NYU Law Class of 2019 Forum

[wilfred]

Hey folks, 2L RTK here. Caught a few minute breather so I figured I'd respond to a few PMs I received asking me to give some insight on the RTK interview process.

*Disclaimer: YMMV, this is based on my experience, what I've heard from others, and my 1.5 cycles of being Sel Comm. Also, this advice SHOULD NOT be relied upon for the Latino Human Rights Scholarship, IILJ, Furman Public Policy, Furman Academic, or any other NYU Law interview.*

The applications are read twice, sometimes three times (tie breaks) before invitations are made. This means we already have a very robust knowledge of your written materials (scores, grades, statements, CV, etc.). At this point, if you HAVE an invitation, we already think you can be in this program based purely on what you submitted. Think of this as being similar to a team's scouts saying a certain player has the right athleticism and stats to be drafted.

The interview, to continue that analogy, is basically a 'tryout' to see if you are a good fit for the Major League. The interview is about how we feel about you, the subjective X-Factor, how your passion is vocalized from your statement to your personal words and demeanour. The interview is so crucial, because each RTK class is hand picked by the previous classes and the administrations public interest officials, as well as RTK affiliates (alum, donors, judges). We know what you love, and why, we want to know HOW you think, how you work through issues you faced, what your view of your role and the community you wish to serve. We also want to pick your brain about how you see yourself and your role changing in light of how your community or your stated interest is changing--for example, we want to know what you might feel about movement building and grassroots change if you say you're into criminal justice reform. We may want to know what you think of international treaties if you say you're into environmental law, etc.

The interview consists of alum, current 3Ls (very rarely 2Ls), judges, professors. It is a panel of 6, roundtable style.

Tips

- Think of it like a board room meeting. You're the CEO, and your most trusted advisors and investors and shareholder reps and union reps have come here to hear your proposal on a massive 3 year, 200K budget project. You aren't being grilled---they genuinely want you to succeed but they are curious to understand your project, how you came to that idea, how you see it growing, and what plans you have to keep it going.
- Aim to converse, not to inform.
- KNOW your panelists. You get their names and backgrounds but do more research. I looked for videos of each of my panelists to see how they speak, what they sound like, the tone of their voice, their facial expressions. Sounds intense, yes. The reason why I did that is so that I could understand what it would feel like to be in conversation with them, so I would have less of a chance of being thrown off by some quirk (e.g. some people frown when they are really into what you're saying--if you didn't know that about them, it might make you think they disagree when in fact they are engrossed in your story!). Don't 'know' your panelists so you can feed them what they already believe. We're way too experienced to be tricked by that.
- If you only have one good story to tell, then tell that story. Don't try to focus on something that isn't core to your being.
- Be anecdotal. Use questions to tell stories or anecdotes from your life. I used one question to relate to a lecture we just heard at ASW, and then connected it to an experience I had in India working with an NGO.
- Finally, remember that everyone here respects you. What they want, is to feel connected to you, and to feel that your colleagues in the program will also connect with you. People are respected because they have good ideas. People feel connected to others because they feel that they can generate ideas with them. That's the distinction we look for.

Alright, this is about the most incredibly helpful thing I've seen on this topic to date. One quick question: I haven't yet heard back regarding whether I'll receive an interview or get dinged for RTK, though I also haven't been admitted or dinged in general. Is the fact that I haven't yet heard back regarding admission in general going to prevent my application from being read by the RTK committee? Thanks for your help!

[rska884]

for those going to asw this weekend: i want to wear purple clothes (shirt, sock, etc.) but i heard in new york that's a big no-no. i definitely do not want to make bad impressions b/c of fashion. thoughts?

...what? Where in the world did you hear that New York is against purple clothes?

[Tempo]

Does anyone have any experience negotiating scholarship money with NYU? How far down the T14 do you think they would be willing to negotiate with in terms of scholarship money? NYU is definitely one of my top choices, but the scholarship I received was not as much as I had hoped.

Thank you!

I read through a couple previous years threads and while NYU WILL negotiate, I would not necessarily get your hopes up, and here's why: There are accounts of NYU refusing to give ANY aid to someone that had a Dillard at UVA and 100k at Cornell. Previous threads seemed to have to come to the conclusion that while NYU is willing to negotiate and raise their initial offer for what they consider peer schools, they have a.... fairly narrow definition for what they consider a peer school. I know they refused to match Chicago for one person, but they did raise their offer. Some people had their offered raised by only 12k.

Of course, this is all anecdotal from past years so make your own judgement call. There are also accounts of people being aggressive with negotiating and coming out with a generous offer from NYU. I definitely think you should still try to negotiate. The worst they can say is no, right? Hope this helps! Also would love to hear anyone else's opinions on this.

Wow, they gave me absolutely no money and this does not give me hope. I'm guessing money from USC will mean nothing to them.

[mosesboeba]

for those going to asw this weekend: i want to wear purple clothes (shirt, sock, etc.) but i heard in new york that's a big no-no. i definitely do not want to make bad impressions b/c of fashion. thoughts?

...what? Where in the world did you hear that New York is against purple clothes?

a long-time friend told me, he heard it back when he was working as part of chitter-chatter. i think they got it from a magazine or tv?

[davey jones]

for those going to asw this weekend: i want to wear purple clothes (shirt, sock, etc.) but i heard in new york that's a big no-no. i definitely do not want to make bad impressions b/c of fashion. thoughts?

...what? Where in the world did you hear that New York is against purple clothes?

a long-time friend told me, he heard it back when he was working as part of chitter-chatter. i think they got it from a magazine or tv?

nah, you don't need to worry about this

[rska884]

for those going to asw this weekend: i want to wear purple clothes (shirt, sock, etc.) but i heard in new york that's a big no-no. i definitely do not want to make bad impressions b/c of fashion. thoughts?

...what? Where in the world did you hear that New York is against purple clothes?

a long-time friend told me, he heard it back when he was working as part of chitter-chatter. i think they got it from a magazine or tv?

Yeah I think you'll be OK. There are people dressed much more weirdly here than just wearing a purple shirt, and nobody looks twice at them either.

[SamuelDanforth]

--

[MouseRat]

ASPIRE interview invites have started! Just got one via email

[newrad]

I didn't apply for any named scholarships and I still haven't gotten anything. Anyone else in the same boat?

Yes

Well, hopefully this means that we're both so wonderful that they're busy discussing how large of an amount to give us.

I hope so... I'm above both 75ths so I'm expecting something.

Do they tell you if you get nothing, or is it radio silence?

[Lawcat11]

I didn't apply for any named scholarships and I still haven't gotten anything. Anyone else in the same boat?

Yes

Well, hopefully this means that we're both so wonderful that they're busy discussing how large of an amount to give us.

I hope so... I'm above both 75ths so I'm expecting something.

Do they tell you if you get nothing, or is it radio silence?

People on Monday said that they had been given all loans in their package, so they should tell us.

[papersnowaghost]

.

[ih8makingscreennames]

do you guys think it's bad that i haven't submitted my financial aid applications yet? i was admitted in early jan but my parents are finishing up their part of the need access this week and i'll probably submit it this weekend or early next week. also, do they begin to consider it as soon as the need access is in, or do they wait until both the need access and fafsa are? i'm not sure yet if i'm applying for loans so i don't know if i need the fafsa yet and don't want to waste the time on it if it's not necessary.

The FAFSA is cake by comparison. I filled it out in like 5 minutes.

[chickensoup1234]

I didn't apply for any named scholarships and I still haven't gotten anything. Anyone else in the same boat?

Yes

Well, hopefully this means that we're both so wonderful that they're busy discussing how large of an amount to give us.

I hope so... I'm above both 75ths so I'm expecting something.

Do they tell you if you get nothing, or is it radio silence?

People on Monday said that they had been given all loans in their package, so they should tell us.

Ahhh. I was in the first wave (didn't apply for any named scholarships) and haven't gotten financial aid info. I would, like .. have to withdraw it was all loans lol

[Lawcat11]

Ahhh. I was in the first wave (didn't apply for any named scholarships) and haven't gotten financial aid info. I would, like .. have to withdraw it was all loans lol

I was in the first wave too. I'm glad it's not just me! I hope they give me something or else I'm not sure I could justify the cost... I will think good thoughts for you!

[legally_brunette20]

Does anyone know (or want to speculate) if all the IILJ finalist notifications have gone out? I was really hoping to be considered, and have an application geared toward international law (and am above both 75ths), but I'm wondering if I should just lose hope at this point… :/

[chickensoup1234]

Does anyone know (or want to speculate) if all the IILJ finalist notifications have gone out? I was really hoping to be considered, and have an application geared toward international law (and am above both 75ths), but I'm wondering if I should just lose hope at this point… :/

I think I recall seeing someone mention that they got one... maybe in this thread back a few pages or the acceptances/waislists etc thread

[legally_brunette20]

Does anyone know (or want to speculate) if all the IILJ finalist notifications have gone out? I was really hoping to be considered, and have an application geared toward international law (and am above both 75ths), but I'm wondering if I should just lose hope at this point… :/

I think I recall seeing someone mention that they got one... maybe in this thread back a few pages or the acceptances/waislists etc thread

Yes I saw that, too. It looks like last year, however, notifications for many of the scholarships were on a rolling basis? Unsure if that's been the case this year.

[sanibella]

Anyone at ASD? Texasellewoods and I are here !

[crescentstars]

Anyone at ASD? Texasellewoods and I are here !

I was there! I was at bar review and will be back starting tomorrow morning...at 9am

[jtg21]

Anyone at ASD? Texasellewoods and I are here !

I was there! I was at bar review and will be back starting tomorrow morning...at 9am

We considered bar review, but I am glad I chose sleep instead. Maybe I will see you today!

[crescentstars]

Anyone at ASD? Texasellewoods and I are here !

I was there! I was at bar review and will be back starting tomorrow morning...at 9am

We considered bar review, but I am glad I chose sleep instead. Maybe I will see you today!

Ah good choice -- it was a lot of fun, but I feel like a zombie right now lol.

[yschaf]

Anyone else have their Jacobson today?

[sanibella]

Anyone at ASD? Texasellewoods and I are here !

I was there! I was at bar review and will be back starting tomorrow morning...at 9am

We considered bar review, but I am glad I chose sleep instead. Maybe I will see you today!

Ah good choice -- it was a lot of fun, but I feel like a zombie right now lol.

Oh, who were you!

[EnderWiggin]

RTK ding received via e-mail just now. Sad of course, but happy to finally get an answer after 4 months of silence!

[wunderwoman]

Just got the RTK ding as well.