Illinois Class of 2014 (With Dean Pless) Forum

[Pless]

Heading to Boston for the LSAC forum on Saturday. More info at http://www.lsac.org. Hope to see you there. Next week will be at University of Colorado, BYU and University of Utah.

[kk19131]

I know this might have been asked already.... but when will you begin reviewing apps?

[Pless]

I know this might have been asked already.... but when will you begin reviewing apps?

I will begin reading files in November.

[1republic]

Hello Dean Pless,

From your experience with past students, is it much harder to find work in California after graduation? Or do most feed into Chicago because that's where the alumni base tends to be?

Thanks.

[Pless]

My experience is that the students who want to move out West are able to. Chicago is a huge legal market, a great city and two hours from the school, so it is natural that 60% of the class (typically) goes there. In recent years our students placement has really been driven by where they want to go.

[JOThompson]

Good luck to all applicants this year!

[buckilaw]

This is a general question. My college allows students to take graduate level courses for undergraduate credit, so long as students obtain permission from the graduate school and the course instructor. If I were to take a law class through my University's law school could I encounter any issues that may negatively affect admissions or matriculation to a given law school?

[Pless]

This is a general question. My college allows students to take graduate level courses for undergraduate credit, so long as students obtain permission from the graduate school and the course instructor. If I were to take a law class through my University's law school could I encounter any issues that may negatively affect admissions or matriculation to a given law school?

I think that schools may place a fair amount of weight on how well you do in that class, which may not be completely fair since you wouldn't have had the background and preparation of the first year of law school to prepare you for an elective course. Also, you wouldn't be allowed to take that course during law school (at least at Illinois). Other than that, I can't think of any downside.

[Kilpatrick]

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[1republic]

Hello Dean Pless,

From your experience with past students, is it much harder to find work in California after graduation? Or do most feed into Chicago because that's where the alumni base tends to be?

Thanks.

I'm still a 1L so I don't know if I will get a job in CA (or that I would want to) but at the Illinois reception in L.A. last year I met plenty of alumni who are working there and didn't seem to have any trouble. I even met a girl with no California connections who got a job out there.

That's great to know Kilpatrick. Thank you. I definitely wouldn't mind working in Chicago, but would just like to know that I have options.

[Barbie]

Just tagging the thread I applied to recently! My absolute favorite professor at my undergraduate university got her degree there and absolutely adores her alma mater <3!

[snapdragon]

Submitted today, just two weeks after my first-ever trip to Chicago. Keeping my fingers crossed Good luck to everyone here.

[obsquared]

Hello,

Thanks so much for setting up this forum. I'm currently working on my application to Illinois and I must say it's one of my top choices. I took the LSAT on October and I'm still waiting for my scores. I'm an international student and I was wondering if will be possible for me to have the contact information of one of the current international students to ask them questions. Thanks for the fee waiver too, that was a great help!

[Pless]

Hello,

Thanks so much for setting up this forum. I'm currently working on my application to Illinois and I must say it's one of my top choices. I took the LSAT on October and I'm still waiting for my scores. I'm an international student and I was wondering if will be possible for me to have the contact information of one of the current international students to ask them questions. Thanks for the fee waiver too, that was a great help!

If you email me I would be happy to have someone contact you. pless@law.illinois.edu

[Pless]

I hope to see some of you tomorrow in Chicago at the LSAC forum. We will be at table 300. 10-4 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

[wdk3618]

hello thank you for all of your help. I am wondering how do we go about signing the early decision agreement. It wont let me type anything in the box. Thanks.

[xqhp82]

Hi Dean Pless,

I wonder how are foreign grades treated in the admissions process? I'm an international student with an 'above average' classification, so I'm not sure whether it's reached Illinois' median GPA, but I have an LSAT score above the 25th percentile. Are the course details on my foreign transcript important in estimating the difficulty of my undergraduate degree? Thanks!

[crossingforHYS]

Hello Dean Pless,

I had a question, I hope this does not give me away. But if one were to go down the second time they took their LSAT by 9-10 points, and they had an addendum explaining that it was a bad time for them to take the test because of family issues. Would you look at the higher score...or how much would the lower score impact your decision?

Thank you,

[Pless]

hello thank you for all of your help. I am wondering how do we go about signing the early decision agreement. It wont let me type anything in the box. Thanks.

You can email us a statement or send it via USPS. It won't hold up the review of your application.

[Pless]

Hi Dean Pless,

I wonder how are foreign grades treated in the admissions process? I'm an international student with an 'above average' classification, so I'm not sure whether it's reached Illinois' median GPA, but I have an LSAT score above the 25th percentile. Are the course details on my foreign transcript important in estimating the difficulty of my undergraduate degree? Thanks!

We don't try to translate your performance to a 4.0 scale, but evaluate your academic performance based on our experience with the school you attended and the LSAC evaluation. We have extensive experience in evaluating foreign transcripts.

[Pless]

Hello Dean Pless,

I had a question, I hope this does not give me away. But if one were to go down the second time they took their LSAT by 9-10 points, and they had an addendum explaining that it was a bad time for them to take the test because of family issues. Would you look at the higher score...or how much would the lower score impact your decision?

Thank you,

I think a brief addendum that explains the circumstances of your second test would take care of it. We will still consider the high score when evaluating your application.

[crossingforHYS]

Hello Dean Pless,

I had a question, I hope this does not give me away. But if one were to go down the second time they took their LSAT by 9-10 points, and they had an addendum explaining that it was a bad time for them to take the test because of family issues. Would you look at the higher score...or how much would the lower score impact your decision?

Thank you,

I think a brief addendum that explains the circumstances of your second test would take care of it. We will still consider the high score when evaluating your application.

Thank you for your answer!

[ihp12]

Dean Pless,

Does regional diversity factor into your admission decisions?

[Pless]

Dean Pless,

Does regional diversity factor into your admission decisions?

At times. We try to have people from all parts of the country (and world) and last year had students from 34 states and 6 foreign countries.

[Amir N]

I checked my status for the first time in a while and it says "File Complete - Ready for Review." Good luck to everyone!