UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[Emma.]

And to answer the question, there is a niche in Chicago for every type of person. You've got your married folk, your bar review folk, your "engage in consistent intellectual discussion" folk... and others.

I will say... never judge a school from an internet forum. You will never see most of the people who post here, unless you choose to, and the class is diverse enough that you'll find people you want to hang out with.

Resent the implication that married folk can't be bar review folk.

[Flash]

Did any of you 2Ls and 3Ls RA over your 1L summer? If so for whom and how was it?

[Haymarket]

Did any of you 2Ls and 3Ls RA over your 1L summer? If so for whom and how was it?

Is this a subtle attempt to get them all to out themselves?

Related.

[Flash]

Did any of you 2Ls and 3Ls RA over your 1L summer? If so for whom and how was it?

Is this a subtle attempt to get them all to out themselves?

Related.

yes

[AntipodeanPhil]

Hi guys! I just got accepted to Chicago and it's currently my number 1 choice. I just spent an hour or so reading every page of this thread and found a lot of great information.

A question: have any of you guys taken classes outside of the law school? It looks like Chicago allows students to take 12 credits (4 courses?) outside of the law school. Is this encouraged or discouraged? Is it generally a good or bad idea?

I'm interested in corporate transactional law, and I thought it might be interesting to take a couple of courses in the business school. Is that feasible? What about an undergraduate Spanish course?

[Bildungsroman]

Hi guys! I just got accepted to Chicago and it's currently my number 1 choice. I just spent an hour or so reading every page of this thread and found a lot of great information.

A question: have any of you guys taken classes outside of the law school? It looks like Chicago allows students to take 12 credits (4 courses?) outside of the law school. Is this encouraged or discouraged? Is it generally a good or bad idea?

I'm interested in corporate transactional law, and I thought it might be interesting to take a couple of courses in the business school. Is that feasible? What about an undergraduate Spanish course?

I know a 3L who took an undergrad spanish course (I think it was like Spanish 100 lol), so it definitely happens.

[Dany]

god I cannot wait to do that. (Spanish 100)

[Haymarket]

Hi guys! I just got accepted to Chicago and it's currently my number 1 choice. I just spent an hour or so reading every page of this thread and found a lot of great information.

A question: have any of you guys taken classes outside of the law school? It looks like Chicago allows students to take 12 credits (4 courses?) outside of the law school. Is this encouraged or discouraged? Is it generally a good or bad idea?

I'm interested in corporate transactional law, and I thought it might be interesting to take a couple of courses in the business school. Is that feasible? What about an undergraduate Spanish course?

I also know a 2L who is taking a graduate Econ class. I think generally the school is very encouraging of taking classes "across the Midway" in different areas, and that includes the business school. As far as it being a good idea, I think it depends, but you're not likely to find some employer who will ding you for having taken some management class at Booth.

[AntipodeanPhil]

I know a 3L who took an undergrad spanish course (I think it was like Spanish 100 lol), so it definitely happens.

Thanks! I've been taking a Spanish course this semester and enjoying it greatly.

I was also thinking it might help to show a commitment to working in FL if my wife and I decide Chicago & NYC are too cold for the long-term. I have some weak ties but could add a line to my cover letter to the effect of "and I have been learning Spanish to make myself a better fit for the Florida legal market." Being a 0L, though, I don't know if that would actually help or not.

Also, I just saw on google maps that there is a skating rink directly opposite the Law School on the Midway Plaisance. I'm surprisingly excited about that.

[Bildungsroman]

Also, I just saw on google maps that there is a skating rink directly opposite the Law School on the Midway Plaisance. I'm surprisingly excited about that.

Yeah, it's right by the law school. Professor Helmholz has had a couple of skating sessions this quarter with students. I don't ice skate, but I know some students have taken advantage of it.

[Emma.]

Hi guys! I just got accepted to Chicago and it's currently my number 1 choice. I just spent an hour or so reading every page of this thread and found a lot of great information.

A question: have any of you guys taken classes outside of the law school? It looks like Chicago allows students to take 12 credits (4 courses?) outside of the law school. Is this encouraged or discouraged? Is it generally a good or bad idea?

I'm interested in corporate transactional law, and I thought it might be interesting to take a couple of courses in the business school. Is that feasible? What about an undergraduate Spanish course?

Both are definitely feasible. We also have a new program starting up that is going to end up with a lot more business focused classes being cross-listed at both Booth and the law school, which would mean that you can probably cover a lot of the business stuff through the law school and save your 12 across-the-Midway credits for other things.

[Emma.]

Did any of you 2Ls and 3Ls RA over your 1L summer? If so for whom and how was it?

I didn't, but I think it depends a lot on the professor. It also seems like RAing doesn't play as well at OCI as some other gigs. It doesn't necessarily put you at a disadvantage, but if you choose to RA you might need to work a little harder to put together a good narrative about the job for your OCI interviews. Practicing attorneys seem to view law school as almost entirely unrelated to the "real world" of work in a firm, and if you've RAed over the summer they view that as more of the same. Basically you just want to be able to tell a story about something concrete and practical that you worked on. You can probably find that through an RA job, but spending the whole summer doing research for a professor's book on some really out-there & purely academic topic will probably not fly that well.

[AntipodeanPhil]

We also have a new program starting up that is going to end up with a lot more business focused classes being cross-listed at both Booth and the law school, which would mean that you can probably cover a lot of the business stuff through the law school and save your 12 across-the-Midway credits for other things.

Thanks! That's great to know. A number of other t14 schools already offer a way to take business school classes through the law school, so it's good to hear Chicago is following suit.

I'll have to find someone in the administration to question/harass about the details during ASW.

[Flash]

Did any of you 2Ls and 3Ls RA over your 1L summer? If so for whom and how was it?

I didn't, but I think it depends a lot on the professor. It also seems like RAing doesn't play as well at OCI as some other gigs. It doesn't necessarily put you at a disadvantage, but if you choose to RA you might need to work a little harder to put together a good narrative about the job for your OCI interviews. Practicing attorneys seem to view law school as almost entirely unrelated to the "real world" of work in a firm, and if you've RAed over the summer they view that as more of the same. Basically you just want to be able to tell a story about something concrete and practical that you worked on. You can probably find that through an RA job, but spending the whole summer doing research for a professor's book on some really out-there & purely academic topic will probably not fly that well.

Interesting... I've got a very P.I.y resume and don't want firms thinking I'm a P.I. gunner. So if it came down to PI vs. RAing which do you think would show more of a willingness for firm work?

[Emma.]

We also have a new program starting up that is going to end up with a lot more business focused classes being cross-listed at both Booth and the law school, which would mean that you can probably cover a lot of the business stuff through the law school and save your 12 across-the-Midway credits for other things.

Thanks! That's great to know. A number of other t14 schools already offer a way to take business school classes through the law school, so it's good to hear Chicago is following suit.

I'll have to find someone in the administration to question/harass about the details during ASW.

We've always allowed you to take classes like accounting and corporate finance through the law school so it isn't like Chicago is just following suit. What I mentioned is part of a new "business concentration" program that I think is something only offered here and at UCLA?

[pupperoni]

facing NYU vs Chicago, which school better for prestigious biglaw or clerkships. and taipeimort, please don't participate.

[Flash]

facing NYU vs Chicago, which school better for prestigious biglaw or clerkships. and taipeimort, please don't participate.

Chicago.

[Haymarket]

facing NYU vs Chicago, which school better for prestigious biglaw or clerkships. and taipeimort, please don't participate.

Just go look at the school data. That's the best way to get the most recent results. You can find other past data from basic google or TLS searches.

Here is Chicago and NYU

But if you really want to know, it's not going to depend on where you went to school so much as what your grades are, if you get LR and what you do, etc. So, I wouldn't pick one school over the other just because in one particular year it had .5% more Art. III clerks than the other.

[Xifeng]

facing NYU vs Chicago, which school better for prestigious biglaw or clerkships. and taipeimort, please don't participate.

Just go look at the school data. That's the best way to get the most recent results. You can find other past data from basic google or TLS searches.

Here is Chicago and NYU

But if you really want to know, it's not going to depend on where you went to school so much as what your grades are, if you get LR and what you do, etc. So, I wouldn't pick one school over the other just because in one particular year it had .5% more Art. III clerks than the other.

This, and you may find more self-selection away from biglaw at NYU. It also may depend on which city you want biglaw in, because I think that's when differences between NYU and Chicago would become relevant.

[AntipodeanPhil]

We've always allowed you to take classes like accounting and corporate finance through the law school so it isn't like Chicago is just following suit. What I mentioned is part of a new "business concentration" program that I think is something only offered here and at UCLA?

Thanks! There are some other schools that offer business certificates or programs (UVA, Penn), but they sound more like your description of what Chicago used to do.

In an attempt to move the discussion from Chicago vs NYU to something important: has anyone here seen The Vow yet? My wife went to see it tonight, and apparently the main character (played by Rachel McAdams) goes to Chicago Law. They show her attending a class, as well as the outside of the law school (though from what my wife said, it seems like they used another UofC building - something in the Collegiate Gothic style). I wonder if this will have any affect on admissions? My wife seems more excited about Chicago now.

[Dany]

Any thoughts on choosing a 1L elective? Our choices are

Comparative Legal Institutions (Ginsburg)
Emotion, Reason, and Law (Nussbaum)
International Trade Law (Bradford)
Jurisprudence I (Leiter)
Labor Law (Weinrib)
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation (Huq)

[Flash]

Any thoughts on choosing a 1L elective? Our choices are

Comparative Legal Institutions (Ginsburg)
Emotion, Reason, and Law (Nussbaum)
International Trade Law (Bradford)
Jurisprudence I (Leiter)
Labor Law (Weinrib)
Legislation and Statutory Interpretation (Huq)

I'm shooting for Legislation because I <3 Huq's voice.

[Transferthrowaway]

I'm shooting for Legislation because I <3 Huq's voice.

Bring your dictionary.

[Haymarket]

I'm shooting for Legislation because I <3 Huq's voice.

Bring your dictionary.

Care to expand on the that enigmatic statement?

[Transferthrowaway]

I'm shooting for Legislation because I <3 Huq's voice.

Bring your dictionary.

Care to expand on the that enigmatic statement?

Sorry, it was a little tongue-in cheek. I think he does an excellent job as a professor, but he can use vocabulary that takes some getting used to. (Although this is more likely due to my terrible grasp of the finer points of English)