Dina (2022-2023)

Congratulations on your Northwestern scholarship, Dina! I'm in the same boat as you -- scholarship at NW, waiting on my other schools -- so I'm curious: under what circumstances would you accept/not accept your NW scholarship? (Just trying to get a feel for what other people are thinking.)

Sorry about the "test" in your profile... couldn't figure out how to leave a comment. Hah. Anyway, congratulations on your acceptances/scholarships. The only thing I can really say is... I'm going to have a really tough choice to make. For now, all I can do is wait and see how much money NYU gives me, and what other schools accept me/give me $$. I honestly don't know what I will do if say, NYU doesn't give me money, or Harvard accepts me without giving me money. Dilemmas.... let me know how you make your decision!

Dina, you can't go wrong at NWU. Don't stress about the choice because you win no matter what. Superelite vs Hyperelite is a pseudo dilemma.

Sorry, mreleph, have to disagree -- respectfully, always respectfully -- with you on this one. If Dina were making her choice based purely on the perceived eliteness of the respective schools, then your comment would be justified. But (presumably) there are a lot of other factors involved: academic strengths in areas of interest, placement in desired job markets/fields, proximity to loved ones, school culture and personal "fit," campus location, cost of living, and so on. When you're trying to weigh so many different factors, particularly the intangible ones, then it *is* a real dilemma. Of course, Dina, you could be one of those "Take the highest ranked school, no holds barred" types, in which case I've just made myself look like an idiot. It wouldn't be for the first time. =)

Well I'm certainly not a rankings... uh... prostitute. But, it would be difficult for me to turn down, say, Harvard, even if they gave me no money, I hated Boston, and I didn't like any of their programs (none of which are true, btw) just because I want to keep as many options open as possible (e.g. academia), and a school like Harvard lets you do that, regardless of whether you want to go int corporate or international or IP or public interest law. Wow that was a long sentence.

Oh, I cheerfully admit to being a rankings ho. Most of the lawyers I work with say that I should go the highest-ranked school I get into. Then again, they all graduated from Harvard, so they have something a vested interest in maintaining the whole HYS prestige schick. (Note to HLS adcomm, should you actually have enough free time to be reading this: I've heard nothing but positive reviews from those HLS alums, so I'd love to go. If you accept me, I'll be there in a shot.) Are you going to Northwestern's admit weekend?

did you spend your fourth year working? or did you apply for ls directly after your 3rd yr?

Congrats on GW, dina! I read about it on the Phorum. Including that G-town acceptance for 2006, it looks like you swept DC.

I really enjoyed the admit weekend -- the people were nice, the administrators responsive, the faculty engaging, the lakeside campus gorgeous, and Chicago is a wonderful city. But I think I'm looking for a place where the students are more focused/directed/ambitious. I don't really know how to explain this without sounding like some kind of academic gunner snob, but I sat in on a first year Constitutional Law class and three people *in a row* hadn't done the reading. I come from a pretty intense academic background, and I expect more from my fellow students. (I also wasn't particularly impressed by the other admitted students I met at the weekend, but I think that's just a function of the people I happened to meet.) As for my own decision, I'm still debating between Columbia and UVA: big-city opportunities v. small-town community. I could make a pretty compelling argument for either one, which probably speaks well of my skills as a prospective lawyer but which doesn't make my choice any easier. Good luck with your own decision!

Am - I would comment in your profile, but I can't find it. Anyway, I was put on hold at HLS on 3/29. I called today to check the status of my app, and they said a letter was being mailed today. When I asked if they could tell me what the decision was, the woman I was speaking with just asked me some questions to identify who I was, and then told me.