Law Students

University of Chicago, The Law School

By Anonymous

I'm having lunch with an admitted University of Chicago law student today. I volunteered to be on the Alumni Admissions Committee a few months ago and since then have been matched up with several local UChicago admits; so far I've mostly answered questions by email, today is my first in-person serious discussion about the merits of the school. I'm trying to organize my thoughts.

The good: I think I can wholeheartedly recommend the law school itself. While I hate, loathe and despise the quarter system, the small class size (less than 200), amazing professors who actually enjoy teaching and interracting with students outside of class, and ease of access to courses and administrative assistance make it a great place to learn the law. The rigor is no joke, but I can now appreciate the fact that the Socratic Method was heavily used all three years. It made me good class discussions and participation and if you're paying $40,000+ per year in tuition, you might as well get your money's worth. The campus is also quite lovely with its gothic architecture, ivy covered walls, and giant trees.

The bad: The location in south side Chicago leaves much to be desired, but Hyde Park on the North side of campus is charming in its own way and if you live in South or West Loop downtown the commute is pretty easy. Parking became a nightmare by the time I left thanks to a bunch of new construction around the law school, but I don't know what the situation is like now.

The I Don't Know: Up to a year ago I wouldn't have told anyone to worry much about the loans. While graduating up to $200,000 in debt is not ideal, a benefit of the small class size and prestigious name is that everyone is guaranteed a BigLaw job paying $160,000 if they want one. Regardless of your grades (which are bizarre: 180+ is an A, below 174 is a C, median is a 177, no one but alumni understand how to read our transcripts. The school also doesn't rank, so no one knows where he or she stands in the class and law firms don't ask), you had an array of firms to choose from by the end of OCI. But the legal world has completely changed since I was a 2L and I don't know that I'd feel as comfortable taking out those loans in this environment. It never occurred to me during my law school experience that I wouldn't have a high paying job that could pay back those loans within a few years, I don't think that would be true now. I'm sure UChicago students are still in some demand, but with a huge pool of "elite" law students now facing delayed start dates and layoffs (a handful of people from my graduating class have already been let go from their firms), I don't know how much firms will be relying on OCI to fill their incoming classes over the next few years. It's something I'd at least be nervous about- grades, journals, etc. may start to matter in a way they didn't before.

I believe this particular admit is trying to choose between UChicago and a few other top 10 schools, so the loans issue would exist in any of those situations and for all I know she has a rich relative funding her education. If the financial side of things is equal (if it's not, I'd let financial aid sway me in a way I wouldn't have 3 years earlier), I think a major benefit of Chicago is the grade-blind OCI (firms don't get your transcript until after the interview and must meet with you if you select them) and small class size (greater access to professors and a wait-list free course registration).

And of course you get to graduate in this beautiful chapel:

and live in this beautiful city:

It's going to be very hard for me to be impartial, I miss it so.

Full post as published by Lag Liv on April 14, 2009 (boomark / email).