IU-Indianapolis's big jump...For those of you who are impressed should know...

[Prize Fight Promoter]

IU-Indianapolis had a 17 spot jump this year.  But, interestingly, from 2004 to 2005 IU-Indy dropped from 64 to 97.  That's a 33 spot drop!!  I guess someone at IU-Indy decided to cease the yearly "donation" to USNWR that year.

[latinlord]

haha kinda funny... But yea. We were up then way down... But for the wrong reasons. A couple of years ago there was a mistake in the information provided to USNews concerning our employment at graduation and/or incomming student stats. It was corrected the next year, but took a while for it to take effect.
  We are now close back to where we were supposed to be the whole time.

[iceepop]

haha kinda funny... But yea. We were up then way down... But for the wrong reasons. A couple of years ago there was a mistake in the information provided to USNews concerning our employment at graduation and/or incomming student stats. It was corrected the next year, but took a while for it to take effect.
  We are now close back to where we were supposed to be the whole time.

Rrrriiggghhht.

[latinlord]

IU-Indianapolis had a 17 spot jump this year.  But, interestingly, from 2004 to 2005 IU-Indy dropped from 64 to 97.  That's a 33 spot drop!!  I guess someone at IU-Indy decided to cease the yearly "donation" to USNWR that year.

The 60-100 move up and down a lot. A new building can skyrocket you for a year or two becuase of the $ spent per sutdent %. But, I'm telling you from experince, its does not make a whole hell of a lot of diffrence locally. Nobody starts OCIing at a school just becuase they moved up 10 spots that would have never hired from there before. Nor does some firm staop hiring from there becuase they dropped 20 spots. By the time you graduate if your going to a T2 school its likley to have gone up and down. What matters is the regional rep, becuase thats where most people end up. If the school has a good regional rep local firms don't really care if its 65 or 95, they have had years of experince hiring grads and know what the caliber is.

Couldn't agree with you more!!

[MidWesternPleb]

From someone who's best option may be IU-Indy (currently WL), I can honestly say that after visits and what I can gather from research and being in the community - it honestly doesn't seem to matter if Indy is ranked high T2 or low T4, alumni are so entrenched in the legal community here that job prospects will always be good for IU-Indy grads in this market. 

Although, based on reactions I get from people outside of the legal profession, IU-Indy still is regarded somewhat poorly - taking on the rep of IUPUI in general - as some sort of night school or "YMCA" type law school.  Everyone always seems surprised when you tell them it's one of the better schools in the region.

[sofia455]

From someone who's best option may be IU-Indy (currently WL), I can honestly say that after visits and what I can gather from research and being in the community - it honestly doesn't seem to matter if Indy is ranked high T2 or low T4, alumni are so entrenched in the legal community here that job prospects will always be good for IU-Indy grads in this market. 

Although, based on reactions I get from people outside of the legal profession, IU-Indy still is regarded somewhat poorly - taking on the rep of IUPUI in general - as some sort of night school or "YMCA" type law school.  Everyone always seems surprised when you tell them it's one of the better schools in the region.

Hello! I more-or-less second what MidWesternPleb has said.

I have heard that Indianapolis firms want graduates from IU-Indy because they already know the city and are more likely to have ties to the city, making IU-Indy graduates a better hire than someone who went to IU-Bloomington. Not to mention the internships are likely to be better (or more relevant to Indianapolis firms) since they are in the city.

I have also heard that IU-Bloomington is better if you plan to work outside the state, since it is more highly regarded nationally.

I haven't visited either, however I attend IUPUI, and I enjoy the professors here. I have the benefit of avoiding the party-crowd crap that non-commuter schools are plagued with, and there is a greater mix of traditional and non-traditional students. I tend to like that, but it's not for everyone. Attending IUPUI (or IU-Indy, if I am accepted there) allows me to own a reasonably-priced home in a city I plan to stay in and attend school without a long commute.