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Has anyone applied or received any rejects or acceptances to the Cleo program for 2012? Have they announced where they will host it this year?

I got accepted today. I am wondering if 1Ls who participated in 2011 got to go to DC with the travel stipend. Are they still offering the perks for fellows?

Wontpanic, when did you apply for the program?

Which CLEo programs did you apply to? Also, are there any financial advantages to CLEO/LEO?

Congrats wontpanic. How did you find out your were accepted and what was the turnaround time?
In previous years there was a lot of activity on the subject of CLEO and I wonder if something has changed. Has anyone been accepted besides wontpanic?

Hey! Long time TLS lurker, first time poster! I can't believe this thread hasn't gotten more attention. I applied pretty late and haven't heard anything as of yet, but will keep everyone posted

I applied to Six-Week Institute back in Oct they said they never received my stuff so I remailed everything. Still waiting...

I see that they have extended their deadline.

bizismine24 wrote:I see that they have extended their deadline.

Yea...what do you guys make of this?

Perhaps it's associated with the alleged decline in law school apps or overall late applications or disinterest in the program.

Yeah, the idea of paying $2000 (plus application fees) to go to a program in the middle of nowhere... in this economy...especially when many have already been accepted to at least one law school.

You're basically out of that money, plus missing out on 6 weeks of earning a pay check - easily another $1000.

I'm not trying to troll. Just wondering what this program offers that is worth being out $3000+ when there are other, less expensive options to gain legal experience.

cylon_clone wrote:Yeah, the idea of paying $2000 (plus application fees) to go to a program in the middle of nowhere... in this economy...especially when many have already been accepted to at least one law school.

You're basically out of that money, plus missing out on 6 weeks of earning a pay check - easily another $1000.

I'm not trying to troll. Just wondering what this program offers that is worth being out $3000+ when there are other, less expensive options to gain legal experience.

I agree that the price tag is a bit hefty. I can say that I applied to the program because of the "preview" aspect that allows one to to experience the rigors of the 1L year before it begins. From what I understand learning to brief cases, exposure to the Socratic method and networking opportunities represent the primary benefits of the program. I also applied for a low-income seat so hopefully I can save $1500 if accepted to CLEO.

I also know friends who have participated in a state-specific CLEO program that were awarded a scholarship of $27,000 following the completion of their summer institute. However, I have not read that the national CLEO program offers a similar award or how many states offer these types of programs.

cylon_clone wrote:Yeah, the idea of paying $2000 (plus application fees) to go to a program in the middle of nowhere... in this economy...especially when many have already been accepted to at least one law school.

You're basically out of that money, plus missing out on 6 weeks of earning a pay check - easily another $1000.

I'm not trying to troll. Just wondering what this program offers that is worth being out $3000+ when there are other, less expensive options to gain legal experience.

I also think it's about paying for for a 1L preview. We all know how important our 1L year will be in terms of securing 1L summer internships, law review, etc. To me, the $3000+ is totally worth getting an edge in the classroom!

But, yeah I can definitely understand your concerns.

Hi

I applied to the CLEO Summer Program and was accepted Jan 4th. However the 2000 was due by January 31st. I was unable to obtain additional information as to what the $2000 covered nor the location until the balance was paid in full. Unfortunately, I did not secure my seat for the program. Based on the research that I conducted I could not find explicit support of the program...Overall, I was uncomfortable with making a quick decision.

Best of luck to everyone applying.

I applied for early admission. I was accepted and already paid my deposit. I think this is going to be a great opportunity. I'm excited!

Accepted today via phone call and e-mail. Good luck those still waiting. Excited for the opportunity!

lady law wrote:I also think it's about paying for for a 1L preview. We all know how important our 1L year will be in terms of securing 1L summer internships, law review, etc. To me, the $3000+ is totally worth getting an edge in the classroom!

CLEO isn't going to give you an edge in the classroom.

bk187 wrote:

lady law wrote:I also think it's about paying for for a 1L preview. We all know how important our 1L year will be in terms of securing 1L summer internships, law review, etc. To me, the $3000+ is totally worth getting an edge in the classroom!

CLEO isn't going to give you an edge in the classroom.

BK, What do you think is the primary benefit of CLEO (if any at all)? I'm curious to know your opinion of the program.

hernanmi wrote:BK, What do you think is the primary benefit of CLEO (if any at all)? I'm curious to know your opinion of the program.

Doing well in law school isn't rocket science so I can't see how CLEO's summer thing (which looks similar to Law Preview and Law Preview is universally reviled on TLS) could be of any value for doing well. In fact it just seems like a great way to burn yourself out further since you're spending 6 weeks on school and do more poorly than you might otherwise.

If there's any benefit to it it wouldn't relate to law school performance but more to anything else it gives. I see it says CLEO scholars are possibly eligible for grants. That might be useful, but I have no idea what ones chances of getting $ out of it are.

bk187 wrote:

hernanmi wrote:BK, What do you think is the primary benefit of CLEO (if any at all)? I'm curious to know your opinion of the program.

Doing well in law school isn't rocket science so I can't see how CLEO's summer thing (which looks similar to Law Preview and Law Preview is universally reviled on TLS) could be of any value for doing well. In fact it just seems like a great way to burn yourself out further since you're spending 6 weeks on school and do more poorly than you might otherwise.

If there's any benefit to it it wouldn't relate to law school performance but more to anything else it gives. I see it says CLEO scholars are possibly eligible for grants. That might be useful, but I have no idea what ones chances of getting $ out of it are.

Fair enough!

bk187 wrote:

lady law wrote:I also think it's about paying for for a 1L preview. We all know how important our 1L year will be in terms of securing 1L summer internships, law review, etc. To me, the $3000+ is totally worth getting an edge in the classroom!

CLEO isn't going to give you an edge in the classroom.

How did you come to this conclusion?

lady law wrote:How did you come to this conclusion?

Because the fundamental aspects of law school aren't that hard. What makes it difficult is the fact that you are competing on a curve against similarly intelligent and similarly hard working people. That will be the same whether or not you go to CLEO.

bk187 wrote:

lady law wrote:How did you come to this conclusion?

Because the fundamental aspects of law school aren't that hard. What makes it difficult is the fact that you are competing on a curve against similarly intelligent and similarly hard working people. That will be the same whether or not you go to CLEO.

That makes sense and I definitely see where your coming from. Still, I think that the program could be useful in terms of improving one's legal writing skills and providing exposure to the type and amount of work that is typical of law school. I went to one of the top ivy league schools for undergrad where everyone was obviously intelligent and (arguably) hard working...and unfortunately graded on a ridiculous curve

From my own experiences, I can attest to the fact that learning how to write in a particular way is invaluable in terms of earning top grades. Also, let's not forget that at CLEO, we would have our writing critiqued by law school professors...I'm sure that can't hurt.

lady law wrote:That makes sense and I definitely see where your coming from. Still, I think that the program could be useful in terms of improving one's legal writing skills and providing exposure to the type and amount of work that is typical of law school. I went to one of the top ivy league schools for undergrad where everyone was obviously intelligent and (arguably) hard working...and unfortunately graded on a ridiculous curve

From my own experiences, I can attest to the fact that learning how to write in a particular way is invaluable in terms of earning top grades. Also, let's not forget that at CLEO, we would have our writing critiqued by law school professors...I'm sure that can't hurt.

Legal writing skills aren't going to significantly help with your doctrinal classes, imo. And legal writing class grades are often arbitrary, especially when the briefs that students turn in are all quite similar.

More importantly though, it doesn't take 6 weeks and $2000 to learn this sort of thing. Spend some time reading Getting to Maybe or, if you really want to be hardcore about it, try the LEEWS system. Being critiqued by law professors isn't really helpful unless you have that specific law professor. Your exams won't be written for a generic law prof, they will be written for your law prof (the one you spent all semester with trying to learn his/her specific nuances). Law school also isn't some radically different type or amount of work. You spend all week reading boring ass cases and taking notes. Nothing radical there. The workload isn't that high either (easier than a fulltime job for the most part, imo).

And I think that it's just a waste. It's a waste of money, it's a waste of time, and the biggest risk is that you'll be burned out in December when you take finals since you'll have been doing the same boring monotonous work that everyone else has been but for an additional 6 weeks.

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