UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[skers]

I think well over half of the PI folks are there by design. I know of a few who were unsuccessful with firms but given that I literally can think of less than 5 and information spreads really fast here, I would expect the total who tried and struck out isn't very far into the double digits. Several people opted out of OCI altogether. (I can think of 5ish off the top of my head, so again maybe double it to account for people I haven't heard of). There are certainly some who end up in PI not by choice though, but I would consider it a very small amount for a variety of reasons (PI orgs are competitive, they don't want to hire people who are poor interviewers/not committed to the cause any more than a firm does).

Yeah, a big +1 to everything 2014 says here. I'd just add that I think the biggest limiting factor for big law jobs here would just be poor bidding and an aversion to NY.

[20141023]

.

[WheninLaw]

If any of you are Class-of-2015-ers, do you know when first-quarter grades were due / released last year? This year they're due by January 16th, but we're wondering how much longer after that until they're actually posted.

January 16th is the deadline for professors to submit the grades. The registrar will then post them, likely the next day. Last year we received our grades on the 14th, and the deadline to submit was the 13th, I believe.

I know you did not include this, but strongly resist the temptation to discuss them with your classmates. If you have a best law school friend to share with, cool. Otherwise, forget they exist around others.

[Xifeng]

Two years ago DG told us (after I assume she received approximately 1000 anxious emails) that grades are never posted until all 1Ls are done with class for the day. For c/o 2014, ours were released on a Friday as well and DG sent us an email about it.

And the "due date" just means professors are supposed to be done with grades, but do not expect them that day.

And I'll second the recommendation to not discuss your grades with your classmates.

[20141023]

.

[Canof09]

Hi there,

I'll be joining you wonderful people in the fall. I have a question about 1L SA positions. I know they're pretty rare, but does attending a school like UChicago give you a fighting change at landing one? What kind of things do they even look for when making hiring decisions since (I'm assuming) most applicants either have no grades or only one quarters worth of grades at the time they apply?

I have been out of UG working full-time for a year and am from TX. I hear this this helps?

Thanks!

[20141023]

.

[Crowing]

January 16th is the deadline for professors to submit the grades. The registrar will then post them, likely the next day. Last year we received our grades on the 14th, and the deadline to submit was the 13th, I believe.

I know you did not include this, but strongly resist the temptation to discuss them with your classmates. If you have a best law school friend to share with, cool. Otherwise, forget they exist around others.

Thank you for the clarification!

I don't plan on personally sharing my grades with anyone; I'll probably just post them on my LinkedIn profile instead.
Seriously though, some of the other 1Ls have things on their LinkedIn profiles like undergrad GPA (which is somewhat normal, I suppose), LSAT score, ACT score, etc., so it wouldn't surprise me if some of my classmates take the "subtle douchebag" route by posting law school grades on a social media website.

Are you fucking serious

[WheninLaw]

Hi there,

I'll be joining you wonderful people in the fall. I have a question about 1L SA positions. I know they're pretty rare, but does attending a school like UChicago give you a fighting change at landing one? What kind of things do they even look for when making hiring decisions since (I'm assuming) most applicants either have no grades or only one quarters worth of grades at the time they apply?

I have been out of UG working full-time for a year and am from TX. I hear this this helps?

Thanks!

Yes, going to UoC gives you a better chance at landing a 1L SA than other schools. However, that chance is still extremely rare. You are right to assume that most people get them without a single grade. To get an SA, you want to be one or more of the following:

1. Qualify for a 1L diversity position (think URM-status)
2. From Texas
3. IP

#1 is a much larger boost than 2/3. If you are from TX (hopefully you went to school there, also) then you have a fighting chance. Be prepared to network.

[20141023]

.

[PopTorts13]

Are you fucking serious

Yup. (I am really tempted to delete my LinkedIn and FB accounts just because I hate getting invites to become friends / connect with people from our class that I have never once talked to IRL.)

Also, our Property teacher asked us to write an interesting fact about ourselves that we wouldn't mind sharing with the class and send it to her before this quarter started. Of course, you have the students whose "interesting facts" are humblebrags like "I know how to speak X languages" or "I've been to X countries" and stuff like that (I can't remember the others, but they've mostly been humblebrags thus far).

We have no classes together and I can assure you that there are at least a dozen people in my classes that I wouldn't be shocked to hear that they post g.p.a., lsat, so on and so forth. You know, what is the point?

[elterrible78]

Hi there,

I'll be joining you wonderful people in the fall. I have a question about 1L SA positions. I know they're pretty rare, but does attending a school like UChicago give you a fighting change at landing one? What kind of things do they even look for when making hiring decisions since (I'm assuming) most applicants either have no grades or only one quarters worth of grades at the time they apply?

I have been out of UG working full-time for a year and am from TX. I hear this this helps?

Thanks!

Congrats on getting in!

They are pretty rare, but almost 25% of the class got them last year, so they're not impossible. As people have pointed out, Texas, IP, and/or diversity gives you the best shot, but not the only shot. There were people with none of those who had a 1L SA last year, and I have none of them and snagged one this year (w/o grades). I think the Chicago name does carry a lot of cachet, and that can be huge in secondary markets for 1L year, assuming you have ties.

[Canof09]

Hi there,

I'll be joining you wonderful people in the fall. I have a question about 1L SA positions. I know they're pretty rare, but does attending a school like UChicago give you a fighting change at landing one? What kind of things do they even look for when making hiring decisions since (I'm assuming) most applicants either have no grades or only one quarters worth of grades at the time they apply?

I have been out of UG working full-time for a year and am from TX. I hear this this helps?

Thanks!

Congrats on getting in!

They are pretty rare, but almost 25% of the class got them last year, so they're not impossible. As people have pointed out, Texas, IP, and/or diversity gives you the best shot, but not the only shot. There were people with none of those who had a 1L SA last year, and I have none of them and snagged one this year (w/o grades). I think the Chicago name does carry a lot of cachet, and that can be huge in secondary markets for 1L year, assuming you have ties.

Thanks! This is encouraging. My wife and I have both lived in the Houston area all of our lives, so hopefully that will help!

I appreciate the advice!

[AspiringAcademic]

Thank you for the clarification!

I don't plan on personally sharing my grades with anyone; I'll probably just post them on my LinkedIn profile instead.
Seriously though, some of the other 1Ls have things on their LinkedIn profiles like undergrad GPA (which is somewhat normal, I suppose), LSAT score, ACT score, etc., so it wouldn't surprise me if some of my classmates take the "subtle douchebag" route by posting law school grades on a social media website.

Are you fucking serious

Depending on what you're doing/how old you are, it's not that uncommon. I wouldn't list them now, but I did when I was still in undergrad. At the time, it was encouraged and even got me a summer job once. But the only time I can recall seeing an LSAT on LinkedIn recently was for someone who also did tutoring on the side.

I've been out of undergrad for almost 10 years, so mine have long since dropped off. I imagine they are among the first things that OCS will tell people to cut.

[Canof09]

Hi guys,

I have another question about employment prospects. (sorry, humor me please I just recently got accepted)

I am from Texas, and I would like to return to Texas to work in biglaw after I graduate. I have been researching Chicago's employment statistics and found that 7% of the class went to work in Texas last year.

There is a lot of self-selection here, right? I am guessing that the reason Texas only took 7% of the class last year was probably heavily influenced by the fact that most people would probably choose to work in NYC/LA/DC/CHI/ect. over going to Texas and that most people who are interested in working in Texas likely have very good odds of doing so. Can anyone either confirm this or set me straight?

Thanks! I'm very glad I found this thread.

[20141023]

.

[elterrible78]

Hi guys,

I have another question about employment prospects. (sorry, humor me please I just recently got accepted)

I am from Texas, and I would like to return to Texas to work in biglaw after I graduate. I have been researching Chicago's employment statistics and found that 7% of the class went to work in Texas last year.

There is a lot of self-selection here, right? I am guessing that the reason Texas only took 7% of the class last year was probably heavily influenced by the fact that most people would probably choose to work in NYC/LA/DC/CHI/ect. over going to Texas and that most people who are interested in working in Texas likely have very good odds of doing so. Can anyone either confirm this or set me straight?

Thanks! I'm very glad I found this thread.

While I can't back it up with specific numbers, it seems at least from anecdotal evidence that you're spot-on. I think if you narrowed it a little bit to frame it as "how many Texans who want to go back struck out", I'd imagine the number would be reasonably low.

[WheninLaw]

Hi guys,

I have another question about employment prospects. (sorry, humor me please I just recently got accepted)

I am from Texas, and I would like to return to Texas to work in biglaw after I graduate. I have been researching Chicago's employment statistics and found that 7% of the class went to work in Texas last year.

There is a lot of self-selection here, right? I am guessing that the reason Texas only took 7% of the class last year was probably heavily influenced by the fact that most people would probably choose to work in NYC/LA/DC/CHI/ect. over going to Texas and that most people who are interested in working in Texas likely have very good odds of doing so. Can anyone either confirm this or set me straight?

Thanks! I'm very glad I found this thread.

Like the above poster said, you are right. Nearly everyone that wanted TX got it - the few that struggled (from what I recall), either did not have TX ties or were there 1L summer and underperformed.

[2014]

I haven't heard of a single person with real Texas ties who struck out, we do as well as anyone getting people back there and have an advantage with Susman and another lit boutique down there whose name escapes me. My information is of course imperfect, so no guarantees it's 100%, but it's pretty damn close I believe.

[JDeezy]

Would being part of the new Doctoroff Business Program limit chances at OCI? Particularly concerned about the requirement that you perform a business internship after 1L year. TLS wisdom always says to make sure you do "something" legal after 1L year.

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/doctoroffbusinessleadership

[2014]

Would being part of the new Doctoroff Business Program limit chances at OCI? Particularly concerned about the requirement that you perform a business internship after 1L year. TLS wisdom always says to make sure you do "something" legal after 1L year.

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/doctoroffbusinessleadership

The business internship would almost certainly be somewhat legal, and even if it isn't could be framed as legal. Several 1Ls work for companies over the summer and it doesn't adversely impact them. The TLS "do something legal" mantra basically means "Do something that you can articulate why it is useful to your legal career when asked about it in a 30 minute interview"

If I were eligible I would 100% gun for the program, it seems awesome.

[JDeezy]

Would being part of the new Doctoroff Business Program limit chances at OCI? Particularly concerned about the requirement that you perform a business internship after 1L year. TLS wisdom always says to make sure you do "something" legal after 1L year.

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/doctoroffbusinessleadership

The business internship would almost certainly be somewhat legal, and even if it isn't could be framed as legal. Several 1Ls work for companies over the summer and it doesn't adversely impact them. The TLS "do something legal" mantra basically means "Do something that you can articulate why it is useful to your legal career when asked about it in a 30 minute interview"

If I were eligible I would 100% gun for the program, it seems awesome.

Thanks.

Anyone know how competitive the program is? I know its new. I'll have 3 years decent WE and a bit of start up experience on the side.

[20141023]

.

[JDeezy]

Would being part of the new Doctoroff Business Program limit chances at OCI? Particularly concerned about the requirement that you perform a business internship after 1L year. TLS wisdom always says to make sure you do "something" legal after 1L year.

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/doctoroffbusinessleadership

The business internship would almost certainly be somewhat legal, and even if it isn't could be framed as legal. Several 1Ls work for companies over the summer and it doesn't adversely impact them. The TLS "do something legal" mantra basically means "Do something that you can articulate why it is useful to your legal career when asked about it in a 30 minute interview"

If I were eligible I would 100% gun for the program, it seems awesome.

Thanks.

Anyone know how competitive the program is? I know its new. I'll have 3 years decent WE and a bit of start up experience on the side.

This year there were like 30~50 students gunning for about 5 spots, but the program is actually supposed to have 15 spots, so I think they'll gradually enlarge it until they reach that number.

I applied for the program, but didn't get in. Just so you know in case you're really gunning for it: I didn't want to get stuck doing a quasi-law-related internship in the event that I am lucky enough to get a decent law-related summer job (1L SA, clerkship, etc.), so during my (informational) interview for the Doctoroff Program, I asked whether the "business internship" during the first summer is absolutely required because it was listed as an "essential element" of the program. (The interviewer said they would have to consider that in relation to the goals of everyone else applying to the program.) For obvious reasons, this ended up biting me in the ass. As long as the demand is high and the number of spots is low, you really have to show them that you are committed to doing some sort of business and not just becoming an "average attorney."

Here is a little bit more info about the program if you haven't seen this already.

Thank you. Appreciate the info and the link.

[20141023]

.