Top Law Schools

Taking questions on anything Iowa related. There a number of us on here so I'm sure some other students will drop in and try to answer some questions as well.

What's the competitiveness like at Iowa?

What do you think of legal writing? Is it graded?

I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

Drink. The bar scene in Iowa City is absolutely amazing, tailgating at both Iowa and Iowa State is the best in the country, Big 10 football rocks, and Big 10 basketball is still pretty fun. There's also intramurals. Plus pretty much everything you have in your city, just on a smaller (and less pompous) scale.

Really, though, Iowa City is just a small city. Yes, Iowa has a lot of cornfields and livestock. But not in within any of the cities.

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

PS - I now see you are from California. Just ignore my last post, as you will probably give me some response about how if a place isn't overcrowded, overpriced, and full of douchebags, it might as well not be called a city.

What made you choose Iowa over other schools? Also I know this have been discussed many times before (and also you may not be completely aware as a 1L) but how are job prospects out of state and in neighboring urban cities?

chrisbru wrote:

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

PS - I now see you are from California. Just ignore my last post, as you will probably give me some response about how if a place isn't overcrowded, overpriced, and full of douchebags, it might as well not be called a city.

LOL i wasn't going to say this...i live in suburbia. trust me, iowa city is probably more fun than irvine.......

i do like big cities though. Fordham is my top (realistic) choice so i don't think Iowa is for me!

plus i hate football. with a passion.

Gotti wrote:

chrisbru wrote:

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

PS - I now see you are from California. Just ignore my last post, as you will probably give me some response about how if a place isn't overcrowded, overpriced, and full of douchebags, it might as well not be called a city.

LOL i wasn't going to say this...i live in suburbia. trust me, iowa city is probably more fun than irvine.......

i do like big cities though. Fordham is my top (realistic) choice so i don't think Iowa is for me!


plus i hate football. with a passion.

You hate football?! You're dead to me!

Actually... Fordham top choice? You're dead to the whole legal world!

chrisbru wrote:What's the competitiveness like at Iowa?

Pretty much nonexistent, at least for our class. A lot of people go out of their way to help others, whether it is letting them know about a good study guide, information they learned about the exam, sharing outlines, etc.

Everyone is just really friendly, and that is one of the things that was attractive to me about Iowa. It is a perfect combination of people who are very bright and hardworking but at the same time have a laid back attitude to them, which makes everyone enjoyable to be around.

tea_drinker wrote:What do you think of legal writing? Is it graded?

Legal writing was my favorite class, but I think a lot of that may have had to do with my professor (Liebig). It is graded, which is kind of a pain, of course, but if you actually enjoy the assignments and want to do well on them anyway, then the fact they are graded isn't a huge deal. If you aren't a fan of the assignments then obviously you would prefer to just be able to put in whatever effort you think is necessary to pass and move on.

You also get a lot of classes canceled, typically, which is always nice.

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

The prior answer is pretty accurate. Iowa City is like any other state university campus. Lots of great bars and restaurants in the downtown area, then you have your typical retail chains and a mall just outside of Iowa City in Coralville. I knew a lot of people who went to Iowa for undergrad and literally everyone raved about how awesome it is. Football is king out here and tailgating is huge.

The bars are 21+ now, so that may be good or bad depending on how you look at it (and maybe on how much of a weirdo you are).

hokie wrote:What made you choose Iowa over other schools? Also I know this have been discussed many times before (and also you may not be completely aware as a 1L) but how are job prospects out of state and in neighboring urban cities?

Generally, when choosing a school you have to balance geographic location, price, and rank. Iowa is well ranked (and even more well regarded by employers, based on reputation ratings). I wanted to stay in the Midwest, and Iowa places at least decent in every major Midwest city. Finally, the ability to gain in-state residency after one year is big, and I think is an underrated factor 0Ls consider in choosing a school. It can save a lot.

Re: job prospects, it is indeed hard for me to say, and my general impression so far is that slightly more students are staying in Iowa because that is where the demand is stronger for Iowa grads in this market. Traditionally only 1/3 of grads stayed in Iowa to begin with though, so I figure a lot of people are still finding work elsewhere. Like I said, Iowa grads have a good reputation with employers, so anywhere that reputation is already in place (pretty much anywhere in the Midwest), you are going to have a shot at finding employment, especially if you have a tie to the city.

how is the diversity at the law school,main campus, and city in general?

bsc89 wrote:how is the diversity at the law school,main campus, and city in general?

It isn't great, to be honest. This is one of the things that kind of surprised me cause I just kind of figured, "Oh it's a huge public university of course it is going to be diverse!" There are very few African Americans in our class (there are only like, 3 or 4 that I actually know of out of 200 first years, and the second and third year classes don't seem to be much different but I can't really say with much certainty). Ditto for Hispanics, I think. There a few more Asians, but I don't think that is really uncommon, though. The main campus and town is probably a little more diverse, but not much.

This has been one of the very few disappointments I've had with Iowa. I came from a really diverse undergrad, so it was something I really appreciated. Like I said before, though, it is really friendly here. Iowa City is a pretty liberal town on the whole I think, and everyone just gets along. One thing I will say is that our class is diverse in the sense that everyone has pretty different, interesting backgrounds.

chrisbru wrote:

Gotti wrote:

chrisbru wrote:

Gotti wrote:I'm not applying to Iowa or anything, but what do you guys do for fun? I picture Iowa to be a giant cornfield with like one building in it...?


I exaggerate, of course, but seriously what is there to do around the law school?

PS - I now see you are from California. Just ignore my last post, as you will probably give me some response about how if a place isn't overcrowded, overpriced, and full of douchebags, it might as well not be called a city.

LOL i wasn't going to say this...i live in suburbia. trust me, iowa city is probably more fun than irvine.......

i do like big cities though. Fordham is my top (realistic) choice so i don't think Iowa is for me!


plus i hate football. with a passion.

You hate football?! You're dead to me!

Actually... Fordham top choice? You're dead to the whole legal world!

haha i mean I have a shot at T14....I'm just not holding my breath. but thanks!