UC Irvine c/o 2018 Forum

[rion91]

Coming in at 30 is almost as good my best expected scenario, #27. Good job. But pls do not make this the highest it ever is.

[rion91]

First time posting on this site, so first I'd like to say hi! Spent a while lurking, but since ranking day is almost upon us, decided to just join. Anyway, who else is essentially ready to submit their SIR if the ranking is at least decent?

honestly, the ranking doesn't mean much to me when it comes to committing to UCI. i just want a job and a sizable scholly. the only way i can get a feel if the job aspect is possible is if i actually visit the school. i know i am not submitting until asw. i am pretty much sold on the school, but there is only so much info out there on the culture and career services

[Moneytrees]

Coming in at 30 is almost as good my best expected scenario, #27. Good job. But pls do not make this the highest it ever is.

There's a good chance this will be the highest UCI is ever ranked.

[iguazu]

Coming in at 30 is almost as good my best expected scenario, #27. Good job. But pls do not make this the highest it ever is.

There's a good chance this will be the highest UCI is ever ranked.

I don't disagree, but I'm curious what your opinion is based on

[HalfStudent]

California schools have been hit the most with the decline in the job market and they don't hire as many of their own to rig employment data(counts a lot).. However Irvine will have a problem because eventually they want to increase their class size to about 200 which will be impossible without hurting their medians..

[Moneytrees]

Based on the data, we're definitely already witnessing UCI's ceiling. The reason it currently has such high medians is because of its tiny class sizes. I'm not sure how big a typical UCI class will be in the future, but an 85 person class is not sustainable in the long run. As its class sizes increase to a normal level (150-200 people), it's very likely that UCI's medians will drop and fall in line with other school ranked in the 30's and 40's.

The other issue is employment. UCI was only able to place 54 if its graduates into jobs last year (about 65%). As its class sizes increase, the percentage of its graduates that will be able to find employment will diminish. That's not a knock on UCI, it's just a fact that California's legal market is relatively small and there are only so many jobs to go around. Keep in mind that a powerhouse like USC only places 65/70% of its class of 200 people into legal jobs.

UCI is a good school and I know several smart people that go there. But it is important to remain realistic when assessing its long term potential.

[HalfStudent]

Based on the data, we're definitely already witnessing UCI's ceiling. The reason it currently has such high medians is because of its tiny class sizes. I'm not sure how big a typical UCI class will be in the future, but an 85 person class is not sustainable in the long run. As its class sizes increase to a normal level (150-200 people), it's very likely that UCI's medians will drop and fall in line with other school ranked in the 30's and 40's.

The other issue is employment. UCI was only able to place 54 if its graduates into jobs last year (about 65%). As its class sizes increase, the percentage of its graduates that will be able to find employment will diminish. That's not a knock on UCI, it's just a fact that California's legal market is relatively small and there are only so many jobs to go around. Keep in mind that a powerhouse like USC only places 65/70% of its class of 200 people into legal jobs.

UCI is a good school and I know several smart people that go there. But it is important to remain realistic when assessing its long term potential.

You also forgot to mention Irvine poor bar passage rates, which hurt employment by at least about 5% and they hired ZERO of their own(that hurt too).

[rion91]

Coming in at 30 is almost as good my best expected scenario, #27. Good job. But pls do not make this the highest it ever is.

There's a good chance this will be the highest UCI is ever ranked.

I think the cards are stacked against them for sure. I can see UCI becoming the "go-to" spot for California clerkships/OC BigLaw, which is what I'm completely up for.

[Moneytrees]

Based on the data, we're definitely already witnessing UCI's ceiling. The reason it currently has such high medians is because of its tiny class sizes. I'm not sure how big a typical UCI class will be in the future, but an 85 person class is not sustainable in the long run. As its class sizes increase to a normal level (150-200 people), it's very likely that UCI's medians will drop and fall in line with other school ranked in the 30's and 40's.

The other issue is employment. UCI was only able to place 54 if its graduates into jobs last year (about 65%). As its class sizes increase, the percentage of its graduates that will be able to find employment will diminish. That's not a knock on UCI, it's just a fact that California's legal market is relatively small and there are only so many jobs to go around. Keep in mind that a powerhouse like USC only places 65/70% of its class of 200 people into legal jobs.

UCI is a good school and I know several smart people that go there. But it is important to remain realistic when assessing its long term potential.

You also forgot to mention Irvine poor bar passage rates, which hurt employment by at least about 5% and they hired ZERO of their own(that hurt too).

I wasn't aware of their poor bar passage rates. A couple years ago I remember their rates being pretty good, perhaps things have changed though.

[rpupkin]

Coming in at 30 is almost as good my best expected scenario, #27. Good job. But pls do not make this the highest it ever is.

There's a good chance this will be the highest UCI is ever ranked.

I can't stress this enough: The rankings of a magazine should play no role in one's decision here. They're irrelevant. Employers don't look at them. Judges don't look at them. Adcoms and law school applicants obsess over them, but adcoms and law school applicants don't make hiring decisions.

Perhaps UCI will be ranked #60 by the time you graduate. Or maybe it will be ranked #20. It doesn't matter. You should, as most of you are, focus on cost of attendance and the job prospects in the region you're interested in working.

The rankings are a fun sideshow but don't let them influence your decision one way or the other.

[LawsRUs]

@rion, new poll:
when should we stop talking about rankings?
a. now, or
b. never

jk jk

[iguazu]

I'd like to have some real conversations with others that will be attending ASW next month to get a feel for what potential future classmates are interested in and why UCI is attractive. I guess if anyone wants to PM we can just do that...unless there's a different protocol.

[rion91]

@rion, new poll:
when should we stop talking about rankings?
a. now, or
b. never

jk jk

Idk, I really like the conversation. It produced a lot of reasoning and good analysis :p

[LawsRUs]

somebody create a thread in Choosing a law school forum

[Itstatertot]

Checking in! Just accepted now via email and congrats UCI for a great debut. Thinking about attending ASW, anybody else? And how long typically did everyone wait for scholly info after acceptance?

[bisa]

Checking in! Just accepted now via email and congrats UCI for a great debut. Thinking about attending ASW, anybody else? And how long typically did everyone wait for scholly info after acceptance?

Just got the email as well! Do they have travel stipends for visits/ASW?

[LawsRUs]

congrats both!!
1 week for scholarship info in the mail
$500 for travel stipend if you are coming from 50+ miles away

congrats again!!
see you at ASW, I'm def coming!

[rion91]

yay! more asw folks! i'll be attending. need to get a hotel... lol. my scholly came in acceptance packet a week or so after acceptance email

[Itstatertot]

Thanks everyone!! Congrats to you all too!! Looking forward to ASW

[Itstatertot]

yay! more asw folks! i'll be attending. need to get a hotel... lol. my scholly came in acceptance packet a week or so after acceptance email

I'm local, about 20-25 minutes south of UCI, so heads up for people that are traveling for ASW, I would recommend checking out hotels soon! I don't know how quickly they sell out or anything but there is a somewhat limited amount of hotels close to the university. Public transportation in OC isn't the greatest.

[cpslo12]

Another UCI 1L here. Happy to answer any questions if anyone wants to PM me.

[LawsRUs]

Another UCI 1L here. Happy to answer any questions if anyone wants to PM me.

congrats on the ranking debut!

[Amalthea]

1L here! I haven't visited since starting school but remember how much I appreciated the resources and feedback here as a 0L. Feel free to PM me with any questions. I absolutely made the right choice coming here and could not have asked for more mutual respect and camaraderie in a law school community.

[LawsRUs]

One burning question:
What's up with UCI's PI placement?

[Kayak1277]

Looks like employment from last year's class is pretty good: 84% (FT JD Required or Advantaged) http://www.law.uci.edu/news/press-relea ... 09-15.html

That's up from 69.1% for 2013 grads. Not too shabby.