It’s the time of the year when students are receiving acceptance letters from law school, beginning to hear back from financial aid, and weighing which schools are the best to attend. An important part of this important decision can be the experience of visiting. Here are some tips and tricks to get you thinking about what your law school visit should be like!
- Scheduling
- Plan ahead! If you want to sit in on a class, catch a tour of the campus the law school is located on, check out housing, and speak to current students and faculty all in one day, you’ll have to do some serious planning beforehand.
- If you can, take time during your visit to walk around the campus and surrounding area, get a sense of the public transportation and other amenities, and imagine yourself as a student there.
- If you’re visiting a new city for the first time, aim to arrive around 30 minutes early to have time to park, or maybe check out the neighborhood of the school or campus before your scheduled visit.
- Attire
- Business casual is appropriate. There’s no need for a full suit, but don’t show up in your gym or “going out” outfits, either!
- You’ll be learning about the school as well as leaving an impression—you don’t want to be the person who came for an interview ready to go to the beach!
- Dress appropriately for the weather, too!
- What to look for
- Library
- Check out your prospective law school’s library, the number of books in it, how much open space there is to study, the atmosphere, the help available, when it’s open
- But also check out other nearby campus libraries; sometimes the law library can get full or you want a change of scenery
- Bulletin boards
- Fliers on bulletin boards can give you an idea of what kinds of activities students are involved in and passionate about outside of the classroom.
- This could range anywhere from law-related activities to intramural sports! These advertisements can speak a little bit to the culture of the law school.
- Food options
- If there’s only one food court or dining facility open to law students with nothing else around, that might get boring before long! You may be spending a great deal of time in the law school building, so check out convenient food options.
- Clinics
- If you have the opportunity to find the clinics that interest you while on your visit, it’s a good idea to do so.
- Faculty attitudes
- Try to either observe a class, faculty interactions with students, or speak with faculty members on your own to get a sense of how they feel about and treat students. Chances are, it’s a good indicator of how you’ll be treated as a student, too!
- What to ask
- Talk to current law students to get an idea of what they do and don’t like about their school, classes that they especially enjoyed, and if they’re happy with their choice to attend that school.
- Rank your questions in terms of what’s most important—you may not have time to get all the way through your question list.
- Don’t ask questions that you can find the answer to online, such as their bar passage rate or tuition. Your time is better spent asking things you can’t find answers to on your own.
- General tips
- Bring a notebook and pen instead of planning to take notes on your phone. You’ll appear (and actually be!) more engaged in conversations and what’s going on around you.
- Collect business cards from anyone you meet. If you do end up attending the school, having contacts could be handy and prove to be helpful references.
- Smile! Do your best to enjoy yourself during the visit process. Especially if you’re visiting schools to which you’ve been admitted, the majority of the pressure is relieved! Try to relax and be yourself while remaining professional.
- Library
For more information about applying to law schools, interview tips, or to get started exploring a legal career, stop by and see us in 162 MVR!