Application Tips: How to Approach Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Optional Essays

The Northwestern Pritzker School of Law requires applicants to submit a personal statement and resume. They also invite applicants to consider four optional essays that you should respond to if you can. Compelling responses will only strengthen your candidacy. 

Here is our advice for making the most of each response: 

Describe your interest in attending the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 

Demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are interested in Northwestern Pritzker, not just law school. This is a place to mention specific courses you're excited to take, potential mentors you'd seek out, clubs you'd join, what the school's experiential learning opportunities mean to you, etc. And you want to share how those offerings are relevant to your past experiences and/or passions. If you've spent the last two years volunteering at Legal Aid and the school has a public interest center serving a population you care about, you want to be working on it. If you aim to work at a startup and Professor So-And-So just presented her work on innovation, venture capital, and the law, you want her as a mentor and to become involved in her current research. 

You also might share how the school's location will set you up for the kind of career you want. If true, you could share that you want to work in the Chicago-area post-graduation. 

Describe any experiences in your life or unique qualities you think would benefit Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and/or your classmates. (Relevant information may include but is not limited to financial hardship, education adversity, special talents, work or community service experience, first generation or immigrant experience, and unusual rural or urban upbringing, foreign residence, military background, or unique family and/or personal circumstance.) 

Approach this optional essay as you would a diversity essay. Start by thinking about: What makes you unique? How has your personal journey likely differed from other applicants? And how has it shaped your world-view and goals? Have you encountered significant setbacks, yet through perseverance and grit, succeeded? How have these setbacks shaped how you approach challenges today? You will also want to reflect on past experiences when you learned and thrived alongside peers from different backgrounds and/or took on significant community or leadership roles. Show Northwestern Law’s admissions officers who you are and how you will be a valued member of their community.

What does public service mean to you and how do you see yourself engaging in public service or pro-bono work to meet the needs of the underserved? 

This essay is not just for those seeking a career in public interest law. Northwestern Pritzker values public service and notes on its website a “long history of fostering a commitment to public service in its students and graduates.” You’ll want to show that you share this value. Anchor this essay in an experience from your past that reinforced your interest in public service or pro-bono work. Why was it so meaningful for you? What did you learn? Then segue to your public service goals, both as a law student (Read about the school’s many offerings here.) and legal professional post law school. 

Did you face any particular challenges we should know about when considering your academic history or test scores?

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster LSAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in a course or a low LSAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or work environments. Cite specific examples of professional pursuits that resulted in success or classes where you excelled. 

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or personal matter that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Place the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes. Taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Trends in Business: MBA Programs Prepare Students for Leadership Roles in Technology

Technology is changing. And so are the demands of the leaders and professionals in the field. Recently, zdnet, a technology-focused news and research site, published an article describing the changing demands of leaders and employees in technology. No longer, the article states, is technical proficiency enough. Technology can no longer exist as a stand-alone function, but must be thoroughly integrated into the business. And tech practitioners must be able to take a broader perspective that includes a thorough understanding of other business functions and how technology fits in amongst them to drive the organization’s mission. “It's important to start to learn about finance, business processes, and other strategies that make up how your product or solution comes full-cycle for your organization," said Nag Vaidyanathan, Chief Technology Officer at Duck Creek Technologies. "How you collaborate with other functions is critical to the results you can achieve." 

Haluk Saker, a Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, notes that the speed of technological change is such that professionals and managers need, "…problem-solving skills versus language-specific skills. IT professionals should focus on learning, disrupting the status quo, and continuing to gain skills across different domains that interest them. This type of professional, with an innate curiosity and an aptitude to grow as a leader and influencer, is the one that will be able to face tomorrow's toughest challenges head-on," he said.

MBA programs are at the forefront of understanding transformation in the technology industry and a number of leading schools (noted below) now offer shorter, and more focused Tech MBA programs. They include core requirements in technology, in addition to typical MBA requirements in general management and leadership. 

• Johnson Cornell Tech MBA: This is a one-year MBA conferred by the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Graduates will have a full understanding of the startup and tech ecosystems, and will be prepared to manage product teams, and lead tech companies.

• NYU Stern Andre Koo Tech MBA: This is a one-year STEM-designated MBA program conferred by NYU Stern. Graduates will be qualified to join startups and mature tech companies at the forefront of innovation and technology, and will be prepared to accelerate their careers in technology or start their own businesses. 

• Northwestern Kellogg MBAi: This is a joint degree between Kellogg and the McCormick School of Engineering. Graduates will be prepared for careers in tech operations, analytics, and innovation leadership. 

• Foster School of Business Technology Management MBA: This is an 18-month work-compatible MBA conferred by the Foster School of Business, and is designed to prepare graduates to accelerate or re-direct their careers, or to start their own businesses.

• IE Business School Tech MBA: This is a one-year MBA conferred by the IE Business School. It is designed for students who want to develop their career in the technology sector or in tech-centric job roles, and who seek to become fluent in the language of business and technology. 

In addition to the Tech MBA program options, many schools are integrating technology tracks into their full-time, two-year MBA programs. Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business has created a secondary concentration in blockchain, and Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business now offers a handful of classes in fintech and crypto. And this trend is just getting started. Recently, several elite schools have announced incoming investments earmarked for building out technology initiatives. The USC Marshall School of Business received a $5 million gift to establish the Digital Assets Initiative, which will establish new curriculums and research opportunities in cryptocurrency, NFTs, and blockchain. Similarly, Harvard Business School is establishing the “D3” Institute to promote collaboration and research in digital and technology, data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and design thinking. And University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School recently received an anonymous $5 million donation (in bitcoin) that will support the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, which focuses on fintech research and education.

Two Additional Law Schools to Accept GRE as Alternative to LSAT

Two additional law schools, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center, have joined Harvard Law School and University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in accepting the GRE for law school admissions. Georgetown will accept the GRE score as an alternative for the LSAT, for those wishing to matriculate in 2018, while Northwestern will accept the scores for students applying to the 2019 entering class.

Both schools conducted studies to determine the ability of the GRE to predict a student’s success within law school. Northwestern’s study was performed in conjunction with ETS, the administrator for the GRE, and found the GRE to be a strong predictor of success for first year Northwestern law students. Georgetown ran an independent study analyzing over ten-years of students’ academic performance and test scores and found that the GRE scores were equal to LSAT scores as predictors of academic success within the Law School.

The four schools that have opened their admissions process to include the GRE did so in an effort to diversify the applicant pool, as well as to reflect the evolving and multi-disciplinary nature of law. “Georgetown Law is committed to attracting the best and the brightest students of all backgrounds,” said Dean William M. Treanor. “We believe this change will make the admissions process more accessible to students who have great potential to make a mark here at Georgetown Law and in successful legal careers, but who might find the LSAT to be a barrier for whatever reason.”

The GRE is offered more frequently throughout the year and in numerous locations, and is often taken by students considering other graduate level educational options. By accepting the GRE, these law schools are helping to alleviate the financial burden of taking multiple tests for students thinking about different paths. Additionally, it may help to recruit students from “non-typical” law school backgrounds, including in-demand STEM students, international students, as well as those from a wider range of socio-economic backgrounds. When Harvard Law School started the pilot GRE program, then-Dean Martha Minow said, “For many students, preparing for and taking both the GRE and the LSAT is unaffordable. All students benefit when we can diversify our community in terms of academic background, country of origin, and financial circumstances. Also, given the promise of the revolutions in biology, computer science, and engineering, law needs students with science, technology, engineering and math backgrounds.  For these students, international students, multidisciplinary scholars, and joint-degree students, the GRE is a familiar and accessible test, and using it is a great way to reach candidates not only for law school, but for tackling the issues and opportunities society will be facing.”

The ABA held a hearing in July to consider specifying what test(s) are valid for law school admissions, which would change current language requiring merely “a valid and reliable admission test.”  While this could impact the ability for schools to accept the GRE as an admissions test alternative, a decision is unlikely to come in the short term. In the meantime, it appears likely that additional law schools will follow the path of these four and include the GRE as an accepted part of the admissions process.  

While the limited number of law schools accepting the GRE might make the LSAT a safer choice for current prospective law students, the broader lessons and values that these law schools are espousing are worth considering when putting together a law school application. Applicants should consider highlighting STEM minors or academic courses, unusual career or internship experiences, or other unique qualities that might add value and interest within the school’s student body.