Interview @ UChicago Forum

[02082010]

Interviewing at Chicago next week. What resources should I look at besides Ivey and Montauk's books. I applied ED, so although it will be important to show my fit w/ Chicago and Why Chicago, they already know it's my top choice. Do I need to prepare for this interview any differently than I would a standard law school interview? Also, I have a 2 red flags in my app (low GPA and some conduct issues) and I have a feeling a significant (probably the most significant) portion of the interview will be me further alleving concerns about these areas.

Anything I'm missing here?

[Tanicius]

I don't have much to say other than try, somehow, to practice the interview with someone. Doesn't matter if they don't ask the questions the right way or anything -- it's more to get you comfortable presenting your talking points.

I remember your numbers from before you fudged them on LSN. It's pretty cool that you managed a Chicago waitlist with them. An acceptance in your situation would be very cool. Good luck.

[02082010]

bump.

Also, should I try and meet with a faculty member while I'm there? Someone famous like Nussbaum or Leiter, or maybe the prof who runs the clinic I'm interested in.

[MURPH]

Remember to assume that whomever you speak to is going to be asked what they thought of you. Don't ask to speak to Leiter or Nussbaum unless you have something you want to talk to them about and it is something that is not trivial. "Hey Leiter why you always knocking Ayn Rand?" is a bad question, for example. I assume that you can talk shop with a professor who runs a clinic more comfortably than someone whom you do not plan on working with. You also might want to speak to a student or two. That would probably be less stressful.
If you plan on doing JD + Philosophy then you should seek out Leiter and Nussbaum, though.
BTW, did you ask for an interview or did they ask you?

[02082010]

Remember to assume that whomever you speak to is going to be asked what they thought of you. Don't ask to speak to Leiter or Nussbaum unless you have something you want to talk to them about and it is something that is not trivial. "Hey Leiter why you always knocking Ayn Rand?" is a bad question, for example. I assume that you can talk shop with a professor who runs a clinic more comfortably than someone whom you do not plan on working with. You also might want to speak to a student or two. That would probably be less stressful.
If you plan on doing JD + Philosophy then you should seek out Leiter and Nussbaum, though.
BTW, did you ask for an interview or did they ask you?

I was WL'ed after applying ED and we're all given the option to interview. I'm sitting in on class before my interview and meeting with a few students after the interview. Probably going to stop by the financial aid office as well.

[cubswin]

If you are worried about any particular area, prepare to be asked about it. My friend had interviews with both them and Northwestern, and he said NW was a pretty easy interview but that U of C were "dicks." His example question was:

*Condescending tone*: "How could you receive a C in a college class?"

[02082010]

If you are worried about any particular area, prepare to be asked about it. My friend had interviews with both them and Northwestern, and he said NW was a pretty easy interview but that U of C were "dicks." His example question was:

*Condescending tone*: "How could you receive a C in a college class?"

Stress interviews are FTL.

I have two weak areas and I will definitely prepare to explain those away.

[Anastasia Dee Dualla]

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[Dany]

*Condescending tone*: "How could you receive a C in a college class?"

I would definitely be prepared to answer the "how could you get a C" question. I got the exact same question (much nicer) from Cornell when I interviewed.

S

Quick aside; is a C a huge black mark on a transcript? My overall GPA is 3.85-3.9, but I do have a C from sophomore year. Is that going to look absolutely horrible to adcomms?

[Tanicius]

*Condescending tone*: "How could you receive a C in a college class?"

I would definitely be prepared to answer the "how could you get a C" question. I got the exact same question (much nicer) from Cornell when I interviewed.

S

Quick aside; is a C a huge black mark on a transcript? My overall GPA is 3.85-3.9, but I do have a C from sophomore year. Is that going to look absolutely horrible to adcomms?

I think "It was a real challenging class" should suffice if you've got pretty much all A's for the rest of your transcript.

[02082010]

If you are worried about any particular area, prepare to be asked about it. My friend had interviews with both them and Northwestern, and he said NW was a pretty easy interview but that U of C were "dicks." His example question was:

*Condescending tone*: "How could you receive a C in a college class?"

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