A Day in the Life

Recruitment in Atlanta

Did I mention that I love the south? I just got back from recruiting in Atlanta last week and I’m already looking forward to going back next year! Last week I visited Morehouse College, Emory University, and attended the LSAC forum for two days.

At Morehouse I was part of a bustling outdoor community service fair. Despite some of the confusion, the setting was a great segue into talking about Chicago’s public interest offerings. We have 12 clinics including:

• Appellate Advocacy Project
• Criminal and Juvenile Justice Project
• Employment Discrimination Project
• Exoneration Project
• Housing Law Project
• Immigrant Children’s Advocacy Project
• Police Accountability Project
• Poverty and Housing Law Clinic

We also offer significant public service support in the form of funding. For example, we provide partially forgivable loans to 1Ls who want to work in government or the public interest after their first year of law school. Last year we loaned up to $6,000 per student in the program and will be forgiving $3,000 of that amount. As those of you who work in public interest know, those jobs usually don’t pay very much, so every little bit of help with living expenses makes a difference! We also have a generous loan repayment assistance program (HPIP) for alums who choose to go into public service, non-profit, or government work. For the Class of 2012, you can receive up to $10,000 per year from the Law School if you are making less than $60,000 at your public interest job.

At Emory the Pre Law Society had set up a panel of 7 schools to answer questions and discuss different parts of the application process. The event was well attended and I was so pleased with the quality of the students and their questions – not once did I have to answer what our median GPA and LSAT scores were! Even at the LSAC Forum, the questions were more substantive and the steady stream of prospective students kept me on my toes!

One difference I’ve noticed while on the road is that this year in particular, applicants are very concerned about financial aid and scholarships. Here at Chicago over half the incoming class is typically awarded scholarship funds. Our scholarships are both merit and need based and every applicant who is admitted is automatically considered for aid. To the extent that you wish to have us look at your financial need, we ask that you fill out an online Need Access form. Even for students who don’t receive scholarship aid, you are almost certain to be able to finance law school through loans, both federal and private. Law School is a big investment, but one that is well worth it, and students who graduate from Chicago have fantastic employment prospects. Our alums work all over the country and even internationally and yes, even back in Atlanta!

Next week I will be recruiting in New York so I hope to meet more of you there!

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

On the Road Part III

Well, I am in my final fall recruiting week and it it my longest (had to use the big suitcase!).  I am out in California starting in San Francisco for two days and then in Los Angeles for four days.  I am visiting five campuses and attending the LSAC LA Forum.  It will be a busy week but I will also get to see some recent graduates.  On Thursday I will see Holding Lau, Class of 2005, who is a teaching fellow at UCLA Law School.  He is going to help me at the UCLA Law Fair.  I am excited to learn how he likes teaching.  Then over the weekend I will see Guang Ming Whitley (O'Melveny & Myers) and Daniel Prince (Paul Hastings) both from the Class of 2004 who are both new associates in Los Angeles.  They are going to help me at the LA Forum at the LAX Marriott.  It will be great to have the help and nice to catch up with them.  The weather is nice and so that will make the travel a bit easier.  I really hate delays in the airport.  After this week it will be back in the office to do all of the work that has been piling up.  But I have enjoyed all my travels from Boston to North Carolina to Minnesota to California!! 

On the Road Part II

The fall recruiting has been going extremely well.  I am about halfway through my travel schedule.  Last week I was out East again -- spending time in Philadelphia and New Jersey.  It was rather rainy during our visit but that didn't keep us from seeing over 100 eager students last week. (Luckily the hotel had an extra umbrella for me to use). This week we are in the middle of the country and home for me in the Midwest.  I will be in Minnesota on Tuesday visiting Macalester and Carleton, home in Chicago on Wednesday and off to Detroit on Thursday.  We had to reschedule our presentation so it wouldn't conflict with the World Series.  Next week I will finally return to the office for a couple of days before I head out again.  The travel can get a bit tiresome but it is great to help all of the prospective students who are interested in law school plus I do get some frequent flyer miles! I hope to see some of you on the road - let me know how you like the blog.

And the Winner is???

I am happy to announce that the winning location for a stop on our recruiting trail is Nashville, Tennessee.  We are excited to visit and we are bringing along a couple other law schools to help provide some information.  Michael Machen from the Law School will be at Vanderbilt University on Wednesday, October 25 at 4:00 pm at the Student Life Center, Lower Level Rooms 1 & 2.  Representatives from Northwestern University School of Law and the University of Illinois College of Law will be at the panel as well.  We have done some panels already this year with this schools and have had tremendous success.  I think it will help give you more information about different law schools out there.  We are excited to stop at the Music City.  Please come by the panel if you are interested in hearing more about the Law School.  If you are not currently attending Vanderbilt,  please email us at [email protected] to let us know you are coming. 

On the Road Part I

We are in full swing of our recruiting schedule.  Last week I was in Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlottesville, VA and Durham, NC.  Home for the weekend to water the plants and to go to the dry cleaner and get ready for week 2.  Monday afternoon I left for Boston, MA and will end this week in New Haven, CT.  This is a fun time of year for me, I get to see beautiful parts of the country while meeting terrific prospective law students.  The fall colors are in full bloom amoung the trees of Massachusetts.  I am doing panels with Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia law schools.  At these panels we do a mock admissions committee meeting and review four applications and together we vote for who should get admitted.   This presentation is very helpful in showing the positive and negative things that we see in applications.  Each of the applications presented are different and show how difficult the decisions are for the committee.  This is a very useful exercise and those attending get a lot of good information.   The students ask a lot of great questions and disect the applications just like an admissions committee.  After the presentation we stay around and answer specific questions about our schools.  You can also pick up our viewbooks and other information about our schools.  After this week, I have three more recruiting weeks and then it will be time to start reading files and finding the members of the Class of 2010!!!   

Don't Forget to Vote

A reminder to get your votes in for where the admissions staff should visit this fall! Visit this post and vote for a stop on the recruiting trail....

Vote for a Stop on the Recruiting Trail

As you can see we are visiting a lot of campuses and cities this fall.  I have almost completed all of my travel plans.  I don't think I will be home for more than 10 days between October 1 to November 12 (hope I can get someone to water my plants).  But we still have some open dates and if we are not coming to a location near you and you would like us to, please cast your vote (by putting your nomination in the comments) for the final stop on our recruiting trail.  The location with the most votes by September 30 will win.  I will come out and meet with a group of prospective students, give insights into the admissions process and hopefully answer a lot of questions.  It doesn't necessarily need to be a school, a city could also win.  I could probably get a alum of the law school to host the event.  So get as many people as you can to vote!  Looking forward to making this addition to the calendar.