University of Minnesota Law School Forum

[superflush]

Minnesota's ASW are March 6-7 and April 17-18 (Friday and Saturday). They have the ASW connected to alumni weekend (April) and to a T.O.R.T. performance (March) to show a little more of campus life.

Good to know, I posted the second date on the *Official 2009 ASW Thread* ... hope you don't mind.

[MidwestJosh]

Anyone else have this high on their list?

Chances are good I'll end up here. I love it.

[steindle]

Anyone else have this high on their list?

Chances are good I'll end up here. I love it.

This is battling it out with WUSTL in my mind right now, but I'll give an edge to UMN so far. Why do you like it so much, Josh?

[MidwestJosh]

Anyone else have this high on their list?

Chances are good I'll end up here. I love it.

This is battling it out with WUSTL in my mind right now, but I'll give an edge to UMN so far. Why do you like it so much, Josh?

Ah. Yes I applied to WUSTL too. It will be especially interesting if WUSTL offers more money. We'll see what happens when all the cards are on the table, but right now Minnesota is my first choice. But I really think BU and Wisconsin are the big potential challengers... assuming I get accepted to them.

At any rate: Minneapolis > St. Louis in my mind. Cleaner, bigger metro area. Larger legal market access. (Mpls, Chicago) School is traditionally rated higher than WUSTL anyways. The clinics rock and they have a great mix of theory/practical in their curriculum. The library is AWESOME..4 floors, a bunch of labs, tons of private study space, and the 7th largest law library collection in the country.

I could keep going. Its awesome. The buildings not great gothic architecture or anything, but its certainly not a dump. Plus the University of Minnesota campus is GORGEOUS in the spring/fall. Its on the Mississippi river and has the whole gothic architecture, grassy mall, etc. going for it.

[ehshornet]

Thanks MidwestJosh for this info! All your posts on Minnesota keep getting me excited about the school! Four weeks can not come soon enough!

I think I remember you said you met with the dean of admissions there? Did you have a chance to talk to her or the students about a sense of community fostered at the law school? Do you know if the students are really competitive?

[MidwestJosh]

Thanks MidwestJosh for this info! All your posts on Minnesota keep getting me excited about the school! Four weeks can not come soon enough!

I think I remember you said you met with the dean of admissions there? Did you have a chance to talk to her or the students about a sense of community fostered at the law school? Do you know if the students are really competitive?

I just talked to two students that I personally know about that tonight. They have no reason to lie to me as I've known them a long time.... They both said they were quite surprised how good students were about competition. I was, frankly, shocked by this. They were surprised because they said there didn't seem to be anything that the school did to foster a non-competitive environment. And I agree on this from what I can tell. For example.. the school has a bulletin board with all of the grades/curves posted for each class. When I saw this I rolled my eyes, but I guess it doesn't really cause many problems.... so that's a good sign.

Honestly... I initially thought UMN was my number one, but then wasn't too sure. But I really am starting to fall in love even more with it, I'll probably go regardless of where else I get in, and I have a feeling I'll get in at 2-3 higher ranked schools yet.

If you have any questions... I know a TON about this school. Feel free to pm me and I can give you my cell/email. Are you coming to an ASW? I'm thinking I'll do the 4/17 one.

[superflush]

Anybody know about their tours.
http://www.law.umn.edu/prospective/visit.html
On the website, they only have 1 date per month for a tour, which seems a bit odd.
If this is really the case, I'll have to carefully plan when I come through there.
If anybody knows something I don't, let me know.

[MidwestJosh]

Anybody know about their tours.
http://www.law.umn.edu/prospective/visit.html
On the website, they only have 1 date per month for a tour, which seems a bit odd.
If this is really the case, I'll have to carefully plan when I come through there.
If anybody knows something I don't, let me know.

They do smaller tours each Friday at 11.

Call the admissions office to schedule. I recommend doing one sooner rather than later - the smaller, more intimate group made it easier to get a vibe.

[Amira]

I'm currently a 1L at Minnesota, and I'd be happy to answer questions if you guys have any. I'm a little busy right now, but I'll try to check back every couple of days.

[mbw]

Just giving this a bump, as I decided yesterday to become a Gopher.

[ehshornet]

Just giving this a bump, as I decided yesterday to become a Gopher.

Congrats!! I will be see you there next fall! I was originally set on going there. Then this past week, my dad kept badgering me with all my other school options and finances. Then after several hours on the phone with him yesterday, I arrived back at the U of M as my decision. I really need to send in my deposit so I will no longer second guess myself.

Are you visiting in two weeks? If so, I look forward to meeting you there!

[mbw]

I did the same thing, with other schools (including a couple of T14s) and finances. I'm just not willing, with my career goals and at my age, to rack up so much debt. And for QoL, especially for someone like me with a family, you just can't beat Minneapolis.

I won't be there the first week of March, as my spouse has a professional conference abroad to attend. But I'll be going up the following week for 5-7 days to look for housing and check out the school. I'm actually very happy with the decision.

I'll be sending in my seat deposit next week.

[lawgunner75]

Midwest Josh, I would love to get your feedback as far as chances of admittance at U of M. I know the numbers and know that it's very competitive, but am wondering how much value they place on work experience and diversity outside the state of MN? I have worked on Wall Street for almost 10 years and am a CPA. I haven't gotten my LSAT score yet but am guessing it will be about 160-163. Thoughts on anything I can do to increase my odds of admission? Thanks!

[superflush]

I haven't gotten my LSAT score yet but am guessing it will be about 160-163. Thoughts on anything I can do to increase my odds of admission? Thanks!

Do you have a GPA?

[lawgunner75]

3.4 in accounting from a big state university...

[superflush]

3.4 in accounting from a big state university...

Okay, still can't really tell without an actual LSAT score.
But, the GPA is important too.

[lawgunner75]

I guess what I am really trying to figure out (aside from the numbers) is how much value UM places on candidates who are 1 ) from out of state, so do not fit into the standard Midwestern mold, and 2 ) can say that UM is their 1st choice above all other schools (I have family in the area so am moving to MN no matter what, and obviously want to go to the best school I can get into.) Thoughts? Doesn't UM place a lot of weight on the "Why UM?" section of the personal statement?

[superflush]

Doesn't UM place a lot of weight on the "Why UM?" section of the personal statement?

Are you sure you have this right??? I can't imagine that being part of your PS. Maybe a part of the app.

[lawgunner75]

Yes, as far as I understand it, applicants are specifically asked to address the question, "Why do you want to attend the University of Minnesota Law School" in their personal statement. I get the impression that they get a lot of applicants because they are a Top 20 school but that many people don't actually end up going as they would rather live somewhere else. So if you can articulate why you are 100% sure you want to go to U of M, they know you are not just applying because they are a top 20 school.

[superflush]

Yes, as far as I understand it, applicants are specifically asked to address the question, "Why do you want to attend the University of Minnesota Law School" in their personal statement. I get the impression that they get a lot of applicants because they are a Top 20 school but that many people don't actually end up going as they would rather live somewhere else. So if you can articulate why you are 100% sure you want to go to U of M, they know you are not just applying because they are a top 20 school.

That is pretty ridiculous. You shouldn't need to personalize your PS for each school.

[m_ninja]

Yes, as far as I understand it, applicants are specifically asked to address the question, "Why do you want to attend the University of Minnesota Law School" in their personal statement. I get the impression that they get a lot of applicants because they are a Top 20 school but that many people don't actually end up going as they would rather live somewhere else. So if you can articulate why you are 100% sure you want to go to U of M, they know you are not just applying because they are a top 20 school.

That is pretty ridiculous. You shouldn't need to personalize your PS for each school.

Whoa, my understanding is that you should personalize your PS, at least a couple sentences of it, for each school you apply to.

[superflush]

Whoa, my understanding is that you should personalize your PS, at least a couple sentences of it, for each school you apply to.

Well, if you want to address something specific about a given school, then, yes.
But, just adding two sentences and including the law school's name isn't gonna help.

[Unadilla Kayaker]

Whoa, my understanding is that you should personalize your PS, at least a couple sentences of it, for each school you apply to.

Well, if you want to address something specific about a given school, then, yes.
But, just adding two sentences and including the law school's name isn't gonna help.

+1

Though Minnesota (and a few others) requested certain things (including word counts). I personally drafted one decent PS and then tailored it to the different schools' requirements. For Minnesota, the last paragraph got cut a great deal so I could show my enthusiasm for the school and that I had done my homework (since they specifically asked for it). At other schools I never even mentioned the school's name. Got into two of those so far.

[xanderdellus]

Does anybody know anything about T.O.R.T.? I am in professional theatre and just got accepted to MN and I was wondering how I could help out as a 1L.

Also, I read a mention of assistantships for 2L and 3L on admissiondean.com, but can't find mention anywhere else (inc. the MN law site). Anyone know anything?

[faceman9000]

I know nothing more about it than the fact that I love the acronym T.O.R.T = Theater of the Relatively Talentless.