I guess 70 people are admitted out of approximately 1,000 applicants.. and 100 people are placed on the waiting list. Not sure.

I see lot of people on the waitlist for Chicago. To them all I say this - Don't let it affect you, Chicago is a good law school but far from the prestige of Yale, Harvard and Columbia and Stanford ( I would add NYU also to that list). It's done a good job of creating an aura of being a difficult destination - mostly by deliberately keeping a small class size, similar to the way the gulf states ensure oil prices high by controlling supply but the job market in Chicago is poor and its brand is weak (and alumni network sparse). If you put your mind to it, there are not too many reasons to spend a year at Chicago and wanting to select Chicago because it's so selective is bad logic (Would you go to Duke University if they reduced the class size to 15 from 2016 and boasted of a 5% acceptance rate?). So if you've been waitlisted there your chances elsewhere are generally superior.

Do you know if more notifications will be sent today?

Sure, everyone knows Harvard but by that standard UCLA is more famous than a lot of programs that rank higher. Chicago is respected by the people who are "in the know". As for Chicago's "sparse" alumni network, anyone who pursues an LLM in the US with the hopes of landing a job is taking a huge risk.

I have to admit that being placed at Chicago´s Waiting List was very disapointing. Not only due to Chicago itself, which has a really good program the way I see it, but also because it makes me feel pessimistic regarding Harvard´s response, which is theoretically my first choice. In addition, I was pretty optimistic towards Chicago because I was accepted in Clolumbia at the early review cycle. I guess in the end the fact that Chicago insists in having such a small program is indeed a crucial aspect.

I have to admit that being placed at Chicago´s Waiting List was very disapointing. Not only due to Chicago itself, which has a really good program the way I see it, but also because it makes me feel pessimistic regarding Harvard´s response, which is theoretically my first choice. In addition, I was pretty optimistic towards Chicago because I was accepted in Clolumbia at the early review cycle. I guess in the end the fact that Chicago insists in having such a small program is indeed a crucial aspect.

I have to admit that being placed at Chicago´s Waiting List was very disapointing. Not only due to Chicago itself, which has a really good program the way I see it, but also because it makes me feel pessimistic regarding Harvard´s response, which is theoretically my first choice. In addition, I was pretty optimistic towards Chicago because I was accepted in Clolumbia at the early review cycle. I guess in the end the fact that Chicago insists in having such a small program is indeed a crucial aspect.

So if you've been waitlisted there your chances elsewhere are generally superior.


Gives me a lota hope!

Thank you! If admitted, I would consider Chicago´s offer at the same level as Columbia´s. Being placed at the Waiting List really moves me towards Columbia because, as you have pointed out, I can plan everything in advance and not wait for Chicago. Thus, I will probably e-mail Chicago this week asking them to take me off the list and opening possibilities for others in the same situation. Why do you think Chicago considered mostly grades in its decisions?

Guys, I am a JSD (PhD in law) student at UChicago, where I have already received my LLM in 2012 (that means this is my third year in Chicago, though I worked for Skadden in NYC in between the LLM and the JSD). Let me share a few comments/idea in case you find them useful.

Indeed, preferences as to what program suits your needs better will significantly depend on what kind of academic, professional and personal experience you are looking for. So I will give you my view on each of these areas, not to confront any previous post, but to add data based on actual experience here.

THE ACADEMICS
Yes. UChicago's choice is to have a small family. Less than 70 LLMs and a Law School body (including LLMs) that has the size of just the LLM Class of other schools you are considering right now. There arguments to be made for and against the small size. You can always say that a bigger class will give you more networking opportunities, or that a bigger class pushes for a larger faculty, with more class options. I would beg to differ. Here's why. Having a bigger class (say, in the hundreds) does not mean you will have more connection with people. Lots of friends and colleagues went to other schools and the truth is that the larger the class, the more changes of you secluding yourselves in a group within the group. It will be a great experience either way, don't get me wrong. But with a smaller class (and Chicago is not the only one that has that) you really get to know everybody in your class. We get money to throw what they call "international parties" so people coming from each country get a budget to present their food and drinks to the class. This and many other activities are only possible because of the size of the group.
Now, in terms of faculty/student ratio, I have to say that I loved the opportunity to have a course with Richard Posner, Frank Easterbrook, Martha Nussbaum (all among the most renowned scholars in the US) with less than 10 students. You get the chance of really getting them to know you, to participate in class and, more importantly, to tap their minds with your own ideas and have real interaction. Again: that is only possible because of the size of the programs.
In terms of the number of courses, believe me when I tell you that any of the schools you are considering for your LLM have much more courses available than you would ever dream of being able to take, and Chicago is no exception. Check here http://www.law.uchicago.edu/courses
Chicago is indeed known to be a hard-work king of environment. You will be graded based on a curve where both JDs (Americans) and LLMs come together, but I have never seen anybody failing a course. You will have to study in any of the schools you are considering, that's for sure. If you want to get the best grades ever, perhaps it will take a little extra effort in a school that does not create a separate curve for LLMs like Chicago, but trust me, you will enjoy learning what they have to teach in the process. This school is insanely good.
Yes, there areas in which UChicago has particular strengths. If you are a Law and Economics person, Chicago is the definitely the place for you. The courses and the workshop on law and economics are the stuff dreams are made of.The same can be said about hardcore jurisprudence (Leiter and Nussbaum are sensational), antitrust (Picker, Rosenfield), judicial behavior (Landes, Epstein, Posner) and comparative legal institutions (Tom Ginsburg is for sure one of the pioneers in the field). And again: it is not just having the big names. It is taking a course with them that is taught at their own houses, with wine and cheese (several seminars taught that way each year. I took one with Richard Posner for example). Not saying that you will not have great academic experiences in other places, because your will. All I am trying is to explain what are the things that are possible because of the size of the class and the "small family" approach you were discussing earlier in the thread.
We also have quarters instead of semesters. There are other schools that also offer the quarter-system and, again, there are pros and cons to it, sure. But to most of us that means you can actually take a more diverse set of courses each year (yes, to some extent professors tend to think that the quarter equals the semester, so you read the same material in less time, but you will get the best out of your experience).

THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE OF THINGS
Most of us come to the LLM with some work experience in our countries of origin. Some expect to land a job in the US right after the LLM / Bar Exam sequence, taking advantage
of the work permit you get with your student visa (usually, a 1-year permit). As you know, the 2008 crisis hit the law firms in the US pretty hard, and even in 2012, wen I finished my LLM, firms were not hiring at the pace they used to back in the early 2000's. However, there are lots of Foreign Associate positions out there, particularly for Spanish/Portuguese speaking people. Not easy to get a job in the US? Probably not if you are not fro Latin America or Spain, but not impossible.
All major schools participate in one of two "LLM Job Fairs" held in New York each January. While Chicago participates in one that is reserved for a handful of schools (Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Stanford), all the rest of the schools participate in the Job Fair organized by NYU. The Job Fair UChicago LLMs go to is better I have to say. You get interviewed by the firms in suites in a hotel, as opposed to a "speed-dating" kind of environment in the other job fair. Will this secure you a job? No. Will this increase your chances of being noticed? Probably yes. In my year, most of the Europeans and Chinese students landed jobs back in their countries even before going to the Job Fair (that is the way their market works), and most of Latin American LLMs looking for position in the US got one, myself included (Skadden). There are countless factors that contribute to you getting a job here, but coming from a top 5 school that participates in the smaller job fair is certainly one of them. And firms try to have people coming from different schools, so I truly believe that coming from a smaller program increases your chances of landing a job if you area well equipped for the contest.
Although I am now finishing my JSD residence, I have already received an offer to stay here in the US working for a major arbitration firm in Washington, DC. So there are opportunities out there if you work hard to get them.

THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Chicago is for me one of the most incredible cities in the world. and certainly one that manages to shock people that have never been here before (that was my case). The most amazing architecture, great restaurant scene, lots of incredible museums, parks literally everywhere you look, lots of concerts, the Chicago Bulls, the Blackhawks, a great cultural setting with the best orchestra in the US (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Ricardo Muti), great theater options, above average public transportation (way better than NYC, I tell you from experience), the most incredible lake and, YES, even a magnificent winter. I will not lie to you, It gets cold out here, but it only gets really cold a couple of days each winter, and everything is prepared for that. There is a whole city underneath the city when you go downtown, with shops, metro and train stations so you don't even need to go out. And infrastructure is geared so you don't go crazy because a few inches of snow. And when the Spring comes, Chicago is the best city in the US. Tulips everywhere, open air concerts everywhere, and by summer time (while you are prepping for the bar, you have the beach and the lake trail to enjoy the best weather possible. On top of everything, renting here in Chicago is ridiculously cheap as compared to other cities I lived in (just to give you an idea, I was paying $3800 a month for 1-BR in Manhattan and with half that money you can have a bigger and better apartment with a lake view here in Chicago).

Ok, I believe I gave you enough of a flavor of what I have been getting here in Chicago. Please feel free to respond here if you need some additional info on topics I may have not covered.

Best of luck with the rest of the admissions!!!

Hi everybody, I have a LLB degree from England and I am going to start my LL.M degree in Chicago (No other legal full-time experience). Am I entitled to pass the Illinois Bar Exam upon graduation ?

Hi guys,

Has anyone who has been accepted planning on turning down their offer?

I know, myself, how tempting it is to keep your spot until the deadline but we are many people on the wait list who are eager to know if we will be admitted or not. This all depends on how quickly the already admitted students turn down their offers.

Thank you.

I am a big proponent of declining admissions offers when I realize I won't accept them. I have sent very nice "thank you for your offer but I must decline" letters. Every school has responded back wishing me all the best as well as asking what school I will attend.

Only 3 schools left that I am considering out of the many offers I received. I already declined Chicago and Northwestern's offers so that should free up spaces for people who want to study in Chicago.

I would strongly urge anyone who is considering attending a school, even an elite school, do your due diligence and speak with more people at the school such as faculty, students and alumni. Don't just rely on the schools reputation to make your decision. All of the stop schools have a very different environment. Don't just say "I want Harvard" based on its reputation. Maybe NYU or Northwestern is a better fit for you or has a much better program in your areas of interest.

Even schools in the same area such as Chicago and Northwestern or UC Berkeley and Stanford have very different cultures and attitudes. If you are looking to work in the US, try and focus on a school that supplies candidates for the legal market YOU are interested.

For example if you want to get a job in energy related law and want to work in Texas, by all means put U of Texas Austin first on your list. That school absolutely dominates the Texas market. Texas has a bigger economy than many countries and it is one of the few US states showing solid growth even over the bad economic downturn the US has and the bar is not super difficult to pass like California. Last year they made it much easier for foreign trained lawyers to practice law in Texas. The new director of the LLM program is very interested in making the school a better place and it is already a very good school. Factor in that it is very cheap to go there compared to other schools of it level (15k less or more) and factor in Austin is a great place to live, study and work and it should be on more people's lists.

Hi guys,
Just wanted to update everyone here that I declined my offer today. So best of luck to the waitlisted!

Hello, has anyone from the standby group received a response?

Haven't heard from the Standby Group either. It would be great if someone can let us know when they hear from Chicago.

HI I'm in the standby group and no response yet. If anyone has got a response please share! Thank you!

I'm in the standby group as well. Please let us know if you receive a response, thanks!

I believe we all receive an email from Chicago today. They've already sent a few new offers to the applicants in the Standby Group. Also, given the statistics provided by Richard (61 accepted and 22 conditional), it seems to me that the chance for any new offers is limited. Anyway, good luck to all of us and finger crossed.