Indiana University- Indianapolis 2010 Forum

[sizzle04]

email acceptance this morning!
phew!

[tweettweet]

Alright, now that I am back in good ol' Raleigh, NC from Indy, I can sit down and actually report in on my trip.

First things first:
Having never visited Indianapolis, I was not impressed with the city as a whole. This may be a personal preference thing. If you've never been, I suggest you go before you make a decision, just to make sure that you like it. I rented a car and drove around the city, and kept expecting to find a nice part of town. If there is one, I didn't find it. Don't get me wrong, there were some isolated neighborhoods that might not be too bad, but they were mixed in with some questionable areas. Again, I've never been there before, maybe I just didn't know where to look.

Having said that:
I really liked what I saw at the actual law school itself. I met with Patricia Kinney, the director of admissions, and I found her to be very kind, accommodating, and straightforward. She actually sat down with me for about 45 minutes and answered every question that I had (and I had quite a few) as best she could. She also made sure to let me know that I was more than welcome to get in touch with her if I came up with any more questions. I'll list the general questions/categories for you, and you guys can ask for specific answers if you want, if for no other reason, so that I can try to keep this post under 3 pages.

-Section sizes?
-Student organizations?
-Use of the Socratic method?
-Possibility of 1L and 2L summer clerkships/internships and/or study abroad opportunities?
-Career Prospects? (i.e. biglaw, midlaw, public interest, etc.) and portability of the degree
-Standard of living in Indy, residence areas, possibility of in-state tuition?
-Intellectual property/patent law programs? (since this is my area of interest)
-When/how scholarship decisions are made (which you can find in the above post)

I may be missing a few questions or categories, but those are the ones I had written down from the meeting.

As for the facilities, I found them to be quite nice. They had a tour guide take me through every part of the building. The building itself is less than 10 years old, and they maintain it well. The law library has something like 600,000 books (as we know, the books themselves aren't the most important part of the library), but that should give you a general idea of the size of the library. There are loads of places to study throughout all 3 floors of the library, and it has all the amenities one would expect, including computer labs.

I found the classrooms to be nice, and they were well equipped and wired so that you could plug in a laptop at almost every seat. The largest classroom even had the seats mic'd up so that the professor could still interact with the students. The mock courtroom was nice as well.

All in all, the trip was a mixed bag. Didn't like the city, did like the school. My one complaint about the staff would be that they scheduled me to sit in on a class, but they didn't realize that it was spring break when they scheduled it, so I didn't get that opportunity.

Anyway, hope this information is of some use. If you want any more info, or some specific answers, just let me know, I check this board all the time.

thanks for the great info. i have been to indy tons of times since i lived about 40 miles outside of the city. in the "city area" it is so so. if you go to the northeast side then it gets really nice. broad ripple is where all the young professional visit. but i would agree with your assessment of the dowtown indy area.

[tweettweet]

email acceptance this morning!
phew!

Congrats. Very excited for you

[sapp]

I attended that ASD they had at the beginning of the month & took some notes on what was said/what I saw and thought. If anyone is looking for more info that can’t get there to see the place themselves feel free to shoot me a pm.

[sunshinefairy]

email acceptance this morning!
phew!

Congrats. Very excited for you

Congratulations!!! Are you going to accept them too? =)

I'm still file complete...and Indy is still my number 1!

[angiej]

Alright, now that I am back in good ol' Raleigh, NC from Indy, I can sit down and actually report in on my trip.
I'll list the general questions/categories for you, and you guys can ask for specific answers if you want, if for no other reason, so that I can try to keep this post under 3 pages.

-Section sizes?
-Student organizations?
-Use of the Socratic method?
-Possibility of 1L and 2L summer clerkships/internships and/or study abroad opportunities?
-Career Prospects? (i.e. biglaw, midlaw, public interest, etc.) and portability of the degree

Could you please elaborate on the top 4 q's? I'm also interested in how they curve/rank students.

[sizzle04]

email acceptance this morning!
phew!

Congrats. Very excited for you

Congratulations!!! Are you going to accept them too? =)

I'm still file complete...and Indy is still my number 1!

We'll see! They are my top choice thus far, but I still have a few schools I'm waiting to hear back from...

[Dr. Review]

Alright, now that I am back in good ol' Raleigh, NC from Indy, I can sit down and actually report in on my trip.
I'll list the general questions/categories for you, and you guys can ask for specific answers if you want, if for no other reason, so that I can try to keep this post under 3 pages.

-Section sizes?
-Student organizations?
-Use of the Socratic method?
-Possibility of 1L and 2L summer clerkships/internships and/or study abroad opportunities?
-Career Prospects? (i.e. biglaw, midlaw, public interest, etc.) and portability of the degree

Could you please elaborate on the top 4 q's? I'm also interested in how they curve/rank students.

Sure. I didn't ask about curve/rankings, but I can shoot her an e-mail and ask about it.

1. They typically admit about 300 total students. 200 for full time, and 100 for PT. Sections tend to be about 100 students, and like most schools, each section has a set schedule for 1L, and they are pre-registered for classes during the summer.
2. Student organizations are pretty broad, and range in most topics. She also said that if you wanted to start a new one, that you were encouraged to do so. They have 2 law reviews. One is open to the people who finish top 10% in 1L, and the other is something like top 30 or 40%. For both, there is a writing competition if you rank lower in the class.
3. Socratic method varies from professor to professor, which some using the hardcore Socratic-only style, and others using almost none at all.
4. Clerkships/internships are more common after 2L, but they have a study abroad program for both summers if you are so inclined, and they also have what seems to be a pretty good overseas program in which you do (I think) pro bono type work. Don't quote me on what it is that you do during the summer, I just know that it is a 3-4 credit hours and you work instead of study.
5. The answer I got for this one was a little less clear than I would have liked, but I felt that it was more because it wasn't her area of expertise than because she was trying to cover things up. From what I gathered, they place well in Indiana, and I can't be sure that it's extremely portable outside of the midwest. It is a tier 2 school, so that's what one would expect. She didn't say that verbatim, but that's sort of the way I understood it. As for Indianapolis, they're the only law school there, and they pretty well lock it down. So if you are looking to stay in Indy, then the school is a good bet for you. Otherwise, the career stats for '08 are posted, and they are still researching on '09 stats. They do get a pretty high % of reports though, so it should be pretty representative.

[BruceBarr]

Alright, now that I am back in good ol' Raleigh, NC from Indy, I can sit down and actually report in on my trip.

First things first:
Having never visited Indianapolis, I was not impressed with the city as a whole. This may be a personal preference thing. If you've never been, I suggest you go before you make a decision, just to make sure that you like it. I rented a car and drove around the city, and kept expecting to find a nice part of town. If there is one, I didn't find it. Don't get me wrong, there were some isolated neighborhoods that might not be too bad, but they were mixed in with some questionable areas. Again, I've never been there before, maybe I just didn't know where to look.

Do keep in mind that you are from Raleigh, North Carolina. I don't mean to be a dick, but you've been living in a town just short of Disney Land. Any town that you visit will look dangerous. Having lived in Detroit for the last few years, Indy was glorious. It is one of the safest "real" cities in America.



And thanks for the rest of the info.

[sunshinefairy]

Alright, now that I am back in good ol' Raleigh, NC from Indy, I can sit down and actually report in on my trip.

First things first:
Having never visited Indianapolis, I was not impressed with the city as a whole. This may be a personal preference thing. If you've never been, I suggest you go before you make a decision, just to make sure that you like it. I rented a car and drove around the city, and kept expecting to find a nice part of town. If there is one, I didn't find it. Don't get me wrong, there were some isolated neighborhoods that might not be too bad, but they were mixed in with some questionable areas. Again, I've never been there before, maybe I just didn't know where to look.

Do keep in mind that you are from Raleigh, North Carolina. I don't mean to be a dick, but you've been living in a town just short of Disney Land. Any town that you visit will look dangerous. Having lived in Detroit for the last few years, Indy was glorious. It is one of the safest "real" cities in America.



And thanks for the rest of the info.

I loved Indy when I visited - and it was cold and raining! =)

Downtown Indy (Meridian) had tons of shops, bars, restaurants right in between the stadiums. There were also lots of renovated industrial buildings that now offer loft and studio housing. The canal is beautiful and the old WWII Memorial Park looks lovely. Yes, if you drove further out of the downtown area, you got into older, broken-down strip malls but every city will have those areas. I didn't get to visit but I heard Broad Ripple is also a great place to be.

I've been looking at places in Broad Ripple and downtown mostly...assuming I get in...still file complete (since January)... =(

[sizzle04]

I loved Indy when I visited - and it was cold and raining! =)

Downtown Indy (Meridian) had tons of shops, bars, restaurants right in between the stadiums. There were also lots of renovated industrial buildings that now offer loft and studio housing. The canal is beautiful and the old WWII Memorial Park looks lovely. Yes, if you drove further out of the downtown area, you got into older, broken-down strip malls but every city will have those areas. I didn't get to visit but I heard Broad Ripple is also a great place to be.

I've been looking at places in Broad Ripple and downtown mostly...assuming I get in...still file complete (since January)... =(

I'm rooting for you!!!!!!! I love INDY too. It has so much going for it.

[Dr. Review]

Do keep in mind that you are from Raleigh, North Carolina. I don't mean to be a dick, but you've been living in a town just short of Disney Land. Any town that you visit will look dangerous. Having lived in Detroit for the last few years, Indy was glorious. It is one of the safest "real" cities in America.



And thanks for the rest of the info.

As much as I like Raleigh, I liked living in Charlotte infinitely more.

Someone earlier asked about the grading curve and scholarship decisions. I asked about it, and here is the response that I got:

"Top 50% is 3.0. For the first year class, top 10% is 3.60 and top 25% is 3.39. At this time, scholarship decisions are made on a rolling basis as money becomes available. We are still working on scholarship decisions and hope to have more information next week."

[angiej]

Do keep in mind that you are from Raleigh, North Carolina. I don't mean to be a dick, but you've been living in a town just short of Disney Land. Any town that you visit will look dangerous. Having lived in Detroit for the last few years, Indy was glorious. It is one of the safest "real" cities in America.



And thanks for the rest of the info.

As much as I like Raleigh, I liked living in Charlotte infinitely more.

Someone earlier asked about the grading curve and scholarship decisions. I asked about it, and here is the response that I got:

"Top 50% is 3.0. For the first year class, top 10% is 3.60 and top 25% is 3.39. At this time, scholarship decisions are made on a rolling basis as money becomes available. We are still working on scholarship decisions and hope to have more information next week."

Thank you so much for this info!

I heard SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts will be speaking at the school next month. Amazing!

[angiej]

I don't mean to stir the pot, but is anyone looking at lawschoolnumbers.com and comparing IU Indy to IU-B and getting nervous? I had a friend that got dinged from IU Indy and accepted with a scholly to IU-B. What gives? I'm not applying until NEXT year but am looking very closely at this admissions cycle to see what I will be up against.

IU Indy:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Outright rejecting 150's and 2.92 gpa

IU-B:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Waitlisting 150's and a 2.81 gpa

[nick637]

I don't mean to stir the pot, but is anyone looking at lawschoolnumbers.com and comparing IU Indy to IU-B and getting nervous? I had a friend that got dinged from IU Indy and accepted with a scholly to IU-B. What gives? I'm not applying until NEXT year but am looking very closely at this admissions cycle to see what I will be up against.

IU Indy:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Outright rejecting 150's and 2.92 gpa

IU-B:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Waitlisting 150's and a 2.81 gpa

interesting. possible yp?

[sleepygirl]

I don't mean to stir the pot, but is anyone looking at lawschoolnumbers.com and comparing IU Indy to IU-B and getting nervous? I had a friend that got dinged from IU Indy and accepted with a scholly to IU-B. What gives? I'm not applying until NEXT year but am looking very closely at this admissions cycle to see what I will be up against.

IU Indy:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Outright rejecting 150's and 2.92 gpa

IU-B:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Waitlisting 150's and a 2.81 gpa

Look a little closer. The Bloomington waitlist is a non-traditional applicant with over 10 years experience in law enforcement. I think more than anything it shows that Bloomington really took a look at the applicant as a whole. (Not to say anything against the Indianapolis applicant or to imply that IU-Indy doesn't also consider applicants beyond the numbers, because I believe that they do. )

PLUS, if you sleuth a little more, the Indy applicant says he was waitlisted and THEN rejected, so if that really is the case then he wasn't an outright reject anyway. Another thing to consider is that the applicant pool on LSN is very small for Indy. Given the number of non-traditional applicants Indy gets (especially PT), it's not really surprising, but don't let such a small number make you think you don't have a chance! It's not nearly time for you to start freaking out yet!!

[angiej]

I don't mean to stir the pot, but is anyone looking at lawschoolnumbers.com and comparing IU Indy to IU-B and getting nervous? I had a friend that got dinged from IU Indy and accepted with a scholly to IU-B. What gives? I'm not applying until NEXT year but am looking very closely at this admissions cycle to see what I will be up against.

IU Indy:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Outright rejecting 150's and 2.92 gpa

IU-B:
http://indiana-indy.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats
Waitlisting 150's and a 2.81 gpa

Look a little closer. The Bloomington waitlist is a non-traditional applicant with over 10 years experience in law enforcement. I think more than anything it shows that Bloomington really took a look at the applicant as a whole. (Not to say anything against the Indianapolis applicant or to imply that IU-Indy doesn't also consider applicants beyond the numbers, because I believe that they do. )

PLUS, if you sleuth a little more, the Indy applicant says he was waitlisted and THEN rejected, so if that really is the case then he wasn't an outright reject anyway. Another thing to consider is that the applicant pool on LSN is very small for Indy. Given the number of non-traditional applicants Indy gets (especially PT), it's not really surprising, but don't let such a small number make you think you don't have a chance! It's not nearly time for you to start freaking out yet!!

Whew - okay then. Its just as I come closer to my June test date and despite hours of prep I can't help but worry. I haven't broken 155 yet and I know that is in the range I need to be in to be competitive.

[KJ5490]

Does anyone know how difficult it is to change residency status after the first year? I got a scholarship as an out of state resident, but instate would be cheaper.

[AsylumPB]

How long did it take to render a decision for everyone once status checker says "in review"? I have been in review for almost two wks...

[sapp]

Does anyone know how difficult it is to change residency status after the first year? I got a scholarship as an out of state resident, but instate would be cheaper.

Everyone I talked to at their ASD (current students, former students, faculty, and other admits) at the beginning of the month said it was very difficult. There was even a female there (current student) who purchased a house in Indiana and still didn't get reclassified as instate.

[Dr. Review]

Does anyone know how difficult it is to change residency status after the first year? I got a scholarship as an out of state resident, but instate would be cheaper.

Director of admissions said that it was basically impossible.

[colts18]

How long did it take to render a decision for everyone once status checker says "in review"? I have been in review for almost two wks...

2 weeks? Darn, I'm still just in the "File Complete" stage. I'm beginning to feel like it's going to be quite a while before I find out.

[sunshinefairy]

How long did it take to render a decision for everyone once status checker says "in review"? I have been in review for almost two wks...

2 weeks? Darn, I'm still just in the "File Complete" stage. I'm beginning to feel like it's going to be quite a while before I find out.

I've been "File Complete" since January...

[sizzle04]

How long did it take to render a decision for everyone once status checker says "in review"? I have been in review for almost two wks...

I was In Review for almost two months. My date changed 5 or 6 times throughout...

[colts18]

What are your guys' numbers?