Chicago schools Forum

[royalcrown]

So I just got back my LSAT results, and am intending on applying in next year's cycle. I am a Chicago native and plan, at least for now, to stay in the city for my career. My numbers should be enough to get me into Chicago, but Northwestern has binding ED that I should also be competitive at. Obviously ED at Northwestern will disqualify me from Chicago. Alternatively, I can try to go for a full or mostly full ride from UIUC or Chicago Kent. Given the state of law at the moment (and assuming I actually get in everywhere I think I will), I am unsure whether or not it would be better to go ED to NU and take the full ride, or apply to Chicago and hope that I get some money, and if I do not (wouldn't be too surprised), take UIUC/Kent. Any advice?

[top30man]

Do you have work experience? You need it for NU. Also, this is the first time they have done the ED scholarship, so the medians are unknown. What are your numbers?
IMO, I wouldnt go to UIUC after their scandal, especially if you have the numbers for NU/UChi. Same for the rest of the schools.

[bernaldiaz]

Yeah we really need numbers.

[Samara]

Numbers please, though it doesn't really matter. If you can get into UChi, you'd be crazy to go to UIUC and completely insane to go to IIT-Kent, even at full ride. If you don't get the NU ED full ride, you will still be considered for scholarships. If you have competitive numbers, you will still get money there, so if you are debt-averse, you can take the NU scholly over UChi at sticker.

[royalcrown]

~3.75 GPA, 175 LSAT. I don't have very good softs so I don't think I will receive a full ride or anything at Chicago. The state of the economy/law school market is making me hesitant to take out any loans, as I am taking out loans for part of my undergrad. If I don't hit the median at Chicago, I am going to have monthly payments that I may not be able to afford. I also plan on taking a year off to work before applying to law school - I don't know if this is truly sufficient for NU but I hope it is. UIUC was appealing to me due to state residency, but after reading into the controversy I am no longer too sure - thanks for the heads up. If I can get money from schools in other states I am open to that as well, but I would rather not if it limits my opportunity to come back to Chicago - I remember reading about the portability of T14 schools but recent forum posts seem to indicate that portability is now only really possible with HYS. Is this correct? Any other advice would be great.

[lsatcrazy]

Wait, so you are applying in a year? Come back and ask then...

[duckmoney]

~3.75 GPA, 175 LSAT. I don't have very good softs so I don't think I will receive a full ride or anything at Chicago. The state of the economy/law school market is making me hesitant to take out any loans, as I am taking out loans for part of my undergrad. If I don't hit the median at Chicago, I am going to have monthly payments that I may not be able to afford. I also plan on taking a year off to work before applying to law school - I don't know if this is truly sufficient for NU but I hope it is. UIUC was appealing to me due to state residency, but after reading into the controversy I am no longer too sure - thanks for the heads up. If I can get money from schools in other states I am open to that as well, but I would rather not if it limits my opportunity to come back to Chicago - I remember reading about the portability of T14 schools but recent forum posts seem to indicate that portability is now only really possible with HYS. Is this correct? Any other advice would be great.

T14 degrees are almost always portable with ties to a region. For instance, if you go to Penn, you could get a job in Chicago as easily as you could in New York since you are from Chicago and have good reason to come back there.

Northwestern ED sounds like a great option for you if you have the work experience, but if not you should apply broadly in the T14 and weigh all of your options.

[top30man]

~3.75 GPA, 175 LSAT. I don't have very good softs so I don't think I will receive a full ride or anything at Chicago. The state of the economy/law school market is making me hesitant to take out any loans, as I am taking out loans for part of my undergrad. If I don't hit the median at Chicago, I am going to have monthly payments that I may not be able to afford. I also plan on taking a year off to work before applying to law school - I don't know if this is truly sufficient for NU but I hope it is. UIUC was appealing to me due to state residency, but after reading into the controversy I am no longer too sure - thanks for the heads up. If I can get money from schools in other states I am open to that as well, but I would rather not if it limits my opportunity to come back to Chicago - I remember reading about the portability of T14 schools but recent forum posts seem to indicate that portability is now only really possible with HYS. Is this correct? Any other advice would be great.

T14 degrees are almost always portable with ties to a region. For instance, if you go to Penn, you could get a job in Chicago as easily as you could in New York since you are from Chicago and have good reason to come back there.

Northwestern ED sounds like a great option for you if you have the work experience, but if not you should apply broadly in the T14 and weigh all of your options.

TITCR

[royalcrown]

I'm not ruling out applying this year, as I have all of my application materials in order, but my thought was that I would stand a better chance at getting money if I applied at the first opportunity next year. With that said, would it be feasible for me to apply this year with the explicit intent to defer? Or would NU just tell me to apply next year?

On a related note: will my chances be any worse next year? Medians seem to consistently rise every year, and my stats would ostensibly become less valuable with each passing year. I don't know if one year would be appreciable, but if I stand a better chance applying now and deferring, I would rather take that route.

I also did not know about how portable T14 schools will be given my regional ties. In all honesty that was my biggest hesitation in considering schools like Columbia/NYU and Berkeley. Thanks for the info, I think I might just apply to as many of the T14 as I can, unless that will affect my chances of being offered aid.

[Samara]

I'm not ruling out applying this year, as I have all of my application materials in order, but my thought was that I would stand a better chance at getting money if I applied at the first opportunity next year. With that said, would it be feasible for me to apply this year with the explicit intent to defer? Or would NU just tell me to apply next year?

On a related note: will my chances be any worse next year? Medians seem to consistently rise every year, and my stats would ostensibly become less valuable with each passing year. I don't know if one year would be appreciable, but if I stand a better chance applying now and deferring, I would rather take that route.

I also did not know about how portable T14 schools will be given my regional ties. In all honesty that was my biggest hesitation in considering schools like Columbia/NYU and Berkeley. Thanks for the info, I think I might just apply to as many of the T14 as I can, unless that will affect my chances of being offered aid.

It's still early if you apply now, so you won't miss out on any schollies by applying now. That said, don't apply with the intent to defer. That's pointless and deferrals are rare at many schools, NU included. If you aren't planning to attend this fall, don't apply this cycle.

Medians are going to be pretty much evening out. The LSAT jumps were due to the new retake policy. Also, applications are way down this year, so medians aren't going up any time soon.

You will have no problem getting back to Chicago from a T14. Much of the regional biases at T14 schools are due to self-selection.