After much deliberation, I have decided to attend the University Chicago Law School. I came really close to picking Notre Dame because they offered me a near full ride but as others have mentioned before, the doors that Chicago opens are just unmatched by most schools. The debt was a hard thing for me to move beyond but at the end of the day, I think it will all be worth it. I have heard people tell me that I am a dreamer but today that dream becomes a reality.
Hey guys!
Does anyone know if cost anything (other than processing costs from the undergrad institution) to have LSAC send an updated copy of your transcripts to law schools?
So I'm going to UCHI this fall and I just had an interesting conversation with an old friend who is going to the University of Toledo Law and they were bragging about how they have average grades and have a job with Butzel Long. Obviously this is part of law but how big is this?
According to the state of Wisconsin's bar, in order to practice law, graduates of Wisconsin law schools no longer have to pass the bar to practice in that state. Do you think this trend will continue to grow?
At the moment I have severe writers block. I can't seem to put my thoughts to paper. I want to lead off with the fact that I grew up in a somewhat broken home with an abusive father and I how I had to overcome that. I wanted to lead off with a statistic but finding these statistics have proven to be difficult. My mind then gravitated towards the idea of using a quote as an attention grabber. I am a huge fan of Stephen King and I found a quote of his that is very intriguing. “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” I have two different ideas about how I would proceed from there. 1.) I would go into my experiences of my childhood (abuse, etc). 2.) The next line could read "that was certainly true for my father and , in some cases my mother." Let me know what you think!
None of the law schools I am applying to seem to have formatting requirements
@ for instance, effort or other factors?
So I am pretty excited/nervous about starting my1L at UChi next month. After talking to some people, I have been told by some that they earned higher GPA's in law school than they did in undergrad. Of course, this is not the same as saying that it is "easier" because I highly doubt that it is. The curve could benefit some or students could benefit from being in classes that they are skilled in(unlike undergrad where classes outside your major could bring you down like Math, etc)
What are some of your thoughts?
The more I talk to people, the more I realize that the ABA is quite active in its investigations into bar applicants. How far are they willing to dig? Will they scrutinize every tidbit of information? Will they care about my padded resume? If so, it seems a bit much.
By no means, is this complete but some feedback would be great. My goal is to explain the night and day differences in my transcript between the first and second halves of my college education.
"I would like to explain the discrepancy between the first and the second half of my collegiate career.
When I started out in college, It was my first time away from home. I allowed myself to get caught up in the "experience" of being in college, rather than focusing on my studies. I was truly overwhelmed, I began to lean on alcohol and I quickly developed a problem."
Let me know what you think
As I have posted before, I was accepted into the University Chicago but it doesn't look like I'm going to have much help financially. However, I have received full ride offers from Chicago Kent, Michigan State, DePaul, and Indiana McKinney. I have also gotten into a couple of top 25 schools but I am facing a similar dilemma. My ultimate goal is to get into big law and I have been told that if I graduate in the top 5% at a tier 2 school then that shouldn't be a problem. Curves matter to me too and I also want to take that into consideration when choosing a school
I had a quick question.
I noticed that on my CRS that my actual transcripts aren't included. Do law schools not have access to the classes that I took?
I have a quick question. I don't start law school until the fall and I know that you usually don't do internships until after your second year but I have a question and I don't know if anyone will be able to answer it but here we go. So obviously in law school you learn how to do a new type of resume. My question pertains to the LSAT and whether or not that is something potential employers care about, especially in Biglaw
Hey guys! I have a question. With my second deposit , UChi is asking me to file a "commitment agreement". I fully intend on attending but I like to know exactly what I am signing. It isn't asking me to withdraw applications but I am sure there is more to it. What would happen if I broke it, if something came up and I wanted to attend to school closer to home?
@ @ people are just completely off sometimes, when it comes to the rule or even issue of a case. I know people aren't idiots because this is a really good school but not everyone here is necessarily cut out for law school. There is a guy who sits right next to me that makes a comment when a specific person says something in legal writing. I just occasionally roll my eyes
@ thanks man. We all find ways to perform in the clutch. I am just finally having my oh crap moment. I'm about to walk onto campus wear some of the very best will be and I count myself among them but that is still a tall order
@ yeah I believe you're only given 3 hours or so and I've heard 7 to 10 pages would be considered light
@ thanks bro. I am honestly nervous about starting. I am nervous about the exams because your don't really get a chance to proofread
What @ said
It's been a while guys. As I have previously announced, I will be attending the University of Chicago for law school. I was looking at some of the syllabi for some previous classes and it seems that not all courses allow for typed exams and a lot of them require handwritten exams. Now I can only see as recent as 2012 so I don't know if that has changed but what seems to be the trend nationally on this?
I know that the University of Chicago has a fairly conservative undergraduate campus and I come from a pretty conservative school. What are some other well-known conservative campuses?
@ no problem.
combsni116
I am getting ready to propose to my girlfriend within the next few months,because she would like to get married BEFORE she graduates dental school and I have a really big question! Should I ask for her father's blessing / how should I notify him of my plans? My mother comes from old money but she she will just tell me whatever I want to hear, my girlfriend is against asking for permission , and my friends are yes men. I wasn't sure of our future because I didn't know where I was going to law school but my score will allow me to go just about anywhere so now is the time. Any way, what should I do?
@ that's interesting information on mid law. I imagine that it depends a lot on the location of the firm as well. Michigan only has 4 schools, not including Cooley. So Wayne, Michigan State, and even Toledo have the ability to place people into firms that they otherwise wouldn't in cities like Chicago. Detroit is a weird city to be an attorney. You have more prestigious firms like Jones Day and Honigman that pay exceptionally and give pretty consistent raises. You have other places that are highly regarded like Miller Canfield and Butzel Long. I've met with people from each firm and I have to say, they were all fairly similar. Also in other firms, you have the "Jewish Dynamic" which occasionally trump's everything and gets a relatively unqualified person a job. I'm in no position to complain about nepotism but it adds to the negative vibes that some firms have.
Well... there have been rumblings that the GRE would eventually replace the LSAT
Should I just dive in or is there protocol when doing a statement?
By now, I am sure you have all seen the leaked rankings. Obviously Berkley and Georgetown make the headlines but you have schools like Rutgers jumping 30 spots. What do you think caused so much movement this year? Do you really think that certain schools have made either drastic improvements or have drastically fallen back in the span of a year?
@ I just grew up around a lot of businessmen. Though my mother alienated her wealthy family, I have been able to keep those connections. Naturally, a lot of these people are very anti going into debt. I am also very stubborn. I could easily take over a couple businesses and make the $400,000 or $500,000 year that a lot of people would dream of but I want to pave my own path. I am far more proud of my connections to Lotus and General Motors than any connection I have with my family and I do believe that I could use a lot of my professional connections to land some of these larger jobs. I have listed a lot of the reasons why I like Chicago Kent and schools like it. I have also seen people go for the Ivy Leagues / more prestigious schools and fall on their face. My cousin went to Yale and his career isn't exactly thriving in the financial industry. I still haven't made up my mind yet. I love the University Chicago and the culture there but I have my reservations.
I am just curious, how will law schools view this? I know it is unscored but is it taken into consideration at all?
@ it's just some of the things people say.
They seem so off-the-wall at times.
With the exception of a few lower tier schools like Creighton, almost all of your Supreme Court clerkships come from schools in that range. For the most part, if you go to one of those schools it will be much easier to get into big law as well. Not that people from tier two and three schools don't make it into big law they do but it is much more difficult. That was one of the main things that swayed me towards attending the University of Chicago as opposed to Notre Dame, McKinney in Indianapolis, and other schools.
Good evening all,
A year ago, I was just like all of you, preparing to take what I thought was the biggest test of my life. Well I'm on the other side now at the University of Chicago and I have to say, it is all worth it.
Once you get to law school, you'll begin to feel the rewards for your effort and it is one of the greatest feelings ever. There will certainly be challenges. For instance, I love the material I am learning but I question how some of my classmates got into this school, on daily basis. With that said, I would not trade this away for anything in the world. Because of what I learned through 7sage and other materials, I get to live my dream. Remember, take your time and do the work because you will be glad you did later.
@ @ there are also some midsize firms that pay pretty well. For instance, in Detroit, Butzel Long starts people off at like a hundred and five or a hundred and ten thousand. Often, pay ranges from firm to firm.
I am not going to lie, I could see it going either way. I went with my first choice every single time, without making sure that it wasn't a trap answer. I am usually pretty good at getting around the Trap answer but you never know. The logic games definitely screwed me over and reading comprehension wasn't hard but I ran out of time on the last four questions
combsni116
So yesterday I received an acceptance notification from UChicago and a denial from The University of Michigan. By all accounts, Chicago is a much better law school so how was I outright denied by U-M but accepted by Chicago?
I know that there are 5 35 minute sections plus the writing sample but isn't there a break in between there ?
@ Northwestern is on the table but I didn't apply to a lot of other places because I want to stay in the Midwest. Detroit, Chicago, and Indianapolis are the cities that I am looking at.
@ that is fair and all but I am 100% expecting myself to graduate in the top 5%. I do have biglaw connections to and they are telling me some of the opposite. I am a guy that will ask if there is any chance at all and that answer is clearly yes and I have been in the top 5% of my entire life. If you go back to one of my first posts, people on here were telling me that my goal for my LSAT score was unrealistic but guess what I went out and I crushed it. If you are the very best in the world at what you do then people will take you. One of the main Partners at Kirkland & Ellis went to John Marshall. You can't tell me that if I graduate number one at Chicago Kent that I won't have a pretty damn good job lined up because I would. You can say I'm full of hubris all you want but I have never been anything other than exceptional and I'm not an overachiever, I am just that good. Even if I go to the University of Chicago, I expect the graduate top 10 percent.
@ I just feel like a lot of people who don't make it aren't willing to give up their personal life and make the other sacrifices necessary to succeed. If you look at the people that have made partner at a lot of these firms, there are common denominators.
http://www.bcgsearch.com/article/900044911/10-Factors-That-Matter-to-Big-Firms-More-Than-Where-You-Went-to-Law-School-Why-the-Law-School-You-Went-to-Ultimately-Does-Not-Matter-as-Much-as-You-Think-It-Does-to-Major-Law-Firms/#
@ I see where you're coming from. I just have one question for you. Do you think the people that you call biglaw refugees are a little biased? And I am not saying the people that I know that are partners aren't. Of course they are. People that have stayed in biglaw would probably respond to you by saying that they have been successful because they have played within the system.
Thank you! So basically they will just send my updated academic summer report, upon receiving my transcripts?
So I printed my ticket today and I have to that it looks bad. You can tell that it is me but an inch of my chin is missing and small part of the crown of my head is as well. I wish I could post a picture on here so I could get some advice
@ you have an interesting take. I don't know why I would only last 3 years in biglaw. Granted I only know Partners at a couple big law firms but I've been told that most people quit. I was told that a lot of them think it is a ruthless business and that is why they end up leaving. Even if it is, I've never had a problem being ruthless or doing whatever it takes to get ahead. But as you have pointed out, you never know how you are going to feel about something until you get in it and there is a chance that I will hate it and the hours that come along with working at a biglaw firm. Uchicago definitely gives me all the prestige that I will need. However, there is another school that is second-tier but they have connections to a Supreme Court Justice. Clarence Thomas has given many clerkships to students that go to Creighton. This isn't to say that they would take the cake over Chicago but my point is there are opportunities everywhere. I absolutely agree with everyone, when they say that the University Chicago will open doors in a lot of places will not open or that will not become open to me until much later in my career. However, this decision is not as easy for me as other people are making it out to be. Both of Indiana University's law schools are on the table and Michigan state is appealing because it is in my home state and my soon-to-be fiance lives here. I like Chicago Kent because that is the school that all but one of my connections in the city went to the other went to DePaul.
Anybody else anxiously awaiting for their admissions decisions? So far I have only gotten back two decisions out of ten. One was immediate and the other took an entire week. I do the online application check at least once a day and they have said that they have been in review for at least a week. Is this normal?
@ that was a very reflective comment. Quite frankly, I am surprised that so many people are on the U Chicago train and understandably so. I have never failed after betting on myself. Admittedly, without the connections I have, I would potentially view this situation differently.
@ Yeah he does