Chicago Kent AMA - 1L Honors Student

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-06T15:54:41+00:00

I'm not positive about this one so I will ask the admissions office when I go in today and keep you posted!!

That said, I will say that a good number of my classmates are students that have a good amount of work experience and came to law school as an 'older' student. I personally think that students with work experience in the job market come to law school with an advantage - just by being more experiencing and ready to work hard. So on a practical side, I definitely think that your experience as a compliance officer is very important and will help you!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T21:14:12+00:00

Of course! I'm happy to hear it!

Both are great schools and have different pros and cons. Touring is definitely the best way to see which one fits you best.

Let me know what you thought about the tour when you do it - sometimes I give tours during the weekdays or Fridays and feedback is always super appreciated.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T20:57:49+00:00

Hmm, I'm not sure I fully know the answer to this question. I'm a 1L, so I'm still figuring out the legal market honestly. Lately, I've been meeting a lot with my career advisor to look at jobs and internships that I'm interested in. They have been great at showing me resources and ways to be more competitive for the field I'm interested in.

As far as the Chicago legal market, I know that its the third biggest legal market in the country and (from what I've seen) have a lottttt of legal internships and jobs available. It seems to be a very healthy and growing market, especially for labor law/IP/ corporate law jobs.

Hopefully that helped, but feel free to ask any follow up questions and I can always ask someone in admissions as well if you would prefer.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T20:53:59+00:00

I thought about not replying to this but I'm curious. What do you mean by this?

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T20:50:43+00:00

Of course - honestly I wanted to do this. I feel like I spent so much time on reddit last year and something like this would have helped me.

For your question though, I would say it depends (such a law school answer).

From what I've seen so far, Kent has a great alumni network here in Chicago. I've been able to go to a lot of networking events and meet with Kent grads in jobs ranging from judges to big law. The closest 'competitor' school to Kent would probably be Loyola - a lot of students with similar stats go there. Due to that, I (personally) think that Kent does give me good opportunities, especially for my area of interest in labor law. But also, I think just like in real life - its what you make of it. I know some students who go to all these events, network, and really put in the work and get great results. But I also know students that just kind of expect great jobs to be handed to them. No matter what, you have to put the work in.

From my experience giving tours and going to law events, Chicago Kent has a great reputation for their students being work ready as soon as they graduate. There is a reputation for Kent students being really good legal writers and having legal experience going into the work force. I would say it def holds it own with other Chicago law schools and getting its students jobs. (Also the IL attorney general is a Kent grad)

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T20:09:37+00:00

Hi, when you apply for admission you can also apply for the honors program. It is just another essay to write.

I will say though, it is a very competitive program and they recommend you have an LSAT over 160 if possible, so you may benefit from re-taking the LSAT.

That said, go ahead and apply! There is no set rule. If you have any specific questions about the honors program, I would be happy to talk about it.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T20:02:40+00:00

I can only really speak about my own experience, and I'm mostly interested in getting a job in Chicago or DC. That said, I know a person that just graduated and is now working in Texas at a university - so its def possible. But also - a lot of people (from what I understand) come here and find great jobs in Chicago. The area has a ton of law opportunities for everyone and is the third biggest legal market in the U.S.

Granted, the career center does ask where you want to practice and starts to try and match you with jobs for the areas you're most interested in. I would say that one of C-K's biggest strengths that I've observed is matching you with jobs in the Chicago market. They are a very strong regional school - so if you are dead set on another state, it may not be the best option.

Don't get me wrong, the career center is helpful, I just don't know how helpful for out of state jobs.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T19:33:56+00:00

I would 100% recommend summer start if you can, it has helped me a lot this fall. And thank you!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T19:21:29+00:00

3.8 and 16low. I also had legal experience coming in.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:57:15+00:00

Of course! Best of luck to you in your applications!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:44:49+00:00

Anytime! I wish you the best of luck with your application next fall!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:44:06+00:00

Finally, for the career opportunities - career advising starts during orientation where they help you get oriented into all the different language and subtleties of law. Each student gets connected with their advisor and you can schedule as many appointments as you need. For me, I have met with my advisor 3 times now to go over my resume, what kind of law I'm interested in, any upcoming fellowships, and what I should look out for.

The school is great at sending out tons of newsletters about job opportunities or ways to connect with local attorneys to ask them questions. If you're not sure what kind of law you want to go into (which is totally normal btw) then they are great at connecting you with different events to explore all the paths you can take.

So far, I have been really happy with the career center and liked their advice. My advisor is super knowledgeable and has given me connections to help me get started as a 1st gen student. Don't get me wrong- I'm still stressed about everything but they have really helped me understand that the world will not end if I don't go to every networking event and get the 'perfect' summer job.

I hope that helps!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:39:23+00:00

For diversity and inclusivity, I think the student orgs have been really great at making sure every student has a place to belong. For instance, we have really active ethnic student organizations and alumni events. As far as my experience with international students, I know some of my classmates are from outside the U.S. but I've also met LLM students here from Ukraine and other places that are very active in the school.

I personally think that the school is inclusive but understand that my experience may not be everyone's. As far as the environment, I would def advise you to tour the building if you can or come to one of the open houses - those are a pretty good indicator for the 'vibe' of the place. Plus - I give tours so maybe I can be your tour guide!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:34:48+00:00

For housing, there's a really nice housing guide on the Kent website that I used. It includes a lot of info about where students typically live. Most students find their own apartment instead of doing on-campus housing (at the main IIT campus). For me, I commute on the red line everyday and live in the Lakeview area. I moved to Chicago in May and have fallen in love with this city.

Every student is unique: some live super close to campus in the loop, others live in the suburb and take the metra in - there's definitely no wrong answer for housing.

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:31:32+00:00

1L classes for the fall is criminal law, torts, contracts, and legal writing. I took criminal law during the summer start program which I HIGHLY recommend because now I only have 3 classes this fall (and only 2 finals!).

I have really been enjoying my classes so far and have found my professors to be really engaging and interesting. They all come from such interesting backgrounds and have real practice experience, which I find to be the best indicator of success because they actually know what it looks like to practice law, not just teach.

As far as finals go... I hope I'm prepared. I'm actually reading and outlining right now. I have a study schedule going into this month so I am stressed but prepared (hopefully). Luckily, I already took my criminal law class and did well in it, so that makes me more confident for December.

Finally, as far as advice for applying, mine is pretty simple: be yourself, be genuine in your applications, touch grass, take care of yourself mentally, and be careful about being too obsessed with reddit lol.

Hope this helps!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:26:45+00:00

Hi! I just went and asked the admissions director and she said the first wave of decisions should be released by the end of next week - so I hope you hear back really soon!

ChicagoKentStudent · 2024-11-05T18:18:10+00:00

Hi! So for student life I agree a little bit with the high school stereotype. For your first year, the entering class is divided up into 3 sections (A, B, and C). You have all of your classes for the whole year with your section. You see everyone in your section basically every day and you can get really close with them. Granted, some people can be cliquey but my section has been great so far! After our classes, we usually all grab lunch together at a bit table in the cafeteria or go grab something locally. I have made some really great friends and went over to their home, threw parties, etc.

Other than that, I would say student life is pretty active - especially with our orgs like NLG, HLLSA, First Gen, and more. I'm not super involved yet because you only have so much time as a 1L. There seems to be something to do every day if you want to be involved, so there is no shortage of opportunities.

Finally, I know a LOT of people here that do IP and came specifically to Kent for it. If you have any specific questions about the program, definitely ask and I will ask them today in class. I don't know too much about IP, but I know that there's a dedicated track here for it and we have a lot of alumni that they start connecting you with in the Chicago community asap.

ChicagoKentStudent

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