Visiting Student for one semester Forum

[Young Marino]

I wanted to know if it's possible to be a visiting student for one semester, mainly 2L spring or 3L fall. I never got the chance to study abroad but I'd rather study in a different state than a different country and would like to do this for one semester in law school. I know you usually have to have a compelling reason to be a visiting student so I was thinking of going to a school that offers courses that my current school would not. Is that a good reason to be a visiting student?

[Nova]

I wanted to know if it's possible to be a visiting student for one semester, mainly 2L spring or 3L fall.

yes

consider that youll have to pay the full tuition of the visiting school, though.

I know you usually have to have a compelling reason to be a visiting student so I was thinking of going to a school that offers courses that my current school would not. Is that a good reason to be a visiting student?

Not really.

And actually, AFAIK, most places don't require a compelling reason.

[Young Marino]

I wanted to know if it's possible to be a visiting student for one semester, mainly 2L spring or 3L fall.

yes

consider that youll have to pay the full tuition of the visiting school, though.

I know you usually have to have a compelling reason to be a visiting student so I was thinking of going to a school that offers courses that my current school would not. Is that a good reason to be a visiting student?

Not really.

And actually, AFAIK, most places don't require a compelling reason.

Is that full tuition for the semester or for the entire academic year? So is it safe to assume it's fairly easy to be a visiting student?

[Nova]

Is that full tuition for the semester or for the entire academic year? So is it safe to assume it's fairly easy to be a visiting student?

full tuition for the semester.

It really depends on the school. Many schools will be glad to take your sticker tuition. Esp outside T18. Schools like UT and Berkeley, I know in particular, are really difficult to visit.

[Young Marino]

Is that full tuition for the semester or for the entire academic year? So is it safe to assume it's fairly easy to be a visiting student?

full tuition for the semester.

It really depends on the school. Many schools will be glad to take your sticker tuition. Esp outside T18. Schools like UT and Berkeley, I know in particular, are really difficult to visit.

Is the host school usually okay with losing out on tuition $$$ for a semester? I'd imagine if some sort of roadblock were to occur in all of this it'd be from the host school.

[Lwoods]

I wanted to know if it's possible to be a visiting student for one semester, mainly 2L spring or 3L fall. I never got the chance to study abroad but I'd rather study in a different state than a different country and would like to do this for one semester in law school. I know you usually have to have a compelling reason to be a visiting student so I was thinking of going to a school that offers courses that my current school would not. Is that a good reason to be a visiting student?

Yes, you have to pay sticker at the visiting school.

The difficult part is getting approval from your home school. It's your home school that requires a compelling reason. My home school has historically been pretty lax. I met one alumnus who spent his last year at Southwestern in LA for their entertainment law classes. But now that enrollment is down overall, they'll probably be less likely to approve it. If my visiting school was my home school, my reasons would not be compelling enough bc I'm not married to my S/O.

Here are some examples of compelling reasons in order from most to least compelling (IMO, obviously this can vary by school):


Spouse relocation (particularly if involuntary, like military)
Dying family member
...
...
...
...
Non-spouse S/O relocation
School year legal job available (particularly if post-grad F/T potential)
...
...
Specialized coursework not available at home school

With the specialized class work, too, your home school might already have a program set up with another local school for classes they don't offer. I know my home school allows us to take classes at our local TTTT, so they might prefer you do that if the classes you're looking for are closer than you're looking to visit.

I often use the study abroad analogy to explain visiting status to people who are unfamiliar with it, but it's not a perfect analogy. Very few people do it because it only really makes sense in certain circumstances. And the cost/benefit vary by person.

Personally, I've uprooted my life, literally got rid of nearly all my stuff, packed the rest in my sedan, and moved across the country. New address, drivers license, etc. I live here now. And that's what people who do visiting years typically do: they relocate for good.

[Young Marino]

I wanted to know if it's possible to be a visiting student for one semester, mainly 2L spring or 3L fall. I never got the chance to study abroad but I'd rather study in a different state than a different country and would like to do this for one semester in law school. I know you usually have to have a compelling reason to be a visiting student so I was thinking of going to a school that offers courses that my current school would not. Is that a good reason to be a visiting student?

Yes, you have to pay sticker at the visiting school.

The difficult part is getting approval from your home school. It's your home school that requires a compelling reason. My home school has historically been pretty lax. I met one alumnus who spent his last year at Southwestern in LA for their entertainment law classes. But now that enrollment is down overall, they'll probably be less likely to approve it. If my visiting school was my home school, my reasons would not be compelling enough bc I'm not married to my S/O.

Here are some examples of compelling reasons in order from most to least compelling (IMO, obviously this can vary by school):


Spouse relocation (particularly if involuntary, like military)
Dying family member
...
...
...
...
Non-spouse S/O relocation
School year legal job available (particularly if post-grad F/T potential)
...
...
Specialized coursework not available at home school

With the specialized class work, too, your home school might already have a program set up with another local school for classes they don't offer. I know my home school allows us to take classes at our local TTTT, so they might prefer you do that if the classes you're looking for are closer than you're looking to visit.

I often use the study abroad analogy to explain visiting status to people who are unfamiliar with it, but it's not a perfect analogy. Very few people do it because it only really makes sense in certain circumstances. And the cost/benefit vary by person.

Personally, I've uprooted my life, literally got rid of nearly all my stuff, packed the rest in my sedan, and moved across the country. New address, drivers license, etc. I live here now. And that's what people who do visiting years typically do: they relocate for good.

I was hoping to go the specialized course work route. Thanks for this post. Really informative.

[aray379]

For anybody who has or is completing a visiting year/semester... in your opinion has it helped with job prospects? I want to do a visiting year because life circumstances have made be want to return to Florida to practice upon graduation so I am planning on spending my 3L year at FL school.

Any insight on experiences would be great.