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Who's seriously considering/sent their SIR??

w00t w00t.

me!!!! I'm about 95% sold.

I'm debating between here and Pepperdine so far. I'll be able to better decide when I get financial info from UCI. And after both Admitted Students Days... The more I look into it the more I lean towards UCI...AHH decisions decisions.

I'm just waiting to hear from a handful of remaining schools, but UCI is looking sweeeet

Veritas wrote:I'm just waiting to hear from a handful of remaining schools, but UCI is looking sweeeet

where else have you applied to?

SandyC877 wrote:

Veritas wrote:I'm just waiting to hear from a handful of remaining schools, but UCI is looking sweeeet

where else have you applied to?

I'm still waiting on USC, UCLA, Davis, Michigan and Cornell. UCI beats out my other options (BU, ND, GW....)

I really want to stay in CA and I'm just so happy that I can at such a cool school. I had other CA options, but nothing like UCI. I'm not even sure if sticker at those other options will come into play.

What about you?

Veritas wrote:

SandyC877 wrote:

Veritas wrote:I'm just waiting to hear from a handful of remaining schools, but UCI is looking sweeeet

where else have you applied to?

I'm still waiting on USC, UCLA, Davis, Michigan and Cornell. UCI beats out my other options (BU, ND, GW....)

I really want to stay in CA and I'm just so happy that I can at such a cool school. I had other CA options, but nothing like UCI. I'm not even sure if sticker at those other options will come into play.

What about you?

I'm waiting on USC and UCLA too! But I hardly doubt those will come with any scholarship money, which is why I am leaning more towards UCI/Pepperdine! GOOD LUCK! =)

Sorry for posting late in the game...but how do you guys with options weigh the lack of alumni base for UCI?

Veritas wrote:

SandyC877 wrote:

Veritas wrote:I'm just waiting to hear from a handful of remaining schools, but UCI is looking sweeeet

where else have you applied to?

I'm still waiting on USC, UCLA, Davis, Michigan and Cornell. UCI beats out my other options (BU, ND, GW....)

I really want to stay in CA and I'm just so happy that I can at such a cool school. I had other CA options, but nothing like UCI. I'm not even sure if sticker at those other options will come into play.

What about you?

haha you and I are virtually on the exact same boat, except I have a few more T14 apps in the eastcoast

I SIR'd already. Started withdrawing from the other schools so some other blokes can have my seats.

1ferret! wrote:Sorry for posting late in the game...but how do you guys with options weigh the lack of alumni base for UCI?

My undergrad was big on the whole "alumni" network. Sure, it was great for talking to people, but I got my jobs through blood, sweat, and tears. None of the alumni contacts panned out into anything useful much. Perhaps graduate school is different ...

Short answer is I don't give a damn. The faculty connections and promised recruitment should meet or exceed in that department.

And honestly, I'm not concerned about getting a job after graduation no matter where I go.

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DoctorNick189 wrote:Sent in SIR and applied for housing. Someone want to make a Facebook group?

How long did it take for your SIR to allow you to apply for housing? I'm still waiting -_-

Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=370964431154

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I might be an idiot to ask this but where can I find SIR form? Is it in on-line or they send it to us? I got my admission letter a week ago and it was two pages of letter from Dean Oritz. Do I get another packet or not?

poslhs wrote:I might be an idiot to ask this but where can I find SIR form? Is it in on-line or they send it to us? I got my admission letter a week ago and it was two pages of letter from Dean Oritz. Do I get another packet or not?

You get another packet.

Thanks. Boy, you are vigilant.

I'm not really sure. UCI (being able to live at home and commute) or UCLA sticker, add about $5000 for cost of living. Strongly leaning towards UCI though.

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Still waiting on UCLA and USC, but UCI is looking mighty, mighty fine .

Like many of you, I'm strongly considering and just waiting on a few more schools like USC and UC Davis.

NiGhTHaWk830 wrote:I'm not really sure. UCI (being able to live at home and commute) or UCLA sticker, add about $5000 for cost of living. Strongly leaning towards UCI though.

Night, how long of a commute would you have? I'm considering commuting as well but I'm anxious about adding the stress of a daily drive/metro-link ride to my first year of law school.

Sew wrote:Like many of you, I'm strongly considering and just waiting on a few more schools like USC and UC Davis.

NiGhTHaWk830 wrote:I'm not really sure. UCI (being able to live at home and commute) or UCLA sticker, add about $5000 for cost of living. Strongly leaning towards UCI though.

Night, how long of a commute would you have? I'm considering commuting as well but I'm anxious about adding the stress of a daily drive/metro-link ride to my first year of law school.

Just over 20 miles - 25 min normally, 45 min on a bad day.

Strongly considering UCI. Right now I am debating between Tx and UCI. I've been accepted into Wash U with $$ but it seems to be about breakeven money wise with UCI offer and I think I prefer UCI. But planning on visiting both Wash U and Tx. Tx is tough because I grew up in Tx so have a lot of Tx connections and COL is a lot less. But the experience will be very different than UCI. Tx is such a large school.

BTW visited UCI today and it was an interesting visit.

Dean Ortiz is a sweetheart and made me feel very welcome. Estuardo Ponciano, who I called to arrange the visit was also full of information and willing to answer all my questions.

I was impressed with the student buddy they assigned me. Dean Ortiz showed a lot of thought in matching me with someone who had a lot of similarities in background.

Everyone was so friendly and helpful. When I mentioned part of my decision might come down to where my husband finds work, two students chimed in that they might have connections who could help. And they also said two students had spouses in the same field who could possibly help on the job front. Seriously, I was very impressed. If they are willing to be that helpful in assisting my husband in finding work when they don't even know me or my husband, they are going to be great people to get to know and work with.

I am a big believer in the concept that you succeed when you help to bring other people up rather than by bringing other people down, and I definitely sensed a collaborative environment.

I also met two other potential students who were visiting and both seemed very pleasant. One had similar interests in international human rights, which I have. And I know the school is willing to bring in professors to teach classes if enough students show interest. So it's good to meet someone else with similar interests.

Regarding jobs, if I remember correctly, Estuardo said that 75% of students had positions lined up for summer already. One of the students mentioned getting unsolicited offers to submit a resume or to apply for a summer position and that a lot of people were reacting favorably to him mentioning he is at UCI. Estuardo mentioned some students had landed firm jobs and positions that are very hard to get as 1Ls right now. It seems like at least in the region there is a lot of excitement over UCI.

Definitely a strong sense of PI there. This suits me and makes sense as well. Those of us with interest in PI are probably much more willing to take on less debt and more risk.

Both classes I sat in on were interesting, especially con law - but that is in part because I am a lot more interested in con law than torts. Professor Moran was awesome though and I really appreciated that when they were discussing a case where a student mentioned that the shopper had a choice in where to shop, she pointed out that in a lot of communities there is very little choice. Having lived in the Bay Area and being familiar with areas like East Oakland, I am well aware of the lack of access a lot of disadvantaged individuals have to things others take for granted.

I also checked out the rec center because I would like to maintain a workout schedule while in LS. It is across the street from Palo Verde and Verano Place housing. So if you lived there it would be super convenient to workout. The gym was amazing!! Lots of sports courts, large workout facility with cardio and strength training equipment, an outdoor lap pool. And I didn't even go upstairs. This is a very nice and newish gym. And they are open until 1AM most days. But they really should give Estuardo a free membership there so he can better answer questions from prospective students about the gym

Overall I am very excited about UCI, but it is only the 2nd school I've visited. And while I loved the law school, the city itself leaves something to be desired. Irvine is indeed a very safe city and very clean. But for me it is rather sterile. I had dinner with a friend who lives in Irvine and he admitted it was mostly strip malls and chain stores. I tend to like a more economically diverse neighborhood and I prefer cities with more character. OTOH, I don't have to live in Irvine permanently. And there's something to be said for an environment that offers few distractions while going to law school. But coming from Berkeley to Irvine is a bit of a shock. I have lived in an Irvine light kind of town for a few years and while my husband and I preferred Berkeley and Oakland, we have adapted to where we are at and as long as he comes with me I think we can deal. And being able to find parking on campus will be a welcome change from Berkeley as well actually.

And while Irvine is somewhat sterile, I did discover a Trader Joes basically right across the street from the law school. Additionally in that same center there are a bunch of small restaurants that do appear to be locally owned and operated. I had a late lunch at a small kabob place and the food was rather good. So it seems like if I look hard enough I can find local businesses to frequent.

Regarding housing, after stopping in at the Irvine Company to look at their rentals I am almost certain I will choose on-campus housing at UCI. It is too good a deal in comparison to market priced rentals. And the Irvine Company apparently owns almost everything in terms of rentals.

Oh, one last thing. . . I am a mac user and the UCI law website says that you need a PC not a Mac for the exam software and for printing. That is not true, much to my relief, as I have a 1.5 yr old Mac I am not ready to replace just yet. You do need a newer intel mac that can run bootcamp and you do need windows on your computer for the exam software, that is the bad news - but you don't have to toss your mac (if you are buying a new laptop a windows machine probably makes sense). Also I was told there are no issues printing wirelessly from the Mac - yay!!

Thanks to Dean Ortiz, Dean Chemerinsky, Professor Moran, Estuardo Ponciano, Anna Davis (pro bono director), and Nasreen Zia (director of financial aid) and Debbie for making me feel so welcome. The same to 1Ls Andrea, Lauren, Sam, Xenia, Josh and all the other students I met, especially the two students who helped me find the admissions office when I arrived. And nice meeting you Nico and Jessica if you are reading this.

Now to deal with the $65 parking ticket I got because my permit fell off my windshield - doh!! Hopefully my appeal on the ticket clears it up. . .

Grrrrrrrr I really want to apply for housing, but I keep getting the message that I'm not eligible yet

When is my SIR going to go through already!?