University of Minnesota Law School Forum

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Law School Programs >> Minnesota Law Schools

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University of Minnesota Law School is located in Minneapolis, MN. It appears on the Top Law Schools Rankings page.

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[fratty]

anyone going to the best hockey law school in the country?

[mumbling2myself]

I'm not attending UMN, but I love the fact that the Law School's hockey team was the 'Tortfeasors.' Now it's Go Fightin' Mondales!

[riss0016]

I'll be attending UMN.

I think I'll be receiving the best education per degree of temperature. I guess that means for a decent part of the year it'll be a negative education.

[bocifious]

If my waitlists don't work out, i'll be there in the fall.

[gedmem2]

Anyone know if out of state students can typically get residency status after a year?

[RingoMN]

am pretty sure you can't.

[bocifious]

I was told it was next to impossible. I am an out of state student currently going to school there if anyone has any questions.

[worldtraveler]

Minnesota doesn't let you gain residency if your primary purpose for living in the state is to attend school. I've never met a person who managed to get around this. Wisconsin residents do receive either in-state tuition or Wisconsin tuition at the U though.

[dilongla]

I was wondering what job prospects are like for Minn. grads. Minn. is ranked in the top 20, but it doesn't seem to get the chatter that other similarly or even lower ranked schools get. How easy or difficult is it to secure a job on the coasts, particularly the West one, after graduation? Could you give us your general impressions of the school concerning faculty and quality of life? Thanks in advance.

[bocifious]

I was wondering what job prospects are like for Minn. grads. Minn. is ranked in the top 20, but it doesn't seem to get the chatter that other similarly or even lower ranked schools get. How easy or difficult is it to secure a job on the coasts, particularly the West one, after graduation? Could you give us your general impressions of the school concerning faculty and quality of life? Thanks in advance.

Job prospects are generally pretty good. They don't get as much chatter because most of the people at the school want to stay in the twin cities/wisconsin area. I wondered at first if it was that or just bad placement because you never really know before you get there but I can tell you now that most of the students are from Minnesota/Wisconsin and they want to stay there. Placement is good on the coasts, and generally there aren't more than a handful of people who want to work there. Of course, like anywhere, you will need to be ranked probably top 35% or better, but this is really just because most of the California OCI firms are well regarded. I'm sure you could find jobs through legwork at medium cali firms pretty easily. There is actually a pretty big alumni base in California. The faculty are very well regarded and most of my professors have been extremely brilliant. The quality of life is also very good and Minneapolis is generally regarded as a very nice place to live with a high quality of life. Yes, it is very cold during the winter. But I came from southern California and I didn't find it to hard to get used to (but I probably wouldn't want to live here without a car as I currently am). The city has its own little sections and there are a ton of things to do around town. There is also a good amount of diversity and there are a lot of cool cultural spots. People also tend to be very active, even in the winter. The facilities at school are pretty good. The library is HUGE and there are a million+ volumes but honestly I can't think of more than a few times when I actually got a book from the library. The good thing about all those volumes is that the library has to be fairly large to accommodate them all, and so there is ample studying space. I really like the way the tables are set up, and they have a lot of different areas for people who like small cubbies, big tables and a lot of light, tables with individual light, etc. I have never had to worry about the library being full or even 3/4 full. The rest of the school is pretty nice also, but I mean I haven't seen many other schools so I don't know what to compare it too. It was nicer then most of the other schools i went to ASWs at.

[dilongla]

Thanks for the info. It is especially helpful for me to hear that another Southern Californian is liking it out there. I'm from the LA area. So far Minnesota is the best ranked school I have been admitted to. I am also on the wait list at UCLA, that supposedly mile-long one. So I am not holding out too much hope. I have been through Minn., in the Summer mind you, and I really did like the terrain. I have read that the law building there leaves something to be desired, aesthetically-speaking. I have heard around the net that a couple years back Minn. had one of the premier faculties, up there with the T-14, but that in the last few years they have lost some of their more prominent members. It's also good to know they have a strong network in CA. I have heard it is particularly strong in the Bay area, which is where I would really like to end up working. I am also in at Hastings so the choice between these two is what I am really trying to work out now. I like the idea of Minn. having a smaller class size and a less cut-throat atmosphere. Anyway, I would be interested in hearing anything else you might think it important to note about the school.

[gspank69]

I am also from the LA area, to the school's credit their admissions staff have been incredibly impressive as compared to the other schools I have applied to. I had a decision within two weeks of going complete, whereas UCLA (where I am also waitlisted) took three weeks to respond to an admission question I had emailed them (worst the response was cryptic and did not sufficiently address my question). I am actually seriously considering UMN vs NYU. Mostly due to cost and a dual degree program (JD/MPH) that I have been accepted to there (NYU does not offer one). Also Minnesotans are so "gosh darn" nice.

[dilongla]

Yea, I have to agree with you. UCLA has been less than efficient in dealing with the few questions I have posed to them. I also kind of like the idea that Minnesota stays out of the limelight a bit, as long as it doesn't stay out of the employers' sights.

[atty_online]

Currently Minnesota Law School stands at 14th rank. Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyers (LinkRemoved)

[enygma]

Currently Minnesota Law School stands at 14th rank.

according to whom?

anybody have any information on Minnesota as far as placement with clerkships and DoJ type criminal stuff?

[badlydrawn]

I read in some UMN literature that they provide a laptop for you at a $1300 value. If you choose to decline, does the school deduct the cost from your first year of tuition? Alternatively, will they reimburse you $1300 to buy a computer of your choosing? Just curious.

[badlydrawn]

bump

[kflyer]

The impression I got is that you can't decline. You have to buy the laptop they assign.

[superflush]

I read in some UMN literature that they provide a laptop for you at a $1300 value. If you choose to decline, does the school deduct the cost from your first year of tuition? Alternatively, will they reimburse you $1300 to buy a computer of your choosing? Just curious.

Yea, about the laptop, I think you need to get it.

[kflyer]

I think for me that's the major con of Minnesota.

Not a bad major con to have if you have to have one.

[steindle]

Anyone have any idea when Minnesota's ASW might be? I'm booking a trip to a few schools for mid-March because it's the only time that I can get off of work...So I'm hoping that the ASW miraculously falls in that area.

[HipHopAPotamus]

I read in some UMN literature that they provide a laptop for you at a $1300 value. If you choose to decline, does the school deduct the cost from your first year of tuition? Alternatively, will they reimburse you $1300 to buy a computer of your choosing? Just curious.

Yea, about the laptop, I think you need to get it.

Yeah even if you already have one you must also have UMN's designated laptop; no opt out.
--LinkRemoved--

[superflush]

Anyone have any idea when Minnesota's ASW might be? I'm booking a trip to a few schools for mid-March because it's the only time that I can get off of work...So I'm hoping that the ASW miraculously falls in that area.

I don't. I wonder if anybody does as this may be helpful.
But there is this: http://www.law.umn.edu/prospective/visit.html
And it only has 1 date per month.

[STMN7]

Anyone have any idea when Minnesota's ASW might be? I'm booking a trip to a few schools for mid-March because it's the only time that I can get off of work...So I'm hoping that the ASW miraculously falls in that area.

Minnesota's ASW are March 6-7 and April 17-18 (Friday and Saturday). They have the ASW connected to alumni weekend (April) and to a T.O.R.T. performance (March) to show a little more of campus life.