Loyola Chicago 2010 Forum

[Jerome]

Also, I think this is pertinent: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

[traehekat]

Happy to say Loyola is still in the running for me. I know it is late, but has anyone had success negotiating merit aid? I have a 60k offer from Penn State, so I am hoping Loyola may be able to offer a little more, considering I want to stay in Chicago.

I have no personal experience, BUT when I spoke with the admissions and financial aid offices, they both said it is possible if you have offers from other schools. Then they went on to say that it is highly unlikely.

If you want to stay in Chicago, I'd stick with LUC even with less money than what Penn State will fork over. That's just me, though.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Right now my choice is between Loyola, Iowa, and OSU for Chicago. Do you think Loyola would be more receptive to offering me more money with the Iowa acceptance (no money), rather than the money from Penn State?

I'm in THE SAME position as you with Iowa, so my answer: let's find out. Iowa wont give me money, I don't want NLJ 250 placement, and I can't take on 150k+ in debt for Iowa, so LUC is looking nice, especially if they give me 20K instead of 15K.

What's your strategy?

I am keeping in mind that even if Iowa doesn't give me any money, I can still get in-state tuition after a year with a RA position. This, along with the fact COL in Chicago is more than COL in Iowa City, makes the difference in price tag between Loyola and Iowa not too different, even with the 60k scholarship. Iowa comes to about 136, Loyola about 118. Although I am not sure what I want to do after I graduate, I definitely want the BigLaw option. So I have to examine if another 18k or so is worth any increased chance of Chicago BigLaw a graduate receives coming out of Iowa. Right now I am pretty much on the fence, heh.

[traehekat]

Also, I think this is pertinent: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

Nice, haven't seen this. So Loyola is at about 12% for NLJ 250 and Iowa is at about 20%.

[Jerome]

Also, I think this is pertinent: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

Nice, haven't seen this. So Loyola is at about 12% for NLJ 250 and Iowa is at about 20%.

LUC is ~12% in the Chicago market, but ~15% overall (http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 2443758843).

I can't find Iowa placement stats for the Chicago market, but I know that they're strong. That written, I have heard that there is some love in Chicago for LUC that Iowa may not have.

I am keeping in mind that even if Iowa doesn't give me any money, I can still get in-state tuition after a year with a RA position. This, along with the fact COL in Chicago is more than COL in Iowa City, makes the difference in price tag between Loyola and Iowa not too different, even with the 60k scholarship. Iowa comes to about 136, Loyola about 118. Although I am not sure what I want to do after I graduate, I definitely want the BigLaw option. So I have to examine if another 18k or so is worth any increased chance of Chicago BigLaw a graduate receives coming out of Iowa. Right now I am pretty much on the fence, heh.

I feel you. But I am trying to be honest with myself about the ability to nail down an RA - I am not sure that I would be able to. Additionally, LUC has a ton of scholarship opportunities for 2Ls and 3Ls, where Iowa does not - and that certainly helps minimize the costs.

Assuming no RA at Iowa, and no change in tuition (just for the sake of argument), debt load would be ~159k.
At LUC, with 15k per year, no tuition increase, and no additional scholarship, debt load would be more like ~108k.

50k is a ton of money. Also keep in mind that finishing top 5-10% at LUC will likely be more feasible than at Iowa.

But I am still very much on the fence. Now if I could get off CU's WL at get some in-state, I'd be pretty happy.

[traehekat]

In regards to RA positions, I have spoke with a few students and graduates from Iowa and they have all said OOS students generally have no trouble finding RA positions if they really want them. From what I have heard, OOS students are given priority for RA positions.

I'm waiting to hear back from CU and an acceptance plus a little bit of money would definitely put them near the top of my list.

[Jerome]

In regards to RA positions, I have spoke with a few students and graduates from Iowa and they have all said OOS students generally have no trouble finding RA positions if they really want them. From what I have heard, OOS students are given priority for RA positions.

I'm waiting to hear back from CU and an acceptance plus a little bit of money would definitely put them near the top of my list.

Good to know. I will look into that. I am confident that I would be a good candidate, but don't want to count on it. Having one for the last two years would most certainly make Iowa a lot more affordable. But I am also concerned about how much tuition at state schools will increase over the next few years, given the economic climate (see California and Colorado).

If I get in at CU, I think I can use my acceptances there and at Iowa to get a bit more money from LUC (especially because I am a CO resident).

[Kobe_Teeth]

Anyone know Loyola's policy when it comes to matching scholarships?

[Jerome]

Anyone know Loyola's policy when it comes to matching scholarships?

I spoke with the admissions office about a month ago about scholarship negotiation, and the woman I spoke with said that LUC does it very rarely, and would need to see proof of the other offer.

I, for one, do not have any other offers yet, but will negotiate with acceptances at other (higher ranked) schools. I think it is worth a shot.

[Kobe_Teeth]

I have an offer of 15k per yr at DePaul and an underwhelming 6k a yr at Loyola.
Hopefully Kent will get its thumb out its ass and move on my app so I can view their offer.

[peterswe]

I also attended ASD and was very impressed. All the students I talked to (prospective and current) were intelligent and mature, and the faculty seemed caring. I wonder if I ate lunch with any of you TLSers?

[kristela204]

Have any of you received your financial aid packets yet? Loyola is my top choice, but it will be hard to swing without some decent financial aid options. I applied for one of the additional scholarships too--anyone hear back regarding those scholarships?

[snowpeach06]

Does anyone know how good the possibilities of getting a job in NY or DC are after graduating from here? I visited Loyola, and thought the building was great, the students seemed nice, the administration caring. But, the price, prospect of being stuck in Chicago forever, the fact that some of DePaul's programs are much better, despite the identical ranking, and the fact that it isn't a secular school made me wonder.

[moandersen]

Does anyone know how good the possibilities of getting a job in NY or DC are after graduating from here? I visited Loyola, and thought the building was great, the students seemed nice, the administration caring. But, the price, prospect of being stuck in Chicago forever, the fact that some of DePaul's programs are much better, despite the identical ranking, and the fact that it isn't a secular school made me wonder.

I guess a lot depends on what kind of job in DC/NY. If you want to work at the local McD's, you might have an edge on your competition. In all seriousness, I dont know. But Im guessing no matter what type of law you want to practice, it will be slim to none without some serious connections. Loyola does ok in Chicago, but thats about it. Why not attend a school in those areas to increase your chances?

[Jerome]

Does anyone know how good the possibilities of getting a job in NY or DC are after graduating from here? I visited Loyola, and thought the building was great, the students seemed nice, the administration caring. But, the price, prospect of being stuck in Chicago forever, the fact that some of DePaul's programs are much better, despite the identical ranking, and the fact that it isn't a secular school made me wonder.

Try not to get too caught up in the ranking structure - LUC and DePaul may both be ranked at the same position, but Loyola places significantly better in the Chicago area than DePaul does, and it places far better among the top 250 firms (see: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/regional_IL.pdf - AND - http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1). Also note that DePaul has more unemployed students than Loyola, Loyola places better than the slightly higher ranked Kent, and places better in clerkships and government than both Kent and DePaul. That does not minimize the fact that Loyola is still very much regional, but if you place well in the class, DC and NY are options. Also, don't forget that after practicing for 5ish years, lateral movements (to other cities) is relatively simple, depending on your skills, accomplishments, and reputation. Where you went to school will matter less. I do not think there is any evidence to support the claim that a JD from LUC=stuck in Chicago forever.

As far as the religious nature of the school (to the extent it is manifested in any meaningful way), I understand your concern. But it is a Jesuit school, not Regent.

Have any of you received your financial aid packets yet? Loyola is my top choice, but it will be hard to swing without some decent financial aid options. I applied for one of the additional scholarships too--anyone hear back regarding those scholarships?

Not yet, but I hope to soon. Note that they wont give grants to scholarship recipients.

[lewis louis]

They won't give grants if you get a scholly? that doesn't sit well with me. In all likelyhood, woudn't the grant reward be higher than most of loyola's scholly offers? boo. Has anyone gotten their financial aid stuff from loyola? Better question -- when is that supposed to be out?

[Jerome]

They won't give grants if you get a scholly? that doesn't sit well with me. In all likelyhood, woudn't the grant reward be higher than most of loyola's scholly offers? boo. Has anyone gotten their financial aid stuff from loyola? Better question -- when is that supposed to be out?

They say early March. They were pretty damn quick with my acceptance and scholly, so I assume that really means early March.

As for the grants, it bums me out too, but I assume that if you demonstrate sufficient need and have a scholly, you may be able to squeeze a bit of grant money out of 'em.

[CAHopeful]

Have any of you received your financial aid packets yet? Loyola is my top choice, but it will be hard to swing without some decent financial aid options. I applied for one of the additional scholarships too--anyone hear back regarding those scholarships?

Not yet, but I hope to soon. Note that they wont give grants to scholarship recipients.[/quote]

I applied for an additional scholly, too (ChildLaw fellowship). Did anyone at least receive a confirmation e-mail? I FedExed my app. and know they received it, but haven't heard a word from them.

[Kobe_Teeth]

My grant was for 6K a year. Got it yesterday. I live in Chicago. The guy at ASD said they were being mailed Monday and people would have them by the end of this week or early next week.

Luckily my CoL is about half of what they estimate.

[lewis louis]

Well, then I guess the average scholly is more then they give out in grants...I'm applying for the antitrust fellowship which is like another 1500...hope i can get some grant money..

[alighieri]

So, if I haven't heard back from now, I'm assuming it's a no-go.

[uwb09]

looks like loyola added on a nice 5K need based grant to go along with the 5K merit based (10K total)

if depaul gives me 15, im faxing that offer over to loyola and asking to match

[lewis louis]

Did you get your finaid package in the mail? if so, where are you located?

[uwb09]

yup, just got it today, live in Seattle

[lewis louis]

Cool. Did they ever send you an email saying they got your FAFSA info? I submitted mine, but never really heard anything one way or the other.

[Jerome]

Cool. Did they ever send you an email saying they got your FAFSA info? I submitted mine, but never really heard anything one way or the other.

I never heard one way or the other, either. I did speak to LUC financial aid office today though, and they seemed to have it. I wouldn't worry about it.