NU Apps '11-'12 - Good Luck Hold Candidates!!!! <3 Forum

[rinkrat19]

^ credited. Also, keep in mind that TLSers probably skew a little bit higher in grades. Hopefully, that is not just hubris talking, but the people who are spending time here are TLS are presumably a lot more prepared than others. There is a certain percentage of people that will be there who won't work hard, or who won't be well prepared or whatever. I think it seems daunting because everyone on here is presumably well primed for success.

That said, we all should work really hard and not take anything for granted. But I doubt any of us will end up screwed when the dust settles.

I mean, if you look at the fact that the LSAT mean for TLSers is probably somewhere in the upper 160s, it makes sense to assume that the group is probably, on average, higher than median. I'm not assuming that the correlation between LSAT score and first year gpa is the reason, just that, as you say, TLSers are probably more prepared/serious than others


I think the vast majority of my fear comes from be worried that I don't stack up to you guys intellectually

A lot of my fear comes from knowing A)how long I've been out of schoos and B)how not well-rounded that education was. A combination of AP credit and an engineering major means I took a grand total of one macroeconomics class and one 100-level comparative religions class after the age of 17. No government, no history, no literature, no philosophy, nothing. I took some extra writing classes, so I feel relatively okay there, but I definitely feel like I lack the base that a lot of you guys have.

But if wastewater treatment or electrical distribution systems ever come up in law school, I'll wipe the floor with y'all.

[Samara]

But if wastewater treatment or electrical distribution systems ever come up in law school, I'll wipe the floor with y'all.

Luckily for you, Northwestern has the #2 ranked wastewater law program in the nation.

[Flips88]

Just to assuage any fear you guys had, I'll just tell you that I had some of the very same fears that you all did. I somehow miraculously got in here as a non-URM with a sub 25th percentile LSAT and less than a year of work experience. All I had going for me was a good GPA. I got held, I interviewed and wrote some essay, and somehow I got in.

For a good while, I was terrified like you guys about being able to compete with these people that went to Ivy UGs and had 175 LSATs and stuff. I got here and pretty much everyone I was met was extremely intelligent. Everyone worked hard. So I worked my hardest, studied my ass off with a group of friends, and in the end everything turned out fine. You just have to be confident in yourself. They wouldn't admit you if they didn't think you could perform. Do the work, study hard, take a shit load of practice exams, and everything should be fine.

And for any of you that come here, if you have any of my profs, feel free to hit me up for outlines/practice exams/exam taking advice. But that's a long way off so enjoy whatever you're doing before then.

[crumpetsandtea]

I think the vast majority of my fear comes from be worried that I don't stack up to you guys intellectually AND I'm a lazy fuck.

FTFM.

[bdubs]

A lot of my fear comes from knowing A)how long I've been out of schoos and B)how not well-rounded that education was. A combination of AP credit and an engineering major means I took a grand total of one macroeconomics class and one 100-level comparative religions class after the age of 17. No government, no history, no literature, no philosophy, nothing. I took some extra writing classes, so I feel relatively okay there, but I definitely feel like I lack the base that a lot of you guys have.

But if wastewater treatment or electrical distribution systems ever come up in law school, I'll wipe the floor with y'all.

Not going to lie and say that a solid understanding of basic economics (micro econ) isn't valuable, it definitely is. This is usually pretty easy for engineers though. The rest is not something to be concerned about. I would say that the people who have been out longer tend to do a little bit better, but not noticeably so. You should be on pretty even footing with most people.

[thisisme]

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[DaftAndDirect]

Note: below is also posted in the NU Class of 2015 thread

For those that haven't seen it I thought I'd post links to the exchange between Prof McGinnis of NU law and Dean Rodriguez. Prof McGinnis coauthored an article in the WSJ basically arguing for doing away with law school and making it an undergrad degree:

WSJ article: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... hare_email (may be behind a subscriber firewall)

Dean Rodriguez responds on his blog: http://deansblog.law.northwestern.edu/2 ... s-a-reply/

Prof McGinnis responds on Dean Rodriguez's blog: http://deansblog.law.northwestern.edu/2 ... -response/

Content aside, I think it is great they are openly debating legal education with an eye to improving it.

Dug this. Currently working in London now and got in to a massive argument with this snarky Barclay's banker about his friends that were already full-fledged lawyers at 21. Happy to see the European model debated by these NU faculty members (but mostly happy to have them help validate my decision to shell out loads of cash for T14 at sticker)

America. F*ck yeah.

[emkay625]

^ credited. Also, keep in mind that TLSers probably skew a little bit higher in grades. Hopefully, that is not just hubris talking, but the people who are spending time here are TLS are presumably a lot more prepared than others. There is a certain percentage of people that will be there who won't work hard, or who won't be well prepared or whatever. I think it seems daunting because everyone on here is presumably well primed for success.

That said, we all should work really hard and not take anything for granted. But I doubt any of us will end up screwed when the dust settles.

What is this prepared you speak of and how do I become it? (Seriously.)

[emkay625]

^ credited. Also, keep in mind that TLSers probably skew a little bit higher in grades. Hopefully, that is not just hubris talking, but the people who are spending time here are TLS are presumably a lot more prepared than others. There is a certain percentage of people that will be there who won't work hard, or who won't be well prepared or whatever. I think it seems daunting because everyone on here is presumably well primed for success.

That said, we all should work really hard and not take anything for granted. But I doubt any of us will end up screwed when the dust settles.

I mean, if you look at the fact that the LSAT mean for TLSers is probably somewhere in the upper 160s, it makes sense to assume that the group is probably, on average, higher than median. I'm not assuming that the correlation between LSAT score and first year gpa is the reason, just that, as you say, TLSers are probably more prepared/serious than others


I think the vast majority of my fear comes from be worried that I don't stack up to you guys intellectually

This is me.

I read young adult novels, watch a lot of bad television, and have spent the last 2 years solving the same simple Algebra 1 problems every day. I am, from an intellectual standpoint, not prepared. As far as the LSAT, I just happen to be very good at multiple choice exams. I suck at essay exams and I'm a slow typist. I feel like I'm screwed.

[crumpetsandtea]

I read young adult novels, watch a lot of bad television, and have spent the last 2 years solving the same simple Algebra 1 problems every day. I am, from an intellectual standpoint, not prepared. As far as the LSAT, I just happen to be very good at multiple choice exams. I suck at essay exams and I'm a slow typist. I feel like I'm screwed.

I mean, if you think reading YA novels and watching bad television has any real bearing on your intelligence or your ability to do well in law school...

Seriously though, sometimes smart people enjoy things that aren't ~~~uberintellectual~~~, like watching bad tv. Just look at all the smart people on TLS who post in threads about YA novels (The Hunger Games), bad TV (reality TV shows like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives). Many intelligent LS students have spent years doing nothing but answering phones, shuffling papers, and bitch work. Other intelligent LS students have done nothing but spend 4 years writing bullshit papers, partying, and cramming. That doesn't mean that those people will do worse than the people who only watch documentaries and read intelligent non-fiction or russian literature. You seem like you're having a panic attack over the fact that you're a real person and have guilty pleasures and flaws.

Moral of the story: doing well in law school isn't about how intelligent-sounding your hobbies are. Relax, don't work yourself up over nothing!

[Tiago Splitter]

Many intelligent LS students have spent years doing nothing but answering phones, shuffling papers, and bitch work.

+1. Don't forget that people with really great jobs tend not to quit those jobs for law school. There will be a huge range of work experience, majors, and interests at any law school. You shouldn't worry about your background or interests preventing you from doing well.

[crumpetsandtea]

Many intelligent LS students have spent years doing nothing but answering phones, shuffling papers, and bitch work.

+1. Don't forget that people with really great jobs tend not to quit those jobs for law school. There will be a huge range of work experience, majors, and interests at any law school. You shouldn't worry about your background or interests preventing you from doing well.

Exactly. Plus, with the exception of maybe paralegals and gunners who read E&Es during 0L summer, we all enter law school with little to no knowledge of the material we're about to learn. In a way, everyone is on an even playing field. It's true that some people are just bad at taking LS exams and some are just good, but worrying about whether you're the former or the latter is useless.

If you're worried about your typing skills, go on typeracer and practice! That's something you have 100% control over, and that you can improve on if you want to.

[cactuarX3]

^ credited. Also, keep in mind that TLSers probably skew a little bit higher in grades. Hopefully, that is not just hubris talking, but the people who are spending time here are TLS are presumably a lot more prepared than others. There is a certain percentage of people that will be there who won't work hard, or who won't be well prepared or whatever. I think it seems daunting because everyone on here is presumably well primed for success.

That said, we all should work really hard and not take anything for granted. But I doubt any of us will end up screwed when the dust settles.

I mean, if you look at the fact that the LSAT mean for TLSers is probably somewhere in the upper 160s, it makes sense to assume that the group is probably, on average, higher than median. I'm not assuming that the correlation between LSAT score and first year gpa is the reason, just that, as you say, TLSers are probably more prepared/serious than others


I think the vast majority of my fear comes from be worried that I don't stack up to you guys intellectually

This is me.

I read young adult novels, watch a lot of bad television, and have spent the last 2 years solving the same simple Algebra 1 problems every day. I am, from an intellectual standpoint, not prepared. As far as the LSAT, I just happen to be very good at multiple choice exams. I suck at essay exams and I'm a slow typist. I feel like I'm screwed.

Mario Typing and Typing of the Dead FTW

[Samara]

This is me.

I read young adult novels, watch a lot of bad television, and have spent the last 2 years solving the same simple Algebra 1 problems every day. I am, from an intellectual standpoint, not prepared. As far as the LSAT, I just happen to be very good at multiple choice exams. I suck at essay exams and I'm a slow typist. I feel like I'm screwed.

If the bolded is what you're worried about, NU is the school for you. You'll be going to school with a bunch of splitters. Like me! And let me tell you, I watch plenty of bad TV. You read YA novels? I can't remember the last time I read something longer than a four-page article. (Not counting textbooks.) I spend most of my workday screwing around on the internet. I believe I will be successful because I finally found something academic to be passionate about; I will have a good idea (from TLS) how law school works and what to expect; and I will have a network of classmates to collaborate with. You don't have to be spending your free time devising chess strategies or solving Fermat's Last Theorem to be successful.

[Flips88]

Improving typing speed is about the only worthwhile thing to do in preparation. I was able to kick out about 2000/hr for tests and half the battle was getting comfortable writing. So work at typing faster then work on taking practice exams to work at digesting and kicking out concepts quickly. We took a couple ungraded midterms in class and I only wrote like 1100 words for an hour and a half Property midterm, but I kicked out like 5900 words for the 3 hour final. Practice helps a ton.

[mjd]

Complete 1/17.

[DaftAndDirect]

Improving typing speed is about the only worthwhile thing to do in preparation. I was able to kick out about 2000/hr for tests and half the battle was getting comfortable writing. So work at typing faster then work on taking practice exams to work at digesting and kicking out concepts quickly. We took a couple ungraded midterms in class and I only wrote like 1100 words for an hour and a half Property midterm, but I kicked out like 5900 words for the 3 hour final. Practice helps a ton.

Have you clocked your typing speed off a web site or anything? Uber-gunnerish question...just looking to see what's "fast enough"

[ricsllscir]

I read young adult novels, watch a lot of bad television, and have spent the last 2 years solving the same simple Algebra 1 problems every day. I am, from an intellectual standpoint, not prepared. As far as the LSAT, I just happen to be very good at multiple choice exams. I suck at essay exams and I'm a slow typist. I feel like I'm screwed.

I mean, if you think reading YA novels and watching bad television has any real bearing on your intelligence or your ability to do well in law school...

Seriously though, sometimes smart people enjoy things that aren't ~~~uberintellectual~~~, like watching bad tv. Just look at all the smart people on TLS who post in threads about YA novels (The Hunger Games), bad TV (reality TV shows like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives). Many intelligent LS students have spent years doing nothing but answering phones, shuffling papers, and bitch work. Other intelligent LS students have done nothing but spend 4 years writing bullshit papers, partying, and cramming. That doesn't mean that those people will do worse than the people who only watch documentaries and read intelligent non-fiction or russian literature. You seem like you're having a panic attack over the fact that you're a real person and have guilty pleasures and flaws.

Moral of the story: doing well in law school isn't about how intelligent-sounding your hobbies are. Relax, don't work yourself up over nothing!

My top-law-schools.com had better include hunger games and the kardhashians...just sayin'

[franklyscarlet]

Bumping this with the sincere hope our favorite dean will bring news today!

[Flips88]

Improving typing speed is about the only worthwhile thing to do in preparation. I was able to kick out about 2000/hr for tests and half the battle was getting comfortable writing. So work at typing faster then work on taking practice exams to work at digesting and kicking out concepts quickly. We took a couple ungraded midterms in class and I only wrote like 1100 words for an hour and a half Property midterm, but I kicked out like 5900 words for the 3 hour final. Practice helps a ton.

Have you clocked your typing speed off a web site or anything? Uber-gunnerish question...just looking to see what's "fast enough"

I'm sure when i'm really goin I'm over 100 wpm, but i'm no always going at that pace. But if you're looking to put out 2000/hr that only means 33 wpm or if you say that for every hour you spend 40 minutes typing and 20 minutes thinking then you just need 50 wpm.

Half the battle is getting comfortable writing and knowing how you will organize your answers.

[franklyscarlet]

come onnnnnnn, Johann. I want to get in on discussions with people who are actually in.

[Samara]

come onnnnnnn, Johann. I want Scarlet to get in on discussions with people who are actually in.

FTFM

[DaftAndDirect]

come onnnnnnn, Johann. I want to get in on discussions with people who are actually in.

Here here. I sometimes worry my stalking of this thread is jinxing my chances.

But I can't...stay...away...

[crumpetsandtea]

come onnnnnnn, Johann. I want to get in on discussions with people who are actually in.

Here here. I sometimes worry my stalking of this thread is jinxing my chances.

But I can't...stay...away...

If it helps your anxiety, thread stalking didn't jinx many of the posters here! <3

[DaftAndDirect]

Improving typing speed is about the only worthwhile thing to do in preparation. I was able to kick out about 2000/hr for tests and half the battle was getting comfortable writing. So work at typing faster then work on taking practice exams to work at digesting and kicking out concepts quickly. We took a couple ungraded midterms in class and I only wrote like 1100 words for an hour and a half Property midterm, but I kicked out like 5900 words for the 3 hour final. Practice helps a ton.

Have you clocked your typing speed off a web site or anything? Uber-gunnerish question...just looking to see what's "fast enough"

I'm sure when i'm really goin I'm over 100 wpm, but i'm no always going at that pace. But if you're looking to put out 2000/hr that only means 33 wpm or if you say that for every hour you spend 40 minutes typing and 20 minutes thinking then you just need 50 wpm.

Half the battle is getting comfortable writing and knowing how you will organize your answers.

BTW what is your tar? He looks like a young bearded, non-dead version of Goose from Topgun...but the recent-photo-ness makes me think otherwise.

If the picture is actually a picture of you, can we be friends?