Top Law Schools

afcanoe wrote:

JFo wrote:
Things I wasn't as keen on: Weather, deep dish pizza, that all the chicken salad sandwiches were gone before I got to lunch.

Oooh - it's a good thing someone didn't grab the last chicken salad right in front of you. The rumor mill at a small school can be a vicious form of self-help.

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Muenchen wrote: --ImageRemoved--

I mad bro. I tried to gun and learn sec reg as an 0L, thus ensuring dominance when I take it as a 2L. And you robbed me, bro. I mad. I real mad.

--ImageRemoved--

That "r" word is taboo at Chicago.

I have loved reading the post over the last few months and felt like I knew each of you!!!!
Unfortunately, attended AW and found it very disappointing.
Yep those flirting in the back of Sec Reg were annoying but I observed the following:
- Weather- How much time did the Dean have to spend convincing us the weather does not suck? Wasn't the fountain just filled last week? How about all the space for boots by the lockers?
- Where fun goes to die! Could not find anyone to refute this school's reputation and most of the admits were weird!
- Don't dis other law schools!- why did they keep dissing Columbia in Moot Court? unnecessary in my view
- Juices - why were they all so warm and auditorium cold?
- Hyde park is a ghetto
I am being picky but I was really excited to attend UC but US vs Arizona did me in! I looked around and it was a yawner for everyone including prof posner .
I got a great scholarship (like many others) so TLSers talk me out of turning them down - PLEASE

jerseyChick wrote: - Weather- How much time did the Dean have to spend convincing us the weather does not suck? Wasn't the fountain just filled last week? How about all the space for boots by the lockers?

He spent like 5 minutes in an hour long welcoming speech talking about the weather. I appreciated the point, as I was under the impression that Chicago was significantly colder than the other two cities.

Where fun goes to die! Could not find anyone to refute this school's reputation and most of the admits were weird!

Really? I'm kind of surprised you got that impression. Most of the admits seemed perfectly normal to me. While it does seem that Chicago may have an intellectual environment, I didn't get the impression that it was "where fun goes to die" particularly more than law school not being especially fun in general. But I do think atmosphere and thinking about whether you can see yourself at that school are important factors to consider in your decision. So if you were really turned off by the school's reputation, then that is a valid reason to not attend. You'll have to weigh that against other factors, but keep in mind the main reason you are going to school: to find gainful employment.

Don't dis other law schools!- why did they keep dissing Columbia in Moot Court? unnecessary in my view

When was this? I don't remember any of this but I might have missed it. I didn't notice significant bashing of other schools at other. In fact, I got a lot of "well, those are both great schools" when I told them about what schools I was deciding between. They seemed to make an effort to not diss any other schools, which I appreciated but did not find necessary.

Juices - why were they all so warm and auditorium cold?

What? This shouldn't really be relevant to your decision whether to attend or not.

Hyde park is a ghetto

Yes, Hyde Park is certainly a less than desirable area to live in, but in no way would I consider it a "ghetto." Most people move up north after their 1L year anyways, but I can understand how this would be a legitimate factor in making your decision.

I am being picky but I was really excited to attend UC but US vs Arizona did me in! I looked around and it was a yawner for everyone including prof posner

Again, you really shouldn't be making your decision whether to attend or not based on this. It was a little boring, and I agree with the poster who said if they had staged it as a debate it would have been much more interesting.

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jerseyChick wrote:I have loved reading the post over the last few months and felt like I knew each of you!!!!
Unfortunately, attended AW and found it very disappointing.
Yep those flirting in the back of Sec Reg were annoying but I observed the following:
- Weather- How much time did the Dean have to spend convincing us the weather does not suck? Wasn't the fountain just filled last week? How about all the space for boots by the lockers?
- Where fun goes to die! Could not find anyone to refute this school's reputation and most of the admits were weird!
- Don't dis other law schools!- why did they keep dissing Columbia in Moot Court? unnecessary in my view
- Juices - why were they all so warm and auditorium cold?
- Hyde park is a ghetto
I am being picky but I was really excited to attend UC but US vs Arizona did me in! I looked around and it was a yawner for everyone including prof posner .
I got a great scholarship (like many others) so TLSers talk me out of turning them down - PLEASE

Simple solution...don't come.

Xifeng wrote:--ImageRemoved--

But Knock, IT'S TOO WARM.

Seriously, though, if you visited another school and liked it more you should really take that into consideration. I'm a big proponent of visiting and seeing which school feels right to you.

True.

Xifeng wrote:--ImageRemoved--

But Knock, IT'S TOO WARM.

Seriously, though, if you visited another school and liked it more you should really take that into consideration. I'm a big proponent of visiting and seeing which school feels right to you.

I'm really glad that we're having this discussion in the most mature and productive way.

With cats.

I have to say I'm with jerseyChick on this one. UChicago's ASW left me feeling very meh... mostly due to the other admits I happened to meet. A couple of them seemed like great people - bright and interesting and easy to talk to. But some others were very strange - so lacking in social skills that they were almost rude. NOBODY at Berkeley or NYU was rude to me. Granted some of the NYU admits were a little weird - but definitely not in an arrogant way. To be fair all of the current UChicago students I talked to were way cool and very down to earth. Maybe Uchicago attracts a certain amount of 0L posturing? For me this weekend was all about getting a general feel for the place and the type of students with whom I'd be spending most of my waking hours. And now I'm just not sure . . .

GinaTheresa wrote:I have to say I'm with jerseyChick on this one. UChicago's ASW left me feeling very meh... mostly due to the other admits I happened to meet. A couple of them seemed like great people - bright and interesting and easy to talk to. But some others were very strange - so lacking in social skills that they were almost rude. NOBODY at Berkeley or NYU was rude to me. Granted some of the NYU admits were a little weird - but definitely not in an arrogant way. To be fair all of the current UChicago students I talked to were way cool and very down to earth. Maybe Uchicago attracts a certain amount of 0L posturing? For me this weekend was all about getting a general feel for the place and the type of students with whom I'd be spending most of my waking hours. And now I'm just not sure . . .

Fair enough. I feel like the first paragraph of this posts says it well though: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0#p4285648.

Jfo wrote:I think of lot of that may have to do w/the current students already having friends and being secure in their social environment. I like to think that most weirdness was due to the weirdness of ASW. I know that's what I'm blaming mine on, or at least my social ineptitude. I totally own up to my nerd-weirdness.

And: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p4285724.

Xifeng wrote:But yeah, I think everyone will be less weird at orientation because ASWs are inherently awkward. Like, every conversation starts off with "Where are you from?" or "Where else are you considering?" Once we all have decided and are classmates it'll be way more fun

Edit: I do agree on the 0L posturing point. I assume that will go away though, since I was told that the professors are good at managing the students in the classroom.

These are all credited responses.

That being said, I don't think any of us would say that Chicago is for everyone. My basic feeling is just do whatever you want.

I think Knock has it right.

Yeah for sure there were some super awkward admits at ASW, but I feel like once people start school and settle in a lot of that goes away.

JerseyChick - I'm sorry people were bashing other schools. That is pretty obnoxious IMO. I could never have chosen Columbia over UChi but CLS is still a great school, and whoever says otherwise is an idiot.

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I also thought a lot of the admits were weird, but it was counter balanced by the fact that every single current student I met was pretty awesome. Though they are older by school year, they are your future schoolmates. Half (just a guess) the admits arent coming anyways, plenty of potentially cool students didnt come to ASW, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a school with no weirdos.

I didnt see the dissing of other schools as well, and I attended all of the events. I cant imagine they were serious, more of a tongue in cheek Chicago's bottom student is better than everyone else's top. I think every school does this. But again, I wasnt there for that discussion, so I dont know.

Agreed with Knock - Juices and US vs Arizona should NOT be a deciding factor on where you want to spend the next three years (and a lot of money) of your life.

In the end, to me many of the complaints seemed minor. Though if you really, really didnt like it, then you should probably go somewhere you did like. You'll be happier and probably do better. Chicago isn't for everyone, just like NYU, Columbia, Harvard, or any other school is not for everyone.

thanks for the quick feedback as I know my thoughts were not isolated! Sorry about the ghetto reference but got off the green line just south of campus and was sure glad it was early morning;)
oh did everyone realize except me the sec reg prof pre-selected the students he would call upon....... with the prof verifying they had done the reading before class
I realize certain parts of ASW are pre-staged but I appreciated the 2l coming clean at lunch.
appreciate everyone's insights!!

Knock - I totally agree. Didn't realize this was already being covered in another thread. (sorry) And I didn't mean in any way to dis UChicago for those of you who totally love it!! I just wanted to share my thoughts on the weekend - for me personally. that's all.

jerseyChick wrote:thanks for the quick feedback as I know my thoughts were not isolated! Sorry about the ghetto reference but got off the green line just south of campus and was sure glad it was early morning;)
oh did everyone realize except me the sec reg prof pre-selected the students he would call upon....... with the prof verifying they had done the reading before class
I realize certain parts of ASW are pre-staged but I appreciated the 2l coming clean at lunch.
appreciate everyone's insights!!

Hey jerseychick, did you get called on during the mock class?

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GinaTheresa wrote:Knock - I totally agree. Didn't realize this was already being covered in another thread. (sorry) And I didn't mean in any way to dis UChicago for those of you who totally love it!! I just wanted to share my thoughts on the weekend - for me personally. that's all.

I thought your criticisms were completely valid, and I appreciate you sharing. I just wanted to add in a little bit of outside opinion for you to consider.

Yale is for everyone HTH

Emma. wrote:I think Knock has it right.

Yeah for sure there were some super awkward admits at ASW, but I feel like once people start school and settle in a lot of that goes away.

JerseyChick - I'm sorry people were bashing other schools. That is pretty obnoxious IMO. I could never have chosen Columbia over UChi but CLS is still a great school, and whoever says otherwise is an idiot.

I also agree that Knock has it right and that people settle in once school starts. keep in mind that the population at asw only makes up 25% of the students who were admitted, so whether you thought the people there were great or terrible, i personally think its better to evaluate based on current students as opposed to other admits (emphasizing that this is true whether you liked the admits or not).

Sentry wrote:Yale is for everyone HTH

Is why I left it off the schools I mentioned.

If anyone is considering Yale, go there.

JFo wrote:

Muenchen wrote:

Dany wrote:I thought it was sad I couldn't go.

I felt it was seriously lacking in Southern accents.

Sowwwwy.

Things I loved: Meeting TLS-ers, class visit, mock class (though I was probably the only person there thinking "Omg, this is like the central conflict in Njal's Saga!"), free booze, laser light bowling alley, the campus, Lior.

Things I wasn't as keen on: Weather, deep dish pizza, that all the chicken salad sandwiches were gone before I got to lunch.

Of the 5 or so different deep dish places I've tried so far in Chicago, I've found Gino's East to be the worst. So don't judge the pizza too hard from ASW