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Regardless of career goals and city vs. corn fields preference, which would you pick? Note, Illinois sticker as a resident (33k/year).

0L here so take what I say with a grain of salt.... (Someone feel free to school me if my thoughts aren't on point.)

Without taking the money into consideration it seems initially like it might depend on how strongly you would like to be in Chicago after graduation. Illinois seems to have larger Midwest mobility/prestige BUT if you know you want to be in Chicago after graduation Chicago-Kent at full-ride seems like a strong place to be. With that said, I know nothing of the job prospects from Chicago-Kent and how Kent grads fare outside of Chicago.

As someone who will be attending Illinois at a little less than resident sticker price and who didn't have such strong offers which could've competed with my Illinois offer, I'm obviously biased though.

webbylu87 wrote:0L here so take what I say with a grain of salt.... (Someone feel free to school me if my thoughts aren't on point.)

Without taking the money into consideration it seems initially like it might depend on how strongly you would like to be in Chicago after graduation. Illinois seems to have larger Midwest mobility/prestige BUT if you know you want to be in Chicago after graduation Chicago-Kent at full-ride seems like a strong place to be. With that said, I know nothing of the job prospects from Chicago-Kent and how Kent grads fare outside of Chicago.

As someone who will be attending Illinois at a little less than resident sticker price and who didn't have such strong offers which could've competed with my Illinois offer, I'm obviously biased though.

Would you have taken a full ride from Kent over your offer at Illinois?

Personally, I would take the full ride, as long as there were no conditions attached.

toppercentile wrote:

webbylu87 wrote:0L here so take what I say with a grain of salt.... (Someone feel free to school me if my thoughts aren't on point.)

Without taking the money into consideration it seems initially like it might depend on how strongly you would like to be in Chicago after graduation. Illinois seems to have larger Midwest mobility/prestige BUT if you know you want to be in Chicago after graduation Chicago-Kent at full-ride seems like a strong place to be. With that said, I know nothing of the job prospects from Chicago-Kent and how Kent grads fare outside of Chicago.

As someone who will be attending Illinois at a little less than resident sticker price and who didn't have such strong offers which could've competed with my Illinois offer, I'm obviously biased though.

Would you have taken a full ride from Kent over your offer at Illinois?

Ah, geez. It's really difficult to say. I really don't know anything about Chicago-Kent but my first intuition would be no. Not necessarily because going to Kent would be a bad decision in this instance. I only say no purely because personally I'm not sold on Chicago and am looking at more of the STL/Chicago/Kansas City markets (in order of preference) which Illinois is closer to. I also know nothing of the career prospects from Kent or where Kent grads end up.

But, who knows what I would do if I were you. That full-ride is undoubtedly tempting...

daddymike wrote:Personally, I would take the full ride, as long as there were no conditions attached.

This is a good question. Are there any conditions?

webbylu87 wrote:

daddymike wrote:Personally, I would take the full ride, as long as there were no conditions attached.

This is a good question. Are there any conditions?

2.2 GPA mininum ... I don't want to be overconfident, but that is basically no conditions.

Tough. Normally I'd say take the money. But this is a big enough prestige divide where paying sticker might be worth it. That said, UIUC is not dominant enough to make it a no brainer. I also think that Kent is underrated.

This comes down to how much you debt you want. I'm on the fence. If UIUC gave you 10-15/yr, this would be easy. But paying sticker outside of T14 is questionable.

Ah. Well I guess this is where the question about your career goals comes in. Thoughts?

Also, is your goal to end up in Chicago?

DAAAAAMN free school at a decent place! All you gotta do is rent a swanky apartment in a nice Chicago neighborhood and they take care of the rest? That is HARD to pass up...

I agree with what people have been saying...if you love Chicago and want to get your first job there, I'm tempted to say Kent. If the greater midwest is your goal...Illinois has to be the choice.

If you are very debt-averse, Kent. If you aren't looking for BigLaw, Kent.

If you are a gamblin (wo)man, Illinois. If it's BigLaw or bust, Illinois.

These are the things you gotta consider, but congrats on having two very great, though albeit very different, options!

PS. Are there any other "middle ground" choices? Like 10-15k/yr at Wisco/Iowa/Indiana? Those would be worth discussing.

Edit: Nevermind about Iowa, I know you didn't get a partial scholly from them...........

All: thanks for the responses.

I have no career convictions. Nor do I really care where I live. I am interested in JAG, and I am interested in a clerkship (Federal, if possible). However, who knows where I'll end up in the long run. I am afraid that if I go to Kent that one day the lack of prestige will limmit my options.

Regionality wrote:DAAAAAMN free school at a decent place! All you gotta do is rent a swanky apartment in a nice Chicago neighborhood and they take care of the rest? That is HARD to pass up...

I agree with what people have been saying...if you love Chicago and want to get your first job there, I'm tempted to say Kent. If the greater midwest is your goal...Illinois has to be the choice.

If you are very debt-averse, Kent. If you aren't looking for BigLaw, Kent.

If you are a gamblin (wo)man, Illinois. If it's BigLaw or bust, Illinois.

These are the things you gotta consider, but congrats on having two very great, though albeit very different, options!

PS. Are there any other "middle ground" choices? Like 10-15k/yr at Wisco/Iowa/Indiana? Those would be worth discussing.

Edit: Nevermind about Iowa, I know you didn't get a partial scholly from them...........

No, no middle ground.

toppercentile wrote:All: thanks for the responses.

I have no career convictions. Nor do I really care where I live. I am interested in JAG, and I am interested in a clerkship (Federal, if possible). However, who knows where I'll end up in the long run. I am afraid that if I go to Kent that one day the lack of prestige will limmit my options.

You have the same problem I did. I'm pretty open in terms of career goals and for the most part on location as well. I really don't feel like either one of choices is a "bad" one. It really just comes down to whether or not you want to go to school for free or if you want a little more prestige/flexibility.

Something that might help you decide on this is to look at the cost of living. Having crunched the numbers myself, I've pretty much figured that I can cut the room and board estimate at Illinois in half if I'm conscious of my spending. Obviously, it costs a lot more to live in Chicago. If you have to take out COL loans this might be something to consider. This won't equalize the COA between the schools but looking at complete numbers may give you a better picture of the financials to base your decision on.

I'll be at Kent in the Fall with a scholly (not a full-ride, but it's decent)...so I'm partial, but I agree with what everyone is saying. Kent actually does place about 13% of it's graduates into biglaw so it is possible. I adore Illinois (I'm currently on their waitlist and will probably have to withdraw here soon), but Kent at a full-ride is very hard to pass up. It will come down to how much you want to stay in Chicago after graduation. Good luck making the decision :)

Kent all the way. And I'm the biggest Illinois troll here.

DerrickRose wrote:Kent all the way. And I'm the biggest Illinois troll here.

Having thought about it again, given how flexible you are location and career-wise, I'd probably take the full-ride at Kent.

Try to negotiate money from Illinois based on your offer from Kent. Dean Pless is a totally reasonable man, and if he has room in his budget he will try to work with you.

uiuc is my dream school so i would take it but thats just one person...

33K is in-state at UI? Wow.

First, I can tell you that job prospects for Kent/Loyola grads weren't that good even when the economy was much better. A full ride is still a full ride though, and it's good that the conditions they've given you for retaining the scholly are very loose. If you do go there, I'd recommend getting a paying law clerk job at a small firm or something during 2L and 3L. It might give you a better shot of finding permanent employment after graduation.

UIUC did not guarantee biglaw when the economy was booming, so keep that in mind. People on these boards tend overrate schools like UIUC. Overall, its reputation and prospects are going to be significantly better than Kent though.

Honestly, neither choice is ideal. Personally, I would retake and reapply, and try to get a some money out of UIUC next cycle.

DerrickRose wrote:Kent all the way. And I'm the biggest Illinois troll here.

+1 to Kent. And +1 to DerrickRose being the biggest Illinois troll here.

romothesavior wrote:

DerrickRose wrote:Kent all the way. And I'm the biggest Illinois troll here.

+1 to Kent. And +1 to DerrickRose being the biggest Illinois troll here.

yabbadabbado wrote:33K is in-state at UI? Wow.

First, I can tell you that job prospects for Kent/Loyola grads weren't that good even when the economy was much better. A full ride is still a full ride though, and it's good that the conditions they've given you for retaining the scholly are very loose. If you do go there, I'd recommend getting a paying law clerk job at a small firm or something during 2L and 3L. It might give you a better shot of finding permanent employment after graduation.

UIUC did not guarantee biglaw when the economy was booming, so keep that in mind. People on these boards tend overrate schools like UIUC. Overall, its reputation and prospects are going to be significantly better than Kent though.

Honestly, neither choice is ideal. Personally, I would retake and reapply, and try to get a some money out of UIUC next cycle.

Retake and reapply?? A full ride at a T2 surely isn't THAT bad, is it?

daddymike wrote:Personally, I would take the full ride, as long as there were no conditions attached.

TITCR

crazyeddie wrote:Try to negotiate money from Illinois based on your offer from Kent. Dean Pless is a totally reasonable man, and if he has room in his budget he will try to work with you.

Even though Kent and Illinois are not even in the same tier?

DerrickRose wrote:

Oskee-wow-wow!