drawstring wrote:I'm don't think much of ASWs.
Most of what I need to make a decision is available without attending schools, and I don't want to persuaded by effective marketing that masks what things will really be like or doesn't have much bearing on the factors that I'm considering when trying to decide where to attend. I feel like people go to ASWs, have a great time at a pub or someplace similar, and make decisions based on where they had the best time, rather than how the law school fits their goals.
That seems mostly fair; I guess it depends on what you do at ASWs, and what you're specifically looking for. I do think, though, that if you walk around the law school and talk to 50 or so random students, you can get some sort of sense of whether people are generally happy at a school. Also, there's no way to fake facilities and location. I guess it's not really ASWs that are so crucial to me, but rather visiting while school is in session, which becomes difficult if you get in off of the waitlist.