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OT: UConn Law School

Psolo12

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Applied to UConn law school for this upcoming fall semester and got wait listed, any alums/anyone on here that can help or give me any advice? GPA and LSAT are right around the median. Just looking for some help and/or advice.
 
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Unless you’re dead set on becoming a lawyer there are many more easier ways to make significant $. I read somewhere that law has highest percentage of people that got their degrees and stopped practicing after 10 years and also one of the highest rates of alcoholism. I speak from experience.

Also if you don’t get into a top tier school, it becomes infinitely harder to get a higher paying large firm job.
 
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Psolo -
I lived with the uncertainty that you are now experiencing, and I feel your anxiety. Ignore the posters above - they are trying to be funny or something and they don't mean harm.

I was wait listed at UConn Law many years ago. I was qualified to get in. Very high LSAT score, graduate degree pre-law school. I was wait listed in part because I applied late.

I kept calling, and every time I got, "you'll be notified if you are taken off the wait list." I put up with that about 4 times, and then it was August, and finally, I asked, "has anybody been taken off the wait list?" She said, "yes." I thought, "wait, I've gotta be high on the wait list . . . ." I then told the secretary/call screener, "I would like an in-person conference with Dean _____," who was the dean of admissions at the time. She said, "she's too busy." I said, "I'm coming in tomorrow at 8 am when you open. I'll bring work and things to do (pre-internet, so not easy!!). I said, "if she has 5 minutes, I would like to talk to her. If she can't see me, I understand, but i'm going to be there every day until the last spot is taken." She was exasperated, but said, "whatever."

10 minutes later the phone rang, and it was the dean. She said I was in, come sign the papers.

I'm not sure if that's helpful or not, dude, but it worked for me. Persistent, without being an . Squeaky wheel got the grease. First time in my life I was that proactive.

Regarding being a lawyer, I don't love it. But it pays reeeeaaaly well, and I work for myself, and I work when I want, and I charge what I want, and I punt clients when I want. I love my lifestyle. I put in about 5 years at the mega-firm sweat shops, to cut my teeth, and now I work part time, make plenty of money, and have a large % of the day to do whatever I want. Lot to be said for that.

If you want more, PM me.

Truth is, the 3 years I spent at UConn Law were 3 of the best years of my life. I loved getting that education, and the cost was ridiculously low. Money and time invested versus lifetime earning potential was a massive PLUS. Can't stress that enough.

Regarding some uninformed posts, above, ignore them. You'll make plenty of money as a lawyer. If you bust your ass and do well in school, you'll get in a big enough firm, if that's what you want. If you're a self-started and you can teach yourself, and you're a good dude and charismatic, people will beat a path to your door.


But I love my lifestyle, and I would never trade it to work some 9-5 job in a cube farm or working in an office somewhere.

Good luck dude. Don't give up on it. If you want to be a lawyer, it really doesn't matter too much where you go to law school unless you are trying to get into an AmLaw 50 firm. Several judges in my jurisdiction went to sub 200 law schools.

Get your degree, work hard, call clients back when they call you, treat them with respect, have clear billing practices, do your job well, and you will ALWAYS have a good source of income.

Peace.
 
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the Q

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Applied to UConn law school for this upcoming fall semester and got wait listed, any alums/anyone on here that can help or give me any advice? GPA and LSAT are right around the median. Just looking for some help and/or advice.

Did you apply for the evening division?
 

the Q

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Psolo -
I lived with the uncertainty that you are now experiencing, and I feel your anxiety. Ignore the posters above - they are trying to be funny or something and they don't mean harm.

I was wait listed at UConn Law many years ago. I was qualified to get in. Very high LSAT score, graduate degree pre-law school. I was wait listed in part because I applied late.

I kept calling, and every time I got, "you'll be notified if you are taken off the wait list." I put up with that about 4 times, and then it was August, and finally, I asked, "has anybody been taken off the wait list?" She said, "yes." I thought, "wait, I've gotta be high on the wait list . . . ." I then told the secretary/call screener, "I would like an in-person conference with Dean _____," who was the dean of admissions at the time. She said, "she's too busy." I said, "I'm coming in tomorrow at 8 am when you open. I'll bring work and things to do (pre-internet, so not easy!!). I said, "if she has 5 minutes, I would like to talk to her. If she can't see me, I understand, but i'm going to be there every day until the last spot is taken." She was exasperated, but said, "whatever."

10 minutes later the phone rang, and it was the dean. She said I was in, come sign the papers.

I'm not sure if that's helpful or not, dude, but it worked for me. Persistent, without being an . Squeaky wheel got the grease. First time in my life I was that proactive.

Regarding being a lawyer, I don't love it. But it pays reeeeaaaly well, and I work for myself, and I work when I want, and I charge what I want, and I punt clients when I want. I love my lifestyle. I put in about 5 years at the mega-firm sweat shops, to cut my teeth, and now I work part time, make plenty of money, and have a large % of the day to do whatever I want. Lot to be said for that.

If you want more, PM me.

Truth is, the 3 years I spent at UConn Law were 3 of the best years of my life. I loved getting that education, and the cost was ridiculously low. Money and time invested versus lifetime earning potential was a massive PLUS. Can't stress that enough.

Regarding some uninformed posts, above, ignore them. You'll make plenty of money as a lawyer. If you bust your ass and do well in school, you'll get in a big enough firm, if that's what you want. If you're a self-started and you can teach yourself, and you're a good dude and charismatic, people will beat a path to your door.


But I love my lifestyle, and I would never trade it to work some 9-5 job in a cube farm or working in an office somewhere.

Good luck dude. Don't give up on it. If you want to be a lawyer, it really doesn't matter too much where you go to law school unless you are trying to get into an AmLaw 50 firm. Several judges in my jurisdiction went to sub 200 law schools.

Get your degree, work hard, call clients back when they call you, treat them with respect, have clear billing practices, do your job well, and you will ALWAYS have a good source of income.

Peace.

Some truth here. Although your absolutes are incorrect. But probsvly Accurate in a general sense. There’s always risk. Even if you finish near the top of your class.
 

the Q

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Unless you’re dead set on becoming a lawyer there are many more easier ways to make significant $. I read somewhere that law has highest percentage of people that got their degrees and stopped practicing after 10 years and also one of the highest rates of alcoholism. I speak from experience.

Also if you don’t get into a top tier school, it becomes infinitely harder to get a higher paying large firm job.

My law school orientation the ethics professor said

“look to your left and to your right.

One of you will have an alcohol problem, one of you will have a substance abuse problem.”

Welcome to law school.
 

the Q

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Unless you’re dead set on becoming a lawyer there are many more easier ways to make significant $. I read somewhere that law has highest percentage of people that got their degrees and stopped practicing after 10 years and also one of the highest rates of alcoholism. I speak from experience.

Also if you don’t get into a top tier school, it becomes infinitely harder to get a higher paying large firm job.

I also give the same advice to people about becoming a lawyer.

Law school is a huge expense if you don’t know if you really want to be one.
 

the Q

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That can be said for any class.

He meant the profession. Not one individual class.
 

8893

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Applied to UConn law school for this upcoming fall semester and got wait listed, any alums/anyone on here that can help or give me any advice? GPA and LSAT are right around the median. Just looking for some help and/or advice.
Did you apply and get accepted anywhere else? If you don't get off the wait list you should consider going somewhere else for a year, doing very well, and then applying for transfer. That's what I did under the same circumstances.
 

HuskyHawk

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Applied to UConn law school for this upcoming fall semester and got wait listed, any alums/anyone on here that can help or give me any advice? GPA and LSAT are right around the median. Just looking for some help and/or advice.

I got wait listed twice back in 1990 and 1991. Went elsewhere. Glad I did. With law school the class is pretty small, and I think UConn takes an extra critical view of UConn grads, so that they have a little more diversity. My grades were just ok due to some early hiccups, but my LSAT was above the median at every law school in the country.

Where else did you apply? My view on law school is never go Private if it isn’t a Top ten law school. Public school in a place you could see yourself living, because hiring is very regional. Law School itself will steer you towards private practice and litigation. And that is good training, but I didn’t like it at all. I’ve been in-house now since 1996. No regrets on this career path.

As to the naysayers, it’s a good, useful education. I was a business major. My view is that business undergrad + JD >>>> business undergrad + MBA in preparation for a business job at an executive level.
 
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the Q

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I got wait listed twice back in 1990 and 1991. Went elsewhere. Glad I did. With law school the class is pretty small, and I think UConn takes an extra critical view of UConn grads, so that they have a little more diversity. My grades were just ok due to some early hiccups, but my LSAT was above the median at every law school in the country.

Where else did you apply? My view on law school is never go Private if it isn’t a Top ten law school. Public school in a place you could see yourself living, because hiring is very regional. Law School itself will steer you towards private practice and litigation. And that is good training, but I didn’t like it at all. I’ve been in-house now since 1996. No regrets on this career path.

As to the naysayers, it’s a good, useful education. I was a business major. My view is that business undergrad + JD >>>> business undergrad + MBA in preparation for a business job at an executive level.

Good and useful. But the roi is what matters.
 

HuskyHawk

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Good and useful. But the roi is what matters.

Agreed. Which is why, if you can go to Yale, Harvard, Penn, fine. If you can't, do not spend $50-60k a year on law school at a place like Suffolk. Find an affordable public school somewhere where you can see yourself living. If you think Nashville is interesting, apply at U Tennessee. Every major state law school is heavily recruited regionally, but not nationally (unless it's Michigan, UVA, Cal etc.). It's something they don't really explain very well to applicants. Once you have some experience, you can relocate just fine, but you should expect your first job will be within the natural recruiting area of your law school unless it is a national level school.

If @Psolo12 has borderline UConn law grades/LSAT, he has lots of options. I only applied there and UGA the first time, got waitlisted at both, so just kept working another year and applied again. UConn and UGA waitlisted me a second time, but Maryland, Kansas and FSU accepted. That year of work experience is really helpful, and helps save some money as well.
 
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I looked into applying back in the early '80s. I was told that the ABA said UConn's law school was overwhelmingly populated with Connecticut residents (geez, it's a state school) and UConn grads and if they wanted their rating to rise, the school would have to attract a more diverse student body. My advisor told me to look at other law schools. Got an MBA instead. Always regretted not going to law school.
 

the Q

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Agreed. Which is why, if you can go to Yale, Harvard, Penn, fine. If you can't, do not spend $50-60k a year on law school at a place like Suffolk. Find an affordable public school somewhere where you can see yourself living. If you think Nashville is interesting, apply at U Tennessee. Every major state law school is heavily recruited regionally, but not nationally (unless it's Michigan, UVA, Cal etc.). It's something they don't really explain very well to applicants. Once you have some experience, you can relocate just fine, but you should expect your first job will be within the natural recruiting area of your law school unless it is a national level school.

If @Psolo12 has borderline UConn law grades/LSAT, he has lots of options. I only applied there and UGA the first time, got waitlisted at both, so just kept working another year and applied again. UConn and UGA waitlisted me a second time, but Maryland, Kansas and FSU accepted. That year of work experience is really helpful, and helps save some money as well.

Agreed. They need to explain that better about regional recruiting.

But if you aren’t sure you want to be a lawyer I don’t recommend law school
 
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@Psolo12, my experience is really old (started law school in 1995). I had horrible grades out of UConn, but strong LSAT score and a few years working experience. I applied to law schools really late so I only applied to a couple schools. Like you, I was wait listed at UConn. I got a call from UConn asking me if I wanted to stay on the wait list. I wasn't 100% set on my choice yet so I said yes and I got an approval letter less than a week later.

I have friends that had similar experiences at other schools (including a friend at Harvard Medical School). I think once you're wait listed, the schools only want to take you if you are going to help their acceptance rate / enrollment numbers. So I'd say the advice of @Crank holds some water. Make them know you want it.

Times are different from when I entered law school in 1995, so my advice will have more to do with my onwn personal experience especially now that I'm hiring. I went to a different state school. I did much better than my UConn days, but not top 10%. I got jobs at some top firms in that state and eventually went to a big NYC firm. I've been with a small firm/consultancy for 16 years as of today though.

Now that I hire people, I'm definitely impressed with a top law school, but my theory is I'm usually getting their leftovers, so I actually prefer the next level down, especially if that law school is local to me in NJ (where my office is). I just assume that there is a better chance of someone sticking around if they have some roots here. So the comments above about going to school where you want to practice are legit. Finally, while I will hire from a couple lower level law schools (New York Law has a good securities program), there are some that I won't even look at unless the person has so much pertinent experience that it trumps the school.

Good luck!
 
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HuskyHawk

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I looked into applying back in the early '80s. I was told that the ABA said UConn's law school was overwhelmingly populated with Connecticut residents (geez, it's a state school) and UConn grads and if they wanted their rating to rise, the school would have to attract a more diverse student body. My advisor told me to look at other law schools. Got an MBA instead. Always regretted not going to law school.

Yeah, that happened. It was accurate too. The reason at the time was that UConn was the only public(and therefore only affordable), law school in New England. It was the local public school for the whole region. It's no longer the case, although it's certainly the best public in New England.
 

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