University of Minnesota?

[equal]

I visited Minnesota and grew up in Minneapolis.  If you have any specific questions feel free to shoot them my way.

I'm also interested in Public Interest Law, and the U does have some good opportunities for that.  Besides all the clinics there's a public interest volunteer center at the U that helps students find organizations in the twin cities to volunteer at, so you can try working at different kinds of organizations during your time there. 

I can't speak much for placement, but I do know the majority of graduates stay in the twin cities (I think they said around 60%).  I've heard placement in CA isn't bad (surprising), but I wouldn't go to the U unless you knew you could settle in the midwest for a while.  Just in case...

[Afro]

I Minn a good school? I havent really heard of it.

[3ML]

It is ranked 19th according to USNWR and has always been a top 25 school according to the publication. Given that, I'd say it's a good school.

[Denny Crane]

it's a good school, but frequently overshadowed by other top schools.  Its faculty is always being recruited by other top schools too, so a lot of its great faculty eventually goes on to HYSCCN.

[3ML]

The more I find out about it, the more I like. The only figure that has me the slightest bit apprehensive is the 25-75 salary range. However, I'm guessing it is because so many stay in Minnesota. Or at least that's what I'm hoping.

Is it possible to come out of UMN with one of the big 125k jobs?

Also, does anyone know about the reciprocity agreement with the province of Manitoba? How hard will they make me work to establish residency in Manitoba?

[GoHuskies05]

If money ($125k) job is what you're looking for, you are probably better off going to a different school.  GW, BU, BC, USC, maybe WUSTL and Emory are schools from which it is to land biglaw jobs.  Most UMN students stay in MSP (~60%).  Many students clerk (traditionally about 25%), with a decent number of federal clerkships, mostly at the district level. 

Chicago is probably the best bet for biglaw jobs, with California a close second.  UMN Law uses quartiles, so top 1/4 are usually in the running for biglaw, especially in Chicago.  Outside of the top 1/4, I've heard it gets harder.  The same can be said about the above schools that I mentioned, but you also have more firms interviewing at those schools. 
UMN does host a NY, DC, California, and Chicago career fair, so at least you get a chance.

With all that said, UMN's faculty is very strong, and about to get stronger with many new hires.  I think they have hired four new profs, and are trying to hire up to 9 within the next year.  Two of UMN's most scholarly professors left for Boalt Hall after a long tenure at UMN.  This is what everyone is referring to when they say top schools have been raiding the faculty.  The law school is located in a very cool urban environment.  Some people rip on MSP, but I've lived everywhere, and I think it's a great place, albeit, I haven't spent too much time there. 

I am starting in two weeks, so take my information for what it's worth - someone who hasn't spent a day in law school.

[miller]

Chicago is probably the best bet for biglaw jobs, with California a close second.  UMN Law uses quartiles, so top 1/4 are usually in the running for biglaw, especially in Chicago.  Outside of the top 1/4, I've heard it gets harder. 

The quartile system seems retarded. By just having class rank, firms usually go deeper into BC, GW, Fordham (30%). Seems like by adhering to this quartile system, youre saying they only go 25% deep. Sounds like they should change their system.

edit: I know nothing about this school, as I don't think I have ever heard of it, and was just posting based on information on this thread.

[3ML]

The clerking aspect would be great, but as an international student I can't imagine that I would be eligible for a clerkship.

Salary is going to be important just because of the fact that I will have to pay off huge loans. Eventually I would like to get in to academia, and I understand that Minnesota has a good reputation in that regard. Is that correct?

[Denny Crane]

Minnesota is very good for future academics.  Compared to other midwestern schools, it's only behind Chicago with regards to placing students in academic positions.  It just may feel isolating to go to school and to most likely practice law in Minnesota rather than the more popular hotbeds of legal activity (ie: Chicago, NY, DC, Boston, Miami, LA, and Silicon Valley).  But with Minnesota, you'll have good prospects in Chicago, so you can probably get to where you want to go from there.

[GoHuskies05]

Chicago is probably the best bet for biglaw jobs, with California a close second.  UMN Law uses quartiles, so top 1/4 are usually in the running for biglaw, especially in Chicago.  Outside of the top 1/4, I've heard it gets harder.

The quartile system seems retarded. By just having class rank, firms usually go deeper into BC, GW, Fordham (30%). Seems like by adhering to this quartile system, youre saying they only go 25% deep. Sounds like they should change their system.

edit: I know nothing about this school, as I don't think I have ever heard of it, and was just posting based on information on this thread.

Most schools break the students into some kind of brackets.  I think at GW, they have a top 1/3 annotation on the transcript, and most firms hire in the top 1/3.  You're right that some schools (Emory and Chicago that I know of in particular) have very distinct class ranks.