Loyola v. Chicago-Kent ($)

[theonlygirlphilosopher]

So I just got accepted to Loyola Chicago (off the waitlist) and Chicago Kent with the seemingly popular contingent scholarship (10k/yr with a 3.25 or 6k yr flat). Loyola is offering no money thus far.  How do the two compare? Kent is higher in ratings, but I'm sure Loyola has advantages that I don't know about.  Does anyone have any useful information? I'm looking towards a career in public interest law or possibly lobbying (specifically for women's rights).  Would also like to clerk.

[;;;;;]

So I just got accepted to Loyola Chicago (off the waitlist) and Chicago Kent with the seemingly popular contingent scholarship (10k/yr with a 3.25 or 6k yr flat). Loyola is offering no money thus far.  How do the two compare? Kent is higher in ratings, but I'm sure Loyola has advantages that I don't know about.  Does anyone have any useful information? I'm looking towards a career in public interest law or possibly lobbying (specifically for women's rights).  Would also like to clerk.

Kent is better, all around.  I believe a lot of people in Chicago think Kent is underrated.  That school produces excellent, hard-nosed attorneys.  I would choose Kent w/o the money.  Considering you are getting money at Kent makes the decision a no-brainier, frankly.

Congrats.

[ohioan]

I did a lot of research to find out how to make the law school selection, and one of the key points was to consider debt. Between Kent and Loyola, I vote 1,000% for Kent. Excellent legal writing program, more accomplished faculty in my opinion, and better overall placement. Definitely go visit if you have not done so already! Though, I think DePaul would be a better choice for you (I think they are best for public interest)

[theonlygirlphilosopher]

I did a lot of research to find out how to make the law school selection, and one of the key points was to consider debt. Between Kent and Loyola, I vote 1,000% for Kent. Excellent legal writing program, more accomplished faculty in my opinion, and better overall placement. Definitely go visit if you have not done so already! Though, I think DePaul would be a better choice for you (I think they are best for public interest)

I actually did get into DePaul, w/45k (15k/yr) which could be more I think b/c I'm in their 75th percentile.  I wasn't really considering it though b/c I hear that unless it's a full ride then it's not really worth it b/c of the lower job prospects/placement. Did get accepted into the public interest writing fellowship though.

[LawDog3]

So I just got accepted to Loyola Chicago (off the waitlist) and Chicago Kent with the seemingly popular contingent scholarship (10k/yr with a 3.25 or 6k yr flat). Loyola is offering no money thus far.  How do the two compare? Kent is higher in ratings, but I'm sure Loyola has advantages that I don't know about.  Does anyone have any useful information? I'm looking towards a career in public interest law or possibly lobbying (specifically for women's rights).  Would also like to clerk.

Kent is better, all around.  I believe a lot of people in Chicago think Kent is underrated.  That school produces excellent, hard-nosed attorneys.  I would choose Kent w/o the money.  Considering you are getting money at Kent makes the decision a no-brainier, frankly.

Congrats.

I completely agree...no contest. I have visited Kent and sat in on their classes. I also did much research on the school, as it was one of my "safeties". Kent is almost as good as Illinois, if people in Chicago are to be believed. I liked it...certainly felt like a top-30 school to me. The instructors are fantastic and the staff is really cool.

In comparison to Loyola, Kent's building is much nicer and the location is cooler. After all, Loyola is just a few blocks from NU. Do you really want to spend three years looking at and envying the snotrags from NU Law, eating lunch at the same McDonald's with them?  lol. Also, Loyola doesn't tell you that the building is kiddieland. That's right, undergrads take classes in the building, and it gets loud. It just isn't the environment you want to be in. At Kent, you feel like you are working at a law firm instead of going to school. The classrooms are nice, the location is right by the Chicago River and Union Station. Kent has the pimpest moot court room ever!

Look, if you can't get into Chicago, NU or Illinois (or Notre Dame, which is, geographically, a lot closer to Chicago than most people realize), you go to Kent; it's that simple.

[ohioan]

I did a lot of research to find out how to make the law school selection, and one of the key points was to consider debt. Between Kent and Loyola, I vote 1,000% for Kent. Excellent legal writing program, more accomplished faculty in my opinion, and better overall placement. Definitely go visit if you have not done so already! Though, I think DePaul would be a better choice for you (I think they are best for public interest)

I actually did get into DePaul, w/45k (15k/yr) which could be more I think b/c I'm in their 75th percentile.  I wasn't really considering it though b/c I hear that unless it's a full ride then it's not really worth it b/c of the lower job prospects/placement. Did get accepted into the public interest writing fellowship though.

I disagree with the employment aspect. DePaul has traditionally low around 83% employed at graduation whereas Kent has usually low 70%. My area is IP and as far as that goes, the employment is pretty much equal. There are far more DePaul alumni in the city than Kent, which also means more at the partner and hiring partner levels....perhaps why the employment at graduation is higher. I debated between kent and depaul pretty strongly, but still chose DePaul. Would be happy to discuss this more if you would like. Cheers.

[contrarian]

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

In case you hadn't seen, the distribution of types of employment after graduation by school for the region.  Depaul has a fairly significant (compared to the other schools) who go into public interest work.

[ohioan]

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

In case you hadn't seen, the distribution of types of employment after graduation by school for the region.  Depaul has a fairly significant (compared to the other schools) who go into public interest work.

According to that chart, DePaul has less 1L attrition, less unemployment, and fewer grads going into grad school....add to this that your Grad Plus loan will be through Direct Loans at DePaul and through another lender at Kent...so why wouldn't you go to DePaul??!

[contrarian]

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/regional_IL.pdf

In case you hadn't seen, the distribution of types of employment after graduation by school for the region.  Depaul has a fairly significant (compared to the other schools) who go into public interest work.

According to that chart, DePaul has less 1L attrition, less unemployment, and fewer grads going into grad school....add to this that your Grad Plus loan will be through Direct Loans at DePaul and through another lender at Kent...so why wouldn't you go to DePaul??!

Well it came down to choosing Depaul where I would have to trudge my ass half a mile to union station at 9PM four nights a week through the dread of Chicago winters, or pay $40,000 more to go to Kent.  I chose Kent.

But seriously, there were a couple other things about DePaul that went beyond the law school itself, which were weighing increasingly on my mind.  When the cost of attendance at Kent became competitive to DePaul it was a done deal as far as I was concerned.

[wickedzeus]

does anyone have any info on Loyola? The graph posted above shows their employment statistics are pretty comparable to kent. Why then the perception that kent is the better school? Is it their IP success?