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Hi Guys,

I would appreciate some quick feedback on this choice. I was all set to go to UWisc, until I got a call recently from Maurer offering me a spot (off of the wait-list) with a 15K/year scholarship with no stips. I am currently getting 0$ in scholarships from UWisc. Which is the better school reputation wise (since IU is higher in rankings 26 to 35)? Is there any other aspects that I should consider about both schools? I have to move from California (Bay Area) for either school and would love to return back home after I graduate. Also is it advisable to tell UWisc about my recent offer and ask for some scholarship money? I only have 48hours to make my choice so I would really appreciate some input.

Do you want to live in Wisconsin or Indiana?

Also Wisconsin grads don't have to take the WI bar. That's pretty legit.

ommy48 wrote:Is there any other aspects that I should consider about both schools?

Stats are pretty close. Pick the more affordable one if you are indifferent.
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Also is it advisable to tell UWisc about my recent offer and ask for some scholarship money?

YES

tfleming09 wrote:Do you want to live in Wisconsin or Indiana?

Also Wisconsin grads don't have to take the WI bar. That's pretty legit.

I don't have a huge preference either way. I'm more concerned with the quality of education and reputation in the industry. Since I have been fairly certain I was heading to Wisconsin for several months now, I know a lot more about their school of law. I don't know much about Maurer outside of the bare minimum (rankings...)

ommy48 wrote:I don't have a huge preference either way. I'm more concerned with the quality of education and reputation in the industry. Since I have been fairly certain I was heading to Wisconsin for several months now, I know a lot more about their school of law. I don't know much about Maurer outside of the bare minimum (rankings...)

They're regional. Decide where you want to live and go to that one. Neither will get your very far out of the state, if at all.

Ignore USNews rankings, they're irrelevant.

I just gotta say: UW has an amazing campus, and Madison is an incredibly beautiful city. While I like both IN and WI, I don't really see someone who wants to live in California being content in these places. If you could retake, then that might be a better option.

Since you're not getting any scholarships, are you in-state for Wisconsin or Indiana?

Oh wait, you want to live in California long term?

Retake or don't go. These aren't bad options but they are for you.

I go to IU, and if you want to get back to Cali, it's going to be tough. There are no Cali firms here at OCI. None. You will have to mass mail/hustle big time, and do really, really well the first year.

That being said, I'd match IU's campus against UW's any day. Just beautiful. I'll also add that as far as quality of education goes, they're both going to be very challenging, and you'll learn the same things. Your peers will be similar. Both are great schools.

But scenery is not why you go to law school. Retake and reapply.

Doorkeeper wrote:Since you're not getting any scholarships, are you in-state for Wisconsin or Indiana?

In-state at UW is incredibly affordable (less than 20k), but it's a little bit more at Indiana. If you are set on going to these schools, then I would find out if either IN or WI grant easy residency. But like the other guy said, both these schools are great options, but not for you. Going to UW would be nice if you want WI, because you could defer, establish residency, attend, graduate from one of only two law schools in the entire state, not take bar, and then try to find good job in the area.

Verity wrote:I go to IU, and if you want to get back to Cali, it's going to be tough. There are no Cali firms here at OCI. None. You will have to mass mail/hustle big time, and do really, really well the first year.

That being said, I'd match IU's campus against UW's any day. Just beautiful. I'll also add that as far as quality of education goes, they're both going to be very challenging, and you'll learn the same things. Your peers will be similar. Both are great schools.

But scenery is not why you go to law school. Retake and reapply.

+1

mattviphky wrote:

Doorkeeper wrote:Since you're not getting any scholarships, are you in-state for Wisconsin or Indiana?

In-state at UW is incredibly affordable (less than 20k), but it's a little bit more at Indiana. If you are set on going to these schools, then I would find out if either IN or WI grant easy residency. But like the other guy said, both these schools are great options, but not for you. Going to UW would be nice if you want WI, because you could defer, establish residency, attend, graduate from one of only two law schools in the entire state, not take bar, and then try to find good job in the area.

Getting residency in Wisconsin is basically impossible, unless things have changed dramatically. Wisconsin will not get you out to CA--plenty of grads have a hard time finding anything in Wisconsin, and Chicago biglaw is only open to a very small handful of people.

mattviphky wrote:

Doorkeeper wrote:Since you're not getting any scholarships, are you in-state for Wisconsin or Indiana?

In-state at UW is incredibly affordable (less than 20k), but it's a little bit more at Indiana. If you are set on going to these schools, then I would find out if either IN or WI grant easy residency. But like the other guy said, both these schools are great options, but not for you. Going to UW would be nice if you want WI, because you could defer, establish residency, attend, graduate from one of only two law schools in the entire state, not take bar, and then try to find good job in the area.

It's damn near impossible to get residency in IN.

Thanks for all of the feedback, I appreciate it.

I hate to ask this because it is fairly presumptuous and dependent on a lot of factors, but say I am in the top 5% to 10% of either class, would transferring from either school be easier (not in terms of getting grades but in terms of reputation for the top ranked schools) for a T14 (especially UC Berkeley where I did my undergrad and have good connections)? Unfortunately due to some personal issues, I cannot wait a year and reapply, I must start somewhere this fall. Thanks again.

ommy48 wrote:Thanks for all of the feedback, I appreciate it.

I hate to ask this because it is fairly presumptuous and dependent on a lot of factors, but say I am in the top 5% to 10% of either class, would transferring from either school be easier (not in terms of getting grades but in terms of reputation for the top ranked schools) for a T14 (especially UC Berkeley where I did my undergrad and have good connections)? Unfortunately due to some personal issues, I cannot wait a year and reapply, I must start somewhere this fall. Thanks again.

Starting at a higher school makes transferring to a T14 easier, but basing anything on the assumption that you're going to transfer is a surefire way to end up hugely in debt and with no job prospects. No "personal issues" can possibly make it so that you "must" go to law school this year, because no one "must" go to law school ever.

Bad plan, bro. You are making a 150k-200k bet on a 5 to 10 percent chance (that assumes you get a SA offer, which isn't a guarantee by any stretch as a transfer). The other 90 percent of the time you end up with massive debt and no possibility for a CA job.

ommy48 wrote:Thanks for all of the feedback, I appreciate it.

I hate to ask this because it is fairly presumptuous and dependent on a lot of factors, but say I am in the top 5% to 10% of either class, would transferring from either school be easier (not in terms of getting grades but in terms of reputation for the top ranked schools) for a T14 (especially UC Berkeley where I did my undergrad and have good connections)? Unfortunately due to some personal issues, I cannot wait a year and reapply, I must start somewhere this fall. Thanks again.

Is someone holding a gun to your head and forcing you to go to lawl school?

Retake or don't go.

DO NOT ATTEND A SCHOOL WITH THE INTENT TO TRANSFER.

You will almost certainly fail in this. IU and UW are very competitive schools. Thinking you're going to beat 90-95% of a class as smart and accomplished as these two is foolish. Add to that the arbitrary grading process, and you have little to no control over gaining an edge over anyone.

Retake and reapply. Sometimes the best play is to sit one hand out. Retake and reapply.



BTW, I love IU. But it's bad for Cali.

$15,000 per year scholarship is not enough to attend Indiana if you want to practice in California.

Madison, Wisconsin & Berkeley, California are both very liberal cities--probably the two most liberal "college towns" in the US.

The Bay is a really tough market to break, and you'll have a tough time getting meaningful employment there from either of these schools. As others have said, don't go with the intent to transfer. If you really want to work in the Bay long term, retake and try to get into Boalt.

Do not go to school thinking you will transfer. You have better odds putting 150k on red at a casino than betting on a transfer. It is rank idiocy to assume a transfer.

Unless you are in-state, neither school is even close to worth the debt. Pretty sure both schools have less than 10% NLJ placement. They're solid regional schools, but with the debt you're looking at, you'll need one of the precious few big law gigs from these schools.

FWIW, Bloomington is not a very nice place to live. People rave about it only because it is the best place in Indiana, not because it is actually nice. It probably would have been pretty fun to be there in undergrad, but is pretty awful for professional/graduate school.

buchy2009 wrote:FWIW, Bloomington is not a very nice place to live. People rave about it only because it is the best place in Indiana, not because it is actually nice. It probably would have been pretty fun to be there in undergrad, but is pretty awful for professional/graduate school.

Not sure why you bumped this thread just to say this, but you are wrong. Bloomington is an awesome place to live. Relatively low cost of living, tons of great food spots, lots of vegetation/trees. Not sure what you have to complain about if you live close to campus.

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K Rock wrote:

buchy2009 wrote:FWIW, Bloomington is not a very nice place to live. People rave about it only because it is the best place in Indiana, not because it is actually nice. It probably would have been pretty fun to be there in undergrad, but is pretty awful for professional/graduate school.

Not sure why you bumped this thread just to say this, but you are wrong. Bloomington is an awesome place to live. Relatively low cost of living, tons of great food spots, lots of vegetation/trees. Not sure what you have to complain about if you live close to campus.

I am currently a UG here. Btown is amazing with a great COL and a great atmosphere.

OP, I would say visit and and decide for yourself.