2014-2015 Northwestern University Application Thread

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II just now! Happy Friday and good luck to those still waiting. Good news will come.

Complete early August.
 
gettheleadout said:
1 - (product of all post-interview rejection rates)

😉


Sent from my neural implant using SDN Mobile
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Lol thats pretty cool, and you got post-interview reject rate from US News?
 
All that got a II when were you complete? Congrats!
 
For those with IIs, is the interviewing site working for you? I received one on Thursday but couldn't schedule it until I figure some things out and now it won't let me log-in to the site.
 
thethreeheadeddragon said:
For those with IIs, is the interviewing site working for you? I received one on Thursday but couldn't schedule it until I figure some things out and now it won't let me log-in to the site.
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The site sporadically stops letting me log in on my usual browser, however I have always been able to access it by logging-in via Incognito mode on Chrome.

Not sure why this is, but it seems a lot of other people have had similar problems. Congrats on your II! 😀
 
Anyone know if the area by the school is safe? I've heard bad things about Chicago...
 
Osteoth said:
Anyone know if the area by the school is safe? I've heard bad things about Chicago...
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AspiringERMD said:
It's in Evanston. Much safer than Chicago but admittedly not perfect.
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It's actually in Streeterville, which is basically downtown Chicago and it's a safe place. In any event, the stories of how dangerous Chicago is are pretty exaggerated.
 
Chicago is pretty segregated by communities. As others mentioned, FSM is in Streeterville - safe, lots of expensive clothing stores and restaurants, and expensive housing 🙂
 
zinthafan said:
I'm really struggling with the "coping" essay; are people just listing things for the whole essay or narrowing in on a specific experience?
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That was a tough essay! I wrote it three different ways and finally ended up sounding like Maria in *The Sound of Music*. . . you know, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. . .when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad. . ." I guess I decided that I would show that I have a bagful of coping skills. Painting a picture seemed like a good idea, though: "for nagging worries, I watch a Marx Brothers movie" kind of thing. Maybe the more personal you are, the harder it gets to turn you away? That's my secret hope, anyway! (Oh. If I post it, it will be not so secret!)
 
npkaratekid11 said:
hey for the first secondary question, do you guys interpret it as essentially Why Feinberg? and talk more about the unique programs/opportunities available or did you spend more time talking about yourself?
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This is just a report of what I did--I don't know if it will pay off! I couldn't praise a lot about Feinberg because 1) all I know is through reading and informal talks with friends, and 2) it was so difficult to avoid sounding like a total suck-up! Finally I tried describing what I thought FSM would be like from the descriptions, and what I might add in to the mix.
 
chicagostudent said:
Chicago is pretty segregated by communities. As others mentioned, FSM is in Streeterville - safe, lots of expensive clothing stores and restaurants, and expensive housing 🙂
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Positive: will not get robbed

Negative: might need to rob someone for rent money if I want to live there...
 
I've heard a lot about how expensive it is to live around the medical school. How do students usually manage this? Is it doable?
 
soccerusa said:
I've heard a lot about how expensive it is to live around the medical school. How do students usually manage this? Is it doable?
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The areas within walking distance of the campus are pretty expensive, but it would certainly be possible to live in an adjacent neighborhood and take public trans in/out (Lakeview and Lincoln Park are not too far away and have good access to the CTA Red Line; Wicker Park/Bucktown are not too far of a shot on the Blue Line - hipster neighborhoods if that's what you're into; check out this guide in Chicago Magazine). There is also an NU-only free shuttle that runs between the Chicago and Evanston campuses quite frequently that stops at Loyola in Rogers Park (definitely the most affordable of all the neighborhoods mentioned, but honestly, you can find affordable housing in most neighborhoods, granted you might have to compromise on quality).

Or there's always loans 😱
 
Does anyone know if NU sends out rejections alongside IIs, or do they just hold on to your app until the end of interview season? I suspect it's the latter, but I want to confirm.
 
bweild said:
Does anyone know if NU sends out rejections alongside IIs, or do they just hold on to your app until the end of interview season? I suspect it's the latter, but I want to confirm.
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It's the latter, unfortunately.
 
soccerusa said:
I've heard a lot about how expensive it is to live around the medical school. How do students usually manage this? Is it doable?
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Current M1 here. Honestly, almost everyone takes out loans for this. Most of M1s live within walking distance of the school and it really is a great choice - I have several classmates in my apartment building and it kind of feels like living in the dorms (in the best possible way). We can all walk together to events or host dinner parties out on our apartment's deck.
Is it expensive? Yes, but you are paying to live in downtown Chicago in a beautiful high rise with great amenities (sun deck with grills, tables, and lounge chairs, pool, fitness center, doorman, etc.). Also, a lot of students will move out to the neighborhoods after the first or second year where the rent is less.
 
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So I just realized you aren't supposed to send more than three letters until you get an II, how bad to you think it is if I sent four?
 
jibblesNbits said:
So I just realized you aren't supposed to send more than three letters until you get an II, how bad to you think it is if I sent four?
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Two points:
1) To directly answer you, I doubt it's a big deal. But you should consider calling NU's admissions office if will help calm your conscience.
2) For others: their website directly states that "you are welcome to submit additional letters on interview day." So just to be neurotically (and probably unnecessarily) safe don't send them extra LORs until your actual interview date.
 
jibblesNbits said:
So I just realized you aren't supposed to send more than three letters until you get an II, how bad to you think it is if I sent four?
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I contacted them about this several months ago as I accidentally submitted five in my haste to get my primary in as soon as possible. They said not to worry and that it wouldn't effect my chance of receiving an interview or acceptance.
 
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For those looking for information helping them answer....
Essay 1: Given the distinctive educational philosophy and curriculum at FSM, describe how your personal characteristics and learning style would fit the institution.​

This is from MSAR
About the Curriculum
The current curriculum, extensively revised for the class entering in the fall of 2012, provides a student-centered environment where active learners use their questions as the starting point for inquiry. All four years of instruction include components from the four curricular elements (Science in Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Health and Society, and Professional Development) and the four threads that run through the curriculum (Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, Medical Decision Making, Leadership and Teamwork, and Lifestyle Medicine).

The first phase features an integrated, organ-system based approach in Science in Medicine. Small group "Problem Based Learning" and "Team Based Learning" help contextualize the concepts developed in lectures and laboratory sessions. During this phase Clinical Medicine provides early exposure to patients in Focused Clinical Experiences and the Education Centered Medical Home. The psychosocial foundations of medicine are emphasized in Health and Society where students engage the many ways in which medicine interacts with the larger society. In Professional Development students begin work on an Area of Scholarly Concentration which continues through all three phases of he curriculum. During phase two the main focus is on Clinical Medicine through clerkship experience and in phase three the emphasis is on Career Development including completion of the scholarly project.​
 
hey, would anyone mind sharing how they're checking their status of their app? in the complete e-mail it mentioned something about a "public website" but i can't seem to find it... thanks 🙂
 
Congrats to all students with II!! Usually at what time during the day NU sends out II?
 
Is there a student host program here?
 
So what is the interview format? In the email it says "panel interview", but on there website here it says 2 individual interviews and 1 individual meeting.
 
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