Northwestern

[twysted]

What are your thoughts on Northwestern? I don't see many postings about it on the board. Does it have nationwide appeal? I had a fee waiver sitting around and only just realised that it was ranked 10th, for some reason it just slipped by me....thoughts...?

[wildcataz2004]

All I can say is that you better have some work experience

[mjb691]

NU is in kind of a strange spot. Even though it is very old and has a ton of prominent alumni (the current Supreme Court Justices are graduates of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia...and Northwestern [John Paul Stevens]), it seems to get lost in the shuffle. It is definitely overshadowed in the Midwest by Chicago and (especially) Michigan, and by being in Chicago it doesn't get the national exposure of schools on the East Coast or Cali. Also, I think it is hurt by the fact that it is separate from the undergrad campus, and is in an isolated (if beautiful) spot in downtown Chicago.

To fix this, the dean seems to be going for a "business school" approach to law school as a way to set NU apart from other schools. Hence the work experience and interview almost-requirements. From a purely numbers-geek perspective, it seems to be working, as median LSATs are up substantially over the last few years. Leiter will tell you that the faculty is not what it used to be and is well on the way to being TTT...for whatever that's worth. Oh, an he also thinks it is becoming seriously conservative, though I haven't heard that from anyone else. On a purely subjective note, the student body (at least the ones I met) seems to put off a B-school vibe--lots of ex-consultants, etc. Clinical programs are regarded by most as a strength, and especially trial practice (these are the folks that are primarily responsible for getting the state of Illinois to suspend the death penalty).

I am personally ambivilent about NU Law. I applied there, and had what I thought was a good interview, but I am not sure I am up to going to law school with lots of MBA types. I also have lots of conflicted feelings about NU as a concept dating back to my undergrad days. So, who knows?

HTH


Mike

[rwhitman]

WE does not MBA type make. I think it's great what Northwestern is doing. For the amount of responsibility and power in society that lawyers have, too many don't have any experience in the 'real world'.  Couple that with the dissatisfaction in the legal business and most people would agree that a large number of law students haven't taken time to really think about their chosen career path-- WE is one way to do this.

[mjb691]

WE does not MBA type make. 

True, and I didn't mean to imply that it did. The MBA feel that I found is separate from requiring WE, except insofar as MBA programs also require WE (or many of them do).

I think it's great what Northwestern is doing. For the amount of responsibility and power in society that lawyers have, too many don't have any experience in the 'real world'. Couple that with the dissatisfaction in the legal business and most people would agree that a large number of law students haven't taken time to really think about their chosen career path-- WE is one way to do this.

I agree: in and of itself, I think the work experience requirement is a tremendous idea. I know that I am a radically different person now at 26 than I was at 22, and I think almost entirely for the better. And I agree that having worked in some other areas gives you an opportunity to think hard about what exactly you want to be doing.

Perhaps I should have said, "I met a bunch of folks at NU that reminded me of people I know who are MBA's, and since I am mostly ambivalent about those folks I know, I am ambivalent about spending three years at NU."


Mike

[nekko]

Northwestern doesn't seem to be the most academically focused school among the top schools and I concur with the idea that it puts out something of a business school vibe. That being said people who went to or are going to Northwestern really enjoy it and speak quite well of it and in my personal albeit limited experience (2 NU grads) the attorneys from NU have been among the nicest and most well-rounded of attorneys that I've met. I applied there and not completely sure how I feel about Northwestern but every impression I've received from Northwestern from people who might know anything about Northwestern has been entirely positive and enthusiastically so.

[rwhitman]

I did a tour at northwestern last week and liked the school and the people I met there. The lincoln room in particle was really cool. Alums seem to have really enjoyed their experiences there. The only thing I didn't like was the location in the middle of downtown chicago. Traffic and parking were terrible. The weather was really bad when I visited so maybe that was part of the problem.

[S.J.]

There used to be a concept of "Top 10", and NW was never ranked in the top 10, which gave it somewhat of an inferiority complex, and affected its perception/reputation somewhat. 

However, as the concept of a "Top 14" has developed, NW has begun to be compared more with other top programs.  And, of course, it finally cracked the top 10 this year in USNews.

Personally, I think NW would be a very cool place to go to school. The location, in my opinion, is excellent -- right downtown, near everything, right on Lake Michigan, nice, modern facilities, etc.  Gotta visit and see what you think.  Definitely worth an app.

I would consider it over Gtown, Cornell, Duke, Penn, maybe even Boalt. 

[Thor]

I too am suprised at the relative lack of conversation about Northwestern (and the University of Chicago for that matter, given its outstanding reputation). Currently I really want to go to NW or UC but I am torn as to which I want to make my top choice (ie apply early decision). I have a better chance at getting in to NW, but UC seems to be just barely below HYS in prestige, regardless of its exact ranking. I'll probably have to make a more deffinate decision after I visit both campuses, which won't be for a while. Whenever I do get to it I'll post my thoughts.

[SuicideNixon]

I think considering WE to be anything more than a tie-brekaer like college ECs are is pretty lame. Anyone who is applying to northwestern and has a chance in the first place has some outstanding numbers. You cannot tell me that these people who have good grades couldn't get some decent job out of college. Oustanding WE is one thing, but it seems to be really stupid to consider applicant A to be better than applicant B simply because applicant A had some entry level position w/standard promotions for 2-4 years and B is straight out of college. All this means is that applicant A is a few years older.

Northwestern's strategy is nothing more than a gimmick to give itself an edge in the eyes of applicants who are not straight out of college. They are simply trying to piggyback on the reputation of their b-school.

Northwestern is running the risk of being percieved as not as academically serious as other T14 schools. If people think that you are attracting a lot of b-school types to your school, then they might think that you are less theoretically inclined than other T14 schools. This might be good for getting people hired in corporate offices, but it's definitely bad for the measures of prestige among top schools: biglaw hirings, clerkships, academic positions and judicial appointments.