Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges Forum

[Holly Golightly]

I think combining my two posts into one made them come off in the wrong way; I was originally going to respond to you separately, but then I got lazy and included it in my response to DF instead.

I didn't me anything I said as a personal attack. I just meant that if you prefer living in the suburbs, it makes sense to me that you like Streeterville way more than I do. I dislike living in the suburbs. That's all.

[Pokemon]

I like interesting shops/restaurants/bars/etc., and I don't do my recreation at Timmy's. I think I've been to Timmy's four times.

I don't mind traveling/expending effort and energy to get somewhere I want to go, in contrast to somewhere I have to go. In my daily life, I want the necessary things (work/school) to be easy and convenient and as little effort as possible. A long and tedious CTA commute every single day to get somewhere I don't particularly want to be is much more soul-killing than occasional CTA rides to get somewhere recreational. I go to whatever Lakeview/Lincoln Park/Loop/Ukrainian Village/Old Town/Gold Coast destination that I feel like going to, the same as people who live in those neighborhoods.

I wouldn't "rather be in Naperville," because Chicago is too big for me to commute in from there. Hence, Streeterville.

This happens in Portland, too. The hipsters living in SE Portland are SO CONVINCED that their neighborhood is the be-all, end-all of cool and that suburbanites are idiot proles who LOVE STRIPMALLS ( ), but I go all over the Portland area to whatever destinations catch my fancy. I experience more of the city than they do, even though I live(d) in the westside suburban wasteland.

I doubt you experience more of the city than the people who actually live in the city. Anyway, we digress... I do want to point out however that Chicago has a fair number of express buses that make commute from far away places, like Lakeview, a 10 minute ride. The only benefit that you gain from this is that you save $$$$, since Lakeview is considerably cheaper than Streeterville or Gold Coast. Gold Coast is a weird place in my opinion to live cause you have to walk longer than 15 minutes that it takes me to take the bus, and the 151, 36, and 22 are crap buses.

[rinkrat19]

I like interesting shops/restaurants/bars/etc., and I don't do my recreation at Timmy's. I think I've been to Timmy's four times.

I don't mind traveling/expending effort and energy to get somewhere I want to go, in contrast to somewhere I have to go. In my daily life, I want the necessary things (work/school) to be easy and convenient and as little effort as possible. A long and tedious CTA commute every single day to get somewhere I don't particularly want to be is much more soul-killing than occasional CTA rides to get somewhere recreational. I go to whatever Lakeview/Lincoln Park/Loop/Ukrainian Village/Old Town/Gold Coast destination that I feel like going to, the same as people who live in those neighborhoods.

I wouldn't "rather be in Naperville," because Chicago is too big for me to commute in from there. Hence, Streeterville.

This happens in Portland, too. The hipsters living in SE Portland are SO CONVINCED that their neighborhood is the be-all, end-all of cool and that suburbanites are idiot proles who LOVE STRIPMALLS ( ), but I go all over the Portland area to whatever destinations catch my fancy. I experience more of the city than they do, even though I live(d) in the westside suburban wasteland.

I doubt you experience more of the city than the people who actually live in the city. Anyway, we digress... I do want to point out however that Chicago has a fair number of express buses that make commute from far away places, like Lakeview, a 10 minute ride. The only benefit that you gain from this is that you save $$$$, since Lakeview is considerably cheaper than Streeterville or Gold Coast. Gold Coast is a weird place in my opinion to live cause you have to walk longer than 15 minutes that it takes me to take the bus, and the 151, 36, and 22 are crap buses.

They never leave their neighborhood (because it's sooooooooooo cooooool) and I go all over. How is that not experiencing more of the city?

[Pokemon]

I doubt you experience more of the city than the people who actually live in the city. Anyway, we digress... I do want to point out however that Chicago has a fair number of express buses that make commute from far away places, like Lakeview, a 10 minute ride. The only benefit that you gain from this is that you save $$$$, since Lakeview is considerably cheaper than Streeterville or Gold Coast. Gold Coast is a weird place in my opinion to live cause you have to walk longer than 15 minutes that it takes me to take the bus, and the 151, 36, and 22 are crap buses.

They never leave their neighborhood (because it's sooooooooooo cooooool) and I go all over. How is that not experiencing more of the city?[/quote]

I would tell you, but you would not understand. Stip mall-loving suburbanites do not just get such things.

(I am joking)

[rinkrat19]

They never leave their neighborhood (because it's sooooooooooo cooooool) and I go all over. How is that not experiencing more of the city?

I would tell you, but you would not understand. Stip mall-loving suburbanites do not just get such things.

(I am joking)

Oh, well done.

[onionz]

Long time TLS lurker. Currently live in Streeterville, fiance is at Feinberg and I went ED for NU for this cycle (hope to hear good news next week).

After you're taking out so much money for loans, "saving" (it's in quotes due to other costs associated with living further from school) an inconsequential few hundred dollars to live much further away seems like a bad calculus. Generally speaking, I think it's wise to optimize anything you buy/do for the 90% of important cases vs. the 10% feature items. If school is what most of my life (and fiance's) encompasses, living closer to school makes much more sense than the one night a week where I am already committed to going out to a bar or other "locally-owned" places. It's like buying a phone that has a great camera even if you never take pictures...

Just my two cents. Other than that, props to mostly everything else everyone has said in this and the other NU threads, all been very helpful. Hope to join you guys next fall.

[Pokemon]

Long time TLS lurker. Currently live in Streeterville, fiance is at Feinberg and I went ED for NU for this cycle (hope to hear good news next week).

After you're taking out so much money for loans, "saving" (it's in quotes due to other costs associated with living further from school) an inconsequential few hundred dollars to live much further away seems like a bad calculus. Generally speaking, I think it's wise to optimize anything you buy/do for the 90% of important cases vs. the 10% feature items. If school is what most of my life (and fiance's) encompasses, living closer to school makes much more sense than the one night a week where I am already committed to going out to a bar or other "locally-owned" places. It's like buying a phone that has a great camera even if you never take pictures...

Just my two cents. Other than that, props to mostly everything else everyone has said in this and the other NU threads, all been very helpful. Hope to join you guys next fall.

I pay $700... and live in a great neighborhood. I imagine people in Streeterville pay what, $1200. I save $6000 a year in that case. It becomes 19,000 in three years if you count interest. It takes me 10 minutes to get to school during rush hour (that is when the super-express bus comes), and 15-20 minutes when it is not rush hour. I think it is worth it...
I quickly looked on Listserv, and McClurg charges 1500. In that case I save close to 10000$ a year.

[franklyscarlet]

I'm a big fan of the "streeterville 1L, other neighborhood 2L/3L" model. I'm not a huge fan of streeterville as a neighborhood. I'd love to live in wicker park (tells you something about me ) but the commute is too much. I'm thinking lakeview next year. However, streeterville has eliminated a lot of stress for me 1L year, because I don't have to worry about things like "I forgot my laptop charger/glasses/lunch/sanity and can't go home for it because I live 20 minutes away." 1L is already stressful enough and it was a big help.

[onionz]

Long time TLS lurker. Currently live in Streeterville, fiance is at Feinberg and I went ED for NU for this cycle (hope to hear good news next week).

After you're taking out so much money for loans, "saving" (it's in quotes due to other costs associated with living further from school) an inconsequential few hundred dollars to live much further away seems like a bad calculus. Generally speaking, I think it's wise to optimize anything you buy/do for the 90% of important cases vs. the 10% feature items. If school is what most of my life (and fiance's) encompasses, living closer to school makes much more sense than the one night a week where I am already committed to going out to a bar or other "locally-owned" places. It's like buying a phone that has a great camera even if you never take pictures...

Just my two cents. Other than that, props to mostly everything else everyone has said in this and the other NU threads, all been very helpful. Hope to join you guys next fall.

I pay $700... and live in a great neighborhood. I imagine people in Streeterville pay what, $1200. I save $6000 a year in that case. It becomes 19,000 in three years if you count interest. It takes me 10 minutes to get to school during rush hour (that is when the super-express bus comes), and 15-20 minutes when it is not rush hour. I think it is worth it...
I quickly looked on Listserv, and McClurg charges 1500. In that case I save close to 10000$ a year.

What do you have, a large 1br or a studio? I have a distinct advantage of living w/ my fiance, so $1600 2 ways 800/month for 800sq. feet, with some utilities covered, plus some nice amenities (pool, full-sized gym, community grills). And even if it is a few hundred, being able to see the medical school/law school from our apt is really convenient. Some friends of ours who live further have to deal with bad weather, traffic delays etc that suddenly make a 10 min commute an hour. Express buses aren't immune to such things.

[rinkrat19]

Were we supposed to actually enroll in the classes we won during bidding at some point?

[09042014]

Were we supposed to actually enroll in the classes we won during bidding at some point?

Nah its automatic.

[ksllaw]

So I got a question on the contents of the interview, and I thought I'd put it here so everyone could see.

The interview is a very straightforward process where you come in and discuss your resume and the school for about half an hour (give or take --- some of my friends had interviews lasting up to 45 minutes). In the waiting room, they have you fill out a little slip with your LSAT and GPA on it. The interviewer starts by looking at that, and then your resume (which you're supposed to bring a copy of). To paraphrase my interview:

adcom: My god your GPA sucks, wtf? (that's what her eyes said --- her mouth was more diplomatic).
me: Yeah I was a slacker in undergrad, but I work really hard at my job.

Hi Rayiner,

I'm just now seeing these older posts and came across one that I had a question about.

For your interview above, did you really suggest that you were a slacker in undergrad, lol?

[09042014]

So I got a question on the contents of the interview, and I thought I'd put it here so everyone could see.

The interview is a very straightforward process where you come in and discuss your resume and the school for about half an hour (give or take --- some of my friends had interviews lasting up to 45 minutes). In the waiting room, they have you fill out a little slip with your LSAT and GPA on it. The interviewer starts by looking at that, and then your resume (which you're supposed to bring a copy of). To paraphrase my interview:

adcom: My god your GPA sucks, wtf? (that's what her eyes said --- her mouth was more diplomatic).
me: Yeah I was a slacker in undergrad, but I work really hard at my job.

Hi Rayiner,

I'm just now seeing these older posts and came across one that I had a question about.

For your interview above, did you really suggest that you were a slacker in undergrad, lol?

What else are you going to do? "I had a mental disability that ended after college?"

[bk1]

Hi Rayiner,

I'm just now seeing these older posts and came across one that I had a question about.

For your interview above, did you really suggest that you were a slacker in undergrad, lol?

What else are you going to do? "I had a mental disability that ended after college?"

Agreed. You pretty much have to meet this type of question head on and attempt to alleviate it by proving you've changed. If you try to bs it, people will see through your bs.

[Icculus]

Hi Rayiner,

I'm just now seeing these older posts and came across one that I had a question about.

For your interview above, did you really suggest that you were a slacker in undergrad, lol?

What else are you going to do? "I had a mental disability that ended after college?"

Agreed. You pretty much have to meet this type of question head on and attempt to alleviate it by proving you've changed. If you try to bs it, people will see through your bs.

Yup, just own that shit. NU has enough sub 3.0s that people realize past performance (good or bad) is not indicative of future performance. Serves absolutely no purpose to try and make excuses.

[ksllaw]

How would one go about scripting that type of response? Curious about what the best wording may be?

[bjsesq]

How would one go about scripting that type of response? Curious about what the best wording may be?

Long story short, something along the lines of: look, i fucked up. But I'm in a different place now. I've grown, and I have x, y, and z to prove it. Give me a chance, and you won't regret it.

[IAFG]

So I got a question on the contents of the interview, and I thought I'd put it here so everyone could see.

The interview is a very straightforward process where you come in and discuss your resume and the school for about half an hour (give or take --- some of my friends had interviews lasting up to 45 minutes). In the waiting room, they have you fill out a little slip with your LSAT and GPA on it. The interviewer starts by looking at that, and then your resume (which you're supposed to bring a copy of). To paraphrase my interview:

adcom: My god your GPA sucks, wtf? (that's what her eyes said --- her mouth was more diplomatic).
me: Yeah I was a slacker in undergrad, but I work really hard at my job.

Hi Rayiner,

I'm just now seeing these older posts and came across one that I had a question about.

For your interview above, did you really suggest that you were a slacker in undergrad, lol?

What else are you going to do? "I had a mental disability that ended after college?"

I lol'd.

[Blumpbeef]

How would one go about scripting that type of response? Curious about what the best wording may be?

How bad is your GPA? Mine was pretty bad and the question never even came up.

[blurbz]

Have any of you had Bilz for evidence? She's teaching at Illinois now and I'd love an outline...will pay in various favors.

[bjsesq]

Have any of you had Bilz for evidence? She's teaching at Illinois now and I'd love an outline...will pay in various favors.

Sorry, man. Had Allen.

[fruitoftheloom]

It seems like the new dean is placing less emphasis on work experience. Has this affected the make-up of the 1L class? How do current students feel about that?

As a prospective student, I think it's one of the big things that makes NU unique.

[franklyscarlet]

It seems like the new dean is placing less emphasis on work experience. Has this affected the make-up of the 1L class? How do current students feel about that?

As a prospective student, I think it's one of the big things that makes NU unique.

There hasn't really been enough time to assess this, since it's his first year. Our class has a slightly lower percentage, but I think it's 94% or something instead of 98%. I don't know many people who are straight out of undergrad.

[09042014]

It seems like the new dean is placing less emphasis on work experience. Has this affected the make-up of the 1L class? How do current students feel about that?

As a prospective student, I think it's one of the big things that makes NU unique.

There hasn't really been enough time to assess this, since it's his first year. Our class has a slightly lower percentage, but I think it's 94% or something instead of 98%. I don't know many people who are straight out of undergrad.

And that could easily just be them trying to hit their medians.

[Blumpbeef]

pretty sure the dean at the town hall said it was down to 90%, and he hinted that it was all about maintaining dat LSAT.