Schools outside of Chicago that place well in market Forum

[0913djp]

So I'm curious...outside of the T-14 schools, what are schools that traditionally place well in Chicago?

I am thinking Notre Dame, WUSTL, UMN, IU, and Wisconsin...is there anywhere else?

I really dislike the idea of living in Indiana or St. Louis but am worried that I won't get into Northwestern/UChicago and would prefer to have better quality of life and education elsewhere than settle for Chicago-Kent or Loyola Chicago.

Thoughts?

[Ludo!]

Illinois places about the same as WUSTL and ND and better than Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin.

[badaboom61]

Illinois places about the same as WUSTL and ND and better than Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Maybe throw in Iowa on a really good day, and these are about the only schools that will reach to Chicago.

[skers]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

[DoctorShawHi]

After reading the Midwestern T25 thread in the Employment forums, I'm not so sure any school outside the T14 is hitting in the Midwest, period. Let alone Chicago.It seems like you absolutely must be top 25% if you don't go to a T14, and you shouldn't feel comfortable unless you're top 10%

[IAFG]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

But if I had my heart set on Chicago and had ties, I would much sooner attend another T13 than WUSTL. Ties matter more for Chicago than attending a school near Chicago IMO.

[2014]

WUSTL places basically no one in Chicago.

What are your numbers? The midwestern T30s at even half tuition are very scary places to be right now.

[badaboom61]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

But if I had my heart set on Chicago and had ties, I would much sooner attend another T13 than WUSTL. Ties matter more for Chicago than attending a school near Chicago IMO.

This, and ties are pretty much essential for Chicago in general. A lot of people from Chicago and NW who weren't from the midwest had trouble cracking Chicago this year.

[ndirish2010]

HYS. End thread.

[bk1]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

But if I had my heart set on Chicago and had ties, I would much sooner attend another T13 than WUSTL. Ties matter more for Chicago than attending a school near Chicago IMO.

Both of these things.

[mattviphky]

A huge chunk of Illinois people are from Chicago, and most grads go there when they're done. That being said, Biglaw isn't a common destination by any means (don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's less than 20%). While grads from many schools go to many different places, it seems like Midwest T30s are pretty regional for the typical student. I don't know if Kent/Loyola have the upperhand on Illinois just because those schools are actually within the city, but I wouldn't think so? Anyone have any data on that?

[0913djp]

.

[Lear22]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

But if I had my heart set on Chicago and had ties, I would much sooner attend another T13 than WUSTL. Ties matter more for Chicago than attending a school near Chicago IMO.

This, and ties are pretty much essential for Chicago in general. A lot of people from Chicago and NW who weren't from the midwest had trouble cracking Chicago this year.

I find this really interesting, and puzzling. As someone who has no ties nowhere in the country (my family is not in the US and I'v lived in several places all over in the last 7 years) I am wondering why do ties even matter? and what do ties actually mean? Will a firm in Chicago really care if I have family in Chicago? or that I only moved there for law school? Or if I'm somewhere else (Wash U for example) and want to move to Chicago for work and in the top 20% of my class? I am kind of confused to why ties really matter. Thanks!

[Ludo!]

I wouldn't feel comfortable targeting Chicago from any school in this market.

But if I had my heart set on Chicago and had ties, I would much sooner attend another T13 than WUSTL. Ties matter more for Chicago than attending a school near Chicago IMO.

This, and ties are pretty much essential for Chicago in general. A lot of people from Chicago and NW who weren't from the midwest had trouble cracking Chicago this year.

I find this really interesting, and puzzling. As someone who has no ties nowhere in the country (my family is not in the US and I'v lived in several places all over in the last 7 years) I am wondering why do ties even matter? and what do ties actually mean? Will a firm in Chicago really care if I have family in Chicago? or that I only moved there for law school? Or if I'm somewhere else (Wash U for example) and want to move to Chicago for work and in the top 20% of my class? I am kind of confused to why ties really matter. Thanks!

I'm not from Chicago but worked there last summer. The ties question came up in every interview I did. The important thing I found was to just have a plausible explanation ready to go. I just talked about how much I loved the city, that I went to law school in Illinois specifically to work in Chicago, and that I wanted to be there long term. But I was also at the top of my class so YMMV.

[LeninLunchbox]

I find this really interesting, and puzzling. As someone who has no ties nowhere in the country (my family is not in the US and I'v lived in several places all over in the last 7 years) I am wondering why do ties even matter? and what do ties actually mean? Will a firm in Chicago really care if I have family in Chicago? or that I only moved there for law school? Or if I'm somewhere else (Wash U for example) and want to move to Chicago for work and in the top 20% of my class? I am kind of confused to why ties really matter. Thanks!

In short, Biglaw firms only hire people they think might someday be partners. They don't want someone who is just looking for a job and doesn't care where it is. Most importantly a law firm in say, Cleveland, doesn't want someone who is looking to just get a couple years experience and then dart off to a more interesting place (sorry Cleveland) as soon as they get work. They want someone who wants to be a bigtime lawyer in Cleveland, build relationships with clients from Cleveland and learn everything there is to know about business and legal work in Cleveland. That's why the more provincial a market gets the more important ties are. If you're a T14 hotshot from the upper east side it's going to be harder to convince a firm in Birmingham, Alabama that that's really where you want to live and work for the next say, 20 years, than if you were born and raised in Birmingham.

As the markets get more national, a commitment like that is easier to show without ties, NYC being the easiest. You're from north dakota and you want to work at Skadden in NYC for the next 20 years? Not hard to believe. Chicago is kind of in the middle, being a huge national market. But, frankly a ton of people on the coasts still consider us flyover country. Perhaps more importantly, Chicagoans are (big admission here) really self-conscious about people on the coasts considering us flyover country. So, between two candidates, firms in Chicago are still going to want the one who has family here, spent a lot of time here and so on and knows how great a place it is, than the one who may just be trying for Chicago because they struck out in NYC or are just drifting around looking for where will pay the best.

That's my impression of the matter anyhow, I'm sure some will disagree.

[drive4showLSAT4dough]

@2014-
3.74/160 URM-Puerto Rican

Thanks for the responses. I am definitely aiming for Northwestern/Michigan/Chicago (or better of course).

I just think NW is a stretch considering their applicants largely over the age of 25 with work experience. I have basically none, other than an internship (pending) at Cozen O'Connor in DC, Philly, or Midtown Manhattan for next summer.

Lol you've implicitly acknowledged 2 reasons why the credited response is for you to work a year and retake in June 2013.

[dingbat]

After reading the Midwestern T25 thread in the Employment forums, I'm not so sure any school outside the T14 is hitting in the Midwest, period. Let alone Chicago.It seems like you absolutely must be top 25% if you don't go to a T14, and you shouldn't feel comfortable unless you're top 10%

FTFY