Loyola-Chicago (Culture, pointers, logical expectations) Forum

[naschkatze]

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[timbs4339]

Thank you timbs! To all of you other guys, thanks so much for your feedback!

I know that the employment opportunities are slim, but I found it interesting that WAY more partners/associates at top Chicago firms are actually from Loyola and not IU.. hence my hesitation. To whoever asked what it matters to it being a T30 school, I suppose I am just under the impression many firms look at the rankings. Then again, Indiana University Bloomington doesn't exactly sound prestigious.

BTW I would love to retake the LSAT but #1) I am an awful test taker b/c of high anxiety and #2) I don't want to wait another year!

IUB's biglaw/fed clerk score for the last three years has been around 13-16%. Now even if we count firms of 51-100 lawyers, (i.e. "biglaw" in Indiana) we get to around 18%. Those aren't great odds.

Firm hiring has a very weak correlation with USNWR rankings. In a broad sense, sure, a "T30" can place more students into biglaw. But overall your chance of getting biglaw from a T30 isn't much better than a "T50" or "T70." And if biglaw is what you want to do it's not worth it, because once you are off the biglaw track (after interviewing during your second year of law school) it is very hard to get back on it. That's why the best way to get biglaw is to go to a school that places 50% or more in biglaw.

You really need to retake. Lots of people have anxiety during the LSAT, and during law school exams, and during the bar. As for the year, think about it this way - if you get a score increase of 2-3 points you could be looking at serious money. That's paying yourself essentially hundreds of dollars per hour (i.e. a billable rate in biglaw) just to study for a damn test.

[BigZuck]

If you are impatient and have test taking weaknesses then definitely don't go to law school. There are better things you can do with your life.

[romothesavior]

Thank you timbs! To all of you other guys, thanks so much for your feedback!

I know that the employment opportunities are slim, but I found it interesting that WAY more partners/associates at top Chicago firms are actually from Loyola and not IU.. hence my hesitation. To whoever asked what it matters to it being a T30 school, I suppose I am just under the impression many firms look at the rankings. Then again, Indiana University Bloomington doesn't exactly sound prestigious.

BTW I would love to retake the LSAT but #1) I am an awful test taker b/c of high anxiety and #2) I don't want to wait another year!

Neither school is a good option for Chicago big law. You will need to be top 10% from either school to have much of a shot at it. You just said you have test anxiety. How do you expect to bank on getting good grades in law school? You realize your entire grade is based on one long exam, right?

You really need to retake and reapply. If you want Chicago big law, it's the only reasonable path.

[naschkatze]

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[romothesavior]

Do you know how hard it is to be top 10% of your class? You can't just outsmart and out work everybody.

Assume you will finish around median, maybe a little above median. Then what? You have about a 50% shot at a legal job, and it sure ain't gonna be at Winston and Strawn. You cool with that?

[naschkatze]

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[BigZuck]

Do you know how hard it is to be top 10% of your class? You can't just outsmart and out work everybody.

Assume you will finish around median, maybe a little above median. Then what? You have about a 50% shot at a legal job, and it sure ain't gonna be at Winston and Strawn. You cool with that?

Ya

This is a troll account, ya?

[naschkatze]

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[romothesavior]

Nobody here is being a bully. People are trying to open your eyes to the realities of law school and the legal market. I'm asking you to think about this critically.

The job statistics for Loyola say that approximately 1/2 of graduates find full time, JD-required, permanent legal jobs. Approximately 12% get jobs in "big law."

So assuming you finish around median (which is statistically the most likely outcome), your odds of getting a legal job are not great. You also will have virtually a 0% shot at a big law job with those grades. Do you realize that, and are you okay with that?

If big law is indeed your goal, then Loyola is not a good option. That's not to say it is impossible to get big law from there, but it is very, very difficult. It would be much easier to retake and reapply to better schools than to finish in the top 10% and land big law.

Please do some research and ask yourself the hard questions before you make this huge investment of time and money.

[Chevron Deference]

Big Law is achievable but it is extremely hard. You either have to be 10% on their Law Journal with connections, or go down the Healthcare law path and join their Annuals Journal with connections. I believe most of the healthcare people land Big Law or Mid law. Chicago's mid law will be fine for you assuming that really is your scholly.

I hope to be of some help.

[Corpfinmonkey]

What did you decide on?

In my opinion, LUC is a tier below IU-Maurer. Have you visited Bloomington yet? I can understand leaning towards LUC because of it's location, city lifestyle, etc. but I would probably end up at IU for employment prospects.

But damn, summertime Chi