What does “appearance is important” mean any Vandy?

Anonymous wrote:Another current thread prompts this comment:

Even in the most competitive majors or schools at Northwestern, the pressure cooker intensity does not rise to the level of that found at U Penn. Kids are very happy at Northwestern and enjoy life while remaining hard working & serious as students. NU's environment is healthy, but not a place for procrastinators.

Forgot to note that the other thread is titled: "Thoughts on U Penn " Short thread at this time. Worth a quick read.

My order of preference would be Vandy then Gtown.

This has nothing to do with law school or big law - I did both just like you. All you need to get in is high grades + top LSAT - none of these schools hurt your chances. If you’re from DC, good chance she ends up at an east coast T14 and then NYC/DC big law. You know how regimented the path is, so why not take 3 yrs now to LIVE. Experience another part of the country, explore a new city. Who knows Vandy undergrad is just the kind of connection that opens up another city for her and lets her be a 6th Cir clerk one day or Nashville merely serves as her happy place in life that she travels to occasionally? As I plodded along the biglaw path and now govt, I understand how few chances one has in life to experience other cities etc - if it were my kid I’d push Vandy.

Another current thread prompts this comment:

Even in the most competitive majors or schools at Northwestern, the pressure cooker intensity does not rise to the level of that found at U Penn. Kids are very happy at Northwestern and enjoy life while remaining hard working & serious as students. NU's environment is healthy, but not a place for procrastinators.

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown, no question!

I love the certainty of your opinion! Would you please share any reasons for preferring Georgetown. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. That's very helpful information.

I do think some of the pressure-cooker reputation for Northwestern is from STEM / Econ and the quarter system as well as pretty well known grade deflation (at least in those areas).

Did you or one of your children attend Northwestern?

I'm a BigLaw refugee and have cautioned her. I've got a couple years to convince her.

Yes. More than one extended family member. Undergraduate and graduate MBA/Law).

All loved the school, but all are well disciplined (hard workers) & bright.

However, I do not want to influence you/your daughter's decision. Everyone that we know who has attended Vanderbilt or Northwestern had positive experiences. Georgetown too, but a bit more mixed due to housing issues and social issues. Academics at all 3 are outstanding. In my view, Nashville and Evanston/Chicago are wonderful, but Washington DC is better for government internships as they are available year round.

Appearance is important at Vanderbilt. It's the South and this is quite common. Better weather & lots of opportunities for exercise & outdoor activities.

To a certain extent, fit is important, but all are National Universities and all offer a wide variety of social & academic options. Since COA is not a factor, it comes down to personal preference.

If I knew your daughter's current school, I might be able to draw more meaningful distinctions or make a recommendation.

Georgetown, no question!

Anonymous wrote:My oldest transferred and at the time we were not completely clear on his reasons. I get the sense that is also true for you, OP, so just want to say that in his case, at least, his gut instincts, even if not completely articulated, were right. He transferred to a school that was ranked at about the same level as his first-year school(USNWR top 20), but where he was much happier socially, largely because there was no "Greek life". He did very well and went on to a top 3 law school. The school where he graduated was very welcoming of transfers. One of his HS classmates transferred to Georgetown and had a similarly positive experience there, both academically and socially.

Thank you. I agree that a lot transferring out of one school and into another is based on gut feeling and fit, which can be hard to articulate. I just want her to be well informed as possible and then let her decide where she feels she'll be happy and successful.

Thank you. That's very helpful information.

I do think some of the pressure-cooker reputation for Northwestern is from STEM / Econ and the quarter system as well as pretty well known grade deflation (at least in those areas).

Did you or one of your children attend Northwestern?

I'm a BigLaw refugee and have cautioned her. I've got a couple years to convince her.

My oldest transferred and at the time we were not completely clear on his reasons. I get the sense that is also true for you, OP, so just want to say that in his case, at least, his gut instincts, even if not completely articulated, were right. He transferred to a school that was ranked at about the same level as his first-year school(USNWR top 20), but where he was much happier socially, largely because there was no "Greek life". He did very well and went on to a top 3 law school. The school where he graduated was very welcoming of transfers. One of his HS classmates transferred to Georgetown and had a similarly positive experience there, both academically and socially.

Does Northwestern University have a chapter of her sorority ? You wrote that Vanderbilt does not.

Sorority connections should be a great source of contacts for information.

Northwestern University accepts a good number of transfers each year. They integrate well into the school both socially and academically. Northwestern is very flexible regarding academic majors. Easy to double or triple major; easy to switch majors.

Georgetown has some housing issues and a lot of socialization occurs off-campus.

Vanderbilt & Nashville are both great. But I would investigate further your concerns about appearance.

Northwestern/Evanston/Chicago are fantastic, but the weather gets a wee bit on the chilly side during the winter months.

Doubt that there would be much academic intensity/pressure for a psych or philosophy major at Northwestern. Economics & engineering, yes, but not for your daughter's areas of interest.

All three options are outstanding, but different.

Forget about deciding based upon Top 15 law schools or biglaw. Admission to the top 14 or 15 law schools for non-URMs is allabout one LSAT score and undergraduate GPA. Regarding biglaw--be careful what you wish for.

It really doesn’t matter where you go undergraduate for pre law, and certainly not between the schools your child is considering. In recent years, law schools have increased their focus on accepting students from a wide range of schools and even highlight this info in their admissions page (most will have 100 plus schools represented in each class). It’s her grades and lsats that will be determinative. Frankly she probably would have had the best odds from the school she’s leaving as her grades there were likely quite high to garner the transfer acceptances she got.

-graduate of a t5 law school

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I would pick Northwestern. Urge her to reconsider.

Thank you. Would you mind elaborating beyond its ranking?

Honestly, I would pick Northwestern. Urge her to reconsider.

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious why applying as a transfer ends up being easier or less competitive?

The admission rates between transfer and regular admissions can be different, depending on the schools at issue. Some schools are actually harder to transfer into than applying as first years, and others are not quite as hard statistically. In addition, the demographics are different, potentially not being evaluated against thousands of other over-achieving students from the DMV. Much could be said about the differences between transfer versus regular admissions that are beyond my knowledge or the purpose of this thread. That being said, it's not easy and takes a lot of work.