Look, I am not trying to be Debbie Downer here, but the truth is that big law firms cut have cut back their summer associates big time all across the country. But there are still great paying jobs available in firms of different sizes, and the big law firms still have a few slots available (see above article). I know that our class and the class above us got the brunt of the terrible economy, so hopefully things will be better by the time you guys are doing OCI in a few years. But while being in the top 10%-33% used to be a sure ticket into a big firm job, it is not anymore (again, this is not Illinois specific but going on right now at all law schools). One way to avoid huge OCI dissapointment is to use resources that the law school will inform you about, and websites like Martindale-Hubbell to look up every firm in the area you could potentially be interested in and apply on your own. Again, I know a TON of people that got good jobs this way. While top 10%, top 1/3, law review, moot court, etc. used to carry people and essentially guarantee big law jobs, that is not the case in the current economy. I know several people with fantastic personalities and interviewing skills that had all of these credentials and did not land big law OCI jobs. I also know several people who did land big law jobs through OCI (ie: Chattel Cat), but while these credentials will definitely increase your big law chances, they do not guarantee you a big law job like they might of in the past. The sinking economy has forced many of these big law firms to cut their summer associate program all together or shrink it to a fraction of the size it once was. Again, I cannot see two years into the future, and I do not know if the economy will mirror its current state. But I can say that it DOES NOT HURT TO SPREAD A WIDE NET!!! Also, people in the top 10%, 33% and even 50% of our class who do not find a job through OCI, do end up finding jobs (and not a Chuck E. Cheese). I think people have realized at the end of the day that the hysteria and pressure that surrounds OCI is not really worth it. You can get a big law job from OCI, but that is not the "be all end all." There are other avenues for finding great jobs, and with this economy you have to explore them.
I did interview at OCI, and I also did several interviews with small to mid sized firms. I stopped pursuing it at a certain point because I realized that I was pursuing something I didn't really want to do and it didn't make sense for me. I worked for a judge in a domestic violence court last summer, and realized that that I was kidding myself going into interviews telling the person I was interviewing with "how interested I am in insurance defense, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, etc." Some people love that stuff, but it is just not me. I am an anthropology major who actually did come to law school to "save the world," and I feel like I can at least save a small part of it in domestic violence. So I am working in the domestic violence special victim's unit at the prosecutor's office in Indianapolis. I LOVE IT. I speak with victims every day, and I actually did a bench trial in front of a judge yesterday that resulted in a guilty verdict for a domestic violence felony strangulation case. I am not trying to sound like an after school special here, but seriously...
Do OCI. Send out applications to every firm in the country you could potentially be interested (off Martindale Hubbell). Spread your net as wide as you can, and interview at as many firms as you can. It can only help you. Don't have nervous breakdowns and panic attacks every time you get a rejection letter. Just think of it as great practice and sharpening of your interviewing skills. You will not end up working at Chuck E. Cheese, and your legal career/life is not over if you don't get a job through OCI. At the end of the day, do not forget who you are or why you are going to law school. If you are not an after school special and you are going to law school purely to make bank, then the same advice still applies: spread your net as wide as possible and give yourself the best chance of getting a highly paid job... But seriously, how many big law summer associates are conducting felony trials already?
I am going to jump off my soap box now. I have been meaning to respond to this thread for a while and just now got around to it. I just wanted to be straight up with people. 
It will all work out in the end.
I started this thread 1L year when you are really not even supposed to work. I started it purely to help other people starting law school at Illinois. I was completely freaked out before starting law school and hung out on this website for TWO YEARS seeking answers to all of my 0L questions. Yes, my second year I did start giving tours in the admissions office, but I am by no means paid for posting on this thread. I started it my first year in order to help give people answers to their questions, and to help 0Ls realize that law school is not nearly as scary and intimidating as many people may make it out to be (well, at least not at Illinois : ).
In any case, there are 2Ls, 3Ls, and 1Ls who can answer your questions on this thread.
