't access that info after you have accepted and picked a time slot. If I knew that I wouldn't be able to access any of this stuff, I would've written it all down before scheduling interviews. This is pretty frustrating.

[Anonymous User]

Hey, BU 2L here...

The CDO email we got last night said that we could can change the time slot of an interview at any time during the pre-select sign-up period. So... how do we do that? I've signed up for a bunch of interviews, but my "scheduled interviews" tab is empty, and now, for each firm, I have no idea which time slot I signed up for.

No idea how to reschedule. I just tried to see if I could reschedule one (just to let you know how), but I cannot figure it out, either. I think your best bet is to email the CDO asking and then (if you don't hear back) call when they open Monday. Obviously, that isn't ideal, since someone might take the time slot you want by then, but I don't see any other way. Sorry and good luck!

Thanks for the reply. Is your "scheduled interviews" tab also empty? I'd also like to be able to see the names of the interviewers for each firm, but it seems like you can't access that info after you have accepted and picked a time slot. If I knew that I wouldn't be able to access any of this stuff, I would've written it all down before scheduling interviews. This is pretty frustrating.

Sure thing. Yes, the "scheduled interviews" tab is empty. I wrote down the time for each as I went, but I didn't realize it gave the interviewer information - that's a big mistake! I guess I was too focused on figuring out my time slots and giving myself time in between interviews. I imagine/hope that they will display all of that information once everyone has signed up on Monday. If not, they will be getting a lot of emails and phone calls!

[Anonymous User]

Do some people not get any lottery picks? I got a preselect from my 7th bid and I thought I was competitive for that firm. Could that have been my lottery?

[Anonymous User]

Do some people not get any lottery picks? I got a preselect from my 7th bid and I thought I was competitive for that firm. Could that have been my lottery?

I think the lottery only applies if you would otherwise only have a very small number of preselects-- so if you have a bunch, it's likely that none of them were lottery picks. I also suspect that, if you qualified for the lottery, it probably would have hooked you up with something higher than your seventh pick, but I really have no idea. I'd just try to go into every interview assuming that you were preselected.

[Anonymous User]

Do some people not get any lottery picks? I got a preselect from my 7th bid and I thought I was competitive for that firm. Could that have been my lottery?

I think the lottery only applies if you would otherwise only have a very small number of preselects-- so if you have a bunch, it's likely that none of them were lottery picks. I also suspect that, if you qualified for the lottery, it probably would have hooked you up with something higher than your seventh pick, but I really have no idea. I'd just try to go into every interview assuming that you were preselected.

I agree. I'm not sure how many firm selections is enough to no longer get lottery (I suppose it depends on many factors). I have heard that top 5 or 10 rankings is usually as far as the lottery picks go, so maybe if you have other interviews, you got a lower pick (or a lot of people had the same firms ranked highly)?

I'd lean towards guessing it is a firm selection rather than lottery, and I agree that you should always go into interviews assuming they were NOT lottery. That's what I'm doing with all of mine, even though for the top couple, it could go either way.

[I know I'm not really adding anything, but I thought concurrence might be good!]

[Anonymous User]

Do some people not get any lottery picks? I got a preselect from my 7th bid and I thought I was competitive for that firm. Could that have been my lottery?

I think the lottery only applies if you would otherwise only have a very small number of preselects-- so if you have a bunch, it's likely that none of them were lottery picks. I also suspect that, if you qualified for the lottery, it probably would have hooked you up with something higher than your seventh pick, but I really have no idea. I'd just try to go into every interview assuming that you were preselected.

I agree. I'm not sure how many firm selections is enough to no longer get lottery (I suppose it depends on many factors). I have heard that top 5 or 10 rankings is usually as far as the lottery picks go, so maybe if you have other interviews, you got a lower pick (or a lot of people had the same firms ranked highly)?

I'd lean towards guessing it is a firm selection rather than lottery, and I agree that you should always go into interviews assuming they were NOT lottery. That's what I'm doing with all of mine, even though for the top couple, it could go either way.

[I know I'm not really adding anything, but I thought concurrence might be good!]

Hey OP here, the input is greatly appreciated. I guess I might have barely not qualified for the lottery. I got 7 preselects and 9 alternates and I'm just outside the top 1/3.

[Anonymous User]

Do some people not get any lottery picks? I got a preselect from my 7th bid and I thought I was competitive for that firm. Could that have been my lottery?

I think the lottery only applies if you would otherwise only have a very small number of preselects-- so if you have a bunch, it's likely that none of them were lottery picks. I also suspect that, if you qualified for the lottery, it probably would have hooked you up with something higher than your seventh pick, but I really have no idea. I'd just try to go into every interview assuming that you were preselected.

I agree. I'm not sure how many firm selections is enough to no longer get lottery (I suppose it depends on many factors). I have heard that top 5 or 10 rankings is usually as far as the lottery picks go, so maybe if you have other interviews, you got a lower pick (or a lot of people had the same firms ranked highly)?

I'd lean towards guessing it is a firm selection rather than lottery, and I agree that you should always go into interviews assuming they were NOT lottery. That's what I'm doing with all of mine, even though for the top couple, it could go either way.

[I know I'm not really adding anything, but I thought concurrence might be good!]

Hey OP here, the input is greatly appreciated. I guess I might have barely not qualified for the lottery. I got 7 preselects and 9 alternates and I'm just outside the top 1/3.

Same Anon as at 4:42pm.

You sound just like me! BU, just outside of top 1/3, 7 preselects, 10 alternates. I'm debating whether or not 1-2 of the preselects are lottery (as I ranked them near the top), but I was told I had a shot with those firms, so who knows? I received more than I expected, but experience or something might have played into that.

Congratulations!

[Anonymous User]

have any alternates been notified about additional interviews yet?

[Anonymous User]

have any alternates been notified about additional interviews yet?

Assuming you're asking about BU, I haven't heard yet about any alternates.

[Anonymous User]

have any alternates been notified about additional interviews yet?

Assuming you're asking about BU, I haven't heard yet about any alternates.

+1 no word yet.

[Anonymous User]

have any alternates been notified about additional interviews yet?

Assuming you're asking about BU, I haven't heard yet about any alternates.

+1 no word yet.

I just received an email that one of my alternate spots for the NYC off campus program is now a preselect. So at least there are alternate notifications going out for that one!

Still no word about the BU OCI alternates for me.

[Anonymous User]

have any alternates been notified about additional interviews yet?

Assuming you're asking about BU, I haven't heard yet about any alternates.

+1 no word yet.

I just received an email that one of my alternate spots for the NYC off campus program is now a preselect. So at least there are alternate notifications going out for that one!

Still no word about the BU OCI alternates for me.

Just received an email for an alternate spot for BU OCI. I get the impression they are just starting to send them out now.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone from BU received an alternate spot for a large Boston firm? I had quite a few alternates and have luckily received one non-Boston firm spot from them so far. Hoping they are moving slowly