Can someone who attended IUPUI for undergrad PM me? . . . I have various questions as I am thinking about transferring to IUPUI to finish my undergrad and hubby wants to start there next year for their motorsports engineering program.

Bump . . . please?

I a 2L at IU-Indy and have been an Indiana resident my whole life and an Indianapolis resident for several years. No one has ever explained the connection/distinction to us as students. But frankly, most are like me. Local and don't care anyway. During orientation, a rep from professional development told us, "never say that you go to law school at IUPUI". That was really the closest anyone came to clarifying our relationship with IU-B/IUPUI. But here's my take. Take it for what it's worth.

While it's true that IU-Indy and IU-B are technically different schools, the comparison one poster made to CUA and GW doesn't reflect the true nature of the relationship between the two schools - although there is something to the comparison. IU-Indy began as a private law school in the late 19th century. It then went through many private incarnations (once actually affiliated with the private U of Indianapolis) and then was taken over by the IU system in (I believe) the 1940's. This is about the time IU embarked on a major expansion, creating several satellite campuses across the state. Indylaw was just one of these.

We are not affiliated at all with IUPUI - our only connection is location and technology. We use their IT network, have to purchase their parking passes, and so forth. My school email ends in IUPUI.edu and not indiana.edu, for example. We receive administrative emails from the main IU campus - IE...we are under the administrative control of the President of Indiana University. But we (to my knowledge) never receive emails from the IU-B law school. So it is reasonable to assume that our Dean and the Dean of the IU-B law school are separate "equals" both reporting to the President of Indiana University. Our Dean, as far as I know, does not report to the Dean of IUPUI - they are equals as well. This is just what I can gather as a student - I hope that clears up a little bit of the administrative confusion.

Now on to reputation and diploma. I've never seen an IU-Indy diploma. So I don't know what they say. I can make an educated guess and say - if it did just have "Indiana University School of Law" with no reference to Indy or Indianapolis, there would be a whole lot of pissed-off IU-B graduates. So I'm almost certain it says "Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis". Also, do a martindale or google of law firms in Indianapolis and check out the bios. Lawyers do not just put "Indiana University" or "Indiana University School of Law" in their bios. They pretty much always qualify it with "Bloomington" or "Indianapolis". This is probably just the norm - or good "etiquette". The old-timer solo and small firm practitioners, on the other hand, don't follow this rule. I've found a good number of older attorneys around the state who have just "Indiana University - JD" in their bio, and then I find their picture with a graduating class down in the library here. I don't think it's malicious in any way, I just think that's the way it used to be. With the prevalence of LS rankings today though, it's likely considered a minor "unethical" misrepresentation for a Indylaw graduate to omit the "Indianapolis" from his/her bio.

With that said - Indylaw remains a very good local law school. I would venture to say that the distinction between Bloomington and Indianapolis means very little to Indy firms and local government. There are hundreds of top-notch lawyers in this market who came out of Indylaw. However, the general public probably still perceives Indylaw as a sort of "night school" version of IU-B. It's how most people view IUPUI and no amount of distancing by the administration will do any good. So I would say this: to firms/government in Indiana? no significant difference. to Joe Blow who wants an estate probated? Probably a difference. And our ranking probably reflects accurately our out of state prospects. Nobody in, say, Florida, will think "Thomas Cooley" when they hear IU-Indy, but they won't be thinking IU-B or Wisconsin or Ohio State either. Look at the other schools ranked alongside IU-Indy - Marquette, Depaul, St. Johns, and so on. That is probably a very good spot for IU-Indy. I always thought 68 was a bit too high.

If anyone has more specific questions about IU-Indy, I'll be happy to answer them.

Jacksprat . . . thank you so much! This is a big help.

I actually had the opportunity to visit IU Indy this past weekend and I was very impressed. First off, I LOVE that there are class portraits of every class since the early 1900's. It gave me the feeling that the school really cares about not only their students, but their alumni as well.

It appears by looking at said class profiles, that there is a very good mix between traditional and non-traditional students. I will be 26 going into law school. I'm sort of in between age-wise, but identify more with the older non-trads in that I work full-time and attend undergrad full-time. I also have a lot of work experience and am sort of past the "party hard stay out all night" sort of lifestyle.

I was also particularly excited to see that many of the larger Indy-based law firms have sponsored different rooms. This made me feel that IU Indy, although not a top school, still has decent placement opportunities in the Indy region which is where I would like to practice.

What else can you tell me about life as a law student at IU Indy or any other perks I should consider?

If you prefer to PM me, that is fine as well.

Also, did you go to IUPUI for undergrad? I am in the IU system currently as well for undergrad but am considering transferring to IUPUI to finish off my degree so that my husband can finish his b.s. in IUPUI's motorsports engineering program.

Thanks!

You can be very confident that Indylaw places well in the region. The only issue is of course the relative size of the Indianapolis/central Indiana market. Indy puts out a LOT of graduates. If this were one of the top five or ten metro areas in the country, it wouldn't matter. But here it does. Depending on the economy, there may just not be very many positions at all.

I wouldn't be too worried about being 26. I was 31 when I started full time and I fit right in. Sort of...
But honestly, most FT students here are starting 1L somewhere around 22-25, so I would expect that going in. PT program is obviously completely different. Just from what I gathered during orientation last year, the median age for PT students is somewhere in the 35-40 ballpark.

I was a Ball State graduate many years ago and really didn't know anyone who did IUPUI undergrad. So I can't tell you much. The biggest perk of attending Indylaw is the location - BY FAR. Immediately, upon starting 1L, you are plugged right into the legal community here in Indy. IBA, alumni networking events, alumni lunches, and on and on. Not to mention the biggest factor - State Government. You may not want to be a government attorney or do regulatory work, but having this mass employer right next door is invaluable. One summer working with, for example, professional licensing or Dept. of Insurance or SOS, and you've already gotten a head above most who are heading into the private market after graduation. There is so much regulatory and lobbying work for private attorneys here in Indianapolis that people with state government backgrounds are generally considered to be valuable recruits.

Where do you go to UG now?

I can certainly see what you mean about all the governmental resources and opportunities being right next door! I just got a really good vibe from the school.

While I didn't have the nerve to stop any of the students and ask them what they thought in person, I did have a few smile at me as I walked past.

I thought that was really neat. Sort of a small-town kind of feel. Of course, maybe they were laughing at me because I was in such awe.

This was especially important to me as I was at Notre Dame two weeks ago and had a terrible run in with a pompous, arrogant student. He was a 1L and it was move-in day. So he hadn't even taken a law class and he was telling me that my work as a paralegal could be construed as the unauthorized practice of law (He said this even after I told him that my tasks are to do whatever the attorney has me do and I have very little client interaction) and informing me that notre dame is uber prestigious so don't even plan on attending, its only for the best of the best (I'm not sure what Harvard is for then). I had to laugh hysterically.

I'll PM you my undergrad institution.