IOWA 2012 Forum

[apeopleshistory]

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[chrisbru]

This is the part that bothered me the most. That place was probably the most hostile place to work on the planet. Since people there crudely discussed sexually explicit topics in the breakroom and even in shift meetings all the time, one of the new guys thought it would be okay to mention he talked his girl into some less-standard stuff. He was referred to as "the [homophobic language redacted]" for the remainder of the time I worked there (another 4 months) and probably still is if he's there.

Basically, if your interests were outside of beer, NASCAR, and maybe football, you were nothing to them. Plus they make $60k a year to climb up a and down a ladder and push boxes of plastic around all day.

Granted, that's not to say that every place is like that, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

If this bothers you... You're probably not going to like some of my group of friends. Whoops.

No, I thought having a mysterious/difficult to understand personality was a good thing?

[sebastian0622]

I don't think I would wish call center work on my worst enemy.

I collected delinquent property taxes for a firm, definitely builds character.

In other news, there's a 164/3.74 on LSN that got a full-tuition scholly. That's exciting!

Four freaking points. I'm going to negotiate today. I have the Dean's scholly at KU which leaves my COA there less than 75k. I want to practice in the MW and I cannot justify paying oos for 1L at Iowa. Wish me luck?

If the KU has no stip, I'd take it in a heartbeat and tell Iowa to pound sand.

[sebastian0622]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

[typ3]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

This +1.

You never know if you're going to be sick during exams or have a falling out with an SO or any number of other things that'll take your mind away from exams. You don't have a large margin of error on them. Shit happens.

[sebastian0622]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

This +1.

You never know if you're going to be sick during exams or have a falling out with an SO or any number of other things that'll take your mind away from exams. You don't have a large margin of error on them. Shit happens.

The bolded is the thing incoming students won't register. "It can't happen to me because I'm super-smart and dedicated, etc. So smart and dedicated I got a full scholarship, even!" There's really no way to explain the narrow margin for error to someone who hasn't been in law school. I can only give an honest effort to explain, so let me do so knowing that I'm probably outing myself (I don't much care about that) and maybe being redundant to the few people who've read the whole thread: I came in on a full ride with a high-160's on the LSAT, passed up two T-14's plus Vandy, WashU (with $$) etc. to come to Iowa. I had real life stuff come up my first semester and finished below median. I went on to finish well above the scholarship cut-off the second semester of 1L, plus well above for the first semester of 2L. I have a number of 3.8+ class grades (e.g. at or near the top of the curve), and I regularly pull in 3.5+ (top 25%) grades. However, because of the external events that occurred during that one semester, I have virtually no chance of regaining my scholarship. In other words, I'm a great student who's performing at a high level, but who had something happen that screwed me over for one semester that I can't change.

I cannot stress enough to incoming students, no matter how smart and dedicated you think you are, to run away from scholarships with stipulations and take the guaranteed money. In hindsight, a student in my shoes probably should have taken full at Emory, half at WashU, or sticker at Cornell. It was only through sheer luck, past work experience, and good/lucky interviewing skills that I pulled off jobs at 1L and 2L OCI. I beat the odds, but that doesn't mean I made the right decision. I went into 1L OCI below median and 2L OCI at median, and for most students at Iowa that = fucked.

[shredderrrrrr]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

Oh yes, this again. Lol didn't you get banned for this stuff last time?

[jpickman]

Berbatov!

[shredderrrrrr]

Berbatov!

Haha what's up with everyone knowing my 'tar now?! My man dimitar gettin some love! Lovin' it!

[llachans]

After sending in the verification self-supporting student form, how long will it take to hear on scholarship money?

I'm getting anxious!

[Opie]

Berbatov!

Haha what's up with everyone knowing my 'tar now?! My man dimitar gettin some love! Lovin' it!

It's the hair and the cigarette. I think it was too hard to tell with the hat.

[sebastian0622]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

Oh yes, this again. Lol didn't you get banned for this stuff last time?

Nah, that conversation wandered all over hell and I think ended up being about a lot of broader things that weren't appropriate for an acceptance thread (you can dig back through the thread if you really want to research it; I don't remember exactly, but I believe it ended up implicating questions like whether Iowa is worth it at sticker cost, etc.). I kept "this stuff" (above) limited to discussion of my experience, here at Iowa, in a way that directly responds to concerns about stipulations and job placement raised in recent posts ITT by admitted students who may have similar options and are trying to make a tough decision.

[punkyg0608]

This might help those of you looking into getting the stipulations removed: I was told that appx. 1/3 of students lose their scholarships after the first year. My guess is that if you are a responsible student and are good about studying and don't normally struggle with school stuff, this isn't something you need to worry about. Just saying.

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

This +1.

You never know if you're going to be sick during exams or have a falling out with an SO or any number of other things that'll take your mind away from exams. You don't have a large margin of error on them. Shit happens.

The bolded is the thing incoming students won't register. "It can't happen to me because I'm super-smart and dedicated, etc. So smart and dedicated I got a full scholarship, even!" There's really no way to explain the narrow margin for error to someone who hasn't been in law school. I can only give an honest effort to explain, so let me do so knowing that I'm probably outing myself (I don't much care about that) and maybe being redundant to the few people who've read the whole thread: I came in on a full ride with a high-160's on the LSAT, passed up two T-14's plus Vandy, WashU (with $$) etc. to come to Iowa. I had real life stuff come up my first semester and finished below median. I went on to finish well above the scholarship cut-off the second semester of 1L, plus well above for the first semester of 2L. I have a number of 3.8+ class grades (e.g. at or near the top of the curve), and I regularly pull in 3.5+ (top 25%) grades. However, because of the external events that occurred during that one semester, I have virtually no chance of regaining my scholarship. In other words, I'm a great student who's performing at a high level, but who had something happen that screwed me over for one semester that I can't change.

I cannot stress enough to incoming students, no matter how smart and dedicated you think you are, to run away from scholarships with stipulations and take the guaranteed money. In hindsight, a student in my shoes probably should have taken full at Emory, half at WashU, or sticker at Cornell. It was only through sheer luck, past work experience, and good/lucky interviewing skills that I pulled off jobs at 1L and 2L OCI. I beat the odds, but that doesn't mean I made the right decision. I went into 1L OCI below median and 2L OCI at median, and for most students at Iowa that = fucked.

I really appreciate this post! It's so easy to be overconfident when getting such big scholarships, but it's important to realize it's not entirely in your control. Thanks for this!

[chrisbru]

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

Oh yes, this again. Lol didn't you get banned for this stuff last time?

Nah he's within the scope of this thread now, and makes a lot of good points. I passed up WUSTL with money for Iowa, but even if I lose my scholarship after the first year it will still be $30 or $40k cheaper than WUSTL with the scholarship I was awarded. I was also awarded a no-stipulation full ride, but it was at a TTT school, so I figured Iowa with $100k maximum debt was better than that TTT with $60k maximum debt.

A full-ride at Illinois, Kansas, etc without stipulations would most likely be a better bet than Iowa. I love going to school here, but strictly analyzing finances, the top third stip is a big thing to think about.

[Opie]

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

Oh yes, this again. Lol didn't you get banned for this stuff last time?

Nah he's within the scope of this thread now, and makes a lot of good points. I passed up WUSTL with money for Iowa, but even if I lose my scholarship after the first year it will still be $30 or $40k cheaper than WUSTL with the scholarship I was awarded. I was also awarded a no-stipulation full ride, but it was at a TTT school, so I figured Iowa with $100k maximum debt was better than that TTT with $60k maximum debt.

A full-ride at Illinois, Kansas, etc without stipulations would most likely be a better bet than Iowa. I love going to school here, but strictly analyzing finances, the top third stip is a big thing to think about.

As always, a lot of it boils down to where you want to work and how likely you are to get a job. I think Iowa places almost as well as WUSTL if you're looking to practice in Iowa, but if you want to work in a big city somewhere, it gets murkier.

[shredderrrrrr]

Didn't mean to sound like I was pissed at the guy, just that I thought the topic had been pretty well discussed. But, like you said, there are a lot of new people in this thread now.

You make a good point that I think everyone (myself included) should keep in mind. It's not just about how hard you work. As a 0L, it is hard to imagine that I could, despite my best efforts, fall below 35%. But I need to realize it is not just up to me. And while I thought pointing out that Iowa won't have sympathy if you fall below 35% was pretty obvious (they are in this for business after all), I think it is something that could be lost on a lot of people. Overall, I agree with the general sentiment of your comments and appreciate the advice.

[shredderrrrrr]

Or if you're a really good student who has something outside your control happens, you can still get screwed. You think the U of I cares if the reason your grades slipped is because your mom was in the hospital with a terminal illness? They don't. The stipulations are a bait-and-switch tactic, and a lot of people are going to lose scholarships. That's why they offer scholarships with stipulations: so a lot of existing students lose them, thereby freeing up funds to recruit for the next incoming class.

Oh yes, this again. Lol didn't you get banned for this stuff last time?

Nah he's within the scope of this thread now, and makes a lot of good points. I passed up WUSTL with money for Iowa, but even if I lose my scholarship after the first year it will still be $30 or $40k cheaper than WUSTL with the scholarship I was awarded. I was also awarded a no-stipulation full ride, but it was at a TTT school, so I figured Iowa with $100k maximum debt was better than that TTT with $60k maximum debt.

A full-ride at Illinois, Kansas, etc without stipulations would most likely be a better bet than Iowa. I love going to school here, but strictly analyzing finances, the top third stip is a big thing to think about.

As always, a lot of it boils down to where you want to work and how likely you are to get a job. I think Iowa places almost as well as WUSTL if you're looking to practice in Iowa, but if you want to work in a big city somewhere, it gets murkier.

Agreed. I don't think T30>TTT in every case. For us Des Moines hopefuls, I think the ranking hierarchy loses a little significance (I promise this isn't pro-Drake trolling). If you want to work in Chicago, however, I think the rule would hold.

[Opie]

Didn't mean to sound like I was pissed at the guy, just that I thought the topic had been pretty well discussed. But, like you said, there are a lot of new people in this thread now.

You make a good point that I think everyone (myself included) should keep in mind. It's not just about how hard you work. As a 0L, it is hard to imagine that I could, despite my best efforts, fall below 35%. But I need to realize it is not just up to me. And while I thought pointing out that Iowa won't have sympathy if you fall below 35% was pretty obvious (they are in this for business after all), I think it is something that could be lost on a lot of people. Overall, I agree with the general sentiment of your comments and appreciate the advice.

This is the part that I think so many people miss. It's not enough to do an amazing job. You have to do a better job than all of the other people who did amazing jobs, and unless you are going to your safety, they all did just as well in college and on the LSAT as you did. Maybe better.

[chrisbru]

Didn't mean to sound like I was pissed at the guy, just that I thought the topic had been pretty well discussed. But, like you said, there are a lot of new people in this thread now.

You make a good point that I think everyone (myself included) should keep in mind. It's not just about how hard you work. As a 0L, it is hard to imagine that I could, despite my best efforts, fall below 35%. But I need to realize it is not just up to me. And while I thought pointing out that Iowa won't have sympathy if you fall below 35% was pretty obvious (they are in this for business after all), I think it is something that could be lost on a lot of people. Overall, I agree with the general sentiment of your comments and appreciate the advice.

This is the part that I think so many people miss. It's not enough to do an amazing job. You have to do a better job than all of the other people who did amazing jobs, and unless you are going to your safety, they all did just as well in college and on the LSAT as you did. Maybe better.

You also have to have a little luck, as finals grading does feel a little arbitrary.

[shredderrrrrr]

Well, I emailed Iowa to see about getting the stipulations removed Friday morning and have yet to hear back. My optimistic side is telling me that they are just doing the paperwork to reoffer my scholarship (:mrgreen:) but my realistic side is telling me that they have yet to read my email.

Man, I really hope they can do something. If they could, I'd likely be a Hawkeye next year. If not, I don't really see any way I'll end up at Iowa.

[Opie]

Well, I emailed Iowa to see about getting the stipulations removed Friday morning and have yet to hear back. My optimistic side is telling me that they are just doing the paperwork to reoffer my scholarship (:mrgreen:) but my realistic side is telling me that they have yet to read my email.

Man, I really hope they can do something. If they could, I'd likely be a Hawkeye next year. If not, I don't really see any way I'll end up at Iowa.

Yeah, I think Drake is a better option if they don't remove them. Did you mention your specific Drake scholly? They have to be familiar with it. If they do remove your stips though, I'll be happy to take your Drake money!

[shredderrrrrr]

Well, I emailed Iowa to see about getting the stipulations removed Friday morning and have yet to hear back. My optimistic side is telling me that they are just doing the paperwork to reoffer my scholarship (:mrgreen:) but my realistic side is telling me that they have yet to read my email.

Man, I really hope they can do something. If they could, I'd likely be a Hawkeye next year. If not, I don't really see any way I'll end up at Iowa.

Yeah, I think Drake is a better option if they don't remove them. Did you mention your specific Drake scholly? They have to be familiar with it. If they do remove your stips though, I'll be happy to take your Drake money!

Haha I wish I could dictate where my money goes if I turn down a scholarship! That'd be sweet.

I still have yet to here back I didn't mention my Opperman Scholarship just because, from what I've heard, they don't care about non-peer schools. Should I have mentioned it? I figured I'd let them know if they ask for more information.

punkyg: Who did you contact when you sent in your request?

[apeopleshistory]

.

[chrisbru]

Haha I wish I could dictate where my money goes if I turn down a scholarship! That'd be sweet.

I still have yet to here back I didn't mention my Opperman Scholarship just because, from what I've heard, they don't care about non-peer schools. Should I have mentioned it? I figured I'd let them know if they ask for more information.

punkyg: Who did you contact when you sent in your request?

I'd mention the Opperman if you get a chance. They are familiar with the scholarship, I'm sure, and don't want to lose a high-number in-state to Drake.

[btw384]

So today, I decided to email and ask about scholarship information, since I have gotten info for all of my top choices except Iowa. I sent in a nice letter explaining my interest in the school and asking about the availability of merit-based aid. They responded by saying that if I am awarded a scholarship, I will be contacted sometime towards the end of March. Most of my deposit deadlines are April 1-15, and I would like to have some time for negotiations.

I know a lot of other people haven't gotten offers either, so I more or less hoped to show my interest and see if I could get a timeline out of them. Its just stressful when you are ready to start negotiations and you've got that one straggler school who won't let you know one way or the other. It is unfortunate that I might have to throw a school out of contention if I haven't received an offer by April, as I certainly can't attend at sticker.

/rant