University of Pennsylvania Law School C/O 2018 Applicants Forum

[DCNTUA]

Hey everyone,

1L here. Happy to answer any questions.

Do you mind sharing 1) why did you chose Penn? and 2) how do you like it so far?

Happy to.

1) I chose Penn for a few reasons. I wanted to be in a city. I also wanted to go to a school with a relatively small class size and somewhere that students seemed generally happy based on my visits/word of mouth. These combined with great employment stats sealed the deal.

2) I love it so far to be honest. I have never once regretted my decision. My professors are great, fellow students are impressive, and the Law School is a nice little community nestled within one of the best universities in the country. My favorite thing thus far has been the accessibility of the professors; they seem to genuinely enjoy teaching and meeting with students, which I've heard from friends isn't true at other schools (most notably Harvard). This could just be the luck of the draw section wise, but it seems pretty consistent throughout.

[DCNTUA]

Hey everyone,

1L here. Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for taking q's!

May not be the best question for a 1l, but here goes:

what's your take on Penn's no gpa policy as it relates to OCI? (and what's your take on Penn's OCI process in general?)

it's obvious that Penn does extremely well in placing into biglaw, but it seems that not having a GPA may change the process, since at other schools your GPA tells you where you are in the class (roughly) and where/where not to bid.

I've spoken to many 2Ls about OCI, and it's never seemed to be a problem. I'm fairly certain most firms will calculate the GPA themselves with standard weights and base cutoffs on that. In terms of bidding, Penn supplies a spreadsheet with a graph that has the aggregate grades of students who have received offers from each firm, so it's similar to having GPAs in that regard.

In terms of general employment, I personally don't know any upperclassmen without something lined up for the summer/post-graduation. A lot of 2Ls I've spoken to received offers from some of the most prestigious firms in the country (e.g., Cravath, Sullivan & Cromwell, Williams & Connolly, etc), so if you have the grades your prospects are as good as anywhere.

[schmelling]

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[DCNTUA]

There's a rumor that Penn hired consultants a few years back to construct the optimal grading system to maximize job prospects, so I'm sure they had something like that in mind. The administration seems to take the notion of a professional school leading to employment seriously, and the career office is very hands on. (Well, after October 15th, which is the first day you can talk to them per ABA regulations.)

[grizzlybear]

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[R. Jeeves]

Also, do you think Penn will hold steady at its rank or does it feel like it is apt to fluctuate downward?

What prompted this question?

[schmelling]

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[DCNTUA]

For DCNTUA:

This is probably an awful question, but it's just hard to get a feel on these sort of things as a 0L. How would you rate the possibility of getting into the JD/MBA program as a 1L given no work experience? I would assume nearly impossible but do Penn JDs get any boost?

Also, do you think Penn will hold steady at its rank or does it feel like it is apt to fluctuate downward?

Without any work experience, I would say your chances aren't great, unless you have something else to set you apart. Even then, it would be an uphill battle.

I think everyone would be fairly surprised if Penn dropped anytime soon. Particularly where the class size is small and admissions regularly turns away high-numbered applicants, I don't see any reason to predict downward movement.

[grizzlybear]

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[Mack.Hambleton]

Nothing specific prompted the question, a little random. Sort of stemmed from the fact that 7-14 have a tendency to fluctuate and in the grand scheme of reputation and rankings it's a relative newcomer compared to UVa, Berk (this is based only on anecdotal evidence and old usnews rankings...maybe too old to be relevant anymore)

rankings don't matter, employment does. P > MVBDCNG

[everything_bagel]

Nothing specific prompted the question, a little random. Sort of stemmed from the fact that 7-14 have a tendency to fluctuate and in the grand scheme of reputation and rankings it's a relative newcomer compared to UVa, Berk (this is based only on anecdotal evidence and old usnews rankings...maybe too old to be relevant anymore)

rankings don't matter, employment does. P > MVBDCNG

this.

what's with all the penn hate lately?

[R. Jeeves]

Nothing specific prompted the question, a little random. Sort of stemmed from the fact that 7-14 have a tendency to fluctuate and in the grand scheme of reputation and rankings it's a relative newcomer compared to UVa, Berk (this is based only on anecdotal evidence and old usnews rankings...maybe too old to be relevant anymore)

rankings don't matter, employment does. P > MVBDCNG

this.

what's with all the penn hate lately?

sour grapes

ETA: although i dont think grizzlybear was hatin. He was just curious.

[grizzlybear]

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[Dream_weaver32]

Hoping to see some activity here in the next couple weeks. At least people moving to review, if they aren't there already.

[BillsFan9907]

Nobody has gone ur yet?

[MC819]

Nobody has gone ur yet?

Mine still showing "File Complete" (since 10/13; submitted about a week before that?) with the banner message: "Your application is currently in the queue for review by the Admissions Committee...We will begin the review of Early Decision applications in late October and Regular Decision applications in November."

[KITTEN4DINNER]

Applied ED Round II

[BillsFan9907]

Nobody has gone ur yet?

Mine still showing "File Complete" (since 10/13; submitted about a week before that?) with the banner message: "Your application is currently in the queue for review by the Admissions Committee...We will begin the review of Early Decision applications in late October and Regular Decision applications in November."

Same! Though my complete date is 10/27

[Winston1984]

Applied ED Round II

Didn't you apply ED to Cornell also?

[AOT]

- checking in

[jawsjawsjaws]

Nobody has gone ur yet?

Mine still showing "File Complete" (since 10/13; submitted about a week before that?) with the banner message: "Your application is currently in the queue for review by the Admissions Committee...We will begin the review of Early Decision applications in late October and Regular Decision applications in November."

Same here.

[FairchildFLT]

Applied ED Round II

Didn't you apply ED to Cornell also?

Just saw this also...

[Hand]

checking in. anything poppin ITT?

[R. Jeeves]

checking in. anything poppin ITT?

nah. should get neuro af in about a week or two though. EDs might come out and RDs might go UR.

[grizzlybear]

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