Engaged students and factuality; professors committed to teaching; great employment prospects

Intellectually elitist; little emphasis on clinics and pro-bono opportunities

Come if you want an intense, intellectually rigorous experience in a tight-knit environment

Yes

famous for Socratic method

Other

Individually, most students are laid back and cooperative with discussion and ideas, but in class, the high admittance standars show with prepared students and exceptional answers. The quality of the student body, however, pales in comparison to the brillance of the faculty, which is filled with up and coming academic elite as well as old-school law and econ notables. Every professor enjoys teaching and approaches it with a sense of humor.

1

2012

Amazing faculty. Most professors have an open-door policy. The students are collegial and intellectual. The small class size makes it possible to know all of your classmates.

1

2012

Most professors use the Socratic method.

In the second and third year there are excellent opportunities to focus on both theory and practical study. Students can get credit for clinical work and take classes from a variety of highly successful practitioners. Also, there are excellent opportunities to take highly theoretical classes and classes which largely review and focus on scholarship. It certainly helps that Chicago has such esteemed faculty members. Further, law students can take classes in any other department at the University of Chicago--many have taken classes at the business school, graduate school of economics, as well as schools like public policy and undergraduate programs.

Grading is on a scale based from 155-186. The median, for curved classes, is 177. I have found that getting away from the 4.0 scale has encourages a focus away from grades and more towards learning. Because few employers understand our grading scale, grades don't matter as much. I don't know what grades most of my colleagues, and even close friends, receive. Everyone I can think of has the job they want--whether it is a clerkship, big firm job, or public interest. As a result, there is no reason to be competitive. I find that most students are primarily competitive with themselves. Interpersonal competitiveness based on grades is not socially acceptable at Chicago. Grades are seen as superficial and really more of a tangential aspect of legal education.

3

2010

Socratic heavy first year; After the first year, I had many small seminars

3

2010

lots of theory - but very informative hilarious lecturers

1

2012

academic advisors available all the time, socratic method heavily used, classes are interactive. good balance of theory and black letter law.

every thing is cheap, and there are a ton og libraries and cafe's/

some diversity and public interest fellowships, but i idnt get them.

1

2012

Chicago is one of the few remaining law schools that does hardcore Socratic, in every single class. Most law schools have backed off or softened a little bit. Chicago is also very hardcore about grading; a strict curve, while other law schools (other T14 law schools) have been inflating and softening their grading curve. Our professors are world class, famous, brilliant, but also caring. We have amazing, prominent faculty. The class size is really small, which means a lot of attention for each individual student, and the bigelow legal research and writing program provides a lot of structure and guidance. Chicago does have a very competitive atmosphere though; students don't come here to screw around. In my class of 200, I don't know anyone who doesn't study hard every day.

Quality of life is awesome. Hyde Park is small but it's a classic college town. It's waaaaaaay safer than it was 5 years ago, and it's growing in size. It has a dozen or so restaurants, really nice cafes, and campus type hangouts (like bowling and bars). The best part is that you're 10-15 minutes downtown by public transportation and it's really convenient; downtown Chicago has everything.

Like most law school, admissions requires essays, high LSAT (people sometimes ridicule you at Chicago if you have below 170), high GPA from undergrad. You use LSDAS. They interview *some* but not all applicants, if they ask for an interview you have to give it.

1

2012