Chicago, With Difficulty

After many months of incredibly frustrating comparison shopping, I have chosen to attend University of Chicago Law School.  It came down to them vs Vanderbilt, really, even though schools more highly ranked than Vanderbilt extended offers as well.  Vanderbilt is in Nashville, a town which, after only one weekend spent there, I realized was perfect for me.  I think that I would fit in very nicely in Nashville, and so it was hard to choose to go to Chicago.  I have never actually been to Chicago.  The closest I came was St. Louis, I believe, and that trip taught me that Midwesterners are super weird, and that I do not fit in particularly well with them.  I think it is not naive to expect Chicago to be more diverse, and not quite so midwesterny, but maybe i'm in for a surprise.  In any case, it is only three years, and I figure I could live just about anywhere for three years, so I am not too worried.  UCLS is just a better fit for me, and I think it will open doors that Vanderbilt would not have been able to open.  Hell, one of the reps for Vandy even said, "Well, I mean, we aren't Chicago, but we do pretty well," when I asked about their placement of students in the highest level clerking positions.  This was not the first time that another top law school referenced Chicago as the epitome of one thing or another.  The alumnus who interviewed me for Vandy told me, after discussing at length what I wish to do with my career, "Well, Vanderbilt is a great school, and you will not really be limited by attending there.  However, if you get in to Chicago, you should really go to Chicago."  So to Chicago, I now go.

Of course, this decision could not have existed without the universe first presenting some outside difficulties.  Namely, Terra (remember her?) essentially saying that she loves me and always has and that she wants to be with me.  Long story short: she is going to take the next year "off," and will try to get her own shit in order before thinking about possibly moving to Chicago.  More on this some other time, but know that I did extend the invitation if she was willing to accept.

Just wanted to keep this thing active.  More when time permits.  Did I mention I have a new job?




From http://www.top-law-schools.com/chicago-law-school.html :

University of Chicago Law School

"Lauded as one of the most intellectual law schools in the country with one of the most acclaimed faculties, The University of Chicago Law School has long been rooted as one of the true elites. ..."

"At just under 600 students, Chicago Law has one of the smallest student bodies of the top schools (only Stanford, Yale and Cornell are smaller, and the latter two by only a few students), so it’s no surprise that students and faculty describe it as a setting of intimate, “intellectually intense” engagement. ..."

"Students said that from visiting other campuses, they could tell that students at Chicago seemed like they “actually wanted to be at law school to have careers in law, instead of just because they did well on the LSAT or something and had nothing else to do.”

Professor Leiter said the students are “self-consciously intellectual, ‘let’s argue about ideas all day’ types.” He continued to say,

Partly because Chicago has the reputation of being serious intellectual, rigorous, the self-selection factor perpetuates that. The nice thing about the law school is it’s happy to be nerdy. People take their work seriously, they take ideas seriously, and they like to argue — nobody’s a slouch around here.

A rising 2L offered:

Chicago’s reputation for competition is deserved insofar as you’ll find a lot of students who are willing to work hard to get good grades, but you’ll not find any mean spiritedness in the student body. People don’t discuss their grades or brag. It’s just that people are serious about doing well. It’s more about individual success and achievement as opposed to beating other students. ..."

"The reverence for Chicago Law graduates in the legal community is both apparent and deserved. Students are exposed to a plethora of legal concepts, and the school’s emphasis on teaching quality is manifested through student’s admitted engagement in class and, consequently, in their work. Employers know of Chicago Law students’ dedication and in turn reward them with consistently promising career prospects."

2013 USN Rank (March, 2013)	2012 USN Rank	2011 USN Rank	2010 USN Rank	2009 USN Rank	Law School	ATL Rankings (May 2013)	2013 GPA 25th-75th Percentile	2013 LSAT 25th-75th Percentile
1	1	1	1	1	Yale U (CT)	1	3.84-3.98	170-176
2*	3	2	2	2	Harvard U (MA)	3	3.77-3.95	170-175
2*	2	3	3	3	Stanford U (CA)	2	3.76-3.96	168-173
4*	4	4	4	4	Columbia U (NY)	8	3.58-3.82	170-174
4*	5	5	5	6*	U Chicago	4	3.65-3.96	167-173
6	6	6	6	5	New York U	10	3.54-3.84	169-173