UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[cylon_clone]

I'm going to be in Chicago this weekend to check out the area. I haven't been to the city since I was a little kid. Obviously, I won't be able to do more than casually glance at the law school, but is there anything in Hyde Park that's worth checking out and would likely sell me on settling in the area for 3 years?

[daydreamer]

For those who are working (or haved worked) in Chicago for the summer, do people usually stay at their apartment they had during the school year or move closer to downtown?

[Dany]

For those who are working (or haved worked) in Chicago for the summer, do people usually stay at their apartment they had during the school year or move closer to downtown?

I don't know any 1Ls working in Chicago that are moving. It's really not hard to get downtown. People just switch their transit cards to unlimited (instead of pay-per-ride) or drive. Would be way too much of a hassle to move.

I think the only exception might be someone whose lease was up in the summer and moved downtown but planned on staying downtown for the next year, also.

[daydreamer]

For those who are working (or haved worked) in Chicago for the summer, do people usually stay at their apartment they had during the school year or move closer to downtown?

I don't know any 1Ls working in Chicago that are moving. It's really not hard to get downtown. People just switch their transit cards to unlimited (instead of pay-per-ride) or drive. Would be way too much of a hassle to move.

I think the only exception might be someone whose lease was up in the summer and moved downtown but planned on staying downtown for the next year, also.

Thanks! I wasn't sure what the commute would be like from HP.

[Dany]

The trip downtown really isn't bad. If you are planning on living in Hyde Park, I strongly recommend living on the 6 bus route because it makes it so easy to get straight downtown via Lake Shore Drive.

[skers]

With the quarter system I'm assuming that tuition is split in thirds? When does Autumn quarter become available for payment?

[Dany]

With the quarter system I'm assuming that tuition is split in thirds? When does Autumn quarter become available for payment?

Yep, it's in thirds, and I think I'm looking at the right thing here ("Graduate/Undergraduate Billing Dates for the 2011/2012 Academic Year") which says:

Autumn Bill
Mailing Date: August 22, 2011
Due Date: September 16, 2011

Should be around the same time this year as well.

[Flash]

Why isn't it June 7th yet?

[justwalkawayrenee]

I expect this was asked earlier, but where and for whom are 1Ls working this summer?

[Dany]

I expect this was asked earlier, but where and for whom are 1Ls working this summer?

You mean in general?

[justwalkawayrenee]

I expect this was asked earlier, but where and for whom are 1Ls working this summer?

You mean in general?

Yeah, or if you guys want to answer individually.

[duckmoney]

I expect this was asked earlier, but where and for whom are 1Ls working this summer?

You mean in general?

Almost everyone I've talked to is working for government or public interest. A handful of people are going abroad and doing "international human rights" or something silly. A significant minority (I think it was 20% last year? That sounds about right) are doing firms. Most of these are biglaw firms, and probably a majority are through diversity recruitment. Very few people are working for judges, probably those are basically the one job that doesn't qualify for the summer stipend and so doesn't pay anything.

They'll release a full breakdown by orientation, along with a comprehensive "Who Worked Where" list so you can exactly who worked where.

[skers]

Any OCI numbers yet?

[Crescat scientia]

Wow, thanks for this thread. It's very interesting.
First question: Why do UChi students seem so much more stressed in their last 1L quarter than their counterparts at other schools seem in their spring semester? Do you think that the stress level is actually the same or is spring quarter at UChi really very rough? (If the latter, why?)
Second question: How is Elements? Is the final for that class like a college final, or is it law school-style final? You can't really have an issue-spotter for that class, so I'm curious how it works. The class itself sounds really cool. Is it?

[Dany]

I expect this was asked earlier, but where and for whom are 1Ls working this summer?

You mean in general?

Yeah, or if you guys want to answer individually.

Just running down a list of people I've talked about jobs with in my head:

Public interest positions in Chicago and elsewhere; various government employers (a lot of people are doing this); 2 non-diversity Chicago SAs; several with diversity fellowships or returning to SEO firms from 0L summer; 4 smaller market SAs; 2 working for judges; 3 going abroad; several working with the clinics; several research assistants

Basically, people are doing a lot of different things. I'd say most are doing work that qualifies for the $5k PI stipend.

[duckmoney]

Wow, thanks for this thread. It's very interesting.
First question: Why do UChi students seem so much more stressed in their last 1L quarter than their counterparts at other schools seem in their spring semester? Do you think that the stress level is actually the same or is spring quarter at UChi really very rough? (If the latter, why?)
Second question: How is Elements? Is the final for that class like a college final, or is it law school-style final? You can't really have an issue-spotter for that class, so I'm curious how it works. The class itself sounds really cool. Is it?

1) I have no idea. I've never gone to another law school. We're very stressed out right now, but I don't know if its any worse than anywhere else. We definitely were not (or at least had no reason to be) as stressed during the fall.

2) It varies a lot by class. I wouldn't call my exam a college essay, but it wasn't quite a traditional issue spotter or policy question either. I'd say all in all it requires more law school skills than say, political science exam skills, but it wasn't super traditional. It all depends on your teacher, though; no reason to plan anything in advance.

[Crescat scientia]

Ok, got it. So what makes the spring quarter so much more stressful than fall and winter?

[Dany]

Ok, got it. So what makes the spring quarter so much more stressful than fall and winter?

Autumn and winter we only have two exams each quarter, and in the autumn quarter LRW is ungraded. Spring quarter we have four exams and a graded brief.

[duckmoney]

Ok, got it. So what makes the spring quarter so much more stressful than fall and winter?

Autumn and winter we only have two exams each quarter, and in the autumn quarter LRW is ungraded. Spring quarter we have four exams and a graded brief.

And 2 of those exams cover 2 quarters worth of material. So really its like six exams. It's quite miserable, but on the bright side, no amount of law school work seems like it could possibly be intimidating again.

[JollyGreenGiant]

Ok, got it. So what makes the spring quarter so much more stressful than fall and winter?

Autumn and winter we only have two exams each quarter, and in the autumn quarter LRW is ungraded. Spring quarter we have four exams and a graded brief.

And 2 of those exams cover 2 quarters worth of material. So really its like six exams. It's quite miserable, but on the bright side, no amount of law school work seems like it could possibly be intimidating again.

You'd be surprised.

[Emma.]

Ok, got it. So what makes the spring quarter so much more stressful than fall and winter?

Autumn and winter we only have two exams each quarter, and in the autumn quarter LRW is ungraded. Spring quarter we have four exams and a graded brief.

And 2 of those exams cover 2 quarters worth of material. So really its like six exams. It's quite miserable, but on the bright side, no amount of law school work seems like it could possibly be intimidating again.

You'd be surprised.

[cjcregg]

GOOD LUCK ON FINAL EXAMS!!! You helpful posters have certainly earned good karma.

[Flash]

GOOD LUCK ON FINAL EXAMS!!! You helpful posters have certainly earned good karma.

upvote.

[JohnDorian]

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[Flash]

I've been reading a lot about UofC Law and I saw something where the Dean said something along the lines of: UChicago is a place where reading headnotes on cases isn't enough to succeed, you're expected to delve into the material and come to class ready to be pushed.


I have heard talk like this quite a bit at ASW, too. So, do you feel that this claim (that UChicago is unique in that you delve into the law (etc etc)) affects exams?

Maybe to delve into this question a bit further, do exams look different because you're at UChicago? Do professors look for different types of answers on them? I know most (if not all) of you haven't been to other law schools, but is the structure/grading of exams different than what you're told in 0L books like GTM or LEEWS? Or does the claim derive from in-class discussions and stuff like that?


I know you're going to shoot for the ask again before your exams angle, but I really think this would help us as we approach 0L prep and it would let us know if we should be taking notes on this kind of stuff in class (plus exams must be fresh in your mind considering the date ).

Feel free to wait until after exams to answer! To echo:

GOOD LUCK ON FINAL EXAMS!!! You helpful posters have certainly earned good karma.

I think every non HYS top school tries to promote itself in a certain way. Columbia with ivy prestige, NYU/Berkely promote themselves as laid back PI focused places, etc. Chicago chooses to promote itself as the most academic school. From talking with students at other law schools, there are slight differences but for the most part law school is law school.

We do tend to teach torts differently than most places I think.