UCONN class of 2016 Forum

[letmein14]

In the spirit of applying to law schools, I present to you the UCONN Class of 2016 thread.

[NR3C1]

And here is some additional info about UConn:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=ps ... 56&bih=602

[Puffin]

jeez. brutal?

[Sea Urchin Ceviche]

Brutal, but you owe yourself a duty to be fully informed. The in-state tuition/low debt load at UConn can be very enticing, especially when compared to other law schools. Keep in mind that approximately 15 students received summer associate offers through OCI this year. (Somewhere around half of them will probably receive offers for post-graduate employment.)

[chateauneuf]

I have no idea where you're getting that number. I'm at UConn law school now as a 2L and I can tell you we have received far more than 15 OCI offers this year. Furthermore I am positive that our school has not yet reported the total number of OCI offers for 2012, so you're going to need to justify where you're getting that information (other than rumor).

As for the blog poster - all I can say is that if you're going to listen to a person who's not only not a lawyer but is not in the legal field at all as a way of determining the quality of a school the blogger has never visited, I would recommend ceasing all attempts to apply to law school entirely, since the "google search" method of research will not go very far once you actually have to accumulate knowledge.

Look, UConn Law is a good school with a nice campus and very good professors (with a few obvious exceptions, like any school). However it is a primarily regional school. The New England/Tri-State region is fiercely competitive, and thus a UConn grad looking for work outside of CT is going to have to deal with Harvard, Yale, Columbia and NYU grads pushing for the same spots.

On the other hand, the school is excellent for CT residents due to its low cost (I have no idea where that blogger was getting a $70k living expenses from... I can only assume he decided that a new BMW is a 1L necessity). CT law firms and insurance companies tend to value UConn Law grads - mostly because they are a known commodity in the area.

But even more fundamentally, if your method of determining the quality of a law school is to see the number of OCIs or high-paying jobs coming out afterwords, you need to stop right now and reevaluate why you are going to law school. If the answer is "to make boatloads of money," stop, turn around, and go apply for an MBA or something. The biggest misperception about law is that everyone who is a lawyer is somehow a highly-paid suit from BigLaw land. This is not nor has it ever been the case. You should not be considering law school at all unless you have a passion for the law, for argument and research, and for acting as an advocate of others.

[letmein14]

I have no idea where you're getting that number. I'm at UConn law school now as a 2L and I can tell you we have received far more than 15 OCI offers this year. Furthermore I am positive that our school has not yet reported the total number of OCI offers for 2012, so you're going to need to justify where you're getting that information (other than rumor).

When I created the post I was unhappy that the previous blogger had unofficial negative information to say.

Anyways, I applied and am still complete, Im hoping for an acceptance.

[baddabing27]

Well, I'm excited. Just got the news yesterday.

Edit: Also very interested in OCI information if anyone has it - preferably from students who actually have experienced it at UCONN. The LSN profile wasn't very encouraging about this. While lawyering for free might be fulfilling, I'd like to get paid for my "passion for the law, for argument and research, and for acting as an advocate of others."

[Brassica7]

I'm a UConn 3L. I went through OCI and managed to get a job offer. I am very lucky. This is a decent school, but a lot of my classmates will never work as attorneys. If you come here, there is about a 30% chance you will get a good job (high pay and/or desirable work), about a 40% chance of a decent job, and about a 30% chance you wasted three years and $100,000.

I believe about 15% of my classmates received summer positions through OCI, but a bunch of us did not receive offers from these firms for after graduation. At a guess, 10% of us currently have job offers at big firms. Another 10% or so have clerkships, but mostly at the state level. Still, state clerkships are good ways to move into solid CT firms and state government jobs. CT pays its state employees well; all in all, UConn Law to state court clerkship to State's Attorney's Office is a good deal. I believe another 10% or so will pick up jobs at good local firms/companies between now and bar results in October. For these 30% or so, the results are pretty good. Most won't have NYC biglaw, but making ~$80,000 to $120,000 is within reach. That, or less money but better benefits and hours at a state job.

A bunch more graduates will get jobs at smaller firms with pay levels that are questionably worth the added cost/time of law school. Some of these people will do well and raise their incomes later on. Some will quit/be forced out.

Another large clump will work retail/administrative jobs/nothing, and eventually stop applying for legal positions after hundreds of rejections. I don't know what they will do with their lives or how they will repay their debt.

All in all, attending UConn Law is a risk. I am glad I did it. Barring some unlikely disaster, I will make over $100k next year, and I am looking forward to actually practicing law. However, I mostly decided to attend because I was living with my parents and making slightly above minimum wage before starting law school. My alternate options were not great, so UConn Law was more appealing. If you have good alternate options, consider them carefully.

If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

[amf728]

Has anyone decided to attend? Went to ASD and I thought it was one of the better ones.

[shredmeister]

waiting for scholly offer... praying to get a good offer
3.9 and 159 and out of state

[Whiter310]

For those students already at UConn, I would like your opinion. If I don't get any scholarship money, I could attend for out of state tuition for the first year and then in-state for the next two years. It would probably be about 100,000 dollars overall. I did receive scholarships from other schools, but I would like to go to UConn. Do you think it's worth it to pay sticker?

[shredmeister]

just got 20k for first year. not enough, prob withdrawing

[WorldTraveler101]

Are many others still waiting to hear back from UCONN? With deposits due to other schools April 15th, the window to make a decision on which school seems to be getting cut shorter and shorter.

[amf728]

just got 20k for first year. not enough, prob withdrawing

did you try and leverage your other offers? I was offered a small scholarship on the first round and then almost immediately bumped.

[jen821]

Made my deposit and looking forward to starting at UConn this fall.

[North]