Vanderbilt c/o 2015 Applicants (2011-2012 cycle) Forum

[JDndMSW]

I told them i was not interested in an interview on the application, but they just e-mailed me requesting an interview. i'm not sure what my next move is

If you're saying this because you can't be bothered interviewing: withdraw. You're obviously not seriously interested in Vanderbilt.

If you're saying this because you think an interview would hurt your chances of admission: don't go to law school. You're not getting a job unless you interview well - or at least decently.

haha, thanks for the eye-opening advice, man. i'm going to completely alter my life choice. I don't want to interview because i live far away, cant take time off work, dont have a car, dont have the money for a plane ticket, have heard it is hard to land a job in the south without ties. so, it's more of a cumulative consideration as opposed to any one thing (ie fear people wont like me in an interview or whatever nonsense you were suggesting)

You do realize they have a over the phone option? They also do them in cities all over the country, I had mine in Northern CA.

[emkay625]

I told them i was not interested in an interview on the application, but they just e-mailed me requesting an interview. i'm not sure what my next move is

If you're saying this because you can't be bothered interviewing: withdraw. You're obviously not seriously interested in Vanderbilt.

If you're saying this because you think an interview would hurt your chances of admission: don't go to law school. You're not getting a job unless you interview well - or at least decently.

haha, thanks for the eye-opening advice, man. i'm going to completely alter my life choice. I don't want to interview because i live far away, cant take time off work, dont have a car, dont have the money for a plane ticket, have heard it is hard to land a job in the south without ties. so, it's more of a cumulative consideration as opposed to any one thing (ie fear people wont like me in an interview or whatever nonsense you were suggesting)

the interviews are off-campus interviews - in your city with an alum. (at least mine was.....sorry if i'm wrong and this is a different interview type...)

[AntipodeanPhil]

I told them i was not interested in an interview on the application, but they just e-mailed me requesting an interview. i'm not sure what my next move is

If you're saying this because you can't be bothered interviewing: withdraw. You're obviously not seriously interested in Vanderbilt.

If you're saying this because you think an interview would hurt your chances of admission: don't go to law school. You're not getting a job unless you interview well - or at least decently.

haha, thanks for the eye-opening advice, man. i'm going to completely alter my life choice. I don't want to interview because i live far away, cant take time off work, dont have a car, dont have the money for a plane ticket, have heard it is hard to land a job in the south without ties. so, it's more of a cumulative consideration as opposed to any one thing (ie fear people wont like me in an interview or whatever nonsense you were suggesting)

I was obviously right that you are not seriously interested in Vanderbilt, since you didn't bother checking what the interview process involves, and you have a negative view about the job prospects. I would also predict that you'll respond again with sarcasm, but perhaps you'll move to straightforward insults this time.

[charliep]

I told them i was not interested in an interview on the application, but they just e-mailed me requesting an interview. i'm not sure what my next move is

If you're saying this because you can't be bothered interviewing: withdraw. You're obviously not seriously interested in Vanderbilt.

If you're saying this because you think an interview would hurt your chances of admission: don't go to law school. You're not getting a job unless you interview well - or at least decently.

haha, thanks for the eye-opening advice, man. i'm going to completely alter my life choice. I don't want to interview because i live far away, cant take time off work, dont have a car, dont have the money for a plane ticket, have heard it is hard to land a job in the south without ties. so, it's more of a cumulative consideration as opposed to any one thing (ie fear people wont like me in an interview or whatever nonsense you were suggesting)

I was obviously right that you are not seriously interested in Vanderbilt, since you didn't bother checking what the interview process involves, and you have a negative view about the job prospects. I would also predict that you'll respond again with sarcasm, but perhaps you'll move to straightforward insults this time.

well, i am a horse's ass on this one (not sarcasm). the bright spot in this mess, however, is that i'll be able to do an interview

[TMC116]

I told them i was not interested in an interview on the application, but they just e-mailed me requesting an interview. i'm not sure what my next move is

If you're saying this because you can't be bothered interviewing: withdraw. You're obviously not seriously interested in Vanderbilt.

If you're saying this because you think an interview would hurt your chances of admission: don't go to law school. You're not getting a job unless you interview well - or at least decently.

haha, thanks for the eye-opening advice, man. i'm going to completely alter my life choice. I don't want to interview because i live far away, cant take time off work, dont have a car, dont have the money for a plane ticket, have heard it is hard to land a job in the south without ties. so, it's more of a cumulative consideration as opposed to any one thing (ie fear people wont like me in an interview or whatever nonsense you were suggesting)

You don't have to go to Nashville for an interview. They're done by alums in your city.

Do the interview. Otherwise, you'll be WL

[gavinstevens]

Do the interview. Otherwise, you'll be WL

Do you think that this explains some of the seemingly random waitlists?

[anewaphorist]

Eh, they say interviews are "entirely optional." I live fairly close to Nashville, but I'm not interviewing. Vandy seems to appreciate an interview if your numbers are borderline ding. They definitely don't expect everyone to do them, despite what's been intimated in the last few pages ITT. TMC, I'd say your advice is correct if an applicant is well below both medians.

As for random WLs so far, I'll have to check LSN to see what you mean. If they're WLing people with 75 percentile or higher numbers, then I'd assume it's more of a YP thing.

EDIT: LSN has recorded 0 WLs thus far. TMC, you're simply speculating and fearmongering.

[AntipodeanPhil]

Do the interview. Otherwise, you'll be WL

Do you think that this explains some of the seemingly random waitlists?

Looking at graphs for similarly ranked schools on LSN, almost all of them have some seemingly random waitlists / rejections. Vandy has fewer than most of the others, it seems to me.

If the question is whether they WL people who don't interview: I think we would see more yellow and red above their medians if they were doing that. My suspicion is that the interviews make the most difference for borderline candidates, and perhaps for scholarship money. We wouldn't see those effects on LSN, since it's almost always hard to tell why schools accept some borderline candidates and reject others, and scholarship money often seems to depend on stuff we can't see (i.e., softs) to a greater extent than admissions. Of course, there are probably a few people every cycle who interview abysmally / amazingly and prove the exception to the rule.

[anewaphorist]

^Credited, Phil.

[gavinstevens]

Looking at graphs for similarly ranked schools on LSN, almost all of them have some seemingly random waitlists / rejections. Vandy has fewer than most of the others, it seems to me.

If the question is whether they WL people who don't interview: I think we would see more yellow and red above their medians if they were doing that. My suspicion is that the interviews make the most difference for borderline candidates, and perhaps for scholarship money. We wouldn't see those effects on LSN, since it's almost always hard to tell why schools accept some borderline candidates and reject others, and scholarship money often seems to depend on stuff we can't see (i.e., softs) to a greater extent than admissions. Of course, there are probably a few people every cycle who interview abysmally / amazingly and prove the exception to the rule.

Just some more speculation fwiw

I see Vandy in contrast to Cornell and Texas, which to me are very formulaic (though I don't know about GULC or UCLA).

Last year for instance, of the four (admittedly small sample) 168/3.8x non-urm LSN applicants at Vandy, two got $ (72 and 84), and two got WL'd. Of these four, the three that applied to UT got 21. These same three all got into Cornell (one with 60k, possibly need based). None applied late in February or March. I do not have interview information for any of these candidates. I think it's likely that the interview ends up counted another "soft" as many have noted with borderline apps, but it communicates interest much like a "why x" to a greater degree.

[charliep]

in light of all this, if anyone is interested in scheduling an interview, the deadline is December 1st

[TMC116]

Eh, they say interviews are "entirely optional." I live fairly close to Nashville, but I'm not interviewing. Vandy seems to appreciate an interview if your numbers are borderline ding. They definitely don't expect everyone to do them, despite what's been intimated in the last few pages ITT. TMC, I'd say your advice is correct if an applicant is well below both medians.

As for random WLs so far, I'll have to check LSN to see what you mean. If they're WLing people with 75 percentile or higher numbers, then I'd assume it's more of a YP thing.

EDIT: LSN has recorded 0 WLs thus far. TMC, you're simply speculating and fearmongering.

Are you kidding? If a school "requests" that you interview and you say "nah I'm good" you are liable to get WL. That's not fearmongering, it's a basic fact. If you won't even interview w them then you don't seem interested in going. Why offer a seat to someone like that? It's literally the exact same rationale as YP

Edit: I typed my first message at the same time OP said he's now able to make an interview. Didnt see that. Good luck with it!

[ThreeRivers]

Tbh, I ended up not applying to Vandy JUST because of the interview, but yes it was because I wasn't that interested. I applied to 14 schools (all of which I am interested in attending), Vandy would have been closer to the bottom of my list and I didn't really have a motivation to interview for that reason, but yes if you're actually highly interested in Vandy DO IT

[anewaphorist]

TMC doesn't seem to be able to read. They request an interview if you're numbers are borderline/below both medians. Sorry, I'm not, and lots of people who have been admitted with strong numbers DID NOT interview.

It would be one thing if Vandy contacted me requesting an interview. Then, if I turned it down, I could pretty much bank on a WL. You seem to be under the impression that the very act of applying to Vandy entails a personal communique for an interview.

[Cornelius]

Are you kidding? If a school "requests" that you interview and you say "nah I'm good" you are liable to get WL. That's not fearmongering, it's a basic fact. If you won't even interview w them then you don't seem interested in going. Why offer a seat to someone like that? It's literally the exact same rationale as YP

Edit: I typed my first message at the same time OP said he's now able to make an interview. Didnt see that. Good luck with it!

I believe it was stated somewhere that only about 10% of applicants interview. Anewa is right, you're wrong.

[gavinstevens]

Are you kidding? If a school "requests" that you interview and you say "nah I'm good" you are liable to get WL. That's not fearmongering, it's a basic fact. If you won't even interview w them then you don't seem interested in going. Why offer a seat to someone like that? It's literally the exact same rationale as YP

Edit: I typed my first message at the same time OP said he's now able to make an interview. Didnt see that. Good luck with it!

I believe it was stated somewhere that only about 10% of applicants interview. Anewa is right, you're wrong.

That number sounds right, where did you hear this though?

[msblaw89]

I would always advise to do an interview, unless you are extremely anti-social... it can only help

[darkwings]

Eh, they say interviews are "entirely optional." I live fairly close to Nashville, but I'm not interviewing. Vandy seems to appreciate an interview if your numbers are borderline ding. They definitely don't expect everyone to do them, despite what's been intimated in the last few pages ITT. TMC, I'd say your advice is correct if an applicant is well below both medians.

As for random WLs so far, I'll have to check LSN to see what you mean. If they're WLing people with 75 percentile or higher numbers, then I'd assume it's more of a YP thing.

EDIT: LSN has recorded 0 WLs thus far. TMC, you're simply speculating and fearmongering.

Are you kidding? If a school "requests" that you interview and you say "nah I'm good" you are liable to get WL. That's not fearmongering, it's a basic fact. If you won't even interview w them then you don't seem interested in going. Why offer a seat to someone like that? It's literally the exact same rationale as YP

Edit: I typed my first message at the same time OP said he's now able to make an interview. Didnt see that. Good luck with it!

Sorry, I'm a newbie, but can someone tell me what YP means?

On another note, just went complete today (after like 3 weeks of waiting) and CANNOT WAIT to potentially (hopefully!!!!) get the black box!!!! So glad Vandy is actually notifying applicants already!

[Dr. Filth]

Yeah, I just went complete today too. Only about a week of waiting for me. They must have just started looking at the November apps.

[gavinstevens]

Sorry, I'm a newbie, but can someone tell me what YP means?

YP=yield protect

A school's yield, or the number of students admitted that actually matriculate, factors into USNWR rankings. Because of, this some schools "yield protect" by denying or waitlisting applicants whose numbers guarantee their admission at much better schools, as those students are not likely to matriculate. This explains why you might see a 3.9/176 denied at UVA for instance.

edit: Here's a link to TLS jargon: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =2&t=18478

[msblaw89]

Sorry, I'm a newbie, but can someone tell me what YP means?

YP=yield protect

A school's yield, or the number of students admitted that actually matriculate, factors into USNWR rankings. Because of, this some schools "yield protect" by denying or waitlisting applicants whose numbers guarantee their admission at much better schools, as those students are not likely to matriculate. This explains why you might see a 3.9/176 denied at UVA for instance.

Exactly +1

[ccmbr006]

Submitted 11/21.

And FWIW, my interview person said that the interviews are really designed for people who feel that their application may not fully explain themselves.

[darkwings]

Sorry, I'm a newbie, but can someone tell me what YP means?

YP=yield protect

A school's yield, or the number of students admitted that actually matriculate, factors into USNWR rankings. Because of, this some schools "yield protect" by denying or waitlisting applicants whose numbers guarantee their admission at much better schools, as those students are not likely to matriculate. This explains why you might see a 3.9/176 denied at UVA for instance.

edit: Here's a link to TLS jargon: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =2&t=18478

Thank you that is SO helpful!! There were definitely a few acronyms confusing me...

Submitted 11/21.

And FWIW, my interview person said that the interviews are really designed for people who feel that their application may not fully explain themselves.

I agree but IMHO, if you're good at interviews, really interested in Vandy, and there's someone in your town/city that can do an interview, you should do one - it shows your interest and lets them see another side of you.

[gavinstevens]

Submitted 11/21.

And FWIW, my interview person said that the interviews are really designed for people who feel that their application may not fully explain themselves.

Hmmm, I figured it was to screen out the less than interested and socially awkward. Good to know for my interview.

[Mentlegen]

I sent my application in earlier this morning.