Vanderbilt Law School c/o 2020 Applicants (2016-2017) Forum

[calgoldenbear]

Checking in. Just had my alumni interview yesterday.

How was it? Any advice for the rest of us?

[trkmaniak00]

Checking in. Just had my alumni interview yesterday.

How was it? Any advice for the rest of us?

I'd imagine it depends mostly on who your interviewer is. Mine asked me why law school which we talked about for a couple minutes then he asked where else I was applying and he gave input on some of those schools. After that it was all up to me to ask questions, you should have more questions than you think you need. Also, remember that these people might not have been at the school for years so they may not know about specific clinics or stuff like that. Mine was most receptive to talking about Nashville / his time there.

It was just at a coffee shop, I wore khakis and a blazer. He wore jeans and a button down.

[caitlinrw]

For those who interviewed here or elsewhere already -- should I bring my resume in a fancy leather folder? Or is a regular folder okay?

Regular folder is fine.

Thank you! Thoughts on printing it on bond paper versus regular paper?

My interview went great, and he didn't pay attention to the paper. I'm sure others will say otherwise.

[arklaw13]

For those who interviewed here or elsewhere already -- should I bring my resume in a fancy leather folder? Or is a regular folder okay?

Regular folder is fine.

Thank you! Thoughts on printing it on bond paper versus regular paper?

My interview went great, and he didn't pay attention to the paper. I'm sure others will say otherwise.

+1 for not paying attention to the paper. You'll upload your resume to the system beforehand, so your interviewer will probably have already looked at it before the interview and printed one off for him/herself.

[calgoldenbear]

For those of you who google your interviewer beforehand, do you bring up, say, that you saw that they work at X on their LinkedIn? Or would this be bad form?

[caitlinrw]

For those of you who google your interviewer beforehand, do you bring up, say, that you saw that they work at X on their LinkedIn? Or would this be bad form?

I guess it depends on how you work it into the conversation without making it sound creepy. If you can do it well, then it should sound like someone who was just interested and did their homework.

[arklaw13]

For those of you who google your interviewer beforehand, do you bring up, say, that you saw that they work at X on their LinkedIn? Or would this be bad form?

I would say anything on a law firm profile is definitely fair game. Personally, I wouldn't think twice if someone referenced something on my Linkedin page (because I've digitally creeped on every interviewer I've ever had), but it could be off-putting to some people, I suppose.

[calgoldenbear]

For those who interviewed, how long was yours?

[Big Red]

For those of you who google your interviewer beforehand, do you bring up, say, that you saw that they work at X on their LinkedIn? Or would this be bad form?

I guess it depends on how you work it into the conversation without making it sound creepy. If you can do it well, then it should sound like someone who was just interested and did their homework.

you can also ask them what they do, how they like it, etc. get their firm elevator speech

[stratton_oakmont]

For those who interviewed, how long was yours?

About 50 mins

[taxman14]

For those who interviewed, how long was yours?

About 50 mins

Same about an hour. I'm assuming 30-60 mins is standard depending on how the convo goes

[dietcoke1]

how professional/unprofessional is it to come prepared with a list of questions to ask my interviewer?

[calgoldenbear]

Did anyone write a "why vandy" essay or anything like that?

[Gitaroo_Dude]

how professional/unprofessional is it to come prepared with a list of questions to ask my interviewer?

More of the former than the latter. I brought questions to my Vandy alum interview and one I had with an admissions dean during a law school visit, and both cool with it. I think it displays you've prepped for it and put some thought into the interview, more than anything else.

[arklaw13]

how professional/unprofessional is it to come prepared with a list of questions to ask my interviewer?

Personally, I would be more impressed with someone who has a list of things that they want to know about the school. Especially if it's stuff you can't just find online. To my it shows you're well-prepared.

[call-me-bubbles]

.

[atlantahoo]

After a month of back and forth with the admissions office (first 3 interviewer candidates were in trial), I finally interviewed this morning. It was super casual- we met at a coffee shop, and my interviewer couldn't have been nicer. She basically talked about her experience for 15 mins and then let me ask questions. Glad it went well and hoping to hear something within the next few weeks!

[atlantahoo]

For those who interviewed, how long was yours?

About 50 mins

Same about an hour. I'm assuming 30-60 mins is standard depending on how the convo goes

About an hour, but we kind of hit it off and ended up talking about non-law school stuff for at least 20 mins.

[alpha kenny body]

Has anyone heard back regarding admissions yet? Interviewed last week and getting antsy already!

I applied last year, and some people didn't hear back from them for as long as 14 weeks+. Get comfortable, buddy.

[calgoldenbear]

I had mine this weekend and it was pretty casual. More so than I expected. My interviewer was very nice and easy to talk to, but it felt a little like I was meant to ask the majority of questions. I dressed more on the professional side, and she was more casual.

Also, how terrible is it that I forgot to offer a copy of my resume? She mentioned having looked at it already, and I brought copies, but I just didn't bring them out. Agh, anyone have any comfort for an over-thinker?

[poptart123]

I had mine this weekend and it was pretty casual. More so than I expected. My interviewer was very nice and easy to talk to, but it felt a little like I was meant to ask the majority of questions. I dressed more on the professional side, and she was more casual.

Also, how terrible is it that I forgot to offer a copy of my resume? She mentioned having looked at it already, and I brought copies, but I just didn't bring them out. Agh, anyone have any comfort for an over-thinker?

Don't worry about it

[jag13]

I had my interview on 9/20 and still listed as just Complete on my app. It was very casual and lasted about an hour, I see to have a different experience as mine felt like more of an interview where she specifically asked me questions, it was still very relaxed and she was a great conversation. Definitely got me excited.

[dietcoke1]

alum interview last night. it was very relaxed. I think I was asked two, maybe three, actual interview questions and the rest of the 1.5 hours of the interview was the alum passing on TLS wisdom (be careful of debt, burnout of biglaw, etc)

[Gitaroo_Dude]

alum interview last night. it was very relaxed. I think I was asked two, maybe three, actual interview questions and the rest of the 1.5 hours of the interview was the alum passing on TLS wisdom (be careful of debt, burnout of biglaw, etc)

Did you tell them you're 6-0 in Spivey's league?

[dietcoke1]

alum interview last night. it was very relaxed. I think I was asked two, maybe three, actual interview questions and the rest of the 1.5 hours of the interview was the alum passing on TLS wisdom (be careful of debt, burnout of biglaw, etc)

Did you tell them you're 6-0 in Spivey's league?

I did not, but I should have. I'm sure that would have made my recommendation that much better.