Table of Contents

Who interviews? What does it mean?

Basic All-Purpose Interview Advice

Standard Interview Questions

Harvard Interviews

Chicago Interviews

Columbia Interviews

University of Pennsylvania Interview Questions

University of Virginia Interviews

Duke Interviews

Northwestern Interviews

Cornell Interviews

Georgetown Interviews

Texas Interviews

Vanderbilt Interviews

Washington University of St. Louis Interviews

Washington and Lee Interviews

Bonus Northwestern Questions

Who interviews? What does it mean?

Roughly half the schools in the T21 do interviews. Some, like Northwestern, offer interviews to all students. Others, like Harvard, Chicago, and Columbia, offer interviews by invitation only. An invitation to interview is never a bad sign. Sometimes it’s a great sign, and a prelude to an offer, but it’s just as often a chance for the interviewer to ask you genuine questions before they make a decision. You should always treat it like the latter.

This handy spreadsheet tells you which schools in the T20 interview.

Basic All-Purpose Interview Advice

You must be prepared to talk about the following:

your résumé and experience your interest in law in general your interest in their law school in particular



You should probably be prepared to talk about these:

an academic or professional accomplishment

a mistake, failure, or weakness

a time you worked on a team

A couple other tips:

Dress business casual.

Make sure you show up early for in-person interviews. There’s no excuse for being late.

If possible, plug into your modem for online interviews. Otherwise, do what you can to clear bandwidth: don’t download anything big beforehand; consider moving closer to your router.

Be friendly, charming, and enthusiastic. Smile even if you’re on the phone. Don’t panic.

Prepare at least two questions for them.

A Word about Preparing and Being Unprepared

Don’t try to memorize lines—you’ll only sound stilted. Don’t worry about hitting every talking point or being perfect. You’re just having a conversation. Speech is supposed to be messy. If they wanted to see what you could do with time to revise, they would send you written questions.

Expect that you’ll get a curve ball or two. It’s okay to give yourself time to think by saying something like, “Wow! That’s an interesting question! I hadn’t thought about that before. I guess if I had to give a preliminary answer, I’d say...” (But don’t memorize that!) If something really stumps you, it’s okay to say, “Sorry, I’m a little nervous,” so long as you pick up the thread. It’s normal to be a little nervous. They don’t expect you to knock every question out of the park. They just want to see that you can perform in an interview environment without freaking out.

A Note on Questions for Them

At the end of the interview, they’ll probably ask if you have any questions for them. I divide questions you can ask them into two categories: genuine questions and suck-up questions.

Suck-up questions are designed to show off your knowledge of a program or convey your eagerness: “I see that your Immigration Rights Clinic helps clients mount detention challenges, and I’m wondering how successful those challenges have been in the current political environment.” You can also lob softballs at your interviewer: “What does Harvard do to promote a sense of community in its large student body?” Make sure that the answer to your suck-up question isn’t easily available online.

Genuine questions are usually more broad: “what’s student housing like?” I’m a fan of questions like this because I’m a fan of authenticity in general. I think it’s also good to demonstrate that you are seriously considering the prospect of moving to their school and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on your tuition.

A few questions are both suck-uppy and genuine: “What’s your favorite part of the law school?” “What do you remember about your days as a student here?” (The last one only works, obviously, if your interviewer went there.)

See also What Questions Should You Ask a Law School Admissions Officer?

After the interview…

You should send your interviewer a short, polite thank you note. If you can’t find your interviewer’s email address, you can send your thank you note to the email address of the general admissions office.

Standard Interview Questions

Why do you want to be a lawyer? [Duh.]

What do you hope to do or accomplish with your JD?

Why are you interested in X type of law?

Why are you applying to law school now?

Why are you switching careers? (For older applicants.)

What interests you about our school?

Tell me about a time you were challenged while working on a team.

Tell me about a time you overcame an obstacle.

What have you learned at your current job?

Why did you study [something you studied at grad school] and how will it inform your career?

Tell me about a time you showcased leadership.

Talk to me about [the hobbies or interests you listed on your resume].

What do you do for fun?

Harvard

Harvard interviews most applicants on a video chat client called Zoom.

2019–2020 Harvard Interview Questions

Student A

I see you've been working in the publishing industry for a while. Can you tell me about a success you've had? Tell me about a time you've received feedback you didn't agree with. *Best interview question I've ever been asked* In your personal statement you talk about your love of movies - what movie do you think would best represent your motivation for going to law school? Are there any areas of law that you're interested in other than copyright law?

Student B

Why law and why now? How do you navigate through a difficult conversation? If you were an admission officer, what would you see as your weakness? What do you value most for a community? Questions for them (allow 2 max)

Student C

Why law school and why now? Where do you see your career going after law school? Talk about an important mentor to you. If you had to choose any contemporary or historical figure to be your mentor, who would it be? You talked about [this topic] in your personal statement - can you talk more about what you learned from that experience? As someone who's based in [US region], what's enticing about moving out to the east coast for you?

Student D

Why law? Why now? What Harvard programs are you interested in? Name one strength and one weakness. What are you looking for in potential classmates?

Student E

Why law? Why USA? What do you do for fun? Why are you working at your current job? An accomplishment from your current job? She also asked a lot about my thesis

Student F

Why law? Why now? What Harvard programs are you interested in? Name one strength and one weakness. What are you looking for in your potential classmates? What do you do for fun? Any questions for us?

Student G (Interviewer: Dean Kristi Jobson)

(Friendly, but not conversational in tone until the very end. Length was 14 minutes on the dot. Started about 5 minutes late, but made it up with extra time.)

You’ve had three jobs in consulting since you graduated. Talk about why you decided to go into each one Considering your consulting background, why law? (Follow-up) But why law instead of doing an MPP or MBA? What are pros and cons of HLS? (We know people are considering a lot of places.) What have you liked most about your experience at your current job? What skills from your professional life would serve you best in law school? How would you describe yourself in one sentence? What’s a job you would like to have long-term / how do you think about your career post-JD? Any questions for me?

2018–2019 Harvard Interview Questions

Student A (2018/2019 cycle)

[Questions about professional and academic experience. Why law?]

Student B (2018/2019 cycle)



Why law and why now? Why Harvard? Hypothetical: if at your time at [legal internship], you were to show up one day and find that your coworkers were your clones, what strengthens and challenges would you run into? [This is a clever way of saying “What are your strengths and weaknesses?] What are you afraid of, and what motivates you? If you were a fly on the wall, what do you think the admissions committee would say are the pros and cons of your application? If you were an admissions officer, what two qualities would you look for in a potential candidate? Do you have any questions for me?

Student C (2018/2019 cycle)

Why law? Why Harvard? If you were a fly on the wall, what do you think the admissions committee might think the strengths and weaknesses of your application might be?

Student D (2018/2019 cycle)

Why law school and why now? What do you like about your current job? What do you dislike? Discuss a challenge or how you dealt with critical feedback. What’s a potential downside of your application? How might you address it? What questions do yo have for us?

Student E (2018/2019 cycle)

Why law? Why Harvard? Which elective would you take? If you were a fly on the wall, what are some things that you imagine the committee would say about your application? What are your questions for me?

Student F (2018/2019 cycle)

Why did you switch from [one field] to [another field]?

Why law?

What excites you most about Harvard?

What do you expect to be the biggest challenge?

Questions for us?

Chicago

2019–2020 Chicago Interview Questions

Student A

If you could have a conversation with anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and what would you talk to them about? Why UChicago? Why law school? Tell me about your current job. Tell me about a book you’re reading or have read recently that changed your perspective? What do you want your legal career to look like 5 years from now? 10 years from now? Questions for us?

Student B (Interviewed by admissions officer via Skype)

Note: Interviewer was very strict about keeping time. They mostly asked questions, recorded answers, and moved on to the next question.

Why do you want to attend UChicago? Why do you want to be a lawyer? Which particular clinics are you interested in? What is a book that you read recently and how did it impact you? If you would have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them? What is something that you have done for the first time recently? What questions do you have for me?

Student C

Tell me about your current job. Why law school? Why Chicago Law? What is the one accomplishment you're most proud of?What contemporary news issue are you following? What is a book that has influenced you? If you could have one conversation with historical figure, who would it be and why?

Student D

Why law? Why Chicago? Why are you working at your current job? [She asked about "philosophy" on the "interests" section of my résumé.]

2018–2019 Chicago Interview Questions

Student A (2018/2019 cycle)

Tell me about your job at [an organization where you worked]. Tell me about a social issue or current event that you’re following. Tell me about a book that influenced you or a book you’re currently reading. Which experience are you most proud of? Why law? Why UChicago? If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be with?

Student B (2017/2018 cycle)

If you could teach your fellow students at Chicago a class in anything, academic or not, what would you teach them? What type of law would you like to practice and where would you like to start your career? What would interest you about corporate law? What have you learned in your current job? What interests you about the city of Chicago? Which headline would you like to see in the news?

Student C (2018/2019)

What makes you want to pursue law? If you had a chance to collaborate with anyone alive or dead, who would it be with? What brings you to Chicago specifically? What is a book that changed your perspective on something? Questions for us?

Columbia

2019–2020 Columbia Interview Questions

Student A

Why philosophy as major? Since it does not seem to be useful in gaining employment (Note: this is a summary, Interviewer said it MUCH nicer than this) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now in your career? Why NYC? Anything else you would like to know from me about Columbia and NYC? I answered "Why law?" and "Why Columbia?" before Interviewer asked me by tying it in to other questions. I also stressed being a non-traditional student and asked questions regarding that. Towards the end, Interviewer asked me if I would be 100% committed to coming to Columbia if accepted. I answered immediately without a pause, mentioning that attending law school is a huge financial and time investment. I don't want to read in to it much, but I hope that was a good thing. The interview lasted 25 minutes and 40 seconds.

2018–2019 Columbia Interview Questions

Student A (2018/2019 cycle)

Why did you decide to go to [grad school]? What do you want to do five years after graduating from law school? Why Columbia Law? When did you first start playing banjo? What do you do to unwind? Questions for me?

The interview lasted about 20 min

Student B (2018/2019 cycle)

Please introduce yourself and describe your academic background. What did you do in your graduate program? Why did you decide to go to graduate school? What do you look for in law school when choosing law school? What can you bring to Columbia Law School? What kind of student do you think you were in university and graduate school? Do you think you are going be active in the student community at Columbia? How long did you live in New York and what do you think is the difference between the city that you live in and the city of New York? I see that you took the LSAT many times. Can you explain the circumstances?

Student C (2018/2019 cycle)

“Columbia basically asked me about things specific to my application. At the end, they asked me why Columbia but that was the only general question.”

Student D (2018/2019 cycle)

How did you end up [across the country] for college? Why law [Questions about professional experience.] Why Columbia?

Student E (2018/2019 cycle)

Describe your work history and how you went from [career in science] to [career in marketing] and now to law. Describe your undergrad educational experience and your achievements while in school. What do you look for in deciding to apply to a law school and what drew you to Columbia? What kind of student to you expect to be? Questions for us?

University of Pennsylvania

2019–2020 Penn Interview Questions

Student A

Why law? Why Penn? Explain to us a little more about your multiple attempts on the LSAT. Which student organization would you be interested in? Do you have any questions for us?

University of Virginia

2019–2020 UVA Interview Questions

Student A

Why UVA What was your Best/Worst day What have I changed my mind on in the past One resume item question

2018–2019 UVA Interview Questions

Student A (2018/2019 cycle):

Why UVA? If I were to ask your best friend what your three best qualities are, what would they say? If I were to ask your best friend what your three biggest weaknesses are, what would they say? What is something that you think differently about or has changed about you personally as you have matured? What is something that you have learned from playing trumpet?

Student B (2018/2019 cycle)

Why UVA law? Why law? If you could go back to any time in your life and tell yourself something, what would it be?

Duke Interview Questions

Duke uses a service called InitialView to interview prospective international students. We write about InitialView interviews here. What follows are accounts of Duke's financial aid interviews, offered to applicants who have already been accepted.

Student A (2018–2019 Cycle)

I just finished my Skype interview with Dean Hoye. It was very conversational, but here are the questions he asked me:

Tell me about your journey from choosing your undergrad degree to your decision to apply to law school. Tell me about an experience you had in an extracurricular, internship, or job that makes you proud, particularly one where you have to dig in. Law school goes by quickly. What sort of things do you hope to do in law school? Imagine you're sitting with your career counselor at Duke Law before starting 1L fall. What sorts of things would you tell them you hope to accomplish in your career after law school? Do you have any questions for me?

Student B (2018–2019 Cycle)

Pick two things off of your resume to talk about. Tell us about how the skills you learned at [a job] would translate to law school What are you interested in doing at Duke Law? Hypothetically, what do you think you’ll be doing after law school? What’s one thing that you might be scared or hesitant about in law school? Have you ever been to Durham? Would you be comfortable moving there? Is there anything that you want to add to your CSS profile for us to consider?

Student C (2018–2019 Cycle)

Explain your journey from your previous career to law. What's been your exposure to law so far? What do you plan to draw on from your previous background? How do you see yourself contributing to the community and what student organizations were you involved with in undergrad?

Northwestern

Northwestern gives you three options: an in-person on-campus interview, an in-person alumni interview, and an automated online interview via a video client called Kira. The Kira interview consists of four verbal-response questions (30 seconds of prep time followed by one minute of response time) and two written-response questions (15 minutes of response time).

Northwestern also performs a waitlist interview via Kira. It follows the same format as the main admissions interview: four verbal-response questions (30 seconds of prep time followed by one minute of response time) and two written-response questions (15 minutes of response time).

2019–2020 Waitlist Interview Questions

Student A

Talk about a time when you pursued a goal but then had to pivot to something else Talk about a stressful situation and how you handled it What's a movie or book that changed your mind? (not sure??) Give us an example of your leadership experience (written) Why Northwestern? (written) if you had a response prepared that we haven't asked, please answer that question.

2019–2020 Northwestern Interview Questions

Student A

Your co-worker, whose work is integral to the team, is having a bad day, how will you help them to feel better. What was a decision that you made in the past you will change today. Why? A time you fell down and got yourself up. What lesson did you learn? A major revelation about someone you worked with, and how did that change how I see the situation/person? Why NW? Something you want the administration know about you.

Student B

Why NW? Why law school? If there is one thing you could have done differently, what would that be? How do you like Chicago? Where else did you apply to? If you got accepted to all the schools you applied to, where would you pick? Is there any other information you'd like to share? [Specific questions about resume/experiences] Do you plan to work for a year or two before going to law school? What trait would serve you well in law school? What would you do if you can't make it to the top 10% of your class?

Student C

When were you wrongly blamed for a mistake and how did you handle it When did you do something complex with little guidance When did you speak to someone with a radically difference point of view How did you deal with frustrating news One more thing you want admissions to know about you

Student D

Do you consider yourself an optimist, pessimist, or realist? How did you handle constructive criticism when you didn’t agree with it. Name a book that changed your view on a social issue Name a failure that turned out to be a success. What do you want the school to know about you?

Student E

How do you define success? What characteristics do you hope to develop and grow over the next five years? Tell me one time a failure led to future success What book or film made you change your opinion on a particular social issue Why Northwestern? What is one thing you want the Admissions Council to know?

Student F (30 seconds to prepare each question and 60 second to answer)

Give an example of an experience of turning hostility toward friendship. Why Northwestern? Describe a time of teamwork. Describe yourself to the admission committee.

Student G

How do you define success? Have you worked with someone drastically different from you? How did you end up accomplishing the work? What was the most disappointing setback in your life? What have you learned from it? Tell me about a time you had to deliver difficult news to someone. How did you go about doing it? Why Northwestern? What is the one thing you want admissions to know about you?

Student H

Explain a time when you have to change yourself to accommodate someone else. How did you feel, what did you do, and what did you learn? Explain a time when you were rejected from a job offering. Why were you rejected, and what did you do afterwards? Why Northwestern? What is one thing you would like the admission committee to know about you?

Student I (Interviewed by alum in person)

Note: Interviewer said Northwestern gave them a list of questions on the online platform, but currently they were unable to access. So, they just asked general questions (see below) and gave career advice.

Why Northwestern? Why law in general?

Student J

When did you start seriously consider going to law school? What were your first steps? Describe a time when you had a difficult conversation and what did you do about it. Tell us about a time when you failed. What did you do? What is more important to you? The result or the process? Why? What is the one thing you want us to know about you? Why Northwestern?

Student K (in-person interview)

Other than the standard Why Northwestern and Why Law questions, there was much less interviewing and much more conversing. My interviewer did not take out the prepared list of questions until the very end of the interview. He seemed much more interested in discussing the university, my intentions and answering questions I had. That said the questions he asked are numbered in order here in this email.

Why Law? Why Northwestern? How will you deal with not being in top ten percent of class? Name a time you had a conflict and how you resolved it.

Student L (in-person alumni interview)

Why law school? Tell me about a project you've managed and how it went. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with someone and how you went about solving it. What do you think will be your biggest challenge in law school? Why NW? People going to a law school Northwestern are top performers. How will you react if you are not in the top 10% of your class? What is one thing you want the admissions committee to know about you?

Student M

[Asked about current job/résumé-related question] Why do you want to transition into law? Why Northwestern? Do you want to work in New York? [Other resume-related questions] [Discussed Chicago/NW experiences the interviewer had as an alum] [Also time given for questions from the student]

2018–2019 Northwestern Interview Questions

Student A's video interview (2018/2019 cycle)

What is motivating your decision to pursue a law degree? Describe a situation in which other would say you exhibited a level of maturity beyond your years. Tell me about a time when you were criticized unfairly. Think of a situation where someone else just did not get how you were feeling. What would you have done differently if you were that person? Why Northwestern? What is the one thing you want the Admissions Committee to know about you?

Student B’s video interview (2018/2019 cycle)

Describe a time where a failure led to a success. Did you have a pet growing up, and if not what would you have wanted and why? Describe a relationship that went from adversarial to amicable. How did that happen? Why Northwestern? What is the one thing that you want the Admissions Committee to know about you?

Student C’s in-person interview with Northwestern (2018/2019 cycle)

When you are facing a strict deadline for an important project, how do you organize and manage your time? Talk about a time when you were in conflict with another person, but then had a major revelation in seeing where they were coming from. Why Northwestern? Tell us about a time when you messed up an important play. How did you respond? What is the one thing you most want the admissions committee to know about you?

Student D’s alumni interview (2018/2019 cycle)

What is your leadership style? What is one thing you want the admissions committee to know about you? Tell me about a difficult time at work and how you handled it Name a mistake and how you would do things differently if given another chance Why law? Why NU? Tell me about your senior thesis. How will you handle not being in the top of your class?

Student E’s alumni interview (2018/2019 cycle)



Why law? Why Northwestern? Tell me about a time you were a leader. What is the biggest challenge that you’ve faced so far? Tell me about your current position. What is something that you’re not looking forward to in law school? What do you want to do after law school?

From past years:

If there was a shift in your career or path, how did you deal with the shift? Tell about a stressing moment in your life and how you overcame it. Have you made a sacrifice for someone else at the cost of your own well-being? Why Northwestern? Any response you’ve prepared but were not asked?

Cornell Interview Questions

Cornell usually does a recorded interview with about seven questions. Some will require a video response; some will require a written response. For the video-response questions, you’ll get about thirty seconds of prep time and about a minute to respond. You’ll get five minutes to answer the written questions.

The video questions will be fairly standard—what was your favorite class? what would you bring to Cornell? why law?—but the written questions may be hypotheticals about current affairs. Some examples from the past:

What do you think of the Burka ban in France?

The ABA is thinking about adopting a uniform bar exam. Good idea?

Suppose someone gets injured playing Pokemon Go. (They fell into a ditch while looking at their phone or something). Should the creators of Pokemon Go be liable?

If you could tell the president one thing, what would you say?

2019–2020 Cornell Interview Questions

Student A

Note: A few questions required a video response (1 minute), and a few questions required a written response (5 minutes). You are able to do practice questions on the platform.

What is an international legal issue that you are passionate about? (written) What does integrity mean to you? (written)

2018–2019 Cornell Interview Questions

Student A (2018–2019 cycle)

What do you do in your free time?

What would you tell the US president?

How many hours per week do you spend on social media?

What was the most memorable class you took in university?

Why is Ithaca for you?”

Student B (2018–2019 cycle)

How do you define integrity? (written) What role should the government play in unrestrained capitalism? (written) Name three attributes that your friends would use to describe you? What about Ithaca NY attracts you? What charitable organization would you donate to and why?

If you’re not sure how to answer a written question, consider both sides with a classic “On the one hand, on the other hand” structure. Start by making the case for one side, that is, and then say something like, “Nevertheless…” and make the case for the other side.

Note that these questions are out of date because Cornell asks interviewees not to share the interview questions.

Georgetown

Georgetown does a group interview. Dean Cornblatt typically breaks the interviewees into groups and asks them questions about hypothetical law school applications. You can bring a résumé and a question about Georgetown just in case, but you won’t have much (or any) one-on-one time with the dean.

To prepare, you might think about what qualities would be important to you if you were admitting students (passion? legal experience?), what you would want your incoming class to look like, and to what extent you would be willing to forgive or overlook some mistakes in an application. What if the application has some typos? What if it’s addressed to the wrong school? What if the essay is plagiarized?

The content of your answer probably matters less than how you say it. You should be thoughtful, confident, warm, and encouraging of other people as well. Focus not just on talking but on listening.

2019–2020 Georgetown Interview Questions

Student A (Group interview with Dean of Admissions in person)

Introduction: Dean passed out name plates to put in front of us. Then, we were asked to go around and say our name, hometown, and a fun fact about ourselves.

Instructions: He handed out a packet with scenarios written out, and he told you to keep it face down until he finished his instructions. (He called out people that reached for the paper before he finished speaking.) He then divided us into groups of three, and he told to read through the first scenario. Then, we were to pretend that we were members of the admissions committee and decide as a group if the issue raised had “no impact,” “little impact,” “big impact,” or “game over impact” on the prospective student’s application.

First Scenario: A student was suspended for a year for plagiarism. She said that she made a careless mistake because she mis-cited a paper in French, and she was sick at the time. She said that she took a year off to reflect and tutor children. (The Dean asked students questions like, Can you sum up what your group thought? What did you think about her time off? What do you think about how she framed the story? The Dean ultimately said that this had a “big impact” because he did not like that the student did not own up to the seriousness of the situation—she was suspended for a year. He thinks that she is not telling the full story.)

Second Scenario: An Oxford masters student, who had already been accepted to Georgetown Law, told Georgetown that he withdrew from his masters program. When asked why, he admitted that he had failed to include citations in his dissertation, and there was going to be a disciplinary hearing about the issue. Before the hearing, he decided to withdraw from school. (The Dean said that this was “game over” because the student would not give him a lot of information, and he felt that he lacked integrity.)

Note: During the first two scenarios, he randomly called on people, and he asked them specific questions. He did not let people raise their hand and share their opinions freely. He took a more Socratic approach.

Third Scenario: A student had stellar GPA and LSAT stats as well as letters of recommendation praising her writing skills. However, her personal statement had typos, including the wrong school name. (During this scenario, the Dean asked us to rate the seriousness of the issue as a whole group on a scale of 1-10. He observed our large group conversation. The Dean then weighed in, and he believed that this should be rated as a 7. She should not have written the wrong school name. That shows that she does not care about Georgetown, and there is no point in wasting a seat on her.)

Fourth Scenario: Student A has slightly better stats than Student B, but Student B wrote an unsolicited “Why Georgetown” essay. Who should you admit if you have to choose one over the other? (He had us go around and say “Student A” or “Student B” without any discussion. The Dean said that he would let Student A in because a “Why Georgetown” essay was not required, so Student A should not be penalized for not writing one.)

General thoughts: The Dean appreciated decisiveness; he did not like it when interviewees were in between “little impact” and “big impact.” He cares a lot about integrity, so I would be sure to highlight that in your answers. He also cared about order and structure — he noticed people who did not follow his instructions precisely or spoke out of turn. He appreciates collaboration, so be sure to speak about the conclusions your group came to, not necessarily the ones that you individually came to.

Student B

The group interview actually went exactly how it was described on the 7sage 2019-2020 Interview Questions section! We were given a packet of 4 scenarios but we only got through the first 3. We were in groups of 3-4 for the first two scenarios, and then we all got together in one large group to discuss the third scenario. We returned the packet after we were done and the Dean all walked us to the elevator, shaking each one of our hands and thanking us.

2018–2019 Georgetown Interview Questions

Student A (2018/2019 cycle)

We all checked in at security, waited in a lobby area, and were given name tags. After we mingled amongst each other for a couple minutes, the Dean came down the stairs, introduced himself, and we all walked with him into a conference room, where we had name tags assigned to each seat.

He started with introductions—nothing crazy, we just went around the room stating our name, where we’re from, what we’re doing now, and a fun fact about ourselves (so maybe come with one prepared).

Then he split us up into groups. We had maybe 12 people in the room and split into 3 groups of 4. We were handed a packet with different scenarios from real applicants who had applied to Georgetown the previous year. We were told that we would be playing the role of an admissions committee, and that we were to discuss the scenario in our individual groups and figure out how much this impacted the decision, on a sliding scale.

We did them one by one. So, we started with the first scenario, talked amongst our group for a while (only 3 or 4 minutes), and then we would bring it all together. He would call on someone in each group to give a summary of what their group thought, as well as sometimes some individual questions to a student about what they thought. Then we would progress onto scenario 2, and so on.

First scenario was about a student who had been suspended for a year on account of plagiarism. She had a high GPA/LSAT, and she’d won awards for her writing before. The plagiarism in question was for a first draft of another writing piece she was submitting for an award (I think? or maybe it was just an assignment I’m not sure, but it was definitely a first draft). She chalked it up to a careless mistake because parts of it had to be in a foreign language, and because she had meningitis or something, so she was uncharacteristically tired/ill. She said she took a year off to reflect and tutor kids.

Dean didn’t like that because a whole year’s suspension from the undergrad institution is a pretty big penalty, and she seemed to not be portraying things very honestly. He said if she had just written, “I’m sorry. I take full responsibility and please note that I have never done such a thing since that time,” it might have been a totally different story. It wasn’t even that much about the plagiarism itself as the way she framed the situation. He said something like, “Sometimes it’s best to say I’m sorry and then zip it.”

Second scenario was about a student who had already been accepted, and was currently in a graduate program at Oxford. He called Georgetown saying he was withdrawing from the program. When asked why, he admitted he had failed to include citations in his dissertation, and that there was going to be a disciplinary hearing about it, but now that he’s withdrawing there would be no hearing and no effect on his record.

Obviously this was all super sketchy, but the crux of the issue here was that the offer had already been given out, and they would have to rescind without any real evidence of wrongdoing (they called Oxford and didn’t get much info, and the student didn’t give any more info). Nonetheless, the Dean ultimately decided to rescind the offer.

Third scenario was about an applicant with gleaming GPA/LSAT, letters of rec commending his strong writing skills, and then a personal statement with multiple typos and a mention of the wrong school. A lot of people in the group interview thought this wasn’t unforgivable, especially given that the previous two were pretty big ethical violations, but as it turns out it was a rejection as well. The reasoning from the Dean was that it does a disservice to the qualified applicants who did write glowing personal statements. It shows a huge disinterest in Georgetown, so he’s not about to waste an acceptance on someone who’s not serious. He also pointed out that when you care, you will reread your application fifty times before your friend tells you, “Oh my god, just press the damn button already.” So the fact that this had so many mistakes was actually pretty telling. He did, however, note that it would be different if the student had immediately apologized and sent a follow-up email with a correction. Then that would have been fine.

Finally, he gave us a hypothetical scenario that was about Amy, a student with higher grades/LSAT but no “why Georgetown” essay versus Barbara, with slightly lower stats but a compelling Why Georgetown. Everyone almost unanimously guessed Barbara would be the one to get in. It was Amy. The reasoning is that Why Georgetown wasn’t required, so Amy didn’t do anything wrong. He’s not going to assume Amy is disinterested because that could be totally off the mark. And while Barbara was advocating for herself as much as she could, the numbers still usually win out.

A couple notes on this: I think he was listening to how people were collaborating in the groups, so just make sure that you state your opinion, but that you’re a good listener and mesh well with others. When we all come together to discuss, he does call on you randomly, but don’t stress—you’ll have had the opportunity to already talk about it in your group, and even if he asks you a more particular question, you’ll have thought about the scenario enough to easily give an answer. Which brings me to my next point: don’t worry about giving the right or wrong answer. Once he hears from all our groups, he states his own opinion before we move onto the next scenario. And we were usually wrong! After all, we aren’t a real admissions committee. Don’t be fazed by it.

After the discussion, he offers closing remarks and brings up why he does these interviews, which I think might be helpful information to know, since I was certainly curious about this - after all, he’s not really looking for a right/wrong answer, and this interview doesn’t ask any traditional questions. He said it was to get to know us just a tiny bit better than he did an hour ago, and that he manages to achieve that goal, and with so many applicants, that’s really the best he can do.

He then walked us out, thanked us each individually as we got onto the elevator, and we all breathed a sigh of relief!

Student B (2018/2019 cycle)

Dean Cornblatt gave us packets that had various scenarios and we were tasked with determining how much the specific scenario should impact the individual’s chance to attend Georgetown. We did not get through all of the scenarios.

Scenario 1: a top applicant was previously suspended for one year because she plagiarized in French 101. In her description, she offered to paint a fuller picture (she was stressed out, had meningitis, and she did it by accident: as she was typing up notes and feeling ill, she mistook someone else’s work for her own). The dean asked if this should be minor, major, or game over.

Scenario 2: A top applicant has already been admitted to Georgetown and paid to secure his seat. He is currently getting his graduate degree at Oxford. He alerts the school that he is withdrawing from Oxford, and upon further questioning, he reveals that he was accused of not using citations for his dissertation. The school wanted to have a hearing, but he withdraws from the program so that he can keep his record clean of misconduct. Should this admission be overturned?

Scenario 3: A top applicant has glowing rec letters praising his writing, but his personal statement is awful and filled with typos (including a reference to another school). Should this be minor, major, or game over?

Lastly, the dean presented two candidates, “A” and “B.” A is a better candidate in terms of LSAT and GPA, but not too much better than candidate B. B writes a “Why Georgetown” addendum and personalizes the personal statement for Georgetown. Which candidate should we take?

University of Texas Law

Student A’s online interview (2018/2019 cycle)

Tell us more about your academic background. What was your favorite class or professor? What is something other than the law that you're passionate about? Why Texas? (This required a 300-word written essay) When did you decide you wanted to become a lawyer? What prompted that interest?

Vanderbilt

2019–2020 Vanderbilt Interview Questions

Student A (Interviewed by an alumna in person, about 45 min long)

Why Vanderbilt? Why law in general? [Interviewer also asked a lot of questions based on Student A's resume]

Student B

Note: Student reported that the Vanderbilt interview was "pretty relaxed compared to other interviews"; interviewer only asked 2 questions and then the rest was a discussion about interviewer's personal experience

Why law and what kind of law? How did you learn about Vanderbilt?

2018–2019 Vanderbilt Interview Questions

Student A ー interview with an alum in Tokyo

Why Law? Why Vanderbilt Law?

No hardball questions.

Interviewer said he is required to ask these two questions



Student A: International students should prepare to answer why they would like to go to law school in the U.S., not in their own countries. I was asked why I didn't choose to first go to law school in Japan and then to try to enter an LL.M. program in the U.S.

I highly recommend international students that they request interviews because it gives us chance to meet an alum living in the country and to connect with lawyers with American J.D. in that country!

Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL)

You can schedule an interview online only after WUSTL invites you. You can choose from Skype, Google Hangouts, or in-person. They prefer Skype to Google Hangouts.

2019–2020 WashU Interview Questions

Student A

Why WashU Law? What do you hope to get out of law school? How did you get to the point of applying to law school, especially given your experience of practicing law in your home country? What do you do for fun? Questions for me?

Student B (Skype interview, very informal)

Admission officer started off by describing how much they loved my Personal Statement Why law? Why Washu? What do you plan to do after law school?

Interview only lasted around 15 minutes.

Student C (Skype interview but switched to phone because of technical issues)

[Interviewer asked for student to give a brief bio] Why law? Why WashU? [Question about interests and hobbies on résumé] What learning environment do you work best in? [Interviewer also answered student's questions]

2018–2019 WashU Interview Questions

Student A’s interview (2018/2019 cycle)

Why law, and why law school? What do you want to do with your JD right after law school? Where do you want to practice? What do you hope to get out of law school? What do you do for fun?

Student B’s interview (2018/2019 cycle)

Summarize your life up until this point. How did you get to the point where you are applying to law school?

What do you want to get out of law school? What are you most looking forward to in law school?

Where do you want to practice? Any geographical preferences?

What do you want to do after law school?

Courtesy of the 7Sage Discussion Forum:

I had my interview with WUSTL last Friday and I wanted to tell you about my experience!

It was a Skype interview but the connection was terrible so the interview ended up being over the phone instead. The Admissions Officer that interviewed me was super friendly and the interview overall was pretty informal.

She started off by asking me about a few specific things on my resume such as my recent job change and what I do for work now. I was also in the men’s rowing team at my University so she asked me what that was like and how I balanced schools and a sport at the same time. I think this question was more geared to seeing how I handle multiple responsibilities at once.

Next, we talked about why I wanted to go to Law School and why WashU in general. I think my answer hit the nail on the head because I talked about specific clinics that WashU offers that I would be interested in and the interviewer responded very positively to it. Doing your research before the interview to interject school specific answers in super important. Also, having a solid answer on why you want to go to law school is definitely a must. She also asked if I had even been to St. Louis which I responded that yes I have and that I’ve actually self-toured the school to which she was surprised/happy about. Where in ultimately want to end up after graduating was something she also asked.

The second most important question I thought was asked is what I hope to get out of law school. I prepared for this question by doing research into the classes and clinics WashU offers and how I could adapt that after I graduate. I also threw in a part about certain organizations that I would be interested in. This question was so important in my opinion because it had you cover a wide arrange of topics, specifically: Why this school? Did you do any research on the school? Did you research the city? What can you do in law school other than academics? How will you use your skills gained after law school? What is most important to you? Do you have any idea what you want to do after law school?

The most IMPORTANT question that you NEED to have an absolutely solid answer on is a time when you showcased leadership. I was not going to prepare for this question nor did I even come across my mine before a buddy of mine who used to work for the Center for Career Development at our University told me to prepare for it and I am so happy I did. I definitely would have struggled with that question by it catching me off guard and not having some sort of formulation of the answer beforehand. It was then followed by a time I had to overcome a struggle, but my answer for the leadership question actually encompassed this question as well so the interviewer did not ask for another answer to it.

Washington and Lee Interview Questions

Student A (waitlist interview in 2019–2020)

Is there anything you'd like to add that isn't already in your PS?

Why Lexington/ Washington & Lee?

What do you think you will bring to our law school?

Student A was also prompted to ask the interviewer questions about the school.

Bonus Northwestern Questions