Illinois 2011 applicants! Forum

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samfii

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by samfii » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:27 pm

Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?

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mez06

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by mez06 » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:29 pm

samfii wrote:Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?
+1 seriously. What's up with the feedback? lol I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.

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anthropologieaddict

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by anthropologieaddict » Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:35 pm

mez06 wrote:
samfii wrote:Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?
+1 seriously. What's up with the feedback? lol I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.
I really enjoyed myself! It seemed like the other potential classmates I spoke with did too. I got a lot of invaluable information, especially from the student panel and from Pless on financial aid/possible scholarships. As well as on potential places to live. Everyone was very welcoming and thought it was a long day, I felt it to be very worthwhile. Even for me as someone that already knows I'm attending. And I got to tour the ARC (their rec center) which was in one word, incredible. The Dean also gave a lot of good information, specifically on job prospects and what they are doing to get their graduates grades. I got a chance to speak with the lady who runs career services and she gave some valuable insight, specifically that they work with alumni well after they graduate to secure them jobs. She specifically spoke to me about an alum from the 1970's who they were currently working with to secure a position. Overall, great! I don't want to go on and bore everyone with the details but if you have any questions about it please ask!

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by KingRajesh » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:50 am

anthropologieaddict wrote:
mez06 wrote:
samfii wrote:Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?
+1 seriously. What's up with the feedback? lol I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.
I really enjoyed myself! It seemed like the other potential classmates I spoke with did too. I got a lot of invaluable information, especially from the student panel and from Pless on financial aid/possible scholarships. As well as on potential places to live. Everyone was very welcoming and thought it was a long day, I felt it to be very worthwhile. Even for me as someone that already knows I'm attending. And I got to tour the ARC (their rec center) which was in one word, incredible. The Dean also gave a lot of good information, specifically on job prospects and what they are doing to get their graduates grades. I got a chance to speak with the lady who runs career services and she gave some valuable insight, specifically that they work with alumni well after they graduate to secure them jobs. She specifically spoke to me about an alum from the 1970's who they were currently working with to secure a position. Overall, great! I don't want to go on and bore everyone with the details but if you have any questions about it please ask!
I enjoyed it as well! The Mock Class was very fun because Dean Smith is such an engaging individual. The Student/Faculty panels were great! Tons of really frank answers with little to no canned answers or sugarcoating. My parents really loved the school too.

The ARC is quite possibly, the best gym I've ever seen. 4 levels with 14 tons of weight equipment on the bottom floor? Awesome.

Pless said that he would be sending out an email with job placement for all but two of Illini Law graduates of the past couple years, and he would also email out salary information for 80% of the graduates.

I'm excited. I'm 95% sure I'm going to Illinois.

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masochist

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by masochist » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:53 pm

KingRajesh wrote:
anthropologieaddict wrote:
mez06 wrote:
samfii wrote:Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?
+1 seriously. What's up with the feedback? lol I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts.
I really enjoyed myself! It seemed like the other potential classmates I spoke with did too. I got a lot of invaluable information, especially from the student panel and from Pless on financial aid/possible scholarships. As well as on potential places to live. Everyone was very welcoming and thought it was a long day, I felt it to be very worthwhile. Even for me as someone that already knows I'm attending. And I got to tour the ARC (their rec center) which was in one word, incredible. The Dean also gave a lot of good information, specifically on job prospects and what they are doing to get their graduates grades. I got a chance to speak with the lady who runs career services and she gave some valuable insight, specifically that they work with alumni well after they graduate to secure them jobs. She specifically spoke to me about an alum from the 1970's who they were currently working with to secure a position. Overall, great! I don't want to go on and bore everyone with the details but if you have any questions about it please ask!
I enjoyed it as well! The Mock Class was very fun because Dean Smith is such an engaging individual. The Student/Faculty panels were great! Tons of really frank answers with little to no canned answers or sugarcoating. My parents really loved the school too.

The ARC is quite possibly, the best gym I've ever seen. 4 levels with 14 tons of weight equipment on the bottom floor? Awesome.

Pless said that he would be sending out an email with job placement for all but two of Illini Law graduates of the past couple years, and he would also email out salary information for 80% of the graduates.

I'm excited. I'm 95% sure I'm going to Illinois.
I'd second everything that was said by the two posters above. Illinois seems aggressively forthright, and the administration appears to take a lot of pride in making sure that applicants have accurate and reliable information about UIUC before they decide to matriculate. Both the current students and the accepted students were really friendly although the night out with the students was a little intimidating. The current student to accepted student ratio had to be about 10 to 1. ARC was awesome, and the cost of living in Champaign/Urbana is absurdly cheap. Barring a massive scholarship from the t14, I’ll be going to Illinois next year.

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mez06

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by mez06 » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:00 pm

masochist wrote:
KingRajesh wrote:
anthropologieaddict wrote:
samfii wrote:Sooooo... how was it everyone?!!?
I really enjoyed myself! It seemed like the other potential classmates I spoke with did too. I got a lot of invaluable information, especially from the student panel and from Pless on financial aid/possible scholarships. As well as on potential places to live. Everyone was very welcoming and thought it was a long day, I felt it to be very worthwhile. Even for me as someone that already knows I'm attending. And I got to tour the ARC (their rec center) which was in one word, incredible. The Dean also gave a lot of good information, specifically on job prospects and what they are doing to get their graduates grades. I got a chance to speak with the lady who runs career services and she gave some valuable insight, specifically that they work with alumni well after they graduate to secure them jobs. She specifically spoke to me about an alum from the 1970's who they were currently working with to secure a position. Overall, great! I don't want to go on and bore everyone with the details but if you have any questions about it please ask!
I enjoyed it as well! The Mock Class was very fun because Dean Smith is such an engaging individual. The Student/Faculty panels were great! Tons of really frank answers with little to no canned answers or sugarcoating. My parents really loved the school too.

The ARC is quite possibly, the best gym I've ever seen. 4 levels with 14 tons of weight equipment on the bottom floor? Awesome.

Pless said that he would be sending out an email with job placement for all but two of Illini Law graduates of the past couple years, and he would also email out salary information for 80% of the graduates.

I'm excited. I'm 95% sure I'm going to Illinois.
I'd second everything that was said by the two posters above. Illinois seems aggressively forthright, and the administration appears to take a lot of pride in making sure that applicants have accurate and reliable information about UIUC before they decide to matriculate. Both the current students and the accepted students were really friendly although the night out with the students was a little intimidating. The current student to accepted student ratio had to be about 10 to 1. ARC was awesome, and the cost of living in Champaign/Urbana is absurdly cheap. Barring a massive scholarship from the t14, I’ll be going to Illinois next year.
Is that part of the scheduled events for the admit day or was that something random put on by some of the law students? And was it really a night out or simply another reception that just happened to be at night :? ?

Also, what were you guys thoughts about the actual city? The vibe of the student body of the law school?

Reason I ask, I visited a Top 40 school and def. didn't feel the vibe of intellectually curious and talkative students. Just bland personalities.

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KingRajesh

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by KingRajesh » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:23 pm

mez06 wrote:
Is that part of the scheduled events for the admit day or was that something random put on by some of the law students? And was it really a night out or simply another reception that just happened to be at night :? ?

Also, what were you guys thoughts about the actual city? The vibe of the student body of the law school?

Reason I ask, I visited a Top 40 school and def. didn't feel the vibe of intellectually curious and talkative students. Just bland personalities.
It was a part of the scheduled event - a night out at some bar where you could just talk to students/some faculty. There was some food and free drinks, so it was sponsored by the school, but I didn't feel like it was a formal reception - you just had time to talk to people.

The actual city is pretty awesome actually. Great public transportation, tons of different places to eat, a mall with decent stores, everything you'd expect from a big state school...

Every student that I talked to was actually really nice. People gave me their emails, answered questions, gave advice, and then introduced you to more people. I DID get a tour by some gunners though earlier that day. That was fun.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by crossingforHYS » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:56 pm

was it cold? Did they talk about clerkships/ teaching fellowships?

what was your favorite experience of that weekend? and what sold Illinois for you (it seems for the most part all of you fell deeper in love after this weekend) do you recommend visiting?

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Hannibal

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by Hannibal » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:39 pm

How did you guys get there? I'm wondering how easy it is to get in and out of U/C.

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anthropologieaddict

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by anthropologieaddict » Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:12 pm

crossingforHYS wrote:was it cold? Did they talk about clerkships/ teaching fellowships?

what was your favorite experience of that weekend? and what sold Illinois for you (it seems for the most part all of you fell deeper in love after this weekend) do you recommend visiting?
It was in the 30's, they got some snow the night before the ASD. I think my favorite thing was just getting to hear all the different perspectives from the dean, pless, students, and faculty members. I don't really think you can get a sense of Illinois as a school and law school community without visiting, so if you are seriously considering attending I would highly recommend visiting. There was some talk about clerkships and academia (how one goes about getting those positions and such.)

EDIT: I drove in (about a 5 hour drive) but there were students who said they flew into indy and drove in (it's about a hundred miles from there, once you reach the Illinois border from Indiana it is only 38 miles to Champaign.)

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KingRajesh

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by KingRajesh » Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:17 pm

Hannibal wrote:How did you guys get there? I'm wondering how easy it is to get in and out of U/C.
I flew into Chicago and then drove down with a rental car. It was about 2 hours. If you fly into Indy and drive, it's 2 hours that way too.

You can also take the Amtrak, most of the students recommended flying and then taking the train.

You ALSO can fly directly INTO Champaign.
crossingforHYS wrote:was it cold? Did they talk about clerkships/ teaching fellowships?

what was your favorite experience of that weekend? and what sold Illinois for you (it seems for the most part all of you fell deeper in love after this weekend) do you recommend visiting?
It was pretty cold some days, but nothing too insane like 20's or anything. There was a bit of snow, but the roads were clear and safe to drive on.

My favorite experience of the weekend was either the mock class (everybody walked out of the class starstruck) or the night out with the law school (mostly the 1Ls, I only met like 2 people who weren't having fun, and everybody was really inviting).

I can't iterate how transparent the Deans and faculty seemed to be and how hard they said they work to get graduates jobs. Dean Smith talked about the innovative summer programs that he's doing and also how he flies out to secondary markets with resumes in hand to try to get a foothold in those markets for his students. That, coupled with a forthcoming email about how much 80% of the graduates of Illinois grads are making and where all but 2 are working makes Illinois a very easy sell.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by bgjacman » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:53 pm

I attended undergrad at Illinois, so if anyone has any questions about Champaign-Urbana, the campus, or anything else just let me know. You can fly directly into Willard Airport (Basically Champaign, technically Savoy) however it is really expensive to do so. I suggest to either fly into Chicago Midway or O'hare and either drive down, take the train (Amtrak), or take the buses (Megabus, Lex Express, Suburban Express). Following the speed limit, it is a 2.5 hr drive, but as a fair warning, no one follows the speed limit on I-57. You can also fly into Indianapolis which is a 2 hr drive or St Louis which is a 3 hr drive. Champaign weather can be eclectic. In my three years there we've had tornado warnings, a blizzard, and above 100 degree days. You can expect 60 degrees or so from mid April to September, then it gets cold. The C-U is a college town(s) to say the least, however there is also a downtown Champaign which is very nice and classy for those who want less "college-esque" bars and restaurants. Also, the Arc is everything it is cracked up to be. I worked there and worked out there, wonderful facilities. Again, if anyone has any questions just post or PM me.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by illinin » Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:53 pm

KingRajesh wrote: Every student that I talked to was actually really nice. People gave me their emails, answered questions, gave advice, and then introduced you to more people. I DID get a tour by some gunners though earlier that day. That was fun.
lol... I think I was one of your tour guides. But I'm glad you had a good time otherwise. :)

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KingRajesh

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by KingRajesh » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:27 pm

illinin wrote:
KingRajesh wrote: Every student that I talked to was actually really nice. People gave me their emails, answered questions, gave advice, and then introduced you to more people. I DID get a tour by some gunners though earlier that day. That was fun.
lol... I think I was one of your tour guides. But I'm glad you had a good time otherwise. :)
Nah, I had a good time with everything! :)

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Hannibal

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by Hannibal » Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:48 am

Two really interesting things from the reception tonight:

1. It looks like the decrease in class sizes is one way UIUC is trying to get its best class ever. Dean Smith said they're probably going to beat Berkeley's numbers and match/surpass Cornell's.

2. Not sure if I'm the last to find out about this but Dean Smith also said something about the tuition amount being guaranteed at matriculation for all three years. Which is...ya know. Crazy. Not sure about the details on it.

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NancyBotwin

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by NancyBotwin » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:37 am

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the school is also currently completely revamping Career Services.

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mez06

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by mez06 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:08 am

NancyBotwin wrote:Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the school is also currently completely revamping Career Services.
how so?

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by wdk3618 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:19 am

mez06 wrote:
NancyBotwin wrote:Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the school is also currently completely revamping Career Services.
how so?

+1

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NancyBotwin

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by NancyBotwin » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:02 am

mez06 wrote:
NancyBotwin wrote:Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the school is also currently completely revamping Career Services.
how so?
They hired some new people, including a new Executive Assistant Dean, who is going to be based out of Chicago - he's supposed to help market the school better to Chicago and other areas - and some other people, too. The current people will still be around to help out, too. I'm not sure other specifics, but Dean Smith sent out an email about it and said, "Please note, as well, that I am always happy to meet with you to discuss your professional goals. Our aim is ambitious: to have the most expert, most creative, and most effective professional development program of any law school in the nation. We look forward to working with you to realize that ambition."

So we'll see how it all goes.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by anthropologieaddict » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:35 am

Hannibal wrote:Two really interesting things from the reception tonight:

1. It looks like the decrease in class sizes is one way UIUC is trying to get its best class ever. Dean Smith said they're probably going to beat Berkeley's numbers and match/surpass Cornell's.

2. Not sure if I'm the last to find out about this but Dean Smith also said something about the tuition amount being guaranteed at matriculation for all three years. Which is...ya know. Crazy. Not sure about the details on it.
1. The student that gave me my tour at ASD seemed to think that the decrease in class size also had something to do with the school's capacity. I guess the last two years have resulted in very large classes (relatively speaking) so they need to make sure everyone fits so to speak.

2. I thought this was crazy/amazing also when Pless told us at ASD! He just told us that they are projecting a $2,000 increase next year and that they will be sending us an estimated Cost of Attendance next month. If the board approves their current increase around May then that COA will stay the same, if not they will send us a new one. And we will be the first class where all increases are matched dollar for dollar with our scholarships. Pless also said that he thought they were the only law school doing this.

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KingRajesh

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by KingRajesh » Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:59 pm

Smaller classes + more faculty = HIGHER USNWR! :D

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by krad » Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:45 pm

I'm officially visiting campus next Friday :) Sad that I can't make an ASW, but I can't wait!!! (where are all my fellow applicants/admitted students?)

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Hannibal

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by Hannibal » Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:00 pm

A couple thoughts on the email:

1. The employment % is pretty encouraging, since the "ITE" classes still had 98% employment.
2. The salary numbers, on the other hand, are a little discomforting. Median of 77k with 80% reporting, I'm guessing the median was more like 65k. I wonder how much this was impacted by the economy, how much is self-selection, etc.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by krad » Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:05 pm

Hannibal wrote:A couple thoughts on the email:

1. The employment % is pretty encouraging, since the "ITE" classes still had 98% employment.
2. The salary numbers, on the other hand, are a little discomforting. Median of 77k with 80% reporting, I'm guessing the median was more like 65k. I wonder how much this was impacted by the economy, how much is self-selection, etc.
I definitely agree with ya! I wish more than 80% were reporting salary info :| but I guess there's not too much the school can do about that...

I thought it was also rather encouraging that while 2/3 start in-state, 1/3 make it OOS. I wouldn't be banking on that by any means (I love Chi!!), but I'd imagine that if someone does well enough at UIUC they can get to where they'd like to be.

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Re: Illinois 2011 applicants!

Post by chicagocubsrule » Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:05 pm

Hannibal wrote:A couple thoughts on the email:

1. The employment % is pretty encouraging, since the "ITE" classes still had 98% employment.
2. The salary numbers, on the other hand, are a little discomforting. Median of 77k with 80% reporting, I'm guessing the median was more like 65k. I wonder how much this was impacted by the economy, how much is self-selection, etc.
yikes....77k? bye bye biglaw

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