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

[bk1]

What's the deal with this "Student Space" company that admissions keeps pushing on the admitted students? Is it good? Bad?

http://www.student-space.com/school/nor ... ool-of-law

It's an apartment finding service. Like all such companies in Chicago its free for the apartment finder. They seemed okay enough to me, but their focus tends to be apartments that are very close to the school. You can try them and still use other apartment finding services if you like.

[lawschool22]

What's the deal with this "Student Space" company that admissions keeps pushing on the admitted students? Is it good? Bad?

http://www.student-space.com/school/nor ... ool-of-law

It's an apartment finding service. Like all such companies in Chicago its free for the apartment finder. They seemed okay enough to me, but their focus tends to be apartments that are very close to the school. You can try them and still use other apartment finding services if you like.

What's the catch? How do they get paid?

[09042014]

TBF I do know that JLSP, JTIP and JIHR are glorified blogs.

[Blumpbeef]

They take first months rent I think from the building.

You can email with McClurg yourself, or get a broker somewhere else, or craigslist.

[09042014]

What's the deal with this "Student Space" company that admissions keeps pushing on the admitted students? Is it good? Bad?

http://www.student-space.com/school/nor ... ool-of-law

It's an apartment finding service. Like all such companies in Chicago its free for the apartment finder. They seemed okay enough to me, but their focus tends to be apartments that are very close to the school. You can try them and still use other apartment finding services if you like.

What's the catch? How do they get paid?

Landlords pay them a month of rent. If you are just looking at Streeterville you are better off approaching the apartments yourself since they'll often give you a move in special that for a month or two free. They do that because they don't have to pay an agent.

[bk1]

I'm skeptical that most NU alums differentiate between journals. As a soon to be NU alum I sure as shit don't know the differences between them.

Realistically, being on the same journal as your interviewer can help but so can anything else that creates a connection to your interviewer and you can't know in advance what journal, if any, your interviewers will have been on so it's not like this should impact your journal preference. Being on a journal that relates to the practice area you are trying to pitch during OCI can also be helpful but I doubt that makes a huge difference, especially since outside of JTIP it's not like any of the journals are all that specialized towards the practice areas of biglaw firms.

[lawschool22]

What's the deal with this "Student Space" company that admissions keeps pushing on the admitted students? Is it good? Bad?

http://www.student-space.com/school/nor ... ool-of-law

It's an apartment finding service. Like all such companies in Chicago its free for the apartment finder. They seemed okay enough to me, but their focus tends to be apartments that are very close to the school. You can try them and still use other apartment finding services if you like.

What's the catch? How do they get paid?

Landlords pay them a month of rent. If you are just looking at Streeterville you are better off approaching the apartments yourself since they'll often give you a move in special that for a month or two free. They do that because they don't have to pay an agent.

Makes sense. Thanks for the tip. Along those same lines, what area would you say represents the best mix of decent proximity to the school, reasonable prices, things to do around the area, and decent amount of NU students? I'm sure there is no area that has all of this, but if you could let me know which comes closest that would be great.

[homestyle28]

TBF I do know that JLSP, JTIP and JIHR are glorified blogs.

[09042014]

What's the catch? How do they get paid?

Landlords pay them a month of rent. If you are just looking at Streeterville you are better off approaching the apartments yourself since they'll often give you a move in special that for a month or two free. They do that because they don't have to pay an agent.

Makes sense. Thanks for the tip. Along those same lines, what area would you say represents the best mix of decent proximity to the school, reasonable prices, things to do around the area, and decent amount of NU students? I'm sure there is no area that has all of this, but if you could let me know which comes closest that would be great.

The only area that has a decent amount of students is Streeterville. The rest are scattered.

Personally I'd think about doing Lincoln Park or Lakeview near the lake so that you can hop on an express bus but also have the red line as backup. The commute won't be that bad, you'd be near a ton of things to do, it's cheaper but not cheap.

[lawschool22]

Personally I'd think about doing Lincoln Park or Lakeview near the lake so that you can hop on an express bus but also have the red line as backup. The commute won't be that bad, you'd be near a ton of things to do, it's cheaper but not cheap.

Thanks, I appreciate the help. I'll look into those areas.

[d cooper]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

[rayiner]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

Start here: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 5#p7597127.

To summarize from that thread, the number of people doing clerkships at graduation does not correlate strictly with class rank. My year, 4 of 14 people who graduated magna clerked within two years out, and only 3 of those clerked at graduation. I'd say that vast majority of the folks who clerked at graduation were within the top 20-25%.

Top 1/3 is probably on the outer edge, but my friend who was at median at graduation and didn't apply that broadly still got one interview.

[splitsplat]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

top third is roughly 3.5ish and according the to clerkship handbook the adviser here compiled, the suggested minimum to get a look from a circuit court is 3.7
fed district courts in competitive areas (dc ny ca) are going to be just as difficult.

to be in serious contention for a federal clerkship, in a non-idaho kinda place, you will need much better than top third.

that being said, the chart did show a couple people with 3.5s getting offers from some coa (i assume they cured cancer)

[rayiner]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

top third is roughly 3.5ish and according the to clerkship handbook the adviser here compiled, the suggested minimum to get a look from a circuit court is 3.7
fed district courts in competitive areas (dc ny ca) are going to be just as difficult.

to be in serious contention for a federal clerkship, in a non-idaho kinda place, you will need much better than top third.

that being said, the chart did show a couple people with 3.5s getting offers from some coa (i assume they cured cancer)

I'd love for you to PM me that chart. Obviously COA and district courts in big cities are much harder than district courts in other places. But if you just want to clerk for the experience, a district court in Boise is just as good as NDIL.

[rayiner]

If you find yourself top 1/3 after 2.5L and really want to clerk, gun the rest of LS, spend a year at a firm, then do an alumni clerkship. Lots of district court judges are favoring alumni now.

[Micdiddy]

If you find yourself top 1/3 after 2.5L and really want to clerk, gun the rest of LS, spend a year at a firm, then do an alumni clerkship. Lots of district court judges are favoring alumni now.

The clerkship advisor also mentioned this. She said it was polite way to leave a firm you hate after one year and find a new one by the end of the clerkship.

[Flips88]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

top third is roughly 3.5ish and according the to clerkship handbook the adviser here compiled, the suggested minimum to get a look from a circuit court is 3.7
fed district courts in competitive areas (dc ny ca) are going to be just as difficult.

to be in serious contention for a federal clerkship, in a non-idaho kinda place, you will need much better than top third.

that being said, the chart did show a couple people with 3.5s getting offers from some coa (i assume they cured cancer)

That 3.7 is for 2L grades though. By the time of graduation, 50% of the class has a 3.65+. I wonder what if judges look at things differently for alumni.

[09042014]

This is probably a stupid question, but how competitive are federal clerkships? Historically, only 6-8% of the class gets these positions, but how strictly does that correlate with class rank? Are you completely out of the running if you're (only) top 1/3rd?

top third is roughly 3.5ish and according the to clerkship handbook the adviser here compiled, the suggested minimum to get a look from a circuit court is 3.7
fed district courts in competitive areas (dc ny ca) are going to be just as difficult.

to be in serious contention for a federal clerkship, in a non-idaho kinda place, you will need much better than top third.

that being said, the chart did show a couple people with 3.5s getting offers from some coa (i assume they cured cancer)

That 3.7 is for 2L grades though. By the time of graduation, 50% of the class has a 3.65+. I wonder what if judges look at things differently for alumni.

How would they know.

[bk1]

How would they know.

Anecdote: I know at least one judge has seen so many 4.0+ GPAs from NU over the years (relative to other schools) that the judge essentially doesn't know what the class rankings actually are and just plays it safe by only taking very high (4.0+) GPAs.

My suspicion is that judges who don't see a lot of NU applicants essentially fly by the seat of their pants w/r/t GPAs and class rank approximation.

[rayiner]

How would they know.

Anecdote: I know at least one judge has seen so many 4.0+ GPAs from NU over the years (relative to other schools) that the judge essentially doesn't know what the class rankings actually are and just plays it safe by only taking very high (4.0+) GPAs.

My suspicion is that judges who don't see a lot of NU applicants essentially fly by the seat of their pants w/r/t GPAs and class rank approximation.

At least for alumni applications, coif serves as a pretty useful frame of reference between schools.

[kcdc1]

I am considering living in mcclurg court on the 40th floor but am worried about the construction noise from across the street where northwestern is building a hospital. Can anyone who lives there comment on the level of construction noise and wheher that has been a problem for studying?

[rinkrat19]

I am considering living in mcclurg court on the 40th floor but am worried about the construction noise from across the street where northwestern is building a hospital. Can anyone who lives there comment on the level of construction noise and wheher that has been a problem for studying?

Depends on which side of the building, probably.

I live in tower A, on the side facing the lake, toward the south end of a high floor (further away from the construction), and while I can hear the construction, it's only at a minimal level that I would think would only disturb the most sensitive. The Ontario St. side of tower B is going to be much, much louder.

OTOH, you can do a lot of your studying at school, the construction stops at a decent hour, and they don't work on weekends. So you could pretty easily minimize the time you'll actually be trying to study in the apartment during construction hours.

[bk1]

I am considering living in mcclurg court on the 40th floor but am worried about the construction noise from across the street where northwestern is building a hospital. Can anyone who lives there comment on the level of construction noise and wheher that has been a problem for studying?

Depends on which side of the building, probably.

I live in tower A, on the side facing the lake, toward the south end of a high floor (further away from the construction), and while I can hear the construction, it's only at a minimal level that I would think would only disturb the most sensitive. The Ontario St. side of tower B is going to be much, much louder.

OTOH, you can do a lot of your studying at school, the construction stops at a decent hour, and they don't work on weekends. So you could pretty easily minimize the time you'll actually be trying to study in the apartment during construction hours.

I live in B, close to the 40th floor and it isn't that bad. Though you do notice giant cranes moving in front of your window.

[kcdc1]

Thanks. Our other top choice is Columbus plaza. How is the neighborhood (groceries, shopping, restaurants)around there?

[splitsplat]

I am considering living in mcclurg court on the 40th floor but am worried about the construction noise from across the street where northwestern is building a hospital. Can anyone who lives there comment on the level of construction noise and wheher that has been a problem for studying?

Depends on which side of the building, probably.

I live in tower A, on the side facing the lake, toward the south end of a high floor (further away from the construction), and while I can hear the construction, it's only at a minimal level that I would think would only disturb the most sensitive. The Ontario St. side of tower B is going to be much, much louder.

OTOH, you can do a lot of your studying at school, the construction stops at a decent hour, and they don't work on weekends. So you could pretty easily minimize the time you'll actually be trying to study in the apartment during construction hours.

I'm in B tower, they usually don't work on Sundays, but they do on Saturday. Additionally, work usually starts early, like 8AM. In terms of studying, if you usually don't have any music going on and like to study in silence, it is going to be annoying. I usually have music or headphones in, so it doesn't bother me at all.