Chicago-Kent v. UConn - Patent Law Forum

[lawdogg]

I'm a mechanical engineer. Thought I was 100% heading to UConn until I got an email last night saying I got accepted to Kent.

My intention is fairly certain - not written in stone - but close to it, to study and practice patent law.

I'd like to practice in a nice urban area. Never been to Chicago, but just visited UConn's campus, it was gorgeous, but the surrounding area (and Hartford) was not my idea of a good 'city' atmosphere.

No $ to either, so it'll be in-state tuition at UConn vs. close to $40k year 1 and then $1250 per credit hour at Kent.

Thoughts?

(Background, I already turned down a $15k/year merit scholarship to Pierce Law, and I'm crossing my fingers on a bunch of waitlists including William & Mary, Santa Clara, and Villanova ..)

Thanks for the discussion. I've read some other UConn threads in this section and it seems to be a fairly well liked school.

//Ryan

[UnclaimedGas]

Kent IP students do very well in Chicago, and chicago's patent market is nearly as big as NYC's (which is the city you would target coming out of UConn, i assume), while being not as competitive to break into. Both markets are suffering pretty badly though. Kent's also in downtown chicago, if that makes a difference

And as a Kent patent student, it is possible to obtain a part-time job during 2L and 3L years, which would help in paying off some of your debt. You may even decide to switch to part-time if you succeed in obtaining full-time employment (not as likely).

Santa Clara IP students do very well in south bay. But they actually don't do that well in SF, which is more akin to "a nice urban area", which you want

But you really should visit chicago before you decide since Kent is definitely a regional school.

[PDaddy]

Kent is a fantastic school (in a fantastic city) that I would attend over many ranked well above it. You are speaking of Kent in the same breath as UConn, and that isn't at all inappropriate.

[lawdogg]

Just got the actual acceptance letter in the mail from Kent. $20k merit scholarship. That makes it around $20k cheaper than UConn overall.

Trying to find more first-hand knowledge of the school. The city. How well the school is looked on by firms in the city, and out of the city. Anyone from Chicago who can speak to that?

My thought is that UConn has more resonance outside of CT, whereas Kent would not have the same resonance outside of Chicago. Although that's not saying I wouldn't want to work in Chicago after Kent, options are always nice to have.

[merichard87]

Go to Kent. UConn shouldn't even be an option at this point.

[patently_oblivious]

Solely mechanical or do you have experience in electrical/chemical? Assuming you're gunning for patent prosection rather than litigation, I'd figure out what area of the country is filing the most mechanical patents and go to law school there. Might be Texas (oil/gas) for all I know. Find some IP boutiques that have mechanical areas and see where their people went to school. Schools like Santa Clara seem to do well, but my guess is this reflects the market's demand for CompSci/Electrical/CompE associates in the Bay area. With patent litigation, technical background isn't as important but school ranking definitely is.

[traehekat]

Kent.

[lawdogg]

I'm mechanical.

The more I've been thinking about this, the more Kent has been making sense. Especially just going through Kent's IP Certificate brochure they mailed me.