U Iowa 2010 App Cycle Forum

[JOThompson]

Withdrew this afternoon. Stats are in my profile. Best of luck to y'all!

Aww, are you withdrawing from Minnesota too?

[extempore88]

.

[JOThompson]

I'm pretty close to sending in my UMN seat deposit, but I won't make a final decision until the Iowa ASD. I've only been in Iowa City since last night, but I already prefer the idea of living in Minneapolis for three years. It's so tough turning down the Iowa Law Opportunity Fellowship, but that's probably what I'll do unless the school wins me over tomorrow.

Best of luck to you at Cornell (or Berkeley hopefully)!

[extempore88]

.

[JOThompson]

Try to be amenable. You'll only be in Iowa City for three years and think about how much you'll pay to move up basically five spots. You have two tortuously good options, but think hard about walking away from your Fellowship. /unrequested advice.

I'm sending in my seat deposit at Cornell next week -- earlier if the basketball team beats Kentucky tonight

That is fine advice. I'll keep my mind open and see what happens here.

[hawki319]

For those of you on the waitlist - what does your ISIS status say now?

[JOThompson]

I had a highly positive experience with the school and city. Sadly, that means I'm no closer to making a decision and the deposit deadline is rapidly approaching. Was/is anyone still on the fence?

[deevilsih]

So I talked to Collins Byrd at the ASD earlier today about the partial scholarships. He said 72 admitted students were nominated for scholarships but were not awarded any money because all of it had been allocated already. As full scholly people turn down the offer and the seat deposit passes, money will be freed up. Collins said he would know how much he had to work with by April 8th and would look over the pool of nominated students then. If you are chosen to receive a scholarship, you should know by April 15th. If you haven't heard anything by then, it's no dice. You can call the admissions office and ask if you were nominated if you're curious.

[seattlite]

For those of you on the waitlist - what does your ISIS status say now?

I got waitlisted about a week ago, and my status checker still says "In Progress". Hope this helps, but I am pretty sure it doesn't. Sorry.

[robin600]

so i posted this in the ASW thread, but I think it might be a good post here too, here's my two cents...

What did everyone think? I'm not going to lie, at first I was a bit turned off, 1) because mr. byrd had no idea who I was AFTER I told him about my PS and accommodated testing (either I must suck, or he wasn't on his game). 2) All the students who were on the panel were scholarship students, and me, not being a scholarship student wanted to talk to someone who wasn't a scholarship recipient to get their perspective on costs/debt management and loans. When I asked the scholarship students about it their response was "IDK I'm on scholarship." "Do you know who I can talk to?" "I guess Financial Aid." I felt like I was stupid or not "up to par", almost second class because I wasn't "scholarship material."

BUT...I think (I hope) this is only admissions talk, and things will change once I attend. I really liked that the law school is separated from the undergraduate sector and the class size is small. I also liked how willing career services are to work with you to find a job that you want in a place you want to work in, which is really important.

IDK, I don't think I'd be unhappy attending Iowa, but it's not my first choice, and if I'm accepted off of one of the three wait lists I am keeping I will attend there instead. IDK mixed vibes, need to think things over...someone talk some sense into me please!

[jaskat]

We're signing a lease soon. You better love Iowa! (Glad to see you got home ok)

[hawki319]

For those of you conversing with Dean Byrd, my best advice would be caveat emptor. My recent experience with him indicates to me that he has no moral problem with looking you straight in the eye and flat-out lying. Just be careful about what you believe.

[Jerome]

so i posted this in the ASW thread, but I think it might be a good post here too, here's my two cents...

What did everyone think? I'm not going to lie, at first I was a bit turned off, 1) because mr. byrd had no idea who I was AFTER I told him about my PS and accommodated testing (either I must suck, or he wasn't on his game). 2) All the students who were on the panel were scholarship students, and me, not being a scholarship student wanted to talk to someone who wasn't a scholarship recipient to get their perspective on costs/debt management and loans. When I asked the scholarship students about it their response was "IDK I'm on scholarship." "Do you know who I can talk to?" "I guess Financial Aid." I felt like I was stupid or not "up to par", almost second class because I wasn't "scholarship material."

BUT...I think (I hope) this is only admissions talk, and things will change once I attend. I really liked that the law school is separated from the undergraduate sector and the class size is small. I also liked how willing career services are to work with you to find a job that you want in a place you want to work in, which is really important.

IDK, I don't think I'd be unhappy attending Iowa, but it's not my first choice, and if I'm accepted off of one of the three wait lists I am keeping I will attend there instead. IDK mixed vibes, need to think things over...someone talk some sense into me please!

I'm in the same boat (nominated for scholarship, but not awarded any, and I doubt I'll get any money). I wouldn't get too bummed by the fact that Dean Byrd didn't remember you from your PS - they review thousands of applications, and at this point in the cycle, I assume that they are so happy to be in the home stretch that they are just on auto-pilot.

As for funding your education, if you're out of state you'll be able to get an RA pretty easily (this is the question I obnoxiously asked EVERYONE). That will cut your costs down significantly. I was also very impressed with the caliber of the students and professors.

I wont shill for the school, but I was impressed.

For those of you conversing with Dean Byrd, my best advice would be caveat emptor. My recent experience with him indicates to me that he has no moral problem with looking you straight in the eye and flat-out lying. Just be careful about what you believe.

I think that this is an apt description of anyone in an admissions office. Their job is to sell students on the school, and as salesmen, they will lie if they must. I was impressed with his directness when I spoke to him, as that is a trait I did not see with other admissions directors (looking at you, CU).

[hawki319]

"They will lie if they must"

REALLY? REALLY? You think this is normal. LYING?

[JOThompson]

"They will lie if they must"

REALLY? REALLY? You think this is normal. LYING?

Mischaracterizations and puffery are to be expected in a competitive environment, but outright lying bothers me. Hawki319, could you PM me with a short description of your experience?

[webbylu87]

"They will lie if they must"

REALLY? REALLY? You think this is normal. LYING?

Mischaracterizations and puffery are to be expected in a competitive environment, but outright lying bothers me. Hawki319, could you PM me with a short description of your experience?

+1

[lawschooliseasy]

So why did Iowa go nuts with full scholarships at the expense of their entire partial scholly budget? Is it just me, or does this seem like very poor planning?

[Whitters]

+1 for me too, I'm very curious about your experience.
Edited for BlackBerry error.

[robin600]

Hawki319 PM me too please (if you don't post it on here)

[Jerome]

"They will lie if they must"

REALLY? REALLY? You think this is normal. LYING?

Not justified, but normal. Look at the way every school games their employment stats, for example.

[ylee0331]

FWIW, I thought the school was pretty cool and the people I met were more than nice.
Anyway, I want to hear more about others' opinions on the school. I haven't paid my deposit yet anyway.

[jaskat]

I also thought the people were really nice, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Also FWIW, I'm flying back home to NY which requires a stop over at O'Hare. My connecting flight out of O'Hare was delayed an hour which meant that I wouldn't be able to make the connection flight that would take me home to NYC. When I went to the United counter and explained my story, the lady immediately smiled at me and said, "Don't worry, we take care of our Hawkeyes." (I had my Iowa law hoodie on) She proceeded to tell me how her daughter had graduated from there and was in one of the best law firms in chicago, (while she totally upgraded my ticket and gave me a direct flight to NYC). All I'm saying is that I didn't realize how well known and liked/respected Iowa is, (not saying that this incident automatically makes it better than Harvard or anything, but the point still stands). The respect and good treatment that I got all weekend from the people in IC, and the recognition, (even on a small scale), in Chicago along with the stats given to us in ASW and how friendly and approachable everyone was made me realize that I'll be very, very happy coming out of this school. Again, this is just my two cents.

[traehekat]

I also thought the people were really nice, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Also FWIW, I'm flying back home to NY which requires a stop over at O'Hare. My connecting flight out of O'Hare was delayed an hour which meant that I wouldn't be able to make the connection flight that would take me home to NYC. When I went to the United counter and explained my story, the lady immediately smiled at me and said, "Don't worry, we take care of our Hawkeyes." (I had my Iowa law hoodie on) She proceeded to tell me how her daughter had graduated from there and was in one of the best law firms in Chicago, (while she totally upgraded my ticket and gave me a direct flight to NYC). All I'm saying is that I didn't realize how well known and liked/respected Iowa is, (not saying that this incident automatically makes it better than Harvard or anything, but the point still stands). The respect and good treatment that I got all weekend from the people in IC, and the recognition, (even on a small scale), in Chicago along with the stats given to us in ASW and how friendly and approachable everyone was made me realize that I'll be very, very happy coming out of this school. Again, this is just my two cents.

haha that's awesome.

[Jerome]

I was somewhat ambivalent about Iowa at first. I was concerned about cost (I was not awarded a scholarship and am out-of-state), placement in the west, and living in Iowa City. Overall, I was pretty impressed, especially compared to other schools I visited.

I thought that the reception the night before the ASD was classy and well-done. If a law school can put on good wine for free, I give them major props. The students at the reception were outgoing, honest, and willing to speak about everything. That was not something I saw at Loyola Chicago or CU Boulder when I met with students there.

As for the actual ASD, I was underwhelmed by the law building itself. It was dated, and the layout seemed somewhat counter-intuitive. Compared to other campuses I have seen (CU, LUC, U Wash) it ranks near the bottom in terms of aesthetic appeal, but seemed functional enough. I also like that it is not part of the undergrad campus and has a segregated library.

I don't expect admissions officials to represent the nature or educational prospects of a school - I believe that at their core, they are salesmen. Dean Byrd, while showy, impressed me with his directness. I spoke with him about scholarships, the admissions profile this cycle, and RA positions (I asked him about them after his spiel, for those who were there). When I was leaving, he approached me to ask whether or not I was able to learn more about RA positions from students and staff. That impressed me - I did not expect him to remember that I asked about RA positions, or to follow-up with me at the end of the day.

The panel of staff was boilerplate. I didn't learn a lot I couldn't learn on their website, but it was fine. The student panel, on the other hand, impressed me. The students seemed both intelligent and engaged (the prepared and uber-dry spiel from the co-president of SBA aside), and that was reinforced by speaking with students on the tours. I wish that they had put some non-scholarship students on the board as well, as Robin noted above. I did speak with students at the reception, and during the ASD who were OOS students without scholarships, and they all indicated that getting RA spots was a given for those who wanted them.

I had the opportunity to speak with some professors at the lunch, and they were genuinely friendly. That was not something that I felt Loyola did a good job of providing. I sent e-mails to CU asking to speak with some professors, and have not heard back.

I liked what I saw. Iowa's job stats, reputation, and the student body all weigh heavily in their favor. Iowa City wasn't bad - not awesome, but far better than I expected.

[Jerome]

I also thought the people were really nice, and the atmosphere was relaxed.

Also FWIW, I'm flying back home to NY which requires a stop over at O'Hare. My connecting flight out of O'Hare was delayed an hour which meant that I wouldn't be able to make the connection flight that would take me home to NYC. When I went to the United counter and explained my story, the lady immediately smiled at me and said, "Don't worry, we take care of our Hawkeyes." (I had my Iowa law hoodie on) She proceeded to tell me how her daughter had graduated from there and was in one of the best law firms in Chicago, (while she totally upgraded my ticket and gave me a direct flight to NYC). All I'm saying is that I didn't realize how well known and liked/respected Iowa is, (not saying that this incident automatically makes it better than Harvard or anything, but the point still stands). The respect and good treatment that I got all weekend from the people in IC, and the recognition, (even on a small scale), in Chicago along with the stats given to us in ASW and how friendly and approachable everyone was made me realize that I'll be very, very happy coming out of this school. Again, this is just my two cents.

I feel the same, despite the fact that I wasn't treated as well by Alamo car rental (those shits).

Note to self: wear Hawkeye gear, get free stuff.