Northwestern c/o 2019 Applicants (2015-2016) Forum

[WatchClosely]

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[Billy Madison]

Does anyone have a timeline for how long between submitting the ED certification and the status checker reflecting this? I turned it in Monday morning, so I figured I'd wait 72 hours before calling to bother anyone.

[cheeseee]

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[benwyatt]

i received a fee waiver email from northwestern through CRS. does this mean anything? my gpa is alright, but my lsat is way below their median.

Honestly the only thing it means is that you get to apply for free.

Enjoy it.

[jmark1]

i received a fee waiver email from northwestern through CRS. does this mean anything? my gpa is alright, but my lsat is way below their median.

I got this too, I think it's just the Pritzker money kicking in.

[theclash82]

Quick question for those who have done the online interview...are the questions similar in content to the practice questions or do they come at you with more serious questions like why N'western or what is the most difficult experience you've faced in your life? Thanks!

[Mrs Featherbottom]

Quick question for those who have done the online interview...are the questions similar in content to the practice questions or do they come at you with more serious questions like why N'western or what is the most difficult experience you've faced in your life? Thanks!

More serious. One of my practice questions was literally "Talk about something funny that happened to you recently." All the actual questions covered my work experience, overcoming challenges and working with others. Got the "Why Northwestern" question too.

[theclash82]

Quick question for those who have done the online interview...are the questions similar in content to the practice questions or do they come at you with more serious questions like why N'western or what is the most difficult experience you've faced in your life? Thanks!

More serious. One of my practice questions was literally "Talk about something funny that happened to you recently." All the actual questions covered my work experience, overcoming challenges and working with others. Got the "Why Northwestern" question too.

Thanks! Really appreciate the heads up. As I was doing the practice interviews I was wondering if they would really ask such trivial questions or if they were going to give us a psych evaluation. One of the prompts was describe a recent dream.

[theclash82]

Any more online interviewees?

I'm kind of regretting the decision not to interview in person. I think the one minute limits made me truncate my responses. I guess they are still experimenting with the platform, but man oh man.

Seems like it takes a while for the status checker to update as well. Does it ever?

I did an online interview. I'm 99% sure you did better than me.. sigh...

Doubtful. It was painful.

I do wonder how the average / above average online interviews stack up. I'm hoping they take into account the awkwardness of the process. What about it got you -- questions or format?

Well pretty much both.

I had to keep my posture straight and fixed since even a slight movement made it look like I have ADHD or something on the screen.
I was also overwhelmed by the dead silence during pauses between sentences and thoughts..
After like the 4th question, I was just thinking w/e.. I'm just going to get this over with..

The questions themselves weren't too bad, but a couple were tricky in finding solid examples.

Well I'm pretty sure both of you did better than me, so you have that going for you. And yeah, biggest problem for most of them was finding an example that fit what they were looking for.

[Dog]

Does anyone about how long it takes Northwestern to make a decision if you apply ED?

ED people in the c/o 2018 first heard back on Dec. 18th I believe.

Sounds right, I remember it was shortly before Christmas break and I was starting to think I might not hear back until after New Years.

Also, don't quote me on it but from what I can remember, all ED admits received their acceptances on the same day and that was a pattern that seemed true over the course of at least a couple years.

[christinanc93]

Does anyone about how long it takes Northwestern to make a decision if you apply ED?

ED people in the c/o 2018 first heard back on Dec. 18th I believe.

Sounds right, I remember it was shortly before Christmas break and I was starting to think I might not hear back until after New Years.

Also, don't quote me on it but from what I can remember, all ED admits received their acceptances on the same day and that was a pattern that seemed true over the course of at least a couple years.

Also, do you know if it's too late to withdraw the ED portion? I was 100% certain in October....but now....I'm not anymore.

[slizerd]

I'm doing the online interview tomorrow, and after reading through this thread I'm pretty nervous

[christinanc93]

I'm doing the online interview tomorrow, and after reading through this thread I'm pretty nervous

If you can, try to do the off campus interview thing. The online interviews are kind of....impersonal. They have prerecorded videos and you have a minute to respond. Good luck? but if you can, with a real person is much, much better.

[sox49]

I did the on campus interview and it was very relaxed and casual. Not at all like what the online interview sounds like

[MOKE4311]

I interviewed off campus in Ohio and my interviewer was phenomenal. He was very laid back and made me super comfortable. He had a list of Northwestern questions with some highlighted but essentially told me he thinks the majority of them suck and was gonna cherry pick. I got some standards:

1. Why your undergrad institution?
2. What do you enjoy doing outside of work/study?
3. Tell me something not on your resume
4. Why law school?
5. What other schools did you apply to, with a follow-up asking me to justify the selections

Otherwise we ran through my resume and shot the shit for the majority of it. As it turns out we're both lifters so we spent a decent amount of time talking about the gym, lifts, etc... It was really nice. I don't necessarily think it was the diff between my acceptance and rejection but a positive review from your interviewer certainly can't hurt.

And because I know some agonize over this I went in business professional with a folio with a copy of my resume (which I sent in advance, but printed regardless) and my personal statement. My interviewer is a practicing attorney and so was in a suit but did not put his jacket on. I would not dwell too much on this ancillary stuff but if it makes you more comfortable to have it under control I hope this helped.

[Billy Madison]

I interviewed off campus in Ohio and my interviewer was phenomenal. He was very laid back and made me super comfortable. He had a list of Northwestern questions with some highlighted but essentially told me he thinks the majority of them suck and was gonna cherry pick. I got some standards:

1. Why your undergrad institution?
2. What do you enjoy doing outside of work/study?
3. Tell me something not on your resume
4. Why law school?
5. What other schools did you apply to, with a follow-up asking me to justify the selections

Otherwise we ran through my resume and shot the shit for the majority of it. As it turns out we're both lifters so we spent a decent amount of time talking about the gym, lifts, etc... It was really nice. I don't necessarily think it was the diff between my acceptance and rejection but a positive review from your interviewer certainly can't hurt.

And because I know some agonize over this I went in business professional with a folio with a copy of my resume (which I sent in advance, but printed regardless) and my personal statement. My interviewer is a practicing attorney and so was in a suit but did not put his jacket on. I would not dwell too much on this ancillary stuff but if it makes you more comfortable to have it under control I hope this helped.

Man, I went to CHI to interview with a current student (which was still very positive). But as a Buckeye/lifter myself, I wish I'd gone with this option

[slizerd]

I'm doing the online interview tomorrow, and after reading through this thread I'm pretty nervous

If you can, try to do the off campus interview thing. The online interviews are kind of....impersonal. They have prerecorded videos and you have a minute to respond. Good luck? but if you can, with a real person is much, much better.

I really wish I could do the off campus interview, but all of the spots are 100+ miles away from me =/ I'll just have to try not to be too awkward on the video ha

[Dog]

Does anyone about how long it takes Northwestern to make a decision if you apply ED?

ED people in the c/o 2018 first heard back on Dec. 18th I believe.

Sounds right, I remember it was shortly before Christmas break and I was starting to think I might not hear back until after New Years.

Also, don't quote me on it but from what I can remember, all ED admits received their acceptances on the same day and that was a pattern that seemed true over the course of at least a couple years.

Also, do you know if it's too late to withdraw the ED portion? I was 100% certain in October....but now....I'm not anymore.

No idea, I never intended to withdraw the ED application. I thought once I sent the app, I was supposedly "binding" myself from that moment. You'd probably be able to weasel your way out of it if you really wanted. It might look bad but law school is obviously a huge decision. If you wait until they accept you, you'd probably be screwed as you have to withdraw from everywhere else right away and they send out notifications.

I wouldn't be surprised if the admissions office would let it slide if someone let them know they wanted to cancel the ED app now, they'd still have plenty of time to adjust anyways. But if you want out, I suggest moving quickly.

[alpha kenny body]

Excited for my on-campus interview. Ready to smash this and get accepted!

[OLitch]

I interviewed off campus in Ohio and my interviewer was phenomenal. He was very laid back and made me super comfortable. He had a list of Northwestern questions with some highlighted but essentially told me he thinks the majority of them suck and was gonna cherry pick. I got some standards:

1. Why your undergrad institution?
2. What do you enjoy doing outside of work/study?
3. Tell me something not on your resume
4. Why law school?
5. What other schools did you apply to, with a follow-up asking me to justify the selections

Otherwise we ran through my resume and shot the shit for the majority of it. As it turns out we're both lifters so we spent a decent amount of time talking about the gym, lifts, etc... It was really nice. I don't necessarily think it was the diff between my acceptance and rejection but a positive review from your interviewer certainly can't hurt.

And because I know some agonize over this I went in business professional with a folio with a copy of my resume (which I sent in advance, but printed regardless) and my personal statement. My interviewer is a practicing attorney and so was in a suit but did not put his jacket on. I would not dwell too much on this ancillary stuff but if it makes you more comfortable to have it under control I hope this helped.

My off campus interview felt like a cross examination from the moment I sat down. Every answer I gave was questioned as if I made the wrong choice. I had a non-law related job and that was picked apart without so much as a smile. I was asked probably 20 main questions and each of my answers brought on about 2-3 more questions. The only time the interviewer seemed warm was at the end when they smiled and shook my hand.

Aside from the setting, everything was formal.

This was the most bizarre interview I have ever been a part of.

[WatchClosely]

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[zty]

My off campus interview felt like a cross examination from the moment I sat down. Every answer I gave was questioned as if I made the wrong choice. I had a non-law related job and that was picked apart without so much as a smile. I was asked probably 20 main questions and each of my answers brought on about 2-3 more questions. The only time the interviewer seemed warm was at the end when they smiled and shook my hand.

Aside from the setting, everything was formal.

This was the most bizarre interview I have ever been a part of.

That's a trick to see your actual response under pressure, I know it. Relax, I am absolutely sure the interviewer will write a positive report for you.

[OLitch]

My off campus interview felt like a cross examination from the moment I sat down. Every answer I gave was questioned as if I made the wrong choice. I had a non-law related job and that was picked apart without so much as a smile. I was asked probably 20 main questions and each of my answers brought on about 2-3 more questions. The only time the interviewer seemed warm was at the end when they smiled and shook my hand.

Aside from the setting, everything was formal.

This was the most bizarre interview I have ever been a part of.

That's a trick to see your actual response under pressure, I know it. Relax, I am absolutely sure the interviewer will write a positive report for you.

Thanks for the reassurance.

[OLitch]

My off campus interview felt like a cross examination from the moment I sat down. Every answer I gave was questioned as if I made the wrong choice. I had a non-law related job and that was picked apart without so much as a smile. I was asked probably 20 main questions and each of my answers brought on about 2-3 more questions. The only time the interviewer seemed warm was at the end when they smiled and shook my hand.

Aside from the setting, everything was formal.

This was the most bizarre interview I have ever been a part of.

To me at least, that actually sounds like it would have been a fantastic experience. Much more enjoyable than rattling off the answers to the same vapid questions everybody asks. I feel like the interviewer could probably get a much more genuine look at your personality and character from an interview like this.

"So you say you have always had an interest in the legal system and yet on your resume you have a job in a different industry." Reasonable question that is easy to answer. It was the tone of voice, phrasing, stern look, and the long pauses after my answers that were not interview like. I felt on the defensive the whole time, yet I had to pretend to be confident. It was awful. I have an outgoing personality but this interview did not allow for much of any personality to come out. I really felt like I was being cross examined on the stand. I made a casual comment early on and the interviewer didn't crack a smile. They just looked at me in silence.

At the end I asked a question where the interviewer showed a glimmer of a personality but they turned it back into a cold interview.

It is a school interview not a criminal trial!

I was also asked about which other schools I was applying to and why.

[Olliedemars]

Once you've completed the online interview, do you need to e-mail NW, or does your app status page automatically update? Anyone have any experience with this?