University of Chicago Law School The Latest to Change Fall OCI
Thus far, the University of Chicago Law School has been immune to the fever of grade reform. While other law schools bend over backwards to make the same level of education look better on a transcript, Chicago has held the line.
But it’s not like U of C Law is just ignoring the economic realities of the day. Another trend among top law schools it to make their on-campus interview process start earlier so firms don’t “fill up” on other candidates. Chicago is officially moving in that direction:
The fall 2009 on-campus interview program may seem very far away during the Chicago winter, but the Office of Career Services has begun planning in order to maximize your opportunities during this important phase of the job market for students exploring law firm careers. This planning has led to a notable calendar change: The University of Chicago Law School’s fall on-campus interviews will be held August 17-28, with an orientation to the program scheduled for August 15th.
After the jump, Chicago Law makes its intentions clear — but there are other problems with changing the timing of OCI.
It’s pretty clear that the legal economy (or lack thereof) played a significant role in Chicago’s change:
Our decision to move interviews into August also issues from our conviction that a later start could potentially disadvantage our students in a legal job market that is stagnant at best.
But as we’ve noted elsewhere, moving up start dates creates all sorts of problems for students that are trying to finish out summer jobs, or even just trying to get housing in college towns in the middle of August. UofC is apparently aware of these concerns:
We understand that this change will shorten the number of weeks available for employment during the summer, but we also know that many employers seek to end their employment of law students by early August. We also considered that the shift to earlier dates could create housing issues for some students, so we wanted you to have the interview dates before you begin to plan for summer sublets or fall 2009 leases. Dean Richardson has already begun to explore housing options for those who have concerns in this area and will provide additional information in a separate communication.
A few tipsters have noted other problems with moving interviewing season to August:
A new wrinkle is that school still won’t start until almost October, leaving almost a month of dead time between the end of OCI and the start of classes.The flip side is that we don’t finish spring quarter until almost the beginning of June, leaving almost all of us starting work after our peers at other schools.
Be careful what you wish for, tipsters. I’m sure law professors can think of creative ways to fill your time between mid August and late September… and I’m sure it’s not fun.
Earlier: Fall Recruiting Fallout: Harvard/Yale Make Concessions to ‘Reality’
(33) Comments
Comments
UofC = Tulane of the North
It's OK, #1. You're not the only person ever rejected by UofC. It has pretty high standards.
Law and economics compelled them to make this change.
thirdy?
First good decision by the administration in a long time. Now bring back internet in classrooms!
Elie,
I've been one of your biggest critics about your grammar, and I would like to say thank you for writing a piece I could actually read without cringing. Keep improving!
P.S. It's "mid-August", but that's only one--nice work.
There is a version of the Tulane thread with comments still up:
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/01/racist_tulane_law_school_party.php#comments
NERDS
7, move on (wo)man.
Everyone else has.
I have, just thought if they were meant to be down, this should be down as well.
- Se7en
Did I miss the part of the memo where they apologize for their horribly flawed regulatory theories directly resulting in the "stagnant" job market?
Why does UofC have the late starting and early ending school year? Are they on some sort of trimester schedule that no one else is on?
12 - Trimester? ABORTED FETUS BURGERS can't be made until the second trimester, because before then there's not enough juicy meat. Although you can use them for chili.
12, they are on "quarters" which in reality is trimesters since the fourth quarter is the "summer" quarter.
That schedule is what is really screwy about UofC. If they would just move it (maybe have first quarter finals right before Thanksgiving and start in late August) life would be a lot better. Of course then having classes hanging over you on break would suck, although since you would only be a few weeks in it wouldn't be *that* bad.
Really, they should ditch the whole trimester thing. If they really want three terms just use a January term like HLS does.
14,
Chicago should really just copy everything from HLS, then maybe the whole faculty would stop moving there.
At least Chicago can feel happy that some of the biggest fish have now left HLS for the gov't.
Enough evidence on how shiTTTy the hiring market was this year?
That's Harvard, Yale and Chicago all trying to make THEIR students more employable.
This is the reason why it should drop the quarter system. It's the only school that uses it and has nothing, nada, zip to add...
That is rough for Chicago students - if you have a 1L law firm job, it will be hard to meet the firm minimum number of weeks while also doing OCI for 2L summer.
16 - You said it. That's why all the T14 students should drop out and go into the lucrative ABORTED FETUS BURGER business.
This is like the primaries where every state wants to move up and be first and you end up having primaries way too early. Not everyone can be first and someone has to be last.
17:
2 things:
1. The law school is part of a much larger university with a number of 'norms' and cultural institutions, one of which is the quarter system. It's never going to move off that system because it is part of what Chicago 'is'. (see also: economics emphasis, interdisciplinary focus, student-faculty interactions, research expectations, proliferation of workshops, etc.) Love them or hate them, you should recognize that these features and characteristics didn't appear out of nowhere - they're derived from the bigger culture of the place.
2) The quarter system has benefits and drawbacks. I think the most obvious one in each category would be: (benefit) exposure to many more topics in the law over the course of your three years; (drawback) more intense workload given the frequency of exams and papers.
Best,
Ron Coase
18,
In theory, you're right. But in this economy, it's not like many Chicago 1Ls are going to be working for firms anyway. Unpaid internship for 8 weeks = unpaid internship for 10.
fake law school, didn't read
not true...about 25-45 percent or so works in a firm.
In normal years, around a third of the class does. This is not a normal year. I would be surprised if more than 10 or 15 percent of the 1L class ends up at a firm this year--which in a class of 190 is like 30 people.
25, your math sucks even worse than mine.
i went to u chicago law and think that the quarter system--for all of its good points--ultimately hurts the students. i work in texas and most summers split at least two ways and many three ways. the quarter systems screws up the ability of students to do that. i don't see how a 1L can split now. and 1L's from chicago will still get clerkships--the sky isn't falling, and law firms still want intelligent associates.
UC really is home of the most miserable people on earth.
1L's "working" for firms this summer? That's rich.
UTexas also changed their OCI...
why is U of C so SOCIALLY AWKWARD???
31: That's why I fucked your bitch you fat motherfucker.
Stanford is changing to the quarter system next year. I wonder if they'll reconsider.