A Day in the Life

Chicago Professor in the News!!

I just finished my first week of recruiting and was in Washington DC, Virginia and North Carolina.  It was a one night one state trip but I did see a lot of prospective students.  As I was unpacking and going through my mail when I got home, I was watching CNN and to my delight I saw one of our clinical faculty members, Professor Craig Futterman, on Anderson Cooper 360 commenting on the Law School's recent success in checking instances of police brutality.  Professor Futterman teaches in our Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic and specializes in civil rights lawsuits, focusing on matters involving police brutality and racial discrimination.  Anderson Cooper was reporting on some of the ongoing cases involving the Chicago Police Department.  Professor Futterman, who heads up just one the many Clinical Programs available to our students, the Civil Rights & Police Accountability Project, comments "the work of our students in the Clinic has contributed to public understanding of and discourse around fundamental issues of justice in law enforcement and our criminal justice system.  Our students have helped to make visible conditions of institutional denial and impunity that have allowed human rights violations in our own backyard to go unchecked and unseen.  The efforts of our students will ultimately prevent the abuse of the most vulnerable in our community, as well as make the job for the vast majority of good police officers out there safer and more effective".  As you can see Craig and our students are doing very interesting work in reforming the system, and the Police Accountability Project is just one example of the excellent ways in which the Law School’s Clinical Programs not only educate our students but also allow them to begin practical application of that knowledge to improve the legal system.

Tips & Tricks #1: The Personal Statement

As promised this begins a series entitled, "Tips & Tricks," that is designed to help you with the some of the more difficult aspects of completing your law school applications.  Future posts will cover topics such as the importance placed upon GPA, questions about majors and suggestions for obtaining the best letters of recommendation.  We thought we would start with the personal statement as it is one of the most difficult and time-consuming parts of the application.  Making this the first post in the series is also a reminder that you should set aside enough time to write a compelling personal statement.  And so now, here are our words of wisdom about that infamous personal statement...

The personal statement is the aspect of the application that we hear the most about when recruiting or talking to prospective students (except perhaps general fear of the LSAT!). "What should I write my personal statement about" is a critical question for the applicant, but one that is hard to answer. Here is a summary of do's and don'ts taken from several members of our admissions committee:

DO’S:

·       A personal statement is supposed to be PERSONAL! We want to hear about you, what makes you tick, what motivates you, and what inspires you. We are trying to make up a class of interesting, dynamic people, and this is the place to show us that you will add something vital to our school.  Whether your statement is light-hearted and comical or more serious, a statement that will stand out in our minds is one that is not only personal and interesting, but sincere. 

·       A good personal statement will give a sense of who you are as a person after reading it and there are hundreds of ways to accomplish this.

·       Remember, this is your writing sample as well as a personal statement so make sure that it is a flawless piece of writing. No typos, nice paragraphs, and something that flows well is highly desirable. One good way to catch typos is to read your statement aloud.  You often will catch missed words and awkward phrasing that you don't when silently reading it.  One of the most important things you can do to make your statement its best is to have someone whose writing you respect read it and offer comments.

·       Make your personal statement interesting, tell a captivating story, or inject some humor into the essay. We read a lot of these, so something fun can help you stand out in the crowd. 

·       Try to focus on something unique about you, something that is not going to be repeated in other people's essays. One essay topic we see a lot is the pre-med student who has an epiphany in a Political Science class and decides to change her major (but not until after getting a C- in Organic Chemistry!).  Nonetheless if your motivation to study law does originate with such an experience do not let that deter you from telling us so.

·       If you are sending out individualized personal statements, make sure that you send the correct personal statement with your application. I have read hundreds of personal statements talking about how the applicant really wants to go to a school other than Chicago. Needless to say, this can ruin an otherwise wonderful personal statement.

DON’T’S:

·       Don't rewrite your resume in your personal statement, writing chronologically about all the things you have accomplished in your life. That is the purpose of a resume this kind of personal statement tells us nothing new and tends not to be very interesting.

·       Be very careful when talking about the law. Remember, our committee is made up of lawyers, so if you are going to argue a legal issue, be aware that a lawyer will be reviewing your arguments very carefully. 

·       Don't be weird or quirky, just to be weird or quirky.  Although we encourage creativity, anything too strange (past examples included rhymes, videotapes, and CDs) will be memorable, but not in the good way.

·       Don't talk about our law school instead of yourself. It's great that you think we have a wonderful law school, and even better that you learned a lot on our website, but we already know that!

·       Don't feel like you have to write an essay about saving the world. If saving the world is your passion, then feel free to write about it. Something personal and introspective that fails to mention global warming, international terrorism or the sub-Saharan AIDS epidemic can still be a great personal statement.

With that we wish you luck composing and we look forward to reading what will undoubtedly be a compelling, interesting and personal statement about you!

The Chicago Forum is Coming!!

Well now that you know what to ask about when you come to a LSAC Law School Forum, I would like to remind you that this Saturday, September 15 is the Chicago Law School Forum.  It is being held at the Chicago Marriott Hotel located at 540 N. Michigan from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.  If you would like to register please visit the LSAC website and look for the link to the registration page on the right-hand side of the page.  It will be a very informative event with over 165 law schools in attendance.  Also, there will be a number of panels being presented they will give you insight into various parts of the admissions process as well as information about careers in law.  The University of Chicago Law School will be at Table 48 which will be in the all the way in the back corner to the right as you walk through the doors to the ballroom.  We will have several representatives from the Law School present including Kristen Mercado, our Student Services Fellow, current students including Tim Cleary, Kyle Ortiz and Karen Courtheoux who are 2nd year students.  So if you are going to be in Chicago this weekend, make sure and stop by our table to pick up a copy of our 2007-2008 viewbook and other materials.  We look forward to seeing you!

Learn About Law Schools, Part I: LSAC Forums

Every Fall, hundreds of law school faculty, staff, students and alumni hit the road for weeks at a time to spread the word about their law schools to potential applicants.  Thousands of applicants are simultaneously trying to learn as much as they can about law schools.  In a series of posts, we will give an overview of the many different ways to learn about schools, as well as some advice on how to make the most of your time.

One great way to quickly gather tons of information about law schools is to visit a LSAC Law School Forum. Forums are large information sessions offered in, Chicago, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco each year. At the forums you can talk with representatives from over 140 law schools, gather materials, sign up for mailing lists, and attend general information sessions on everything from the LSAT to Law School Diversity.  While forums can be an excellent way to learn about law schools, it is easy to be overwhelmed at the size, crowd, and volume of information available.  Here are a few tips for making a forum work for you:

    * Make a List of Goals. Are you looking for a general overview about law school admissions? Do you want to learn more about specific schools? Do you have questions about your specific application?

    * Get a Map. At the forums, the law schools are randomly placed in a large hotel ballroom.  There are maps available, but it can be difficult to navigate, especially during peak times. Before diving in, make sure and get a map (LSAC handily provides these for you for each forum) and circle the schools you want to make sure and visit.

    * Attend LSAC Sessions. LSAC provides a variety of sessions during the forum, including a presentation on making the most of the Forums, “Forum 101,” a general admissions session and a “What Do Lawyers Do” session, both of which are especially useful for those in the early stages of their application process.  You can find the schedule of sessions for each forum on the LSAC website by clicking on the "Schedule/Floor Plan" link under each Forum's date.

    * Travel Light. It may seem like a good idea to pick up a view book from each school, but bear in mind there are well over a hundred schools and that many schools also post their view books on their web sites. If you do like that new book smell, bring a backpack or sturdy bag to carry everything.

        *What to Wear.  Remember that even before your first day of law school, you should begin to think of yourself as a professional, and part of being a professional is dressing the part.  To that end, many people wonder what is the appropriate attire for a forum.  Although there is no hard and fast rule, business casual is the norm for forums.  Be sure to wear comfortable shoes as you will be spending quite a lot of time on your feet!

      * Be Respectful of the Law School Representative's Time. At the Chicago forum this weekend, we will probably speak to 1300 applicants over two days, so we cannot stop and talk with someone for 45 minutes! Try to keep your questions focused, don't be aggressive, and don't be afraid to have a group conversation with other applicants standing ahead or behind you.  Many of you have the same questions and a group chat can be both more informative for you and less repetitive for the representative. Remember a forum is a good place to get basic information, but it's not the appropriate venue for an in-depth application review.

    * Follow Up After the Forum. If you have a good conversation with someone, or if you want to establish a connection to a particular school, I think it is a great idea to send a brief email to follow up.

   

Author: MM 

U of C Admissions Spotting

We have been working on our 2007 recruiting travel schedule.  Each fall members of the Law School community travel around the country visiting schools and cities where we spread the good word about the Law School and the law school experience in general.

One of the first things we do is attend the LSAC Forums, which are usually held in ballrooms at hotels in large cities.  The Forums have over 150 law schools represented and they are a great place to pick up materials and to gather answers to your basic questions from many schools all in one stop.  LSAC (which also lists the full range of recruiting events) also provides information sessions at the Forums about all aspects of the admissions process.  The Forums are a great place to meet someone from our office but because of the large number of people it is hard to have in-depth conversations. 

You might also consider attending one of the school-specific fairs, usually hosted by an individual university's prelaw office.  The school fairs are smaller versions of the Forums, with about a hundred schools represented, gathered in one large room and ready to provide you with materials and answer some simple questions.  I highly recommend checking with your prelaw office or the prelaw website at your nearest university to find a convenient school fair.  These individual school fairs are an easy to check out numerous law schools all in one spot.

Finally we visit schools on our own or with a small group of other law schools.  At these panel discussions we give a general prelaw presentation and an overview of our program.  These sessions are a great way to learn more detailed information about the application process and our school.  They are informal, relaxed and interactive -- questions and participation from attendees are encouraged! 

For all the details on these coming attractions visit our 2007 Fall Recruiting Calendar!

Author: MM

Let the 2008-2009 Admissions Season Begin!

As we all eagerly await the arrival of the Class of 2010 we are all equally eager to begin recruiting the Class of 2011.  You may now submit applications to the Law School through LSAC.  This year we are taking a big step into the technological age and implementing a "paperless" admissions process.  To that end all applicants must now register with and apply via LSDAS.   

I would now like to give you a little preview of what you can expect to see on the blog over the next six months and why we hope that you will visit it on a regular basis.  My name is Kristen Mercado and you can expect to see my name on many of the posts this year.  I am the Student Services Fellow and a 2004 graduate of the Law School who, just two short months ago, left large law firm practice to return to the Law School.  During my year-long fellowship I will work extensively with the Admissions Office as well collaborating with our fantastic Office of Career Services (or as we call them around here "OCS") and our Dean of Students Office.  I hope that my decision to return to the Law School tells you something about what a great experience U of C offers. 

But you don’t have to just take my word for it.  Throughout the year you can read accounts by other alumni as part of a new series called "Uniquely U of C."  Some of our most distinguished alumni will describe what made their Law School experience "unique" and the many opportunities their U of C education afforded them. 

In addition, you'll see a variety of "Tricks and Tips" to guide you through the often overwhelming law school application process.  We will also give you recaps of all the great things that go on here at the Law School on a daily basis.  Just a few examples of the types of activities available to our students include lunchtime talks by faculty and visiting speakers, our annual auction benefiting the Law School’s public interest foundation, the incoming 1L student orientation, and 2L on-campus interviewing.  Our admissions team will also update you on all the law school forums and other stops on our busy fall travel schedule where you can speak with us in person.  Finally you can look forward to introductions from all the members of our dedicated administrative team who work behind the scenes to make each law student's three years as enjoyable and painless as possible.

We hope you visit the blog often for updates as the Class of 2011 takes shape!!