Thoughts on Northwestern? Forum

[star fox]

I got offered $55K per year scholarship at Northwestern very recently after being wait listed initially. I didn't send in my application until January. Don't have much time to decide.

3.88 LSAC GPA
170 LSAT (2nd try.. first try was two years ago come june).
Goal: Chicago BigLaw. Interested in doing corporate/transactional. Have lived here my whole life. Willing to move if absolutely necessary but would prefer not to... have a longterm SO here as well. Not sure about a backup plan. No desire to do any sort of PI.
Total debt at repayment: if I'm doing everything right with the COA sheet, about $85,000.
Other: One year of work experience. Work about 50 hours a week. Don't mind anything about my job except that I make <40K.
Meager savings but the rest of the COA will be funded by loans.

Also on wait list at Chicago currently. Nothing else.

After being put on the wait list I contented myself with working another year. Now that I got this offer, it's kind of thrown a wrinkle into that. I want to be a lawyer. My current job isn't going to provide me with any sort of transferable skills due to the nature of what I do.

All my friends/family/SO have been pushing me to just go with the whole "don't waste another year of your life.. gotta make strides towards your ultimate goals.. yadda yadda yadda". Thing is I'm super risk-averse usually and terrified at finishing below median and striking out at OCI. I know Northwestern had a good year with class of 2013 in terms of BigLaw + FedClerk but class of 2012 was not quite as hot so I worry about it being a one year variation.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bjsesq]

So you got a full ride to NU and want to do Chicago biglaw? Dude, go and prosper.

[cotiger]

So you got a full ride to NU and want to do Chicago biglaw? Dude, go and prosper.

[TheSpanishMain]

Take it and don't look back. Congrats.

[yadiermolina]

Were you WLed or held? I'm asking because I was held, then wait listed today. I didn't write an LOCI because I figured they wouldn't come close to my duke scholarship since they held me first. I'm asking because we have about the same stats. If you could PM me with advice that'd be huge.

Also, congratufuckinglations.

[ManoftheHour]

Umm...let me get this straight. Full ride to NU. Ties. Want Chicago big law. Long term SO in the area. Shitty job right now.

If there was ever a "Go!," it's this.

Congrats, dude.

[whereskyle]

Congrats, OP! From what I've heard, Chicago natives, who go to Northwestern, are typically smiled upon by Chicago biglaw firms. I'll see you there!

[rayiner]

Even though you're looking at reasonable debt, think hard about why you want to go to law school. Read some of the threads on big law and see if that's what you want to do. NU is a pretty big-law centric school so be aware of that. What's your ultimate end goal?

That said, I think NU's placement is as strong as any of the T14 below HYSCCNP. NU doesn't play any games with counting school funded jobs as long-term employment. Also, it has a much bigger JD-MBA class than its peers, who mostly self-select out of law. My friends who wanted PI had a pretty rough time. I don't think we have as good of a support system for those folks.

[rickgrimes69]

Yea OP what's the dilemma here? Sounds like a great option for your goals. Congrats on winning the law school admissions game

[Big Dog]

you want to work in Chicago and NULS is offering no tuition....is there a real question here?

[killer133]

... just like everybody else said, I don't know if you will ever have a better outcome than this unless you score above 174, and this outcome is beyond amazing!

[Clearly]

Not only do I think this is a great outcome, I think it's about as good as it gets with your situation...enjoy nu

[jbagelboy]

GO! Congrats and good luck.

[rayiner]

Yea OP what's the dilemma here? Sounds like a great option for your goals. Congrats on winning the law school admissions game

I don't really like this line of thinking, because it makes "winning" seem self justifying. You see this in the employment thread when people say "should I got to Simpson or Clearly?" "Congrats dude, on winning the employment game!" $80k and three years of opportunity cost is still a lot, and OP sounds hesitant about whether they are worth taking on.

[yadiermolina]

I agree with that line of reasoning. But that being said, if one really wants to be a lawyer in Chicago, circumstances don't get much better. If OP doesn't really want to be a lawyer/take on debt to become one, that's a personal issue that tls can't really help with (besides directing one to the biglaw hate buffet).

[bjsesq]

Yea OP what's the dilemma here? Sounds like a great option for your goals. Congrats on winning the law school admissions game

I don't really like this line of thinking, because it makes "winning" seem self justifying. You see this in the employment thread when people say "should I got to Simpson or Clearly?" "Congrats dude, on winning the employment game!" $80k and three years of opportunity cost is still a lot, and OP sounds hesitant about whether they are worth taking on.

I am just unsure of why OP would be at all hesitant if his goals are what they are.

1. Wants to be a lawyer
2. Wants Chicago biglaw
3. Has full ride to the second best school in the city
4. That school has very good big law placement

He needs to identify which one of these he is unsure of, because his outcomes cannot get much better.

[rad lulz]

Why do you want to be a lawyer ?

[TheSpanishMain]

Take it and don't look back. Congrats.

Amend that to

Take it and don't look back, assuming you're confident you want to be lawyer. Congrats.

[Trig]

I agree with everyone here, i.e. you should definitely take the offer because of your goals.

[buffalo_]

Take it and don't look back. Congrats.

Amend that to

Take it and don't look back, assuming you're confident you want to be lawyer. Congrats.

[rickgrimes69]

Yea OP what's the dilemma here? Sounds like a great option for your goals. Congrats on winning the law school admissions game

I don't really like this line of thinking, because it makes "winning" seem self justifying. You see this in the employment thread when people say "should I got to Simpson or Clearly?" "Congrats dude, on winning the employment game!" $80k and three years of opportunity cost is still a lot, and OP sounds hesitant about whether they are worth taking on.

I didn't say congrats on winning the best possible career outcomes game, I said congrats on winning the law school admissions game

Whether he actually attends is a different issue, but OP is in an objectively better position than about 99% of 0Ls so yeah I think my statement is accurate

[Power_of_Facing]

Joining the chorus: for your stated goals, a full ride at NU is basically an ideal admissions outcome. If you're certain you want to be an attorney, follow the money.

[star fox]

Why do you want to be a lawyer ?

Great question, and one I can not fully answer for certain without actually becoming a lawyer.

I'll start by saying that I am by no means a special snowflake. I have no illusions of being a US Senator or saving the world. I don't think that I am particularly special in any way. In fact, I'd say I'm a rather boring guy. I would say I'm a practical realist in that if some great opportunity opens up (most which likely require big law) then great.. but don't count on or expect anything super cool happening.

My ultimate life desire is to be able to be a provider for when I am able to start a family. This is what would make me the most proud. I'm not really "passionate" about things in the sense that I would love to do anything in particular so much that I would do it if I wasn't being paid for it. I'm not particularly interested in accumulating wealth for the purpose of living a luxurious lifestyle or maintaining an active social life. I value the friends I do have and make a point to try and spend time with them when I can but I also don't get anxiety over not having plans on a friday night.

As for why law in particular, I would say it seems like something that would be best suited for my skill set. At my current job, I sit at a desk all day and stare at a computer screen. For most people this would be Hell, but I actually don't mind it all that much. Again, I'm not saying it's "fun" but it's at least remotely tolerable. I would much rather be in an office all day rather than be outside doing manual labor. That to me would be awful. I also do not crave a career that involves having to constantly schmooze people and to try and get them to like me on a day after day basis, so something sales-related would not be an ideal fit.

I have a general interest in "nitty-gritty" sort of details that most people would probably say is super boring. Just a random example but I'm really into sports contracts and the whole process that goes into that. As an NHL fan, the site capgeek.com is one that I like to go on and sort of analyze that business side of the game. I guess I sort of like that behind the scenes stuff that doesn't get a lot of the focus. My general interest in law is propagated from the business law that goes into things like contracts and the like.

I feel that my strongest strengths as a student have always been research and writing. Editing documents and drafting motions isn't exactly exciting but it's something I could see myself doing at least decently well over time (I hope). I'm definitely no tech guy and numbers were never really my thing either.

From lurking the legal employment on TLS, I have gotten at least a sense of What It's Like To Be a Lawyer from what others who have been through the process have posted. I am aware of the crazy schedule and I have done my best to make my girlfriend aware that if I were fortunate enough to wind up with a good employment outcome, that would mean I need to be available all the time and commit myself to staying at the office past 10 PM and what not. I'm aware of the burnout factor, which is of course concerning. But I guess I'll say that I don't just want to work 40 hour weeks and no that no matter what, you gotta bust your ass to make it in America. This isn't Europe (not a good or bad thing, just an is how it is thing).

And yet still, I feel as though I don't really know what it's like. Aside from maybe some people with paralegal experience, I doubt many 0Ls really have much clue. This site has been immensely helpful to me. I wouldn't say I'm an expert... but at least hopefully I'm slightly less ignorant.

As for my concerns, mainly joining an over-saturated profession, with lots of opportunities to "fall off the boat" so to speak along the way. I'm kind of a reverse of a lot of the people that post here in that I don't look at the best outcome and assume if that could happen to them, why not me... but rather looking at the worst outcomes and thinking that could very well be me. It's all good to have a school with a good median outcome, until you're one of those 12 people who is listed as Unemployed 9 months after graduation. I mean, I bet those people had an LSAT score similar to mine (there way more more applicants three/four years ago than today) and they wouldn't have gotten into Northwestern if they weren't good students. They probably went into law school planning to study hard and give it their all like I plan on doing.. and yet still.. no reason it couldn't happen to me or anyone else enrolling in law school. I have never taken a law school exam after all. So I have no clue if I'd be good at issue spotters and what not.

That being said, I apologize if I have come off as whiny. I realize what a great opportunity this is, and after all, nothing in life is ever guaranteed or meant to be easy. I do think I'll take the offer and not look back. It's just difficult to process still, I mean.. two weeks ago I was sitting at 0 law school acceptances and just a couple of wait list spots where I thought I'd have to be paying sticker if I went this year since I applied late.

[Micdiddy]

Well, if you choose to pursue being a lawyer then you have a fantastic opportunity. Extremely doubtful UChi or any other school will offer enough to make it worth turning down full-ride at NU (but if they do that's great as well). So basically, you have the school set that will get you exactly where you want to go at as little cost as possible and the only decision you need to make is if being a lawyer is right for you.

Eta: You're right you could be in the bottom 12 of the class. I would say there is a correlation between high lsat, high scholarship and law school success, but of course it's not a perfect indicator. Also, remember most times those people with bad outcomes also have a lot of debt, the full-ride thing helps in that department (though at the same time don't underestimate COL loans).

[Chrstgtr]

Congrats, OP! From what I've heard, Chicago natives, who go to Northwestern, are typically smiled upon by Chicago biglaw firms. I'll see you there!

A little off topic, but can anyone who has been through NU OCI or know a little more about the process verify this?