Iowa 2012 Forum

[mikeytwoshoes]

Pay no attention to your ISIS. You will get an email from Dean Jones way before that changes.

Do they send out a complete email? All I got is some CRS mailing from them way after I applied.

I think Decision: In progress IS saying you are complete. Once you get the ISIS account, they are essentially saying that they will be reviewing your app soon I believe. I never got a complete email.

Well it's certainly been a while. It's January now and I got my ISIS way back in September.

Watson, did Iowa slight you?

[Anonymous0L]

You need to keep up. ^ That was back in January. And my love for Iowa was not because of the school itself.

[mikeytwoshoes]

You need to keep up. ^ That was back in January.

Precisely, you apparently applied but now you troll. Why would you apply to a school you hate? What was the decision?

[rainmaker614]

Crystal could live like a king at MSU. GO SPARTANS.

No, I could live like a Michigander on a scholarship - no jobs, no hope.

haha, definitely a reason I chose to turn down Michigan schools (even though I would love if I could get a job at a Big Law firm here after graduation). And there would be little-to-no hope of getting a teaching job there after. A school that is trying to be on the rise such as MSU is doing some heavy recruiting with top dog professors. They also have to compete with Wayne State which honestly has the faculty list of a T14 school.

[mikeytwoshoes]

Crystal could live like a king at MSU. GO SPARTANS.

No, I could live like a Michigander on a scholarship - no jobs, no hope.

haha, definitely a reason I chose to turn down Michigan schools not named University of Michigan (even though I would love if I could get a job at a Big Law firm here after graduation). And there would be little-to-no hope of getting a teaching job there after. A school that is trying to be on the rise such as MSU is doing some heavy recruiting with top dog professors. They also have to compete with Wayne State which honestly has the faculty list of a T14 school.

FTFY

[crystalhawkeye]

Crystal could live like a king at MSU. GO SPARTANS.

No, I could live like a Michigander on a scholarship - no jobs, no hope.

haha, definitely a reason I chose to turn down Michigan schools (even though I would love if I could get a job at a Big Law firm here after graduation). And there would be little-to-no hope of getting a teaching job there after. A school that is trying to be on the rise such as MSU is doing some heavy recruiting with top dog professors. They also have to compete with Wayne State which honestly has the faculty list of a T14 school.

I noticed that. They don't skimp on faculty! With the economy in the country bad, the state worse, the metro area worst, I'm all for getting as far away from here as I can.... and not looking back, either. I suppose that is one area where we differ, rainmaker.

[poiuy]

I was just accepted to Iowa about a week ago, and its definitely one of my top considerations. Anyone have any opinion as to why it ranks so high while having LSAT #'s a bit lower than similarly ranked schools (or maybe the question should be why it has relatively lower #'s when its such a highly ranked school).

Also, People have probably noticed a little bit of a recent "slide" in the US News rankings. Anyone think this something to worry about or if its likely to continue. With limited data, and lack of drastic movement in ranking its hard to speculate....and I'm not going to worry about the school being like 29th when I graduate when it was 27th when I started. I just want to know if there are any factors I should watch out for that I may not have in mind that may make the future "ranking" or general reputation a concern. I do plan to visit Iowa soon though; I think my expectations are going to be pretty high.

[mikeytwoshoes]

I was just accepted to Iowa about a week ago, and its definitely one of my top considerations. Anyone have any opinion as to why it ranks so high while having LSAT #'s a bit lower than similarly ranked schools (or maybe the question should be why it has relatively lower #'s when its such a highly ranked school).

Also, People have probably noticed a little bit of a recent "slide" in the US News rankings. Anyone think this something to worry about or if its likely to continue. With limited data, and lack of drastic movement in ranking its hard to speculate....and I'm not going to worry about the school being like 29th when I graduate when it was 27th when I started. I just want to know if there are any factors I should watch out for that I may not have in mind that may make the future "ranking" or general reputation a concern. I do plan to visit Iowa soon though; I think my expectations are going to be pretty high.

It's LSAT ranking is artificially low because the legislature of Iowa forces them to try to enroll 50% Iowans. I don't think you should care where the school is ranked after you graduate. All the matters is its reputation among employers. Vault's buzz on Iowa is uniformly amazing.

[pomona]

I was just accepted to Iowa about a week ago, and its definitely one of my top considerations. Anyone have any opinion as to why it ranks so high while having LSAT #'s a bit lower than similarly ranked schools (or maybe the question should be why it has relatively lower #'s when its such a highly ranked school).

Also, People have probably noticed a little bit of a recent "slide" in the US News rankings. Anyone think this something to worry about or if its likely to continue. With limited data, and lack of drastic movement in ranking its hard to speculate....and I'm not going to worry about the school being like 29th when I graduate when it was 27th when I started. I just want to know if there are any factors I should watch out for that I may not have in mind that may make the future "ranking" or general reputation a concern. I do plan to visit Iowa soon though; I think my expectations are going to be pretty high.

Congrats!

Some info behind their ranking:
1) their GPA is comparatively high, although LSAT low
2) their reputation score is higher than similarly ranked schools

Some things that may lead to a decline in the rankings/concern for the future:
1) some problems with their endowment which are preventing them from being able to pay top profs to stay there/attract new blood which could lead to comparatively lower reputation score
2) 50% in-state requirement: as younger people leave the state, they have less and less in-state applicants applying and overall in-state applicant pool is getting weaker, meaning they can't attract the best quality (highest LSAT/GPA) applicants.

[Lawguru]

I was just accepted to Iowa about a week ago, and its definitely one of my top considerations. Anyone have any opinion as to why it ranks so high while having LSAT #'s a bit lower than similarly ranked schools (or maybe the question should be why it has relatively lower #'s when its such a highly ranked school).

Also, People have probably noticed a little bit of a recent "slide" in the US News rankings. Anyone think this something to worry about or if its likely to continue. With limited data, and lack of drastic movement in ranking its hard to speculate....and I'm not going to worry about the school being like 29th when I graduate when it was 27th when I started. I just want to know if there are any factors I should watch out for that I may not have in mind that may make the future "ranking" or general reputation a concern. I do plan to visit Iowa soon though; I think my expectations are going to be pretty high.

Congrats!

Some info behind their ranking:
1) their GPA is comparatively high, although LSAT low
2) their reputation score is higher than similarly ranked schools

Some things that may lead to a decline in the rankings/concern for the future:
1) some problems with their endowment which are preventing them from being able to pay top profs to stay there/attract new blood which could lead to comparatively lower reputation score
2) 50% in-state requirement: as younger people leave the state, they have less and less in-state applicants applying and overall in-state applicant pool is getting weaker, meaning they can't attract the best quality (highest LSAT/GPA) applicants.

Agreed, but I do think that their reputation will keep Iowa up in rankings regardless, ANNND 2 to 3 years isn't going to shift views of partners hiring from Iowa for years and years even if they do slide a few points. That said, I don't think they're going to get hit hard this year, though I could be wrong. Iowa's employments stats sound comparatively strong to others in the region. I think it is worth the 150 k in debt

[Whitty]

That said, I don't think they're going to get hit hard this year, though I could be wrong. Iowa's employments stats sound comparatively strong to others in the region. I think it is worth the 150 k in debt

+1

Well said.

[Whitty]

..

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

[Lawguru]

http://www.news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009 ... s_law.html

[Whitty]

http://www.news-releases.uiowa.edu/2009 ... s_law.html

Huh.

I guess I really must live in a box after all.

[ElmGrant]

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

It happened rather recently. I don't envy that job.

Iowa is really handcuffed from a rankings perspective. They have to enroll 50% Iowa residents which is much higher than other schools. Because the methodology does place significant emphasis on the LSAT scores, Iowa is really at risk to slip further. Iowa as far as I know is not growing, and I've heard based on the decreasing volume of in state applications has been admitting lower quality in-state applicants as of recently. Iowa would probably jump back up 5 spots if they could lower the threshold to 25%.

[Whitty]

Hmmm...

Well I certainly don't intend to harm their yield.

[Lawguru]

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

It happened rather recently. I don't envy that job.

Iowa is really handcuffed from a rankings perspective. They have to enroll 50% Iowa residents which is much higher than other schools. Because the methodology does place significant emphasis on the LSAT scores, Iowa is really at risk to slip further. Iowa as far as I know is not growing, and I've heard based on the decreasing volume of in state applications has been admitting lower quality in-state applicants as of recently. Iowa would probably jump back up 5 spots if they could lower the threshold to 25%.

Is that in the works at all or not?

Like I said...in comparison to other schools in the region, and with everything rlse, I think Iowa will remain T 27 this year, but it may slip to T 30. Who knows...maybe it goes back to 22

[IpunchedCharlieRose]

Alright, I think I've decided to go to Iowa. Dropped the deposit in the mail this morning and then withdrew from some other schools.

[pomona]

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

It happened rather recently. I don't envy that job.

Iowa is really handcuffed from a rankings perspective. They have to enroll 50% Iowa residents which is much higher than other schools. Because the methodology does place significant emphasis on the LSAT scores, Iowa is really at risk to slip further. Iowa as far as I know is not growing, and I've heard based on the decreasing volume of in state applications has been admitting lower quality in-state applicants as of recently. Iowa would probably jump back up 5 spots if they could lower the threshold to 25%.

From what Dean Byrd said at the ASD, if they dropped the requirement to 40-45% they would be able to bring in the highest quality students. If he didn't have the requirement, he said he would still have around 45% from Iowa/55% out of state. It's that ~5% that is hurting him right now.

[Whitty]

Alright, I think I've decided to go to Iowa. Dropped the deposit in the mail this morning and then withdrew from some other schools.

Yay!!

[ElmGrant]

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

It happened rather recently. I don't envy that job.

Iowa is really handcuffed from a rankings perspective. They have to enroll 50% Iowa residents which is much higher than other schools. Because the methodology does place significant emphasis on the LSAT scores, Iowa is really at risk to slip further. Iowa as far as I know is not growing, and I've heard based on the decreasing volume of in state applications has been admitting lower quality in-state applicants as of recently. Iowa would probably jump back up 5 spots if they could lower the threshold to 25%.

From what Dean Byrd said at the ASD, if they dropped the requirement to 40-45% they would be able to bring in the highest quality students. If he didn't have the requirement, he said he would still have around 45% from Iowa/55% out of state. It's that ~5% that is hurting him right now.

It's tough. The schools ranked 20-40 are separated by very little. I mean Wisconsin is in the mid 30's, and I think most people would agree that Iowa and Wisconsin are equals. My prediction for Iowa is they'll be ranked #29 in the new rankings. I think Illinois & Fordham will move ahead and break the tie.

[pomona]

Whoa whoa whoa...what?? How did I not know about this??

It happened rather recently. I don't envy that job.

Iowa is really handcuffed from a rankings perspective. They have to enroll 50% Iowa residents which is much higher than other schools. Because the methodology does place significant emphasis on the LSAT scores, Iowa is really at risk to slip further. Iowa as far as I know is not growing, and I've heard based on the decreasing volume of in state applications has been admitting lower quality in-state applicants as of recently. Iowa would probably jump back up 5 spots if they could lower the threshold to 25%.

From what Dean Byrd said at the ASD, if they dropped the requirement to 40-45% they would be able to bring in the highest quality students. If he didn't have the requirement, he said he would still have around 45% from Iowa/55% out of state. It's that ~5% that is hurting him right now.

It's tough. The schools ranked 20-40 are separated by very little. I mean Wisconsin is in the mid 30's, and I think most people would agree that Iowa and Wisconsin are equals. My prediction for Iowa is they'll be ranked #29 in the new rankings. I think Illinois & Fordham will move ahead and break the tie.

Iowa and Wisconsin are considered somewhat equals in terms of job placement/regional reputation in the MW, but what about other factors?

[zettsscores40]

Crystal could live like a king at MSU. GO SPARTANS.

No, I could live like a Michigander on a scholarship - no jobs, no hope.

haha, definitely a reason I chose to turn down Michigan schools (even though I would love if I could get a job at a Big Law firm here after graduation). And there would be little-to-no hope of getting a teaching job there after. A school that is trying to be on the rise such as MSU is doing some heavy recruiting with top dog professors. They also have to compete with Wayne State which honestly has the faculty list of a T14 school.

+1 I would love to stay here after graduation. There are some great firms in the Southfield/Bloomfield Hills area. Here's to hoping this economy shapes up in a few years.

[rainmaker614]

Crystal could live like a king at MSU. GO SPARTANS.

No, I could live like a Michigander on a scholarship - no jobs, no hope.

haha, definitely a reason I chose to turn down Michigan schools (even though I would love if I could get a job at a Big Law firm here after graduation). And there would be little-to-no hope of getting a teaching job there after. A school that is trying to be on the rise such as MSU is doing some heavy recruiting with top dog professors. They also have to compete with Wayne State which honestly has the faculty list of a T14 school.

+1 I would love to stay here after graduation. There are some great firms in the Southfield/Bloomfield Hills area. Here's to hoping this economy shapes up in a few years.

Yeah I'm pretty excited that these firms actively recruit at Iowa. A student I spoke to at Iowa knew a few people who received summer internships and job offers at Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn (Detroit and Lansing), as well as at Dickinson Wright (Troy/Birmingham). Both are very respectable big law firms with a very low (relatively) billable hours requirement and nice salaries.

[mikeytwoshoes]

http://www.law.uiowa.edu/library/collec ... p#rarebook

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The second rare book collection is from the estate of William Gardiner Hammond, the first Chancellor (Dean) of the University of Iowa College of Law. The Hammond Historical Collection contains about 1,200 volumes of early English and civil law materials. During the College of Law's early years of financial hardship, Dean Hammond personally purchased the Law Library's books, beginning the Law Library's venerable tradition of stewardship.

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