Northwestern 1L, Taking Questions

[jeffreydane]

   Chicago has seen a brutal winter.  Do people seem to think this is normal? I'm from Oklahoma and used to being in the mid-30's during winter's clutch.  How difficult is it to adapt to the weather?

   Is it realistic to expect a nice apartment for less than 1200 a month, in a nice part of town? how is the "married" housing they claim to have, and is it competitive to get?

[Quail!]

   Chicago has seen a brutal winter.  Do people seem to think this is normal? I'm from Oklahoma and used to being in the mid-30's during winter's clutch.  How difficult is it to adapt to the weather?

   Is it realistic to expect a nice apartment for less than 1200 a month, in a nice part of town? how is the "married" housing they claim to have, and is it competitive to get?

This has been the worst winter in Chicago in a LONG time, this is not normal whatsoever.  I grew up in Chicago so I never "adapted" but it really isn't that bad usually.

As for apartments, you can find stuff for under 1200 if you look for it.  Might not be the prettiest apartment in Streeterville/Gold Coast, but it's doable.

Don't go to NU so I have no idea about married housing

[mumbling2myself]

$1200's actually not all that difficult, depending on what you're looking for.  I don't believe NU still has married student housing (my wife is still at school in Madison, so it wasn't an issue for us and I didn't really look into it).  From what I've heard, though, the old dorms were not anything great, and you'd probably want to be off-campus anyhow.

Will your wife be working?  If so, it may be easier to let her job dictate where you live.  Public transportation is provided for all students at the law school (I think it's the same for all Chicago higher ed.), so it might be easier for you to live where it's convenient for her and take the commute yourself (there are plenty of decent places within 20-30 minutes on the l or bus).

[OneL.ove]

Aside from rank, what are the marked advantages (if any) of attending Northwestern over UChicago? I've been admitted to both, but sometimes get a feel that Northwestern has the more practical approach when it comes to instruction and practice while in law school.

[mumbling2myself]

Aside from rank, what are the marked advantages (if any) of attending Northwestern over UChicago? I've been admitted to both, but sometimes get a feel that Northwestern has the more practical approach when it comes to instruction and practice while in law school.

I can't really speak authoritatively on UChicago, so you'll have to forgive a lack of facts about that school.  I think the main advantages to NU are more social/environmental in nature.  I don't really buy into the whole "UChi is all nerds who stay in Hyde Park because they'll get stabbed in the neck if they ever go outside" mythos, but there is definitely a different vibe at the two schools.  There are other, more tangible differences (NU has a strong focus on law/sociology & psychology, insanely good clinics, really good career services, etc.), but I think they're less important than the general, "do I feel like a part of this community" test.

In deciding how important the community is, I think, a product of your aspirations for your JD.  If you really, really want academia or a S. Ct. clerkship, you're probably better off at Chi.  If your goal is to get an excellent education, both schools are good.  If you want to be an attorney to practice law, represent your clients' needs, and have a life outside of work, both will get you there - but NU might be a bit saner. 

Do your best to visit both schools to see which you prefer (if you can, do so during a non-ASW week so you can take a look at what the students are up to when there's no show to be put on for you.  I know at NU it's really easy to sit in on a class, I assume the same is true for Chi.  You might even have the added bonus of hearing me make an utter fool of myself in conlaw

[OneL.ove]

Do you think someone coming to NU straight out of undergrad would feel uncomfortable in the environoment of the school? Does an "older" crowd make it less of a "let's make relationships and be friends while we're going through this" type of place or is it more of a "I have to go home to my husband and kids" feel?

I honestly wasn't expecting to get in (because I have no FT work experience) and now I feel as though I'll be the new college grad who feels a little out-of-place.

[TheMaddRapper]

To the OP:  I'm basically your numbers twin, except I have a lower GPA, a (slightly) higher LSAT and I'm not a URM.  Should I be as pessimistic as I am about my chances?

[mumbling2myself]

Do you think someone coming to NU straight out of undergrad would make someone feel uncomfortable in the environoment of the school? Does an "older" crowd make it less of a "let's make relationships and be friends while we're going through this" type of place or is it more of a "I have to go home to my husband and kids" feel?

I honestly wasn't expecting to get in (because I have no FT work experience) and now I feel as though I'll be the new college grad who feels a little out-of-place.

It's definitely not an "I have to go home" kindof crowd.  A few of my best friends here are straight out of undergrad, and get along fine.  The only difference I've noted between the crowd at my school and at the others I visited is there are a lot more discussions about interesting work experiences.  I can't imagine that you'd feel out of place, even the youngest people here are going through the exact same stuff as the oldest.  Everyone is really social, and I feel like I've made some amazing friendships since I came here.  I have a core group of friends that hang out all the time, and we party just like any other group of law students (except for UVA... they party in popped collars and nantucket reds ).

Edit to add:   I looked at a bunch of other threads, and there seems to be an impression that NU is considerably older than other schools.  That's really not true.  The average 1L is still in their mid-20's, not many are younger, not many are older.  About 80% of the class has 2 years or more work experience, but it's not like everyone's been working 10 years or anything.  For the most part people have worked 2-3 years (a large majority of my classmates seem to have graduated college between '04-'06).

To the OP:  I'm basically your numbers twin, except I have a lower GPA, a (slightly) higher LSAT and I'm not a URM.  Should I be as pessimistic as I am about my chances?

Do you have any work experience?  NU was really splitter friendly last year - a lot of my friends here were in a similar situation.  Don't count Northwestern out, a lot of the splitters got in off the waitlist.

[TheMaddRapper]

Yeah, a little WE, but not after school.  I took a break for a while in between being a bad college student.  It really baffles me how they are going to look at my transcript and not just assume I'm schizo/bipolar/retarded.

I'm about to have an interview.  What should I say?

[mumbling2myself]

Yeah, a little WE, but not after school.  I took a break for a while in between being a bad college student.  It really baffles me how they are going to look at my transcript and not just assume I'm schizo/bipolar/retarded.

I'm about to have an interview.  What should I say?

Just be honest.  They're going to ask you some pretty basic questions (Why law?  Why Northwestern?  How do you explain your grades?)  I'll be honest, I think one of the main reasons I got in was because I had a few years of work with fantastic LOR's between me and my crappy GPA.  Your goal needs to be to convince the school that your GPA is not reflective of the level of work you are capable of and will put out in school.