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Really want to go to Chicago, getting into NU or University of Chicago is kind of a long shot...may have chance at Emory (Emory alum)...which is obviously better ranked the Kent...

Worth moving to Chi for Chicago-Kent with money (got in with a decent amt)?

Just don't know how fruitful the job market would be with a Chicago-Kent degree...very confused!

Help!

what are your stats and how much did kent give you?

anon1538 wrote:what are your stats and how much did kent give you?

PM'd you my stats and Kent gave me 20k...can't gauge if that's worth it

goldgirl786 wrote:Really want to go to Chicago, getting into NU or University of Chicago is kind of a long shot...may have chance at Emory (Emory alum)...which is obviously better ranked the Kent...

Worth moving to Chi for Chicago-Kent with money (got in with a decent amt)?

Just don't know how fruitful the job market would be with a Chicago-Kent degree...very confused!

Help!

There seems to be some Kent grads, just from browsing this forum, that do well/ok for themselves. I think it'll be harder for a Kent grad to get a job in Chicago (a city with a pretty saturated legal env't) than a grad from either NU or UChi. Plus other schools such as Michigan, and possibly Univ of Ill place well in the city too. Overall not impossible, but you'll need to be at the very top of your class to compete.

I am a Kent grad - class of 2011. With 20k a year scholarship, you are still going to pay about $23k a year in tuition. Chicago is a relatively expensive place to live (although you can get good deals if you are willing to commute further). Typically you need to be in the top 10% at Kent for a shot at biglaw. If you have the background, there is a bit more flexibility when it comes to Patent type work, but that is not a sure thing either.

Kent provides a solid education. However, it is a crowded legal market and you have two powerhouses (Chicago and NW), a solid school (University of Illinois), three scrappers (Kent, Depaul and Loyola) and John Marshall all competing in the area.

Most people I know from Kent are working as attorneys, but many of them in small firms or for local government. Look up what the payments on $100k of loans are, and consider whether you can service it on a salary of around $40k. If you do decide to go, make a plan to drop out if you are not at a certain cut off after 1st year.

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Giddy-Up wrote:I am a Kent grad - class of 2011. With 20k a year scholarship, you are still going to pay about $23k a year in tuition. Chicago is a relatively expensive place to live (although you can get good deals if you are willing to commute further). Typically you need to be in the top 10% at Kent for a shot at biglaw. If you have the background, there is a bit more flexibility when it comes to Patent type work, but that is not a sure thing either.

Kent provides a solid education. However, it is a crowded legal market and you have two powerhouses (Chicago and NW), a solid school (University of Illinois), three scrappers (Kent, Depaul and Loyola) and John Marshall all competing in the area.

Most people I know from Kent are working as attorneys, but many of them in small firms or for local government. Look up what the payments on $100k of loans are, and consider whether you can service it on a salary of around $40k. If you do decide to go, make a plan to drop out if you are not at a certain cut off after 1st year.

Oh wow that gives me a lot to think about. Thanks for your input...if you don't mind me commenting, makes it seem as if you're bitter about your Kent decision lol, would you have gone back and changed things?!

Also I make 40k now, so I'm hoping that's not the case after 3 more years of school and a JD...that'd be a bummer.

I did not intend to come off as bitter about my experience at Kent, I have a good job and zero debt. Fortunately, Kent has done away with stips on scholarships, but when I went through you had to be in the top 25% to keep your scholarship. Some of my friends lost their scholarships and almost all continued on with their studies.

If I could do it all over again, I think I would have thrown out a few transfer apps. I was in the top 5% at the end of 1L and a few of my classmates, similarly ranked, went to either Chicago or Northwestern. What I really wish I had known was the changes to the GI Bill and I wish I had waited a couple of years to attend. I switched over to the post 9-11 GI Bill once it became available, but my whole decision tree was based on the old GI Bill which provided about $1k a month, but no tuition.

goldgirl786 wrote:Oh wow that gives me a lot to think about. Thanks for your input...if you don't mind me commenting, makes it seem as if you're bitter about your Kent decision lol, would you have gone back and changed things?!

Also I make 40k now, so I'm hoping that's not the case after 3 more years of school and a JD...that'd be a bummer.

And with $1200/month debt payments.