Visiting a law school? Forum

[doglover24]

Hello everyone,

Is there an advantage to actually going to a law school and sitting in on a class or two after applying but before being admitted/rejected as a way of showing interest?

Other suggestions on showing interest in law schools what don't have a Why X essay?

[TTH]

Hello everyone,

Is there an advantage to actually going to a law school and sitting in on a class or two after applying but before being admitted/rejected as a way of showing interest?

Other suggestions on showing interest in law schools what don't have a Why X essay?

There's no advantage to visiting a law school early, or if there is an advantage, it's nominal or best incorporated in some other way. For instance, you could incorporate something specific you learned in the visit that you could not have learned in any other way into your PS. "I could tell while sitting in Professor Smith's civil procedure class that the dynamic between professor and students was relaxed and geared toward facilitating student understanding and success." blah blah blah. The more specific and/or nuanced, the better.

[jdhakert]

I think it is a pretty big advantage, especially if you are on the cusp. "Face time" is a very effective tool just from human nature. Developing ANY relationship with an adcom member will have an effect, be it good or bad, based on their impression of you.

[OGR3]

It's a much better use of your time if you're waitlisted and you go to then write a LOCI.

[romothesavior]

I think it is a pretty big advantage, especially if you are on the cusp. "Face time" is a very effective tool just from human nature. Developing ANY relationship with an adcom member will have an effect, be it good or bad, based on their impression of you.

This is false.

Most adcomms will not remember your visit, especially if it is in the fall and you haven't gotten in yet. Sure, you might have an outlier here or there (such as OS). If you want to visit, you should visit to see the school, see the city, experience a law school class, etc. and not because you think it will help you get in.

With that said, visiting is great. I visited WUSTL, UIUC, Michigan, and Vandy before I got accepted and I'm glad I did. I just don't think visiting will give you a boost.

[northwood]

it most likely wont give you a boost at all, but is extremely important to help you make a decision.

im going to visit the schools after I hear that i have been accepted. I dont want to waste time and money and get my hopes up, only to not be admitted. I would rather use the visit to help make a more informed decision as to what schools I should consider, and look at apartments, cost of living, and other expenses that will factor into the final decision.

[dailygrind]

I think it is a pretty big advantage, especially if you are on the cusp. "Face time" is a very effective tool just from human nature. Developing ANY relationship with an adcom member will have an effect, be it good or bad, based on their impression of you.

This is false.

Most adcomms will not remember your visit, especially if it is in the fall and you haven't gotten in yet. Sure, you might have an outlier here or there (such as OS). If you want to visit, you should visit to see the school, see the city, experience a law school class, etc. and not because you think it will help you get in.

With that said, visiting is great. I visited WUSTL, UIUC, Michigan, and Vandy before I got accepted and I'm glad I did. I just don't think visiting will give you a boost.

::shrug::

we've all got our little anecdotes, mine happens to run contrary to yours. i visited uva, talked to an adcomm, he remembered my name, the note he wrote on my acceptance letter indicated he remembered me, and i've afterwards visited his office and found that he remembered me quite well. probably helped me a fair bit. maybe i'm more likable in person than you are

[romothesavior]

we've all got our little anecdotes, mine happens to run contrary to yours. i visited uva, talked to an adcomm, he remembered my name, the note he wrote on my acceptance letter indicated he remembered me, and i've afterwards visited his office and found that he remembered me quite well. probably helped me a fair bit. maybe i'm more likable in person than you are

As I said, there are probably some outliers who it did help. But when it comes down to it, I just don't think the benefit is strong enough for most people to justify flying/driving/getting a hotel and dropping a bunch of money to visit schools they are borderline at. In most cases, you won't even be able to talk to the dean of admissions and if you do, it won't be a big advantage. I guess if OP has money to blow to fly around the country to visit schools, then he can knock himself out, but I know there was no way I was flying to Cornell or Georgetown just to pop in and say hey.

Again, I say this as someone who visited four schools before acceptance. But they were all within about 6 hours driving distance, I had a free place to stay for my overnights, and I did it as an informational sort of thing (except for Vandy, which was for an interview. And I also drove down to St. Louis for an alumni interview for G'town, which obviously is worth it.)

And yeah, you probably are a more likeable person than I am. That likely goes without saying.

[dailygrind]

we've all got our little anecdotes, mine happens to run contrary to yours. i visited uva, talked to an adcomm, he remembered my name, the note he wrote on my acceptance letter indicated he remembered me, and i've afterwards visited his office and found that he remembered me quite well. probably helped me a fair bit. maybe i'm more likable in person than you are

As I said, there are probably some outliers who it did help. But when it comes down to it, I just don't think the benefit is strong enough for most people to justify flying/driving/getting a hotel and dropping a bunch of money to visit schools they are borderline at. In most cases, you won't even be able to talk to the dean of admissions and if you do, it won't be a big advantage. I guess if OP has money to blow to fly around the country to visit schools, then he can knock himself out, but I know there was no way I was flying to Cornell or Georgetown just to pop in and say hey.

Again, I say this as someone who visited four schools before acceptance. But they were all within about 6 hours driving distance, I had a free place to stay for my overnights, and I did it as an informational sort of thing (except for Vandy, which was for an interview. And I also drove down to St. Louis for an alumni interview for G'town, which obviously is worth it.)

And yeah, you probably are a more likeable person than I am. That likely goes without saying.

well, you can usually find out beforehand whether or not you'll be able to chat with an adcomm, and i think that should have a strong bearing on the decision of whether or not it's worth it. anecdotally, there's also another poster on here who got into GULC off the waitlist due to a visit (got off the waitlist with a pretty sizeable scholly too), and i actually had a pretty good back and forth with duke when i was on their waitlist, all because i visited. i guess what i'm saying is: if you have the option to talk with someone who makes decisions, you think you're the kind of person who's going to stand out in a good way, and you're on the cusp of acceptance, it's probably a good idea to visit.