Illinois Law 1L Taking Questions Forum

[hkm6315]

ALSO> everyone should feel free to to ask us any questions about 1L life.

[MrOrange]

ALSO> everyone should feel free to to ask us any questions about 1L life.

Have you managed to match the posters who've sent you creepy PMs to the creepy people skulking around the law school building?

[Hook 'Em]

ALSO> everyone should feel free to to ask us any questions about 1L life.

Have you managed to match the posters who've sent you creepy PMs to the creepy people skulking around the law school building?

All jokes aside, thank you for providing so much useful information in this post. It seems like everyone I've met at Illinois, from Dean Pless to the current faculty and students, were open and honest about the school. It helped make my decision an easy one. See you tomorrow.

[hkm6315]

ALSO> everyone should feel free to to ask us any questions about 1L life.

Have you managed to match the posters who've sent you creepy PMs to the creepy people skulking around the law school building?

Maybe I can work on that tomorrow haha ^

[shilpa]

I don't know if you guys know this, but will the school help you with looking for out of state job/internship opportunities? Or should you pretty much be prepared to stay in Illinois if you attend? (just wondering because I know that's how it works with a good amount of schools). Thanks so much for answering this and for all the helpful info you guys have already given!

[hkm6315]

^ Yes they will help you. I would say that the majority of the firms that come for on-campus interviews are from the midwest. BUT, there are on-campus interviews for firms and government organizations in California, New York, DC, etc. I have friends who have been flying out to interviews in New York and DC the last few weeks. There are also a bunch of job fairs that you can attend that target certain regions of the country. You can get interviews with firms at the job fairs.

I felt like almost all of the summer internships offered to us after our 1L year (except for a handful) were in the midwest. Luckily, Illinois is ranked 23 in the country so myself and others I knew did not have a problem obtaining internships in different parts of the country - like New York and Texas - by submitting resumes to judges on our own.

So yes, you can find jobs and internships in other parts of the country with the help of the school. You may have to do a little more leg work for the internship part if you are too far removed from the midwest, but there are a handful. Honestly, if you are coming in as a 1L next year, I am sure you will have many more jobs available to you during on-campus interviews after your 1L year than we do right now. The economy is so awful right now things are pretty tight for us, but there are still always jobs to be had. I have even heard that some firms who may have seriously cut back are starting to hire 3Ls as things rebound for them.

[hkm6315]

P.S. This thread should now read "Illinois 2Ls Taking Questions,", but I am technologically challenged and don't know how to change that.

[coolkatz321]

I have even heard that some firms who may have seriously cut back are starting to hire 3Ls as things rebound for them.

Looks like we've got another person who reads ATL!

[hkm6315]

Hey! Anybody who is debating on whether to apply or not, you should really apply because THERE IS NO APPLICATION FEE THIS YEAR and Illinois is a fantastic school. Seriously, it is a top 23 school and I don't know if they have ever waived the application fee for everyone like this before. The normal application fee in past years has been $75. Direct quote from the website:

The University of Illinois is celebrating the visit of the Morrill Act to campus this October, the first time the Act has left the National Archives. In honor of this event, and recognizing the University of Illinois’ role in providing access to higher education, the College of Law is waiving its application fee for the Class of 2013.

Apparently, the Morril Act of 1890 set up funding for colleges and universities, and the University of Illinois College of Law is one of the original land grant universities funded by the Act. I guess it is also the 120th anniversary of the Act. So apply and come visit us!

[patrickd139]

Great news about not having an application fee. More schools should adopt a similar approach.

Acknowledging your Dean's restraint in not telling who ditched on OCI, your thoughts?

--LinkRemoved--

[hkm6315]

^ Nope. Honestly, some firms are in trouble. But that is everywhere and not unique to Illinois Law. There are firms that have down sized their summer associate programs, decreased starting salaries, or cancelled their on-campus interviews. BUT, there are also plenty of firms that are not as affected by the economic down turn and they are still coming on-campus for interviews and maintaining their status quo. There are many 2Ls who are doing on-campus interviews, driving or flying to do call back interviews, and still successfully pursuing summer associate positions. There are always jobs to be had. Some firms are not as affected as others. Honestly, I think this is the worst of it right now. It may be a little tougher to find a job and some of us may have to expand our horizons and work a little harder to find a job, but I don't think it is all that bad.

[BendAndSnap]

Hey guys - Has anyone had Richard Ross for Property? He is visiting at Penn this semester from Illinois and I was wondering if any of you could hook me up with an outline via PM? I would really appreciate it

[hkm6315]

Hey guys! So I am going to try and resurrect this thread again in case there are any prospective 1Ls with questions. This thread already has a lot of information about life at Illinois/applying/etc., but if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I am a 2L and there are a few other 2Ls on here who would be willing to answer questions... And some current 1Ls who were prospectives last year : )

[shilpa]

Really random, but i'm going to be visiting on Monday, Oct 19th! I'm excited
My boyfriend is a grad student there and i'm visiting him, so I figured I might as well check out the law school too.
How is life as a 2L?

[hkm6315]

^ It is really busy. lol. I thought that everything would be easy after 1L year, and it does feel like less pressure and stress about the unknown, but you are juggling many more balls in the air. A lot of people are taking short classes that end early, taking classes that have papers instead of finals, participating in moot court and/or law review, organizing events as leaders of clubs, leaving town during the week for interviews, working part-time for a judge, etc. etc. etc. Your 1L year schedule is given to you, and things feel a lot more organized and contained because school is your only focus really. Your 2L year, you are focused on a million different things. So it is just a different dynamic. It is nice to be done with 1L year though because I don't have to deal with stressing about/fearing the unpredictable with finals, outlining, memo writing, etc. : )

[hkm6315]

ALSO, you should call the admissions office and ask to take a tour if you are going to be here the 19th : )

[shilpa]

Aww yeah it sounds intense! Congrats on finishing your first year, though! I'm sure that must feel wonderful!
I actually already called them and will be getting a tour and sitting in on a class

[mako_shark]

Hey hkm6315, i'll also help try revive the thread.

I'm a current 1L and will try to help answer questions about the law school, moving to Champaign-Urbana, etc.
I'm also a Canadian, so if there are any Canadians that are looking at Illinois, i'll definitely help in providing advice regarding the F-1 visa process, preparation for obtaining I-94 forms, finding funding (since we can't borrow from the fed) as well as some adjustments that need to be made. such as the rude awakening i had when i found i couldn't manage my stocks/equities while in the US and had to transfer to a global brokerage, applying for an Illinois state drivers ID (so you dont have to carry your passport to the bar - cause some places won't let you use canadian drivers ID) & all that fun stuff.

cheers

[jd-mba]

What's the story on in-state tuition? I was given a 20k scholarship, so I'll be paying the equivalent of in-state level tuition, but will they give me in-state status after my first year? I plan on calling the Financial Aid office tomorrow, but if one of you could answer tonight, that would be great too.

And thanks for answering my nightlife question, it sounds like I won't be disappointed with the nightlife at all. Another question about social life though: I've read on the Admitted Students blog that because the class size is relatively small compared to some schools, it may be a jolt, especially for someone like me coming from a large state university. The blogger compared it to high school a little bit, saying that gossip tends to spread pretty fast and things like that. What are your thoughts? Thanks again.

In-state tuition at UIUC is nearly impossible, unless you plan on marrying someone who's an Illinois resident. Believe me, I asked quite a bit about residency when I was there last week.

Question -- I was an Illinois resident, moved away for graduate school, but my parents are still residents. Can I claim residency through them? Thanks.

[jd-mba]

Chalis, some of us make the trip in 2 hours lol. I wouldn't recommend that though! (I was trying to make a flight to O'Hare.)

HA. I landed a verryyy pricey speeding ticket doing this to visit a friend at u of i... Those cops mean business. I had no intention of driving down again to go to court either.

[hkm6315]

Chalis, some of us make the trip in 2 hours lol. I wouldn't recommend that though! (I was trying to make a flight to O'Hare.)

HA. I landed a verryyy pricey speeding ticket doing this to visit a friend at u of i... Those cops mean business. I had no intention of driving down again to go to court either.

I have managed to keep my speeding tickets to precisely one a year since I was 16 so that it does not affect my insurance. I somehow conveniently forget to go the speed limit the moment I have met the year mark... Be careful about those Champaign to Chicago cops on 57 though. I drove that about a month ago in the dark and there was a car tailgating me, trying to get me to speed. I didn't, and it flew past me and started tailgating the car in front of me which it was successful in getting to speed. Then I realized it was a cop car because he pulled the guy over.

[hkm6315]

^^^You can get Illinois residency if your parents claim you on their tax return. I filed a separate tax return because my parents live in Texas, and they rejected me for residency because I did not file at least 11,000 in Illinois income... A requirement that they conveniently left off of the residency petition form. For over a year, I have had: an Illinois driver's license, IL car insurance, IL voter's registration, IL medical insurance, an IL apartment lease, etc. etc. Apparently, I have no true residency in the eyes of the university since I have denounced all ties to Texas, but do not technically qualify as an Illinois resident... Very strange... In any case, if your parents claim you as a dependent on their tax return, you should have no problems.

For people who don't live in Illinois and whose parents don't have Illinois residency: start a long distance relationship with an Illinois resident now and try to be married by next August. lol (Or just do really really well on the LSAT and try for a scholarship : )

[jd-mba]

^^^You can get Illinois residency if your parents claim you on their tax return. I filed a separate tax return because my parents live in Texas, and they rejected me for residency because I did not file at least 11,000 in Illinois income... A requirement that they conveniently left off of the residency petition form. For over a year, I have had: an Illinois driver's license, IL car insurance, IL voter's registration, IL medical insurance, an IL apartment lease, etc. etc. Apparently, I have no true residency in the eyes of the university since I have denounced all ties to Texas, but do not technically qualify as an Illinois resident... Very strange... In any case, if your parents claim you as a dependent on their tax return, you should have no problems.

For people who don't live in Illinois and whose parents don't have Illinois residency: start a long distance relationship with an Illinois resident now and try to be married by next August. lol (Or just do really really well on the LSAT and try for a scholarship : )

uh oh, unfortunately they've disowned me on their taxes for years now. i've been filing independently for several years, so if i've established residency in another state but have an income >11,000 in illinois this year, would that qualify me?

[uiuccolgrad]

how screwed are 2Ls and 3Ls this year? was 2L OCI a disaster? how many firms were interviewing? was there any 3L hiring? what's the general sense of everyone there? has there been any discussion about how recent graduates are fairing?

[hkm6315]

^^^You can get Illinois residency if your parents claim you on their tax return. I filed a separate tax return because my parents live in Texas, and they rejected me for residency because I did not file at least 11,000 in Illinois income... A requirement that they conveniently left off of the residency petition form. For over a year, I have had: an Illinois driver's license, IL car insurance, IL voter's registration, IL medical insurance, an IL apartment lease, etc. etc. Apparently, I have no true residency in the eyes of the university since I have denounced all ties to Texas, but do not technically qualify as an Illinois resident... Very strange... In any case, if your parents claim you as a dependent on their tax return, you should have no problems.

For people who don't live in Illinois and whose parents don't have Illinois residency: start a long distance relationship with an Illinois resident now and try to be married by next August. lol (Or just do really really well on the LSAT and try for a scholarship : )

uh oh, unfortunately they've disowned me on their taxes for years now. i've been filing independently for several years, so if i've established residency in another state but have an income >11,000 in illinois this year, would that qualify me?

Not sure, but you should look at the residency page for u of illinois and call them and ask.