UC Irvine 2013 Forum

[finalaspects]

The immature comment was not in any way intended towards you, or anyone else who has made thoughtful comments in regards to "looking outside the box" in choosing a law school, for that matter.

Generally speaking, I find the crew in the UCI forum a more thoughtful bunch than the rest of TLS. And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that those of you who have decided to at least take a good look at UCI have been able to look past all the ranking b.s., etc., and realize the unique opportunity present there. I have simply noticed that many, many TLS'ers seem to miss the "real-world" picture when it comes to choosing a law school and I firmly believe that, from what I've noticed here, I would have a much more enjoyable experience at UCI than anywhere else. I only hope that I still get in to be a part of it all, and congratulations to those of you who have already been accepted and have decided to attend.

+1

[msch0i]

I got a call from a 949 number today and almost had a heart attack. It was so disappointing when it wasn't Irvine calling

I almost had a heart attack just by reading the first half of your post

[NiGhTHaWk830]

Generally speaking, I find the crew in the UCI forum a more thoughtful bunch than the rest of TLS. And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that those of you who have decided to at least take a good look at UCI have been able to look past all the ranking b.s., etc., and realize the unique opportunity present there. I have simply noticed that many, many TLS'ers seem to miss the "real-world" picture when it comes to choosing a law school and I firmly believe that, from what I've noticed here, I would have a much more enjoyable experience at UCI than anywhere else. I only hope that I still get in to be a part of it all, and congratulations to those of you who have already been accepted and have decided to attend.

Hey, Dean Ortiz DID say at ASD that we were less snarky than people in last year's UCI forum

[ruleser]

The immature comment was not in any way intended towards you, or anyone else who has made thoughtful comments in regards to "looking outside the box" in choosing a law school, for that matter.

Generally speaking, I find the crew in the UCI forum a more thoughtful bunch than the rest of TLS. And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that those of you who have decided to at least take a good look at UCI have been able to look past all the ranking b.s., etc., and realize the unique opportunity present there. I have simply noticed that many, many TLS'ers seem to miss the "real-world" picture when it comes to choosing a law school and I firmly believe that, from what I've noticed here, I would have a much more enjoyable experience at UCI than anywhere else. I only hope that I still get in to be a part of it all, and congratulations to those of you who have already been accepted and have decided to attend.

Thanks, I didn't think it was - I just wanted to relay how cool people were in person - I was a bit iffy about even mentioning TLS, thinking it would just illicit some snarksters, but they were some of the friendliest people there - though everyone was pretty friendly.

I hope you get a shot as well...

[lobstar]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3 ... 154&ref=ts

[socal99]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3 ... 154&ref=ts

Thanks!

[msch0i]

*cricket chirp*

[pany1985]

April 15th is getting close...

[ViP]

SIR submitted today .

[lifeaway1985]

is there any hope left for acceptance?

[ViP]

is there any hope left for acceptance?

Based on ASD, I think they finished delivering acceptances at least a week ago .

Who knows what the waitlist will be like, though.

[msch0i]

is there any hope left for acceptance?

Based on ASD, I think they finished delivering acceptances at least a week ago .

Who knows what the waitlist will be like, though.

Yeah I think the best hope for those that are left is the waitlist...but I think realistically they are done for this cycle.

Just hope they'll show me some love next year <3

[SandyC877]

anybody know if we have to make any deposits???

[lobstar]

anybody know if we have to make any deposits???

There is no deposit.

[Neelg01]

i guess its time to wait for the dings and the soft wait-dings this week =(.

[finalaspects]

i guess its time to wait for the dings and the soft wait-dings this week =(.

yea... pretty much if you weren't accepted yet... it'll will most likely mean a ding.

[Inygma]

is there any hope left for acceptance?

Based on ASD, I think they finished delivering acceptances at least a week ago .

Who knows what the waitlist will be like, though.

Yeah I think the best hope for those that are left is the waitlist...but I think realistically they are done for this cycle.

Just hope they'll show me some love next year <3

I think someone mentioned that they haven't shot out waitlists yet, but I could be mistaken.

[DarkwingDick]

Interesting break down of lawyers in OC:

http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

[ENGINEERD]

So in the "new rankings" UC Davis is ranked 28. I imagine that UCI will, once accredited, be ranked higher than Davis. Assuming Davis holds its T30 spot I could diffidently see UCI debuting in the T25. Just a thought...

[ruleser]

So in the "new rankings" UC Davis is ranked 28. I imagine that UCI will, once accredited, be ranked higher than Davis. Assuming Davis holds its T30 spot I could diffidently see UCI debuting in the T25. Just a thought...

Yes, from #s it would seem top 20ish is realistic - Davis LSAT is only 160-165, and it is 28th. If UCI places its 60 first-classman, has those high #'s, etc, should compete well up in that range I'd think

[finalaspects]

So in the "new rankings" UC Davis is ranked 28. I imagine that UCI will, once accredited, be ranked higher than Davis. Assuming Davis holds its T30 spot I could diffidently see UCI debuting in the T25. Just a thought...

Yes, from #s it would seem top 20ish is realistic - Davis LSAT is only 160-165, and it is 28th. If UCI places its 60 first-classman, has those high #'s, etc, should compete well up in that range I'd think

yea, i wouldn't be surprised if they start in the top 20 rank. right below USC/UCLA.

[DarkwingDick]

I can't quite bring myself to submit.

Can students that submitted walk me through your reasoning?

Here's mine up to this point:

I know there are incredible opportunities at Irvine. First off the scholarship, second the incredible amount of individualized attention and care we’ll receive both in the classroom and in professional endeavors, third the chance to be part of creating a new law school ethos and fourth, but relatively inconsequential, a much more pleasant three years than law school will probably be anywhere else.

I guess what I perceive to be the biggest risk is mediocrity. I don’t want to go to a school with mediocre students and graduate with a degree from a mediocre institution. My friend and I were discussing this, and everytime I’m about to submit, I hear him saying, “Your law school will be on your resume FOREVER.” And he’s right. Regardless of how promising a start the school gets, or even our class is (but I have some doubts about that, too), it will be harder and harder each subsequent year to attract quality candidates, as the money, the press and the novelty fade. After graduation though, your school is often shorthand for your quality. There are exceptions, but I don’t know if I’m willing to take that risk in this market. Further, even a quick glance through this cycle's accepted dots at UCI on LSN shows that most of the upper third of admits will not be attending.

Concerning US News, this year's class will be the first to feel the effects. The school cannot be ranked until it has employment statistics, and those will come out right before we potentially graduate. There's been a lot of talk about how UCI's numbers are on par with top 20, but I'd honestly be surprised if those numbers even managed to stay at that level, much less rise, considering that scholarships are only half this year, a drastic drop in applications despite still being free to apply, and a larger projected class. Furthermore, the numbers that will have a much more significant impact on the rankings and job prospects are the assessment ranking from peers and from lawyers & judges. From my personal experience, speaking with recent graduates from T14 schools, these numbers will not be kind to Irvine.

Thoughts?

[pany1985]

Well, I'm actually a current student, so you'll have to factor into what I say here both my (1) experience in actually being student here, which hopefully lends credibility, with my (2) clear pro-UCI bias, which I realize detracts from that credibility.

I don't think you have to worry about mediocre students. All the admitted students I met at ASD on the 1st seemed pretty great. There are no guarantees, but that's the case anywhere. If anything, I'm sure the student who've already sent in their SIRs probably aren't going to like being called mediocre. Sure, some of the top people admitted aren't accepting the offer, but that happens at every school that isn't HYS. I know you're worried about the drop in applications, but Dean Chemerinsky has told us that the applicant pool for this year's class was generally more accomplished in terms of GPA and LSAT than for our class. The drop in applications from last year was on the bottom end of the pool, from people with mediocre LSAT/GPA numbers who applied last year just for the hell of it, not knowing what sort of medians we would have and therefore not realizing their 3.1/159 definitely wasn't gonna cut it. It was free, so why not? This year, those people knew that they'd just be wasting their time, so they made the rational choice and didn't apply.

As far as the opinions of lawyers and judges, the support we've gotten from the OC legal community has been really amazing and I realistically think that pretty much any of us can get a firm job if that's what we want. For the time being, at least, the demand for UCI Law students is higher than the supply. I know UCI might not be nationally well-known yet, but I'm from the east coast and when I go back and talk to people involved in the law, they do know who we are. They've seen the articles.

In short, all I can really say is that I know I made the right decision coming to UCI. Whatever decision you end up making, I wish you luck and I hope that by the end of your first year you'll feel the same way.

[ruleser]

I can't quite bring myself to submit.

Can students that submitted walk me through your reasoning?

Here's mine up to this point:

I know there are incredible opportunities at Irvine. First off the scholarship, second the incredible amount of individualized attention and care we’ll receive both in the classroom and in professional endeavors, third the chance to be part of creating a new law school ethos and fourth, but relatively inconsequential, a much more pleasant three years than law school will probably be anywhere else.

I guess what I perceive to be the biggest risk is mediocrity. I don’t want to go to a school with mediocre students and graduate with a degree from a mediocre institution. My friend and I were discussing this, and everytime I’m about to submit, I hear him saying, “Your law school will be on your resume FOREVER.” And he’s right. Regardless of how promising a start the school gets, or even our class is (but I have some doubts about that, too), it will be harder and harder each subsequent year to attract quality candidates, as the money, the press and the novelty fade. After graduation though, your school is often shorthand for your quality. There are exceptions, but I don’t know if I’m willing to take that risk in this market. Further, even a quick glance through this cycle's accepted dots at UCI on LSN shows that most of the upper third of admits will not be attending.

Concerning US News, this year's class will be the first to feel the effects. The school cannot be ranked until it has employment statistics, and those will come out right before we potentially graduate. There's been a lot of talk about how UCI's numbers are on par with top 20, but I'd honestly be surprised if those numbers even managed to stay at that level, much less rise, considering that scholarships are only half this year, a drastic drop in applications despite still being free to apply, and a larger projected class. Furthermore, the numbers that will have a much more significant impact on the rankings and job prospects are the assessment ranking from peers and from lawyers & judges. From my personal experience, speaking with recent graduates from T14 schools, these numbers will not be kind to Irvine.

Thoughts?

I think you have all rational thoughts and like w/anything have a decision to make. I was thinking a lot along the lines you were for a while, but my thinking shifted after first talking to a big law partner in LA, then attending the ASD. I asked the partner his thoughts, and he said, "Can't really say anything - there's nothing to think about yet." The reality is whether or not the school is mediocre is up to the people who choose to attend. It is the exciting part to me. For those who want to simply be a part of good programs, it may not be right. I personally want to fundamentally change to direction of a field of legal study, and want to start a particular new type of political movement, etc. - potentially things that would get national attention for taking bold new directions and make a name for the school.

If the school makes statements, paves new ground, it can be a top choice for a number of reasons. The thing I liked (and that is somewhat risky/scary) is that whether or not that happens depends on the students. The thing I liked was that the connections seemed to be there to put you in touch with top national figures if you start something exciting and new. And as the person from the east coast pointed out, the national legal world is at least curious to see what develops, so you have their attention.

Definitely, if it just turns out to be a few groups of smart but non-descript/non-trail blazing law students, it can just become another T40ish also ran in a few years. But for students who would be potentially frustrated at other top schools because you wouldn't have as much leeway to blaze a trail, for those chomping at the bit with a passion about a particular thing they want to found, UCI is a rare op in not just giving that op, but giving it with top-level attention.

The UC budget crisis/fee hikes have absolutely changed the game. No one can fault anyone either way they choose.

[DoctorNick189]

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