University of Illinois c/o 2018 Applicants Forum

[KamronK]

Thanks. I'm honestly very adaptable. I would only NOT like to live in a very small town, or California. I'm up for just about anything else. I applied to WUSTL as well. I just don't expect any serious money there due to my numbers. I want to go to the best school in a livable area that gives me the most money.

Edit: I also applied to Minnesota if that helps. 10 schools so far, willing to go to 15-20 to do what you're recommending.

[isuperserial]

Thanks. I'm honestly very adaptable. I would only NOT like to live in a very small town, or California. I'm up for just about anything else. I applied to WUSTL as well. I just don't expect any serious money there due to my numbers. I want to go to the best school in a livable area that gives me the most money.

Edit: I also applied to Minnesota if that helps. 10 schools so far, willing to go to 15-20 to do what you're recommending.

Fair enough! I just remember when I was applying to schools I applied to schools like Georgia and Seton Hall, but once the acceptances came back I realized that there was pretty much no situation in which I would want to live in those places for the rest of my life. Figured I'd give you that advice on the off chance it saves you an app fee. Let us know how it goes, and best of luck!

[bugsy33]

Thanks. I'm honestly very adaptable. I would only NOT like to live in a very small town, or California. I'm up for just about anything else. I applied to WUSTL as well. I just don't expect any serious money there due to my numbers. I want to go to the best school in a livable area that gives me the most money.

Edit: I also applied to Minnesota if that helps. 10 schools so far, willing to go to 15-20 to do what you're recommending.

I'd apply to as many as you can possibly afford. I doubt you'll have to pay app fees anywhere if you just email and ask for fee waivers. I applied to 23 iirc, didn't pay a single app fee. You never know what school is going to be the hot ticket each year $$$ wise. Last year it was UIUC, but who knows this year.

~90% of our 2017 class was bought and paid for. At the start of my app cycle UIUC was pretty much an afterthought for me, yet here I am!

[Wingtip88]

~90% of our 2017 class was bought and paid for.

Made me LOL.

[isuperserial]

~90% of our 2017 class was bought and paid for.

Made me LOL.

The other 10% was successfully bribed with pizza and bad coffee.

[MassiveSplit]

Checking in!

[Username123]

Anybody know when UIUC starts reviewing apps and sending out decisions?

[isuperserial]

Anybody know when UIUC starts reviewing apps and sending out decisions?

I sent out my app end of November, received my acceptance beginning of January. This seemed regular, but as always it depends on when you sent out your application.

[Username123]

Anybody know when UIUC starts reviewing apps and sending out decisions?

I sent out my app end of November, received my acceptance beginning of January. This seemed regular, but as always it depends on when you sent out your application.

Sent mine out October 23rd. Went complete the 27th. I'm not expecting anything soon, just wondering what the expected turnaround time should be. Thanks!

[Chardee_MacDennis]

Anybody know when UIUC starts reviewing apps and sending out decisions?

Typically, ED apps are reviewed and decisioned first, some time in mid-Dec. Regular app decisions come shortly after, typically beginning in January, though I'm not sure if those apps are reviewed chronologically or alphabetically or by some other method.

[Username123]

Anybody know when UIUC starts reviewing apps and sending out decisions?

Typically, ED apps are reviewed and decisioned first, some time in mid-Dec. Regular app decisions come shortly after, typically beginning in January, though I'm not sure if those apps are reviewed chronologically or alphabetically or by some other method.

Thanks!

But woooof. This wait will be brutal.

[sprinky07]

Splitter checking in: 166/3.0. Illinois resident.

[TX_UH]

Checking in from TX! This has been one of the most enlightening threads of its kind (that I've read). Y'all are selling me on this place already (big fan of pizza and bad coffee haha)!

Quick question - Chicago sounds like the primary employment market for UIUC but what would be the other metropolitan alternatives? Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.?

[isuperserial]

Checking in from TX! This has been one of the most enlightening threads of its kind (that I've read). Y'all are selling me on this place already (big fan of pizza and bad coffee haha)!

Quick question - Chicago sounds like the primary employment market for UIUC but what would be the other metropolitan alternatives? Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.?

A not negligible amount of people go to work in New York and California and the metropolitan areas there, such as NYC or LA. That being said, go to Illinois if you want to work in Chicago. If your goal is NYC, a comparable school like Fordham would be good. If you want Indianapolis, Indiana is much better. St. Louis, WashU is your go-to.

I personally would only go to Illinois if you're comfortable working in Chicago or the rest of the state of Illinois, because that's where you're going to have the easiest time finding a job.

[TX_UH]

Checking in from TX! This has been one of the most enlightening threads of its kind (that I've read). Y'all are selling me on this place already (big fan of pizza and bad coffee haha)!

Quick question - Chicago sounds like the primary employment market for UIUC but what would be the other metropolitan alternatives? Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.?

A not negligible amount of people go to work in New York and California and the metropolitan areas there, such as NYC or LA. That being said, go to Illinois if you want to work in Chicago. If your goal is NYC, a comparable school like Fordham would be good. If you want Indianapolis, Indiana is much better. St. Louis, WashU is your go-to.

I personally would only go to Illinois if you're comfortable working in Chicago or the rest of the state of Illinois, because that's where you're going to have the easiest time finding a job.

Just trying to gauge potential for fallback employment markets if I wasn't able to break into the Chicago market for some reason. Thanks for the insight superserial.

[WichitaShocker]

Checking in from TX! This has been one of the most enlightening threads of its kind (that I've read). Y'all are selling me on this place already (big fan of pizza and bad coffee haha)!

Quick question - Chicago sounds like the primary employment market for UIUC but what would be the other metropolitan alternatives? Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.?

A not negligible amount of people go to work in New York and California and the metropolitan areas there, such as NYC or LA. That being said, go to Illinois if you want to work in Chicago. If your goal is NYC, a comparable school like Fordham would be good. If you want Indianapolis, Indiana is much better. St. Louis, WashU is your go-to.

I personally would only go to Illinois if you're comfortable working in Chicago or the rest of the state of Illinois, because that's where you're going to have the easiest time finding a job.

Do a good amount of graduates get good jobs in Illinois outside of the Chicago market, or is it Chicago or bust? (Not big law, just comfortable jobs)

[adammac17]

Recent grad working in Indianapolis here - there are 3 of us from my class off the top of my head working/clerking in Indy. The notion of being able to "fallback" into another market like STL or Indy from UofI is misguided. The other midwest markets outside of Chicago are ridiculously insular and require serious connections from UofI. If you go to UofI(w/out ties elsewhere) be prepared to work in Chicago (if youre lucky).

[isuperserial]

Just trying to gauge potential for fallback employment markets if I wasn't able to break into the Chicago market for some reason. Thanks for the insight superserial.

No problem. The issue with these other markets is that they're even harder to break into than Chicago from Illinois. But there's plenty of good jobs not in the cities and not in biglaw. Explore your options!

Do a good amount of graduates get good jobs in Illinois outside of the Chicago market, or is it Chicago or bust? (Not big law, just comfortable jobs)

I'm not exactly the best person to ask this since I'm just a 1L, but it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is a "good job". In my opinion, one could live quite comfortably off 40k a year in a small town, assuming you're not very extravagant. But that also depends on your loans and savings and whatnot. If you have 200k of debt by the time you graduate, there's only one "good job" and that's biglaw.

I know that there are plenty of people who get jobs at smaller firms, public defenders offices, prosecutors offices, etc. Those to me are all good jobs.

The real question is, what do you want to do?

[WichitaShocker]

Just trying to gauge potential for fallback employment markets if I wasn't able to break into the Chicago market for some reason. Thanks for the insight superserial.

No problem. The issue with these other markets is that they're even harder to break into than Chicago from Illinois. But there's plenty of good jobs not in the cities and not in biglaw. Explore your options!

Do a good amount of graduates get good jobs in Illinois outside of the Chicago market, or is it Chicago or bust? (Not big law, just comfortable jobs)

I'm not exactly the best person to ask this since I'm just a 1L, but it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is a "good job". In my opinion, one could live quite comfortably off 40k a year in a small town, assuming you're not very extravagant. But that also depends on your loans and savings and whatnot. If you have 200k of debt by the time you graduate, there's only one "good job" and that's biglaw.

I know that there are plenty of people who get jobs at smaller firms, public defenders offices, prosecutors offices, etc. Those to me are all good jobs.

The real question is, what do you want to do?

That's a fair question. I am very debt adverse, and this is largely due to not wanting to have to have big law just to pay back my debt. I am mostly trying to determine if you do not get into Chicago big law and do not have massive loan payments, are there jobs out there for UIUC grads?

[isuperserial]

Just trying to gauge potential for fallback employment markets if I wasn't able to break into the Chicago market for some reason. Thanks for the insight superserial.

No problem. The issue with these other markets is that they're even harder to break into than Chicago from Illinois. But there's plenty of good jobs not in the cities and not in biglaw. Explore your options!

Do a good amount of graduates get good jobs in Illinois outside of the Chicago market, or is it Chicago or bust? (Not big law, just comfortable jobs)

I'm not exactly the best person to ask this since I'm just a 1L, but it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is a "good job". In my opinion, one could live quite comfortably off 40k a year in a small town, assuming you're not very extravagant. But that also depends on your loans and savings and whatnot. If you have 200k of debt by the time you graduate, there's only one "good job" and that's biglaw.

I know that there are plenty of people who get jobs at smaller firms, public defenders offices, prosecutors offices, etc. Those to me are all good jobs.

The real question is, what do you want to do?

That's a fair question. I am very debt adverse, and this is largely due to not wanting to have to have big law just to pay back my debt. I am mostly trying to determine if you do not get into Chicago big law and do not have massive loan payments, are there jobs out there for UIUC grads?

Absolutely. The reality is found here: http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/illinois/2013/

If 72.3% get full time long term legal jobs, and 24.7% are working in biglaw, that means that the majority of people are working jobs that aren't biglaw. Some of those people work in the Chicago area, some of them work elsewhere. If you don't have much debt, that can be a very good option for you.

[Chardee_MacDennis]

Do a good amount of graduates get good jobs in Illinois outside of the Chicago market, or is it Chicago or bust? (Not big law, just comfortable jobs)

Define "good amount."

Chicago is the school's primary market. Students can, and often do, get jobs in central and southern Illinois, mostly because they're returning home. Those jobs come from networking and hustling.

Most students will end up in Chicago in some form (i.e., biglaw, DA/PD, small- and mid-size firms, etc.).

[dr1366]

Checking in. File complete 11/4

[Wingtip88]

Absolutely. The reality is found here: http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/illinois/2013/

If 72.3% get full time long term legal jobs, and 24.7% are working in biglaw, that means that the majority of people are working jobs that aren't biglaw. Some of those people work in the Chicago area, some of them work elsewhere. If you don't have much debt, that can be a very good option for you.

Also, bear in mind that the 72.3% LST "score" comes from a class of 231 graduates, and UIUC only enrolled 158 students for Fall of 2014. The Class of 2017 will be a little more than two thirds the size of the Class of 2013, which itself saw improvement over the classes of 2012 and certainly 2011.

The long term effect of smaller class sizes should hopefully be that in the coming years, a larger percentage of grads are able to secure full time, long term JD required jobs.

[isuperserial]

Absolutely. The reality is found here: http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/illinois/2013/

If 72.3% get full time long term legal jobs, and 24.7% are working in biglaw, that means that the majority of people are working jobs that aren't biglaw. Some of those people work in the Chicago area, some of them work elsewhere. If you don't have much debt, that can be a very good option for you.

Also, bear in mind that the 72.3% LST "score" comes from a class of 231 graduates, and UIUC only enrolled 158 students for Fall of 2014. The Class of 2017 will be a little more than two thirds the size of the Class of 2013, which itself saw improvement over the classes of 2012 and certainly 2011.

The long term effect of smaller class sizes should hopefully be that in the coming years, a larger percentage of grads are able to secure full time, long term JD required jobs.

I'm hesitant to speculate on what kind of impact this will have on our future employment.

[sprinky07]

Submitted without attaching a Why Illinois essay. I can't find any info on their website, but I did receive an email, upon the completion of my app, directing future correspondence to their admissions email address. Does anybody who has written one know how long a Why Illinois essay should be?