Minnesota C/O 2018 Applicants Forum

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[capsoccer]

Does anyone know if Minnesota is open to negotiating scholarships??

[Marie1976]

How long did it take everyone to get their official packets/scholarship offers? I was accepted via phone call 2/9, but I have yet to receive anything in the mail. I want to see how much of a scholarship I'm offered so I know whether I should start seriously considering Minnesota!

[UOI4430]

Does anyone know if Minnesota is open to negotiating scholarships??

I also wonder this. I am guessing that they do negotiate. My scholarship offer was much lower than what I received from several higher ranked schools.

[LawsRUs]

does anyone know which are minnys peer schools??

[capsoccer]

does anyone know which are minnys peer schools??

I was thinking george washington, emory, william and mary, etc.

[still]

in just now via missed phone call and email

[sp_crowell]

Does anyone know if Minnesota is open to negotiating scholarships??

I also wonder this. I am guessing that they do negotiate. My scholarship offer was much lower than what I received from several higher ranked schools.

They're not. I asked someone from admissions and she gave me a hard no. Then a current student called and asked if I had any questions she could answer for me. I asked if the school ever negotiates and she too gave me a hard no. I've combed through tons of these boards from previous years and haven't heard of one person successfully negotiating with them. Give it a shot, but don't expect to get anything out of it.

[tuxedocat]

In today via email, no phone call. So excited! Applied 1/31 and a super splitter, feel free to PM for numbers.

[LawsRUs]

woooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
congrats you all !!!!!!!!!!!!! so happy for ya

[LawsRUs]

Minny's first Campus Preview Weekend is coming up, is anyone going?
if you are going to the one in March,
wld you mind reporting back to us, about details,

also,

wld you mind asking these Qs if you get to talk to some current students:

- How is the job market in the Twin Cities?
- What type of jobs do ppl with median grades take?
- Do they have a summer job lined up? What kind of work? How did they find it?
- How does their OCI work? Bidding?
- Are grades published? Are ppl ranked? Is there a forced curve?
- How easy/hard is it to write onto LR or a secondary journal?
- If you run into a 3L, do they have a job lined up at graduation? How did they find that job?
- How easy/hard is it to get your first choice clinic?
- Do a lot of govt agencies or PI orgs come to OCIs?
- Which other schools were they considering before they chose Minny?
- Does Minny have LRAP? How do they assist ppl who want PI or gov't?
- Are their lgl res / lgl writing classes graded or P/NP?
- For observation only: Do they seem happy?

Thanks !!

[keosu11]

Minny's first Campus Preview Weekend is coming up, is anyone going?
if you are going to the one in March,
wld you mind reporting back to us, about details,

also,

wld you mind asking these Qs if you get to talk to some current students:

- How is the job market in the Twin Cities?
- What type of jobs do ppl with median grades take?
- Do they have a summer job lined up? What kind of work? How did they find it?
- How does their OCI work? Bidding?
- Are grades published? Are ppl ranked? Is there a forced curve?
- How easy/hard is it to write onto LR or a secondary journal?
- If you run into a 3L, do they have a job lined up at graduation? How did they find that job?
- How easy/hard is it to get your first choice clinic?
- Do a lot of govt agencies or PI orgs come to OCIs?
- Which other schools were they considering before they chose Minny?
- Does Minny have LRAP? How do they assist ppl who want PI or gov't?
- Are their lgl res / lgl writing classes graded or P/NP?
- For observation only: Do they seem happy?

Thanks !!

Honestly I'd recommend calling the admissions office and asking them to put you in touch with a current student. I am also pretty sure current students run the Class of 2018 facebook page, that may not be a bad place to start.

[LawsRUs]

will do thanks !!

[Danimals18]

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[LawsRUs]

i will let you all know if i get some answers. im just afraid that the AO is going to connect a student who has on a pair of rose colored glasses

[Jelloshot75]

3L here. I just want to take this opportunity to encourage all you admitted students to check out earlier threads from Daniel Pi on what this school is really like. While I don't have grievances that come close to his, his assessment of the University of Minnesota Law School is spot on 3 or so years since he famously shared it here. I wish I had known about TLS before I made the mistake of coming here, so all I can do is encourage you to look back at what he had to say. It's all true.

Secondly, U of M is a trap school. The degree is not portable. The job market in the Twin Cities still sucks. Ignore the USNWR ranking because it means nothing. Stay away from here at all costs.

This is going to be my one post. Thanks. Hope not to see any of you here this fall.


http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=165679

[LawsRUs]

^^ yea i've seen and read some parts of that thread. just coming onto TLS to repost that thread says something. hmm

[Jelloshot75]

^^ yea i've seen and read some parts of that thread. just coming onto TLS to repost that thread says something. hmm

As an addendum, most out-of-state students I know - and granted, this is based totally on my own anecdotal experiences and conversations - regret coming to U of M because they feel completely stuck here. A tiny handful of students with very strong connections found out-of-state jobs. But that's beside the point because I think most 3Ls are still looking for jobs. One does not come to U of M for strong employment prospects. I think we have among the worst law firm or federal clerkship placement stats of any so-called "T20" school - if anything, far fewer than one would expect from a school of such bogus, inflated rank.

[LawsRUs]

^^ thanks for the heads up

[Danimals18]

.

[Jelloshot75]

^^ yea i've seen and read some parts of that thread. just coming onto TLS to repost that thread says something. hmm

As an addendum, most out-of-state students I know - and granted, this is based totally on my own anecdotal experiences and conversations - regret coming to U of M because they feel completely stuck here. A tiny handful of students with very strong connections found out-of-state jobs. But that's beside the point because I think most 3Ls are still looking for jobs. One does not come to U of M for strong employment prospects. I think we have among the worst law firm or federal clerkship placement stats of any so-called "T20" school - if anything, far fewer than one would expect from a school of such bogus, inflated rank.

do you have a source for that? Curious since UM is one of my top choices

I mean, this information is readily available online. The best place to start would be to compare schools' ABA-required disclosures about employment. But here are some random sources (located following 10 seconds of Google searches):

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/c ... clerkships

With this one, U of M doesn't even appear on the list. Our federal clerkship placement is awful.

http://www.businessinsider.com/law-scho ... ms-2013-12

On this one, U of M does quite poorly also. Only 17% for a "T20" school. Now, let me make something clear: if your goal is to practice in the Twin Cities, then absolutely go to U of M before ever considering the St. Thomas or William Mitchell/Hamline degree mills. There is no question U of M is the place to go for regional dominance. However, for the enormous expense involved, and considering that even "big" firms in Minneapolis hire boatloads of T14 grads, you should really consider investing $ into schools that give you statistically better odds of succeeding both in MN and elsewhere.

If U of M is the best school you could get into, then retake the LSAT and take advantage of the buyers' market for applicants. Seriously, don't waste this opportunity.

[cmlasley]

Hi all, checking in. I submitted my applications to all 4 Minnesota law schools today. I have a relatively average GPA, and a LSAT on the lower end of the spectrum for the U, but I have 10 years of experience in the legal field, so I am hoping that plus my personal statement gives me the extra push for the U....

Where are people seeing the status of their application? Is this on the LSAC website or via the U of MN website?

[minnbills]

Honestly I'd recommend calling the admissions office and asking them to put you in touch with a current student. I am also pretty sure current students run the Class of 2018 facebook page, that may not be a bad place to start.

The people they put you in touch with aren't representative, FYI. There's a reason they're the people the school puts you in touch with.

[Count1234]

Minny's first Campus Preview Weekend is coming up, is anyone going?
if you are going to the one in March,
wld you mind reporting back to us, about details,

also,

wld you mind asking these Qs if you get to talk to some current students:

- Are grades published? Are ppl ranked? Is there a forced curve?

I am a 1L and I will try to answer your questions as best I can, also with neutral outlook on the school (I don't hate it, and I don't love it, but it grows on you).
Grades are published to the extent that they will tell you how many people got A+, A, A-, B+, etc. and what percentage of class got each grade range (A range, B range, C range).
There are not rankings, just quartiles. They publish the GPA cutoffs for each quartile and you will fall within one of them.
There is a forced curve. The grading changed this year so that it is more uniform across sections (the school will split you up into basically four cohorts and you are graded against those in your cohort, but across cohorts they are trying (I think) to standardize the spread of grades so they basically have a set guideline of what percentage can get A range grades, and B range grades in each class (1Ls can't get C range grades)). See Grading Policy
One last thing about grades, they changed the policy so that starting in the school year 2016-2017 upper level courses will be curved as well as just the 1L courses. Take this how you will.

- How does their OCI work? Bidding?

We just learned about OCI, and I haven't gone through it personally, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. From what they presented, it sounds like it's part bidding, part pre-select. They say that OCI isn't just for the top ten percent, but I'm pretty sure they also allow employers to view all submitted resumes and then allow them to interview only the people they want to. They have something like two different kinds of interviewing, on campus at the school, and off campus where they get together with some other law schools (from what I remember Emory, UCLA, USC, WUSTL, and some school in Iowa) and they do these interviews in different regions of the country (SF Bay Area, NY, Chicago, and another place I'm forgetting). See Employer Flyer

- How easy/hard is it to write onto LR or a secondary journal?

I don't know anything about journals/law review. Being a 1L we haven't yet learned about that stuff.

- If you run into a 3L, do they have a job lined up at graduation? How did they find that job?

I don't run into 3Ls generally. I don't know if they have jobs. But from what I gather many are still looking at this point. I only know one 3L (I don't get out much, I'm a 1L, all I do is study) and she has a job at one of the larger firms in Minneapolis. She will be working there after she graduates (worked there 1L and 2L summer as well). This is just one 3L though.

- Which other schools were they considering before they chose Minny?

I considered WUSTL and Emory before ultimately deciding on UMN. I am a MN native, and love it here despite the winters. I went to undergrad out of state, and returned despite the winter. It's a nice place in general, something for everyone without the big city problems. If you're okay with staying here long term (think at least 8 years or so including 3 years of law school) then I think with the right scholarship MN would be a great place for you. Cost of living is great, and people are nice. I didn't get as good of scholarships from Emory and WUSTL and that is why I chose MN.

- Are their lgl res / lgl writing classes graded or P/NP?

Legal writing is HP/P/F (honors pass, pass, fail).

- Do a lot of govt agencies or PI orgs come to OCIs?

I don't know if there are a lot of gov't/PI orgs that come to OCI. I don't think it is very likely because those types of orgs don't generally hire so far out, but the presentation I went to said that some non-private firms do come to OCI. Expect a few, but don't expect a lot is my general take and advice. (I haven't done OCI, I'll reiterate, so I don't actually know).

- How easy/hard is it to get your first choice clinic?

There is a lottery system that is random. You are given preference based on not having done a clinic before. Depending on the popularity of the clinic you want, you may not get your 1st/2nd choice, but most people get to do a clinic if they want to. 50% or so of the student population graduates having done a clinic. If you really want a clinic, list it as your first choice, you have a better chance that way.

- For observation only: Do they seem happy?

People aren't any more miserable than you would expect them to be in law school. People who struggle to find jobs aren't generally more outwardly unhappy. Most people I know are happy, and enjoy their time here. No one has really expressed frustration about jobs, but that might be because they just don't want to share that frustration. I see more 1Ls than 2L/3Ls so 1Ls seem generally happy. I'm happy here. My friends are happy. People smile, laugh and stuff.

- Does Minny have LRAP? How do they assist ppl who want PI or gov't?

I'm pretty sure we do, but I don't know the details. See LRAP MN site and UMN Law Site

- How is the job market in the Twin Cities?
- What type of jobs do ppl with median grades take?
- Do they have a summer job lined up? What kind of work? How did they find it?

I saved jobs for last, so hopefully you actually read this far. I know, I'm evil.
Job Market: I think it's on the up, and according to the career center, it's on the up. There are more jobs now, and with Hamline combining with William Mitchell (two other law schools in the area) there will be less students to compete with for jobs. In my personal experience there are more jobs now (especially those coveted summer associate positions with biglaw firms, see below).
Median Grades: I don't know the answer to this question. I can't even guess. I'm sure they get jobs though, maybe public interest, fellowships, etc.
Summer 2015 job: I have a job lined up with a larger law firm in Minneapolis. It is a summer associate position. I am very fortunate to have received this job because I know very few 1Ls get summer associate positions. There is a Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (you can google this) summer rotation program that I applied to. I received a few screener interviews, a few callbacks, and two offers from this program. You have to apply to each firm individually. I also interviewed with federal agencies. My strategy was to apply to anything and everything because I was applying during winter break and grades weren't released yet. For what it's worth, I'm a non-urm minority, GPA 3.7X (likely top 15% or so in the class). These were likely huge factors in hiring.

I will try to answer more questions if you guys have any. I'm busy though, so I may not respond right away.

[LawsRUs]

^^ omg! what did you just do? you wonderful you
Thank you so much!!