Chicago Law Class of 2016 Forum

[NoChainz]

Maybe getting ahead of myself here, but does anyone know where to find a list firms that interview for 1L and 2L OCI?

[naw]

So for entrance counselling, is it different for Stafford and Grad Plus? I went to StudentLoans.gov as instructed, but It doesn't look like there are options to select.

Wondering the same thing.

ETA: Just checked my documents in the student aid portal and it says entrance counseling has been received for both Stafford and Gradplus. I just did (scrolled through/guessed) the one entrance counseling option on studentloans.gov. So there's our answer.

[2014]

Maybe getting ahead of myself here, but does anyone know where to find a list firms that interview for 1L and 2L OCI?

1L OCI firms were:
DLA Piper (CA offices)
Eimer Stahl (Chicago)
Grippo Elden (Chicago)
Latham (Chicago)
Stearns Weaver (Miami)
Ahmad Zavitsanos (Houston)
Proskauer (Chicago)
Lewis Rice (St. Louis)

To my knowledge all of those firms extended call backs, and some but not all gave offers. As you can see counting on 1L OCI for anything is not wise.


The 2L OCI list is exponentially bigger so I can't reproduce it, but we haven't found out who will be here this fall. A safe assumption would be every Chicago firm, 90% of NY firms, 75% of Cali/Texas firms, and spotty on the rest but all of those not here should be amendable to mass mailing.

[Rahviveh]

Maybe getting ahead of myself here, but does anyone know where to find a list firms that interview for 1L and 2L OCI?

1L OCI firms were:
DLA Piper (CA offices)
Eimer Stahl (Chicago)
Grippo Elden (Chicago)
Latham (Chicago)
Stearns Weaver (Miami)
Ahmad Zavitsanos (Houston)
Proskauer (Chicago)
Lewis Rice (St. Louis)

To my knowledge all of those firms extended call backs, and some but not all gave offers. As you can see counting on 1L OCI for anything is not wise.


The 2L OCI list is exponentially bigger so I can't reproduce it, but we haven't found out who will be here this fall. A safe assumption would be every Chicago firm, 90% of NY firms, 75% of Cali/Texas firms, and spotty on the rest but all of those not here should be amendable to mass mailing.

Is there another list for diversity fairs?

[2014]

Is there another list for diversity fairs?

Which diversity fairs? UChicago doesn't host any as far as I know, so if you are talking about the city specific ones, the best source is through those specific organizations in any given city.

[NoChainz]

Maybe getting ahead of myself here, but does anyone know where to find a list firms that interview for 1L and 2L OCI?

1L OCI firms were:
DLA Piper (CA offices)
Eimer Stahl (Chicago)
Grippo Elden (Chicago)
Latham (Chicago)
Stearns Weaver (Miami)
Ahmad Zavitsanos (Houston)
Proskauer (Chicago)
Lewis Rice (St. Louis)

To my knowledge all of those firms extended call backs, and some but not all gave offers. As you can see counting on 1L OCI for anything is not wise.


The 2L OCI list is exponentially bigger so I can't reproduce it, but we haven't found out who will be here this fall. A safe assumption would be every Chicago firm, 90% of NY firms, 75% of Cali/Texas firms, and spotty on the rest but all of those not here should be amendable to mass mailing.

Wow, thanks I didn't realize the number was so small. How does the process work in terms of getting interviews? With that small of a number of firms I can't imagine that everyone even gets an interview.

[cwid1391]

Maybe getting ahead of myself here, but does anyone know where to find a list firms that interview for 1L and 2L OCI?

1L OCI firms were:
DLA Piper (CA offices)
Eimer Stahl (Chicago)
Grippo Elden (Chicago)
Latham (Chicago)
Stearns Weaver (Miami)
Ahmad Zavitsanos (Houston)
Proskauer (Chicago)
Lewis Rice (St. Louis)

To my knowledge all of those firms extended call backs, and some but not all gave offers. As you can see counting on 1L OCI for anything is not wise.


The 2L OCI list is exponentially bigger so I can't reproduce it, but we haven't found out who will be here this fall. A safe assumption would be every Chicago firm, 90% of NY firms, 75% of Cali/Texas firms, and spotty on the rest but all of those not here should be amendable to mass mailing.

Wow, thanks I didn't realize the number was so small. How does the process work in terms of getting interviews? With that small of a number of firms I can't imagine that everyone even gets an interview.

Edit: I know nothing.

[Dany]

Wow, thanks I didn't realize the number was so small. How does the process work in terms of getting interviews? With that small of a number of firms I can't imagine that everyone even gets an interview.

It just completely depends on what other people in your class bid on. We had about the same number my 1L year (I'm a 2L) and I got two interviews and I think most people got at least one, but I'm not sure.

[NoChainz]

Wow, thanks I didn't realize the number was so small. How does the process work in terms of getting interviews? With that small of a number of firms I can't imagine that everyone even gets an interview.

It just completely depends on what other people in your class bid on. We had about the same number my 1L year (I'm a 2L) and I got two interviews and I think most people got at least one, but I'm not sure.

Do other organizations come to OCI then? And does the bidding process work like 2L OCI? And why wouldn't you want to participate in OCI, at the least to get practice for the upcoming OCI (2L), even if you are looking at other opportunities?

[WhiteyCakes]

So for entrance counselling, is it different for Stafford and Grad Plus? I went to StudentLoans.gov as instructed, but It doesn't look like there are options to select.

Wondering the same thing.

ETA: Just checked my documents in the student aid portal and it says entrance counseling has been received for both Stafford and Gradplus. I just did (scrolled through/guessed) the one entrance counseling option on studentloans.gov. So there's our answer.

That worked a lot faster for you than for me. I did it yesterday and I'm still at "not received"

[Dany]

Wow, thanks I didn't realize the number was so small. How does the process work in terms of getting interviews? With that small of a number of firms I can't imagine that everyone even gets an interview.

It just completely depends on what other people in your class bid on. We had about the same number my 1L year (I'm a 2L) and I got two interviews and I think most people got at least one, but I'm not sure.

Do other organizations come to OCI then? And does the bidding process work like 2L OCI? And why wouldn't you want to participate in OCI, at the least to get practice for the upcoming OCI (2L), even if you are looking at other opportunities?

Yeah, I know Microsoft came to interview for their 1L program, but I'm not sure if others non-firm employers did? I can't find the list from my year and don't remember. I'm not sure if the bidding process is the same because I didn't do 2L OCI, but you'll get plenty of emails and there are meetings about it where OCS explains everything.

And I think there's a combination of reasons people don't do 1L OCI. Some already have jobs, some aren't thinking ahead to 2L OCI interviews, some probably think they're already great at interviews. I'd highly recommend it though. The chances are slim that it will result in a job, but it could happen plus I think any real interview practice is a good idea.

[naw]

So for entrance counselling, is it different for Stafford and Grad Plus? I went to StudentLoans.gov as instructed, but It doesn't look like there are options to select.

Wondering the same thing.

ETA: Just checked my documents in the student aid portal and it says entrance counseling has been received for both Stafford and Gradplus. I just did (scrolled through/guessed) the one entrance counseling option on studentloans.gov. So there's our answer.

That worked a lot faster for you than for me. I did it yesterday and I'm still at "not received"

It took a few days for me. I meant just like only, not like recently.

[switchis32]

anyone else nervous about the different curve that chicago has?

[Mal Reynolds]

anyone else nervous about the different curve that chicago has?

I'm hoping employers understand it less than I do.

In all seriousness, I think it's pretty similar to a regular B+ curve.

[cwid1391]

anyone else nervous about the different curve that chicago has?

I'm hoping employers understand it less than I do.

In all seriousness, I think it's pretty similar to a regular B+ curve.

Yeah, it looks different, but I can't imagine its substantively different than anywhere else. And yeah, BigLaw gets enough Chicago grads that they will know what they are looking at, which may be a good or bad thing depending.

[2014]

The only difference with the curve is that whereas a 93 elsewhere might be an A and that's the best you can do, here a 93 is a 181, 95 a 182, 100 a 186 etc. In the middle where everyone ends up, the curve here lines up really well with a standard B or B+ curve. This just helps differentiates A+'s from A's and abortion grades from merely bad ones.

[switchis32]

Ya, I guess I am worried because of all the rumors spread around the system

[mambar]

.

[2014]

Ya, I guess I am worried because of all the rumors spread around the system

What rumors? Not trying to sound confrontational -- I just haven't heard of any

There are two generally:

1. Graded schools as a whole are more challenging than Pass/Fail schools

This may or may not be true, The four pass fail schools (HYSBerkeley) all have some sort of high pass or honors or something and a low pass, so there is still competition. There's the issue of 3 of those schools are HYS and Berkeley self selects for Californians who might tend to be less competitive than east coasters for example, so not clear whether you can actually make inferences.


2a. UChi is more competitive than other graded schools because whereas other schools have a 8 point grade range used regularly (A/A-/B+/B/B-/C+/C/C-) UChi has a much larger one (170-186), thus it is more competitive as people try and differentiate themselves.

This is largely false since basically everyone is dumped in the 174-181 range and outside of that are outliers just like booking a class or getting a D is an outlier elsewhere.

2b. UChi uses the full spectrum of its grades

Completely false from what I can tell and even if someone does manage to get a 16x grade, that same person would fail wherever else they were based on lack of effort.


I obviously only have one school to judge, but I think any concerns about the grading system other than it is confusing at first are misplaced.

[Mal Reynolds]

I think any of my fears about grades or competition are far outweighed by Chicago's amazing employment stats. If I finish in the top of the class, then there are very few things I won't be able to do coming from Chicago. If I finish top 1/3, then hello Sidley/Kirkland/NYC V20! If I finish at median or slightly below median, this is where I'll be happiest I have picked UChi. I'll have a lot more confidence in getting a good job from this grade range than I would have been at other schools. If I finish in the bottom if the class I'm gonna hustle and it won't have really mattered where I went to school within the top 14. I'll have a manageable amount of debt and try to get a job in my secondary market hometown or something.

I could be totally full of shit but this is how I ended up picking UChi.

[Rahviveh]

I'm a little worried I won't get my referral money from Regents. I referred several people and my leasing agent said I was promised $X amount as long as those people signed a lease. Now that agent is gone and I talked to them today and they said they have no record. Well I am supposed to talk to the manager next week so hopefully its fixed. I also have emails

[skers]

Yeah, 2014 hit on the head. The only thing I'd add is graded LRW is fucking obnoxious and it's really the only place I see any added difficulty in comparison to other schools. Really, whether it's the standard grading scale or Chicago's incomprehensible bullshit, it still breaks down to people grouped in the bottom 1/3, middle 1/3 and top 1/3.

[20141023]

.

[Dany]

It's not about math or the represenation of failing grades; they had another reason (albeit a silly one) for not having a 100-point grading scale in the first place.

[Xifeng]

It's not about math or the represenation of failing grades; they had another reason (albeit a silly one) for not having a 100-point grading scale in the first place.

+1

Go ask Professor Stone for an in-depth explanation of the grading system.