Top Law Schools

So I just got preferred waitlisted at Georgetown and I'm really counting on an acceptance at Cornell. Visiting Cornell wouldn't be too bad but it would be a 11-12 hour trip to get to Georgetown. Is it worth the admissions boost to go visit? These are two of my top choices and I'm not sure what to do.

You will get varied responses to this -- some people will say it won't help at all, other will say it could make all the difference in the world. If it's really your top top choice, I'd recommend considering it.

The best place to check, though, would be one of the Georgetown-specific threads (like in the Acceptances/Denials/Waitlists forum). Different schools have different policies with waitlists -- some are numerical and strict, other are amorphous and can be helped by things like school visits. I'm not sure what the GULC policy is, but it's worth looking in to. Especially if you're "preferred" waitlist...that sounds like they might be looking for a good excuse to let you in.

Time will tell in my case. However, I have visited a couple of schools and in each instance, conversation at a forum roughly a year later resulted in conversation that suggested I had made a favorable impression. Will those visits help? Only time will tell...but it does seem that if the admissions people remember your name and actually carry on a conversation a year later that THEY initiated, it has the potential to be a good thing

In an earlier thread about this people yelled at me when I suggested that after you visit you should mail the person you met with a letter thanking them, as it makes it more likely that they will throw it in your file and remember you. I was told there was no way that any letter is ever making it into my file, it wouldn't matter, etc.

Just wanted to let you people know that they referenced the letter I sent them............ in my rejection. So yea, it didn't matter, but they had the letter!!!!!!

ughOSU wrote:In an earlier thread about this people yelled at me when I suggested that after you visit you should mail the person you met with a letter thanking them, as it makes it more likely that they will throw it in your file and remember you. I was told there was no way that any letter is ever making it into my file, it wouldn't matter, etc.

Just wanted to let you people know that they referenced the letter I sent them............ in my rejection. So yea, it didn't matter, but they had the letter!!!!!!

I don't know who told you that it wouldn't make it into your file, but they were probably a clueless 0L. Just about anything you send adcomms about your admission is going in your file. Whether that helps or hurts you is another question entirely...

vanwinkle wrote:

ughOSU wrote:In an earlier thread about this people yelled at me when I suggested that after you visit you should mail the person you met with a letter thanking them, as it makes it more likely that they will throw it in your file and remember you. I was told there was no way that any letter is ever making it into my file, it wouldn't matter, etc.

Just wanted to let you people know that they referenced the letter I sent them............ in my rejection. So yea, it didn't matter, but they had the letter!!!!!!

I don't know who told you that it wouldn't make it into your file, but they were probably a clueless 0L. Just about anything you send adcomms about your admission is going in your file. Whether that helps or hurts you is another question entirely...

Yea I am pretty sure they were 0Ls who hadn't worked in the professional world a day in their lives. In the real world people don't just throw shit out.

hey can someone tell me how visiting the law school could eave an impression, do you actually meet the dean or anyone in the admissions process??
Cause if that is the case I'm going there right now lol

yung wrote:hey can someone tell me how visiting the law school could eave an impression, do you actually meet the dean or anyone in the admissions process??
Cause if that is the case I'm going there right now lol

You could meet someone from Admissions, or you could just send a LOCI after you visit and say:

Hey! I visited your law school, loved it for reasons X, Y & Z now let me in!

I did that with U San Fran and got in even though I'm below both 25%'s

Oh my god that is a great idea!

yung wrote:Oh my god that is a great idea!

Also you should note that for USF, it was during an open house event on October, I made sure to meet the Director of Admissions as he was greeting prospective students, and I made sure to slip into conversation that I had flown across the country specifically just to visit a school I wanted to go to.


I did a similiar thing for a school that is only a couple of hours away by car, and have yet to receive an Admissions decision so we shall see.

I met with a friend at GW for advice on GW's waitlist, which I am currently on. While encouraging me to meet with someone at GW, she said when she was at ASW at GW there were several people that were also waitlisted at GT; they realized they were in the same situation and cabbed over to Georgetown and were able to talk to someone there. All 3 were taken off the waitlist on the spot. Obviously this is an extreme example - but it may be enough to push you over especially at a school like Georgetown with a big class and who doesn't accept meetings. You can ask to talk to someone w/o sounding pushy.

hope i don't get too much hate for resurrecting this thread but I am really curious to know what people think about this. I think it definitely would show a level of interest that could possibly put you at an advantage, but i also think you could blow it by seeming cocky or shy or whatever. what should you talk about as a 0L? I feel like interrogating them about employment stats before you're even admitted would be ridiculous.

would it be best to wait to visit until you're on the waitlist or just go up as soon as your file goes complete if it is convenient?

Thanks for any input and I hope this thread can be useful for others as well.

FlanAl wrote:hope i don't get too much hate for resurrecting this thread but I am really curious to know what people think about this. I think it definitely would show a level of interest that could possibly put you at an advantage, but i also think you could blow it by seeming cocky or shy or whatever. what should you talk about as a 0L? I feel like interrogating them about employment stats before you're even admitted would be ridiculous.

would it be best to wait to visit until you're on the waitlist or just go up as soon as your file goes complete if it is convenient?

Thanks for any input and I hope this thread can be useful for others as well.

+1 also wondering this

Perch wrote:

FlanAl wrote:hope i don't get too much hate for resurrecting this thread but I am really curious to know what people think about this. I think it definitely would show a level of interest that could possibly put you at an advantage, but i also think you could blow it by seeming cocky or shy or whatever. what should you talk about as a 0L? I feel like interrogating them about employment stats before you're even admitted would be ridiculous.

would it be best to wait to visit until you're on the waitlist or just go up as soon as your file goes complete if it is convenient?

Thanks for any input and I hope this thread can be useful for others as well.

+1 also wondering this

Or for that matter, would visiting before you even submitted anything be OK?

.

yeah i was kinda worried about this sort of thing. you put a face to the app but whether or not they like your face is a whole other issue. did you tell the dean that you were deciding whether or not to ED? I bet if you said that your intention on the visit was to make that decision they probably would have gotten their feelings hurt a bit when you decided not to.

I am wondering this, as well. I have planned to visit & sit in on a class at pretty much every school that has me WL'd. Primary motivation behind that is to be able to write an addendum/LOCI saying, hopefully, that I absolutely loved X and Y and that I am convinced that school is perfect for me.

But, I mean, getting a quantifiable answer about this seems pretty much impossible...

In regards to emailing would you send it to the student tour guide or a admissions@school.edu type adress?

the schools i visited wouldn't let me really "meet" anyone and i don't think they had any idea i'd visited. at one school, i went on a tour with a small group, lead by a 1L. i give those tours now and we don't take down names or anything.

i also referenced visiting UPenn, wrote a "why UPenn" and ED'd and still got dinged.

IAFG wrote:the schools i visited wouldn't let me really "meet" anyone and i don't think they had any idea i'd visited. at one school, i went on a tour with a small group, lead by a 1L. i give those tours now and we don't take down names or anything.

i also referenced visiting UPenn, wrote a "why UPenn" and ED'd and still got dinged.

The whole idea, if you can't meet anyone, is to sit in on a class, so when you write your next LOCI, you can be very detailed about everything that appealed to you, as well as noting location, etc. The more information that shows you want a school, the better... but yeah it's no guarantee. Aside from a 180/4.0+, there are no guarantees for LS admissions

I like to ask the school specifically if I can meet the admissions staff, particularly the dean. It works well.

Aggiegrad2011 wrote:

IAFG wrote:the schools i visited wouldn't let me really "meet" anyone and i don't think they had any idea i'd visited. at one school, i went on a tour with a small group, lead by a 1L. i give those tours now and we don't take down names or anything.

i also referenced visiting UPenn, wrote a "why UPenn" and ED'd and still got dinged.

The whole idea, if you can't meet anyone, is to sit in on a class, so when you write your next LOCI, you can be very detailed about everything that appealed to you, as well as noting location, etc. The more information that shows you want a school, the better... but yeah it's no guarantee. Aside from a 180/4.0+, there are no guarantees for LS admissions

I like to ask the school specifically if I can meet the admissions staff, particularly the dean. It works well.

at UChi they are very firm about not letting you meet anyone. iono. penn and chi were the only schools i really wanted to maximize my chances with in this way, and both were ultimately unsuccessful. i'd bet every school is different about this. i have heard michigan is super warm towards visitors.

I wouldnt worry about it. My view is that if a school wants you, they want you. If they don't, they don't. Be happy with the acceptances you have.

Does Chicago let you sit in on classes, IAFG?

acadec wrote:Does Chicago let you sit in on classes, IAFG?

yup

Grool.