UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[Flash]

I have 5 days. Luckily I don't think I'm doing the write on and hopefully not doing OCI.

[seanPtheB]

I have 5 days. Luckily I don't think I'm doing the write on and hopefully not doing OCI.

Do you mind sharing your new career goals? I'm just curious, being someone myself who could see my goals changing drastically once I get to law school.

[echamberlin8]

Here's a few questions that I asked earlier that hadn't been answered yet, so I'm going to re-post them:

"Yes, I've noticed that Chicago does have very high GPA numbers as of late. That's why I thought it was weird when I read that it cared more about the LSAT and less about the GPA than do some of its peers. I actually read that here on TLS's write-up on Chicago: http://www.top-law-schools.com/chicago-law-school.html.

Has their GPA median shot up in the last year? Only a year ago, in 2011, their 75% GPA was only a 3.79. Now that is well below their median. That doesn't bode too well for me. I only have a 3.73. Would you say they place less emphasis on the LSAT than their peers because of this GPA-heavy strategy?

Are most of the students at Chicago K-JD's or otherwise very young, or do most of them have work experience? I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. I should be heading into law school at age 26 (I'm 24 right now). By that point, I should have 3-4 years of work experience, 2 of them at a V25 firm as a project assistant/paralegal. I'm hoping this helps my somewhat underwhelming (by T6 standards) GPA, assuming I get a 170+ LSAT."

I looked through the Clear-Admit guide for Chicago and didn't find these.

Thanks, guys. It sounds like everyone likes Chicago quite a bit. Glad to hear that.

[Mad Hatter]

The GPA increased quite a bit because of the 20 Rubenstein scholarships given last year (also being given out this year and next). There's nothing you can do about your GPA anyway, just focus on slaying the LSAT. The average age of matriculation is 24.

[echamberlin8]

The GPA increased quite a bit because of the 20 Rubenstein scholarships given last year (also being given out this year and next). There's nothing you can do about your GPA anyway, just focus on slaying the LSAT. The average age of matriculation is 24.

Thanks for the info. Damn, that's a lot of full-ride scholarships to hand out, especially considering the small size of UChi. Well, I will do my very best to get into Chicago. Definitely near the top of my list of prospective schools.

Do you guys mostly know almost everyone in your class because of the small size? What do people typically do on weekends at U Chi?

[Flash]

I have 5 days. Luckily I don't think I'm doing the write on and hopefully not doing OCI.

Do you mind sharing your new career goals? I'm just curious, being someone myself who could see my goals changing drastically once I get to law school.

Sure. When I came I was focused on BigLaw, preferably in Chicago but was open to NYC as well. I've realized that I have no interest in working in a big city and would much rather return to my home market. I have an SA in my home market this summer. I'm sure the Chicago brand got me the interview with the firm, but I think any T14 school would've gotten me the same opportunity at a reduced price.

[cjcregg]

Was anyone here an RA? What's the experience like, and how do firms view RAing vs. something else law related (not 1L SA obviously)?

[seanPtheB]

I have 5 days. Luckily I don't think I'm doing the write on and hopefully not doing OCI.

Do you mind sharing your new career goals? I'm just curious, being someone myself who could see my goals changing drastically once I get to law school.

Sure. When I came I was focused on BigLaw, preferably in Chicago but was open to NYC as well. I've realized that I have no interest in working in a big city and would much rather return to my home market. I have an SA in my home market this summer. I'm sure the Chicago brand got me the interview with the firm, but I think any T14 school would've gotten me the same opportunity at a reduced price.

Ah cool, thanks for sharing!

[Haymarket]

I will have no break

I have one day in between my last final and starting work. (Wednesday, Friday.) Womp womp.

I have a week off before I start work. What you think I'll be doing with that time?



What I will actually be doing:





Damn writing competition.

[GoodFood]

Was anyone here an RA? What's the experience like, and how do firms view RAing vs. something else law related (not 1L SA obviously)?

Really? No one was an RA here? Can you guys at least tell us if it's difficult to get an RA position with a professor?

Do any of know some people who did it? Maybe you can offer some second-hand advice...

[Xifeng]

Keep in mind that a lot of us are 1Ls so we don't know the answer to a lot of job-related questions.

[Haymarket]

Was anyone here an RA? What's the experience like, and how do firms view RAing vs. something else law related (not 1L SA obviously)?

Really? No one was an RA here? Can you guys at least tell us if it's difficult to get an RA position with a professor?

Do any of know some people who did it? Maybe you can offer some second-hand advice...

For real experience, you'll need a 2L who did it. But the general impression is that it is a good option for people who don't find other summer work. It isn't as desirable for OCI as SAs/PI/Government because you're less likely to have had relevant experience.

Also, that was reposted less than 7 hours ago. We do have lives outside of TLS. Simmer.

[soj]

We do have lives outside of TLS.

Flame.

[Xifeng]

We do have lives outside of TLS.

Flame.

Yeah I definitely lol'd.

[Haymarket]

We do have lives outside of TLS.

Flame.

Yeah I definitely lol'd.

You should be enjoying the amazing gif I stole from uchilawgo. Can't stop watching.

[GoodFood]

I looked at some of the non-Regents apartments, and their photo galleries seem to suggest that Regents has the nicest ones. They're all cheaper, but I'm willing to pay a little more to live in a more decent place. I know the photos on the Regents website are probably very misleading, though.

Question: For the same relative price ranges, does Regents have the nicest apartments?

[Haymarket]

I looked at some of the non-Regents apartments, and their photo galleries seem to suggest that Regents has the nicest ones. They're all cheaper, but I'm willing to pay a little more to live in a more decent place. I know the photos on the Regents website are probably very misleading, though.

Question: For the same relative price ranges, does Regents have the nicest apartments?

Everyone is going to think their apartment is a better value. That's why they chose it.

If they're about the same price, they are probably around the same quality which is to say, pretty good.

[GoodFood]

I looked at some of the non-Regents apartments, and their photo galleries seem to suggest that Regents has the nicest ones. They're all cheaper, but I'm willing to pay a little more to live in a more decent place. I know the photos on the Regents website are probably very misleading, though.

Question: For the same relative price ranges, does Regents have the nicest apartments?

Everyone is going to think their apartment is a better value. That's why they chose it.

If they're about the same price, they are probably around the same quality which is to say, pretty good.

Yeah--that's true. Let me rephrase: some of the other apartments are $200-$400/month cheaper, but from the pictures they don't look as nice as Regents. Question: Is Regents as nice as it looks in the pictures?

[Haymarket]

I looked at some of the non-Regents apartments, and their photo galleries seem to suggest that Regents has the nicest ones. They're all cheaper, but I'm willing to pay a little more to live in a more decent place. I know the photos on the Regents website are probably very misleading, though.

Question: For the same relative price ranges, does Regents have the nicest apartments?

Everyone is going to think their apartment is a better value. That's why they chose it.

If they're about the same price, they are probably around the same quality which is to say, pretty good.

Yeah--that's true. Let me rephrase: some of the other apartments are $200-$400/month cheaper, but from the pictures they don't look as nice as Regents. Question: Is Regents as nice as it looks in the pictures?

It can be if you're willing to paint and you have a ton of nice furniture. Most people don't.

[Emma.]

Was anyone here an RA? What's the experience like, and how do firms view RAing vs. something else law related (not 1L SA obviously)?

Really? No one was an RA here? Can you guys at least tell us if it's difficult to get an RA position with a professor?

Do any of know some people who did it? Maybe you can offer some second-hand advice...

Finding an RA position is extremely easy. Many people treat it as a backup if they don't land anything else for their 1L search.

I think an RA position can be a slightly tougher sell at OCI than many other positions. You just have to know how to spin it though and it'll be fine. The issue is that many practicing attorneys see what we learn at law school as being fairly irrelevant to real practice, and they see RAing as more of the same. If you RA, just make sure that at OCI you can talk about some practical/non-esoteric issue that you worked on.

[GoodFood]

It can be if you're willing to paint and you have a ton of nice furniture. Most people don't.

Uhh....no shit...I'm asking if they are better as is...

[Emma.]

Hey 1L/2Ls:

[img]

[Haymarket]

It can be if you're willing to paint and you have a ton of nice furniture. Most people don't.

Uhh....no shit...I'm asking if they are better as is...

Are you fucking dense? Read your own question. You have been consistently an obnoxious, entitled little shit in this thread.

[Br3v]

Getting back on topic.
Current Chicago students.
It seems like the theme the last page or so at least has been that you like Chicago, but seem to think you could have saved money and accomplish the same at lower t14, or in some cases, highest school in home market. As an OL, when I hear Uchi I think of a great school that would be an amazing opportunity to attend. Did you feel the same before attending? If so how do you feel now? $ wise, how much better would you say Chicago is than the rest of the t14?
In other words, if you were an OL, what scholarship amount would you need to attend a lower ranked school and why?

[Emma.]

Getting back on topic.
Current Chicago students.
It seems like the theme the last page or so at least has been that you like Chicago, but seem to think you could have saved money and accomplish the same at lower t14, or in some cases, highest school in home market. As an OL, when I hear Uchi I think of a great school that would be an amazing opportunity to attend. Did you feel the same before attending? If so how do you feel now? $ wise, how much better would you say Chicago is than the rest of the t14?
In other words, if you were an OL, what scholarship amount would you need to attend a lower ranked school and why?

Not sure that 1 person's opinion constitutes a "theme."

I paid quite a solid amount more to come to UChi over schools like Michigan and Boalt. There are so many different factors that you should probably be considering though that I don't think anyone can really tell you how much extra one school is worth over another. For me, I guess I'd consider the HYS tier to be worth somewhere around $50K more than the CCN tier, and the CCN tier to be worth $50K more than the MVP tier....