Northwestern Law c/o 2017 Applicants (2013-2014 cycle) Forum

[The Dark Kite]

Anyone applying ED?

I did. So nervous. Don't have the best numbers, but everything else is superb!

Is there anything else? I know I hope so. I also applied ED and my numbers are pretty sub par. But my softs are pretty dece.

[dagny05]

Anyone applying ED?

I did. So nervous. Don't have the best numbers, but everything else is superb!

Is there anything else? I know I hope so. I also applied ED and my numbers are pretty sub par. But my softs are pretty dece.

I applied ED too -- my stats are a little above the 75th percentile. Can't wait for this application process to be over . . .

[midwest17]

Anyone applying ED?

I did. So nervous. Don't have the best numbers, but everything else is superb!

Is there anything else? I know I hope so. I also applied ED and my numbers are pretty sub par. But my softs are pretty dece.

Given NU's ED scholarship, they usually don't give it to anyone who's not above both medians. But you've got a shot at being rolled over into RD.

[monsterman]

Anyone applying ED?

I did. So nervous. Don't have the best numbers, but everything else is superb!

Is there anything else? I know I hope so. I also applied ED and my numbers are pretty sub par. But my softs are pretty dece.

Given NU's ED scholarship, they usually don't give it to anyone who's not above both medians. But you've got a shot at being rolled over into RD.

I figure I'll get lumped into this category. I'm above LSAT median, but below GPA median. I'm actively trying to lower my expectations so I don't get crushed. Hope to hear this week!

[Pishee77]

I just went on the interview link and I got an interviewer assigned! Woo! Any advice on how to address the email?/ I have been looking through the thread for some advice and I've noticed many say that it's important to have a lot of your own questions. I was wondering if anyone could shed more light on their interview experience for me and the questions they asked.

Please PM me! I would be forever grateful. This is my first interview of the cycle so I would appreciate any help!

[MrsHello]

Hello there!

I, too, am a 2013-2014 cycle applicant ... AJD applicant.

I initially got a fee waiver back in October and was supposed to expire on November 15, but when I tried it a day before it's supposed to expire, it didn't work ... good thing NU Law admissions peeps are soooo nice and helpful, they gave me a new one that was gonna expire on December 15 (but I submitted my application already on that day of November 14.. just to I can get the ball rolling). It took them around 4 weeks to assign me an off-campus interviewer but I checked this afternoon and I got one! Sent her an email (as I do want to get my stuff completed before the end of the year!) and hopefully she'll be available between now and December 31!

I just wrote the LSAT yesterday (hoping it's within the 161-170 median posted for AJD). I got a 3.27 (which is within their median of 3.07-3.80) in my GPA back in 2003 (has it really been a decade since I graduated with my BA?! )

I got 10 years of professional/work experience:
- Trademark/Copyright Researcher
- Soft IP (trademark/copyright) Analyst for a big media company here in NYC
- Got a Master's in Criminal Justice (2007)
- Finishing up an MBA
- Also, serves as a Team Leader for NY Cares

I really would love to be part of the NU law organization and I hope they'll be receptive to my application.

One thing though, I am married and planning to have a child within the next two years (I am not a young cat anymore!) and I was wondering what areas in Chicago that are within reasonable/convenient vicinity within NU law that is a good area for families. (I'm a native NY-er and will be selling our apartment early next year, God-willing!).

Your input is very much appreciated.

[californiauser]

I just went on the interview link and I got an interviewer assigned! Woo! Any advice on how to address the email?/ I have been looking through the thread for some advice and I've noticed many say that it's important to have a lot of your own questions. I was wondering if anyone could shed more light on their interview experience for me and the questions they asked.

Please PM me! I would be forever grateful. This is my first interview of the cycle so I would appreciate any help!

Hello Mr./Mrs. XXX, just use common sense. Your interviewer is a professional so don't use slang. The interview is pretty standard, expect "Why Northwestern?, Why law school?, Have you ever been to Chicago?," etc.

My interview was like 50% the interviewer trying to sell Northwestern to me, so have some answers prepared along the lines of what was your favorite/least favorite thing about Northwestern?, what is something you can tell me about Northwestern that I won't learn from the website/brochures?, etc.

[Luchi91]

Hello there!

I, too, am a 2013-2014 cycle applicant ... AJD applicant.

I initially got a fee waiver back in October and was supposed to expire on November 15, but when I tried it a day before it's supposed to expire, it didn't work ... good thing NU Law admissions peeps are soooo nice and helpful, they gave me a new one that was gonna expire on December 15 (but I submitted my application already on that day of November 14.. just to I can get the ball rolling). It took them around 4 weeks to assign me an off-campus interviewer but I checked this afternoon and I got one! Sent her an email (as I do want to get my stuff completed before the end of the year!) and hopefully she'll be available between now and December 31!

I just wrote the LSAT yesterday (hoping it's within the 161-170 median posted for AJD). I got a 3.27 (which is within their median of 3.07-3.80) in my GPA back in 2003 (has it really been a decade since I graduated with my BA?! )

I got 10 years of professional/work experience:
- Trademark/Copyright Researcher
- Soft IP (trademark/copyright) Analyst for a big media company here in NYC
- Got a Master's in Criminal Justice (2007)
- Finishing up an MBA
- Also, serves as a Team Leader for NY Cares

I really would love to be part of the NU law organization and I hope they'll be receptive to my application.

One thing though, I am married and planning to have a child within the next two years (I am not a young cat anymore!) and I was wondering what areas in Chicago that are within reasonable/convenient vicinity within NU law that is a good area for families. (I'm a native NY-er and will be selling our apartment early next year, God-willing!).

Your input is very much appreciated.

I think you'd be better off talking to someone in admissions.

[Luchi91]

Anyone applying ED?

I did. So nervous. Don't have the best numbers, but everything else is superb!

Is there anything else? I know I hope so. I also applied ED and my numbers are pretty sub par. But my softs are pretty dece.

Given NU's ED scholarship, they usually don't give it to anyone who's not above both medians. But you've got a shot at being rolled over into RD.

Yeah, I guess that's better than nothing. Called last week and a woman told me decisions are more likely coming out next week than this week. Expected response.

One more week then we ED people can finally move along

[MrsHello]

Hello there!

I, too, am a 2013-2014 cycle applicant ... AJD applicant.

I initially got a fee waiver back in October and was supposed to expire on November 15, but when I tried it a day before it's supposed to expire, it didn't work ... good thing NU Law admissions peeps are soooo nice and helpful, they gave me a new one that was gonna expire on December 15 (but I submitted my application already on that day of November 14.. just to I can get the ball rolling). It took them around 4 weeks to assign me an off-campus interviewer but I checked this afternoon and I got one! Sent her an email (as I do want to get my stuff completed before the end of the year!) and hopefully she'll be available between now and December 31!

I just wrote the LSAT yesterday (hoping it's within the 161-170 median posted for AJD). I got a 3.27 (which is within their median of 3.07-3.80) in my GPA back in 2003 (has it really been a decade since I graduated with my BA?! )

I got 10 years of professional/work experience:
- Trademark/Copyright Researcher
- Soft IP (trademark/copyright) Analyst for a big media company here in NYC
- Got a Master's in Criminal Justice (2007)
- Finishing up an MBA
- Also, serves as a Team Leader for NY Cares

I really would love to be part of the NU law organization and I hope they'll be receptive to my application.

One thing though, I am married and planning to have a child within the next two years (I am not a young cat anymore!) and I was wondering what areas in Chicago that are within reasonable/convenient vicinity within NU law that is a good area for families. (I'm a native NY-er and will be selling our apartment early next year, God-willing!).

Your input is very much appreciated.

I think you'd be better off talking to someone in admissions.

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

[thechancellor]

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

Actually, the best place to ask would probably be in one of the "ask a law student" threads - they're the people who have been living in Chicago. While I feel like i know Chicago pretty well as a visitor, I wouldn't want to give neighborhood advice, and I don't get the impression we have a ton of current law students reading this thread right now.

But good luck, on finding a place to live and on the application!!

[MrsHello]

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

Actually, the best place to ask would probably be in one of the "ask a law student" threads - they're the people who have been living in Chicago. While I feel like i know Chicago pretty well as a visitor, I wouldn't want to give neighborhood advice, and I don't get the impression we have a ton of current law students reading this thread right now.

But good luck, on finding a place to live and on the application!!

Thank you! Likewise. Best of luck in your application. Any impression though that you would like to share about Chicago (I've visited before but I'd love other people's input as well as I might not have been aware of.)?

[thechancellor]

Thank you! Likewise. Best of luck in your application. Any impression though that you would like to share about Chicago (I've visited before but I'd love other people's input as well as I might not have been aware of.)?

I really like the city, personally. I have a few friends who live/work in Chicago, and they very much like the 'midwestern' pace. They're both employed downtown and live a little further out, but it seems like the commute via the L is pretty easy. It definitely seems like there's a somewhat lower COL than in other big cities - I'm in DC now and I pay out the nose for everything, I get the impression that Chicago isn't quite so bad. I love the Fields Museum though I wish it was free like the DC ones!

[NYC-WVU]

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

Actually, the best place to ask would probably be in one of the "ask a law student" threads - they're the people who have been living in Chicago. While I feel like i know Chicago pretty well as a visitor, I wouldn't want to give neighborhood advice, and I don't get the impression we have a ton of current law students reading this thread right now.

But good luck, on finding a place to live and on the application!!

That's probably good advice; ask a student. They'll be able to give you advice that might be specific to Northwestern.
That said, we graduated the same year from undergrad and I'm also from NY, so I might also be a good match for answering your question.
Until you've lived in Chicago for a year or two and have enough info to think things like "OMG, Old Town is SAH lame" (I live in Old Town, btw), your best bet is to limit your search to (either the immediate vicinity of the school, which goes without saying, or) north of the school and within walking distance of the water. There are no real dangerous neighborhoods within this range and the neghborhoods are relatively lively, with coffee shops and restaurants for at least five miles going north. It's also pretty easy to navigate from a real estate perspective. Basically, as you go further north your money will buy more space. Security will go down a little bit as you get very far north, but not in a way that I couldn't recommend the neighborhoods, just in a way that people should know what they're getting in to. Moreover, I think all of these neighborhoods are easily accessible to the school, because buses run express down lakeshore drive to Michigan and then will stop on Chicago Ave.
One really nice thing about Chicago real estate is that there arent' strict boundaries like there are in NY. In NY, if you can't find something affordable in manhattan and end up living in Queens, that's a huge change. But in Chicago, if you can't find exactly what you want in one neighborhood, you can just go to the next neighborhood out. You'll be able to get more bang for your buck and you won't have crossed an enormous, mile-wide river. I hope this is helpful.

[mirroroferised7]

Hello there!

I, too, am a 2013-2014 cycle applicant ... AJD applicant.

I initially got a fee waiver back in October and was supposed to expire on November 15, but when I tried it a day before it's supposed to expire, it didn't work ... good thing NU Law admissions peeps are soooo nice and helpful, they gave me a new one that was gonna expire on December 15 (but I submitted my application already on that day of November 14.. just to I can get the ball rolling). It took them around 4 weeks to assign me an off-campus interviewer but I checked this afternoon and I got one! Sent her an email (as I do want to get my stuff completed before the end of the year!) and hopefully she'll be available between now and December 31!

I just wrote the LSAT yesterday (hoping it's within the 161-170 median posted for AJD). I got a 3.27 (which is within their median of 3.07-3.80) in my GPA back in 2003 (has it really been a decade since I graduated with my BA?! )

I got 10 years of professional/work experience:
- Trademark/Copyright Researcher
- Soft IP (trademark/copyright) Analyst for a big media company here in NYC
- Got a Master's in Criminal Justice (2007)
- Finishing up an MBA
- Also, serves as a Team Leader for NY Cares

I really would love to be part of the NU law organization and I hope they'll be receptive to my application.

One thing though, I am married and planning to have a child within the next two years (I am not a young cat anymore!) and I was wondering what areas in Chicago that are within reasonable/convenient vicinity within NU law that is a good area for families. (I'm a native NY-er and will be selling our apartment early next year, God-willing!).

Your input is very much appreciated.

I think you'd be better off talking to someone in admissions.

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

As a native Chicagoan (but NOT NU student), I can tell you that the Northwestern Campus is downtown. So this brings up an important question: How much money do you have to throw at rent? Since you're coming from NYC, (I'm assuming that's what you mean by NY), you'll probably LOVE how far your NYC rent goes in the Chi. Personally, if you're looking for swank, safe, and hetero-normative ultra-homogeneous I'd go with Lincoln Park. The Old Town School of Folk Music will offer amazing music lessons, the Latin School of Chicago is one of the best private schools in the city, and the zoo and the beach are always within walking distance. There are some bus routes that go pretty much straight from there to NU Law campus in 20 minutes or less. Just be very, very careful to avoid the Lincoln Park armpit that is DePaul, with their frat-bros coating your sidewalks in vomit Wednesday through Sunday nights.

Another reasonable option would be Bucktown. The hipsters there are just hitting the reproducing stage in their lives, and I anticipate all kinds of innovative day-care facilities popping up there soon. Plus, their food is pretty awesome. The commute becomes more of a train to a bus kind of situation, though. It's not as much of a straight shot. Also, none of your North Side friends will ever visit you, because there is a severe rivalry between Red Line people and Blue Line people.

And finally, my personal favorite choice for child-rearing in Chicago is Andersonville. You can't beat the granola, activist, locally-minded, middle-aged LGBTQ scene for raising children. Their restaurants are some of the most family-oriented in the city, they have the quietest, cleanest beaches, and the highest saturation of certifiably adorable dogs. Finally, the architecture there is outstanding (even for Chicago), because all the rich families of Chicago moved up there in 18somethingsomethingsomething to create a quaint little neighborhood away from the plebs, and ended up making some killer houses. But, you will be stuck with a 30-45minute Red Line ride each way. IMO, totally worth it.

[MrsHello]

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

Actually, the best place to ask would probably be in one of the "ask a law student" threads - they're the people who have been living in Chicago. While I feel like i know Chicago pretty well as a visitor, I wouldn't want to give neighborhood advice, and I don't get the impression we have a ton of current law students reading this thread right now.

But good luck, on finding a place to live and on the application!!

That's probably good advice; ask a student. They'll be able to give you advice that might be specific to Northwestern.
That said, we graduated the same year from undergrad and I'm also from NY, so I might also be a good match for answering your question.
Until you've lived in Chicago for a year or two and have enough info to think things like "OMG, Old Town is SAH lame" (I live in Old Town, btw), your best bet is to limit your search to (either the immediate vicinity of the school, which goes without saying, or) north of the school and within walking distance of the water. There are no real dangerous neighborhoods within this range and the neghborhoods are relatively lively, with coffee shops and restaurants for at least five miles going north. It's also pretty easy to navigate from a real estate perspective. Basically, as you go further north your money will buy more space. Security will go down a little bit as you get very far north, but not in a way that I couldn't recommend the neighborhoods, just in a way that people should know what they're getting in to. Moreover, I think all of these neighborhoods are easily accessible to the school, because buses run express down lakeshore drive to Michigan and then will stop on Chicago Ave.
One really nice thing about Chicago real estate is that there arent' strict boundaries like there are in NY. In NY, if you can't find something affordable in manhattan and end up living in Queens, that's a huge change. But in Chicago, if you can't find exactly what you want in one neighborhood, you can just go to the next neighborhood out. You'll be able to get more bang for your buck and you won't have crossed an enormous, mile-wide river. I hope this is helpful.

YESS! Very helpful and the correlation helps. I know exactly what you mean by Queens/Manhattan. I live in North Queens and work in the smack of Times Square (can you imagine the commute?!) Thanks.

[MrsHello]

Hello there!

I, too, am a 2013-2014 cycle applicant ... AJD applicant.

I initially got a fee waiver back in October and was supposed to expire on November 15, but when I tried it a day before it's supposed to expire, it didn't work ... good thing NU Law admissions peeps are soooo nice and helpful, they gave me a new one that was gonna expire on December 15 (but I submitted my application already on that day of November 14.. just to I can get the ball rolling). It took them around 4 weeks to assign me an off-campus interviewer but I checked this afternoon and I got one! Sent her an email (as I do want to get my stuff completed before the end of the year!) and hopefully she'll be available between now and December 31!

I just wrote the LSAT yesterday (hoping it's within the 161-170 median posted for AJD). I got a 3.27 (which is within their median of 3.07-3.80) in my GPA back in 2003 (has it really been a decade since I graduated with my BA?! )

I got 10 years of professional/work experience:
- Trademark/Copyright Researcher
- Soft IP (trademark/copyright) Analyst for a big media company here in NYC
- Got a Master's in Criminal Justice (2007)
- Finishing up an MBA
- Also, serves as a Team Leader for NY Cares

I really would love to be part of the NU law organization and I hope they'll be receptive to my application.

One thing though, I am married and planning to have a child within the next two years (I am not a young cat anymore!) and I was wondering what areas in Chicago that are within reasonable/convenient vicinity within NU law that is a good area for families. (I'm a native NY-er and will be selling our apartment early next year, God-willing!).

Your input is very much appreciated.

I think you'd be better off talking to someone in admissions.

Ummm.. Okay? I am merely asking for people's opinion here that might have been looking into areas/ familiar in Chitown. Obviously, I had already posed this question to the admissions but different input are much better than one.

As a native Chicagoan (but NOT NU student), I can tell you that the Northwestern Campus is downtown. So this brings up an important question: How much money do you have to throw at rent? Since you're coming from NYC, (I'm assuming that's what you mean by NY), you'll probably LOVE how far your NYC rent goes in the Chi. Personally, if you're looking for swank, safe, and hetero-normative ultra-homogeneous I'd go with Lincoln Park. The Old Town School of Folk Music will offer amazing music lessons, the Latin School of Chicago is one of the best private schools in the city, and the zoo and the beach are always within walking distance. There are some bus routes that go pretty much straight from there to NU Law campus in 20 minutes or less. Just be very, very careful to avoid the Lincoln Park armpit that is DePaul, with their frat-bros coating your sidewalks in vomit Wednesday through Sunday nights.

Another reasonable option would be Bucktown. The hipsters there are just hitting the reproducing stage in their lives, and I anticipate all kinds of innovative day-care facilities popping up there soon. Plus, their food is pretty awesome. The commute becomes more of a train to a bus kind of situation, though. It's not as much of a straight shot. Also, none of your North Side friends will ever visit you, because there is a severe rivalry between Red Line people and Blue Line people.

And finally, my personal favorite choice for child-rearing in Chicago is Andersonville. You can't beat the granola, activist, locally-minded, middle-aged LGBTQ scene for raising children. Their restaurants are some of the most family-oriented in the city, they have the quietest, cleanest beaches, and the highest saturation of certifiably adorable dogs. Finally, the architecture there is outstanding (even for Chicago), because all the rich families of Chicago moved up there in 18somethingsomethingsomething to create a quaint little neighborhood away from the plebs, and ended up making some killer houses. But, you will be stuck with a 30-45minute Red Line ride each way. IMO, totally worth it.

I actually own my co-op apartment but it's still a lot as you can imagine. I love you suggestions. As you can imagine, moving for a "older" person seems harder (especially with a family to tow!) than a single person so I need as much time, input and consideration as I plan to pursue NU. And as for the 30-45 minute commute, my typical day commute to work from home is (an hour PER WAY ... provided that are no crazy MTA delay going on, which is composed of a bus + subway ride). I think the 30-45 commute is a blessing! Thank you for the post.

[Kimikho]

AT WHAT POINT do i start getting concerned about not getting the interview i requested.

i know there are graduates here not that i would be the person to run through the top ten firms and find them nope not me

[mx23250]

AT WHAT POINT do i start getting concerned about not getting the interview i requested.

i know there are graduates here not that i would be the person to run through the top ten firms and find them nope not me

If it's been over three weeks I'd contact admissions and check in.

[Kimikho]

AT WHAT POINT do i start getting concerned about not getting the interview i requested.

i know there are graduates here not that i would be the person to run through the top ten firms and find them nope not me

If it's been over three weeks I'd contact admissions and check in.

hm. i signed up for one about a month ago, but i didn't submit my lsac report until about 2.5 weeks ago. i guess i'll wait till friday.

[NYC-WVU]

AT WHAT POINT do i start getting concerned about not getting the interview i requested.

i know there are graduates here not that i would be the person to run through the top ten firms and find them nope not me

If it's been over three weeks I'd contact admissions and check in.

hm. i signed up for one about a month ago, but i didn't submit my lsac report until about 2.5 weeks ago. i guess i'll wait till friday.

Last year they apparently started sending out decisions on the Monday closest to next Monday. If that stays the same, they could be really really busy on Friday. Something to consider . . . ?

[mx23250]

AT WHAT POINT do i start getting concerned about not getting the interview i requested.

i know there are graduates here not that i would be the person to run through the top ten firms and find them nope not me

If it's been over three weeks I'd contact admissions and check in.

hm. i signed up for one about a month ago, but i didn't submit my lsac report until about 2.5 weeks ago. i guess i'll wait till friday.

I'd suspect the three weeks wouldn't "start" til them deem your application complete. It was a couple days under three weeks before I got an email from my interviewer. Good luck!

[Luchi91]

I called admissions to ask if there was any chance ED people would find out results this week. I was on hold FOREVER! First time that has ever happened to me.

I just hung up!
Just know that they are deciding our lives right now haha

[jk148706]

I called admissions to ask if there was any chance ED people would find out results this week. I was on hold FOREVER! First time that has ever happened to me.

I just hung up!
Just know that they are deciding our lives right now haha

And the page to check my application status "can't be displayed"


Wonder what's going on

[midwest17]

I called admissions to ask if there was any chance ED people would find out results this week. I was on hold FOREVER! First time that has ever happened to me.

I just hung up!
Just know that they are deciding our lives right now haha

And the page to check my application status "can't be displayed"


Wonder what's going on

Chrome is saying it has a redirect loop. Almost certainly a technical issue unrelated to decisions.