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NU Interview?

Out of curiosity, has anyone gotten into Northwestern without an interview? Is it bad to skip out on it ? I'm currently applying and haven't decided if I want to do an online interview. Any insight would be appreciated! Thank you

Comments

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    It is going to be in your best interest to participate in interview opportunities when you have them.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr I figured haha I'm just worried I'll bomb the interview and ruin my application. :/ Do you have any tips for law school interviews ?

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    I do not unfortunately. I am going to be spending some time researching best practices for interviews once I get all my apps in. I know I will be interviewing with NU and WashU, hopefully I get some requests for other schools. I think there is a good amount of information about law school interview tips around, though the recorded interviews that NU does are going to be very different. I have done that sort of interviewing for a job before, it is awkward but I think it is that way for everyone.

  • noonawoonnoonawoon Alum Member
    3481 karma

    Rejecting the interview would look 100 times worse than accepting it and being a little awkward in the recording. I don't think you can really "bomb" it unless you refuse to answer the questions or go on a bigoted rant. I don't know the numbers off of the top of my head, but something around 100% of the entering class has done an interview. Also, I imagine that refusing to interview would make it seem like you are someone who doesn't know how to interview, and that looks bad for your prospects of interviewing for a law internship/job in law school. Especially because the Northwestern interview is just a self-recording that you can do at any time, so you can't really say scheduling issues prevented you from taking it.

    I would just say don't overthink it and accept the interview. The Kira platform lets you do a bunch of practice questions beforehand!

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr @noonawoon thank you guys for the in depth advice! In all honesty, I know an interview is the best way go! I do have a question though. I applied later to Vandy and said no to the interview cuz it was past the date they asked for one & and I don't have an old one on record. Is that going to mess up my application ? Lol!

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    I don't think so. First of all, the admissions stats at Vandy are not as closely linked to interviews as at Northwestern because they stop scheduling interviews after November 15th or something. While interviewing with them would be enormously helpful in getting admitted, they know that they do not offer interviews after a certain date and are unlikely to knock you for it. I was hoping to have apps done by then and thinking of interviewing at Vanderbilt, but in the end I was not at all ready and am confident, if I do apply at Vandy, that I still have a better shot with a more polished application and no interview than the other way around.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr thank you for your insight and well thought out points! I agree with this. I think interviewing seems like a must at NU and a "highly encouraged but not absolutely necessary" at Vandy. I also read on Reddit that some people were admitted to Vandy without an interview so there's hope! That said, I still emailed Vandy to be safe so if you want, I can let you know what they said. I applied end of November so it was well after the deadline they had up. Good luck to you on your applications and interviews!! They're so stressful but I hope you get through them soon :)

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage
    13286 karma

    Current NU 3L, highly recommend doing the interview.

    Also as @noonawoon said they allow you to record and do practice questions - it's worth doing! The questions you get will be nothing out of the ordinary. Things like:

    Why law?

    Name a time when you faced adversity and over came it

    Name a time you disagreed with a co-worker or class mate, how did you resolve it?

    Etc etc

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @LSATcantwin Thank you for the tips!! I decided to do the interview and submitted my app yesterday. I'll probably do a million practice rounds before submission, but at least it's all recorded and just a matter of practice :)

    Off topic though, how are you liking NU if you don't mind me asking? Is there anything in particular you like about the school now that you're a 3L? I don't know any law students or pre-law applicants so any insight would be super helpful haha

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage
    13286 karma

    @karko2525 its a great school! Right on Lake Michigan so you get a great view from the library and some of the classrooms.

    The staff at the school is excellent and they do their best to listen to the student body and work with us. COVID sorta ripped half my law school experience away from me though haha - I got 1L and half of 2L before everything changed. We are still remote and remote law school is NOT fun imo.

    There are tons of activities at the school though and you never really feel like anyone is "cut throat" in any way. The student body at NU leans to the older side and includes students that usually have more work experience, so you get a well rounded group of individuals.

    Over all I'd say NU is a great choice! Plus you're right in downtown Chicago so there is a ton to do around the school (when you find time haha)

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    @karko2525 You are very welcome and please do share anything you learn. @LSATcantwin I really wondered how much of that collegiality talk was lip service in the competitive urban environment of Chicago, but I keep hearing the same thing from students. I spent an hour plus with Sarah Rewerts over the weekend at the LSAC forum and was beyond impressed by her attitude and frank but friendly character. Northwestern has definitely moved back up to the top of my list because of it. Such as it is, there is a 5 school cluster I haven't been able to sort out a favorite from which I suppose is a wonderful problem to have.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @LSATcantwin Sorry for the delay.. but thank you for your in depth response about NU! I've heard a lot of great things about the NU community and it's definitely high up on my list. For some reason, I just have a good gut feeling about the school and I'm glad you confirmed it. Let's hope I do well on the interview tomorrow haha Best of luck to you in your last year of law school. You're almost there! :)

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr sorry for the delayed response. I emailed Vandy about interviews and they said the deadline passed so there aren't any available interviews left, but they recommended the video essay! So that's definitely something to look into :)

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @LSATcantwin btw would you mind sharing your stats here or via PM? NU is technically a reach for me so I am not expecting much, but still hoping to have a somewhat decent shot haha

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage
    13286 karma

    @karko2525 said:
    @LSATcantwin btw would you mind sharing your stats here or via PM? NU is technically a reach for me so I am not expecting much, but still hoping to have a somewhat decent shot haha

    Yep no problem!

    LSAT - 171
    cGPA - 2.8
    ~ 10 years work experience

    However the GPA is sort of misleading; after serving in the Marine Corps I went back to school and had two years of 4.0. So my college transcripts are sort of all over the place.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @LSATcantwin Thank you so much for your quick response! Amazing LSAT score btw :) Were you put on their waitlist at all or did they accept you directly? My GPA is within their median but my LSAT score is definitely below their median so I am mainly worried about that. I just finished my Kira interview and though the questions weren't difficult by any means, I completely choked for the first 2 or 3 questions T.T Anxiety sucks . Hopefully I redeemed myself in the last 3 questions

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    @karko2525 How long did it take you to get the interview link from Northwestern? It might be because I submitted over the holidays but I still haven't gotten any communication from them since I submitted my app.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr when did you submit your app? I got my interview invitation the Monday after I submitted over the weekend. It's worth giving them a call or emailing them if you submitted on christmas and haven't heard back

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    @karko2525 Yeah, I think I may have to do that when they open back up if I haven't heard anything.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    @VerdantZephyr definitely! Check your spam too. It's best to call them ASAP since they don't start reviewing your app til you complete the interview and from what I remember in the email, it says you have 30 days to complete it before they move your application forward without it.

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