2013-2014 Northwestern University Application Thread

Started by gettheleadout
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nephron19 said:
As another applicant, I think its pretty important. NU has a lot of group work, and I would think they want to make sure that you can do well in those situations (be cooperative, nice to the other people in your group, don't try to one-up other people). I was accepted in October, but after I interviewed, I felt like the least competitive person in my group. I think there is more weight because of some of the crazy questions they ask you as well.
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If you were accepted, what were your stats? I probably shouldn't ask, but I'm curious.
 
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TREDWISE said:
If you were accepted, what were your stats? I probably shouldn't ask, but I'm curious.
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My friend received her acceptance last week I think, and she's willing to share her stats: 3.8 cGPA, 37 MCAT

I think that the interview was what sealed the deal in her case, though. She felt a really good connection to her interviewers.
 
debear said:
My friend received her acceptance last week I think, and she's willing to share her stats: 3.8 cGPA, 37 MCAT

I think that the interview was what sealed the deal in her case, though. She felt a really good connection to her interviewers.
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When did she interview?
 
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TREDWISE said:
I wrote down that they told me March 1st when I interviewed recently. If it doesn't come soon I'm going to lose it.
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March 1st is a saturday though, don't think they will be sending out decisions on a saturday. Anyone think just MAYBE it'll be Friday, 2/28? haha
 
Also just the pre-interview rejection email. Oh well Chicago, I guess it wasn't meant to be! Good luck to everyone waiting to hear back post-interview!!:luck:
 
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Just received an acceptance via email, super excited! I interviewed 1/29, but was not expecting to hear back for at least another week or two.

As a note, I found the panel interview to actually be a bit stressful and they seemed to ask some rather difficult questions. I was originally ambivalent about whether this was a good or a bad sign, but I think now they were challenging us/me. Just goes to show that if you find an interview to be really challenging, it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong and you should just take it as a confidence boost.
 
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datanator said:
Just recieved an acceptance via email as well! Interviewed first week of Feb. I did not expect to hear back so soon. Best of luck to everyone else waiting to hear back!!
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Stabley17 said:
Just received an acceptance via email, super excited! I interviewed 1/29, but was not expecting to hear back for at least another week or two.

As a note, I found the panel interview to actually be a bit stressful and they seemed to ask some rather difficult questions. I was originally ambivalent about whether this was a good or a bad sign, but I think now they were challenging us/me. Just goes to show that if you find an interview to be really challenging, it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong and you should just take it as a confidence boost.
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Congrats! Just checking, were you two initially deferred or is this the first you've heard back?
 
TREDWISE said:
Congrats! Just checking, were you two initially deferred or is this the first you've heard back?
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First time I've heard back. My guess is that there will still be a giant wave of acceptance/wait-list decisions sometime in the first week of March - including those who have been previously deferred. I could easily be wrong though. Good luck!
 
TREDWISE said:
Congrats! Just checking, were you two initially deferred or is this the first you've heard back?
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This was my first time too. But from what I heard, since it's semi-rolling, a lot of people get in when they are done interviewing everyone.
 
Stabley17 said:
Just received an acceptance via email, super excited! I interviewed 1/29, but was not expecting to hear back for at least another week or two.

As a note, I found the panel interview to actually be a bit stressful and they seemed to ask some rather difficult questions. I was originally ambivalent about whether this was a good or a bad sign, but I think now they were challenging us/me. Just goes to show that if you find an interview to be really challenging, it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong and you should just take it as a confidence boost.
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I interviewed 1/27 and was accepted via email today also. I had similar feelings about the panel interview, but am so glad it worked out!
 
ilikestudying said:
I interviewed 1/27 and was accepted via email today also. I had similar feelings about the panel interview, but am so glad it worked out!
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Stabley17 said:
Just received an acceptance via email, super excited! I interviewed 1/29, but was not expecting to hear back for at least another week or two.

As a note, I found the panel interview to actually be a bit stressful and they seemed to ask some rather difficult questions. I was originally ambivalent about whether this was a good or a bad sign, but I think now they were challenging us/me. Just goes to show that if you find an interview to be really challenging, it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong and you should just take it as a confidence boost.
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What kinds of questions would you guys consider difficult?
 
TREDWISE said:
What kinds of questions would you guys consider difficult?
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I'd prefer not to be too specific, but I was asked a couple of hypothetical questions. One of which came up during a round of questions to each applicant that involved ethical dilemmas. It had to do with lying to a superior when asked to by another superior, or something like that. The other question related to my work practicing a type of psychotherapy on patients for a clinical trial that one of my interviewers (well, probably all of them to some extent) was familiar with. I forget what exactly the issue was that the interviewer was curious about, but I think it had to do with a difficult patient. In both cases, I just felt like they continued to press and ask questions.
 
snowflakes said:
At least for me, the panel interview questions felt just like multiple individual interviews going on at once. The questions themselves weren't hard or novel, but it was hard to develop as sense of rapport with your interviewers and get the conversational back-and-forth feel I got with individual interviews. Also, sometimes they would ask the same question to each of us in turn, and then the questions had the added pressure of "oh gosh, I hope my answer doesn't sound like I'm copying everyone else's answer."

The group activity, I liked...I can see how they use it to judge our teamwork skills and ability to work and communicate well with others.
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Stabley17 said:
I'd prefer not to be too specific, but I was asked a couple of hypothetical questions. One of which came up during a round of questions to each applicant that involved ethical dilemmas. It had to do with lying to a superior when asked to by another superior, or something like that. The other question related to my work practicing a type of psychotherapy on patients for a clinical trial that one of my interviewers (well, probably all of them to some extent) was familiar with. I forget what exactly the issue was that the interviewer was curious about, but I think it had to do with a difficult patient. In both cases, I just felt like they continued to press and ask questions.
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Thanks guys. Your interviews sound interesting. Congrats on your acceptances! I had a 2 on 1 (me) interview the day before, and I strongly preferred the panel interview at NU to that. It didn't help that my interviewers sat on opposite sides of the room so I had to consciously alternate between them and my neck started to chafe by my shirt collar. haha, oh well.
 
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snowflakes said:
Yes, I actually felt more relaxed being in a group setting--sort of like the other applicants and I were all in this together. It helped that the other applicants I was with were very nice people, and we had some time to bond before the interview started. It didn't feel like anyone was trying to one-up anyone else even when we were asked the same question--it felt like a supportive environment. However, there were a couple applicants on my interview day that didn't seem quite as supportive, so I'm not sure if I would have felt as relaxed if my group had been different.
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I had a very similar experience with the group interview. Once the initial nervousness faded, it was really nice to hear the stories and answers of the other interviewees. I felt like my group was very supportive and we all did well. I didn't feel stressed out or worried what the other interviewees thought of me. After the panel interview, we were joking around and I felt like we actually bonded through the panel interview.
 
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