Top Law Schools

Is it worth attending, or a waste of time?

waste of time.

Abisping wrote:Is it worth attending, or a waste of time?

Depends. I went before I'd discovered TLS and didn't know much about the admissions process. It was helpful listening to the sessions to get a sense of what they are looking for.

Also got to meet a few AdComms and networked well. A couple of them mentioned the meeting in acceptance letters. They were target/safeties so I don't think it made a difference in getting in, but it was nice to know they had put a name to a face to a file. Perhaps it could help in a borderline case.

If, however, you are well versed on the process and know where you want to apply, it likely isn't worth it if you have to travel any more than across town.

I only live a few minutes from where the forum is held.

Do you think it's worth checking out then since its not an inconvenience?

Abisping wrote:I only live a few minutes from where the forum is held.

Do you think it's worth checking out then since its not an inconvenience?

So long as it doesn't cost anything but time, why not?

Abisping wrote:I only live a few minutes from where the forum is held.

Do you think it's worth checking out then since its not an inconvenience?

For sure. Skip the sessions, and just talk to the representatives of the various schools. Think of something to ask them that wouldn't be in their informational materials. I got a lot of valuable information specific to my circumstances that I wouldn't have gotten without going in person.

I appreciated being able to pick up the booklets on each school I was interested in, since I hate reading things on computers more than is necessary.

Dress business-casually.

I got a couple fee waivers last year by asking law school reps. I think it's worth attending.

Skip the sessions.

What about T14 reps? (for schools that bother to send them). Are they harder to talk to (with everyone rushing their tables)?
Is it a faux pas to discuss your stats?

alalaw wrote:What about T14 reps? (for schools that bother to send them). Are they harder to talk to (with everyone rushing their tables)?
Is it a faux pas to discuss your stats?

T14 is just a TLS thing. Other than Yale/Harvard/Stanford/LocalSchools, most of the time there are no lines anywhere. Pretty much all schools showed up to the one I went to.

I wouldn't recommend talking about your stats, since you can read their brochures if you want to see the numbers of the students they accept. If you just want an excuse to make small talk with the school representatives, that's fine then.

alalaw wrote:What about T14 reps? (for schools that bother to send them). Are they harder to talk to (with everyone rushing their tables)?
Is it a faux pas to discuss your stats?

If there's a school you really want to go to (t14 or not) definitely make sure to talk to the rep. I won't say it'll help your chances of admission or anything, but it's worth it. I chatted with the dean of one school and mentioned the conversation in my Why X essay to that school.

And like JDizzle said, you can get fee waivers.

If I live 3-4 hours away from the nearest forum, should I skip it?

I'm going to the one in Chicago, and I live 5 hours away. I want the opportunity to speak to the law school reps. For me, it's worth it for that opportunity.

I'm thinking of attending the session over at Toronto. Not as far as westie's trip to Chicago, but about 3 hours or so from Montreal (which the LSAC never even touches). It seems worth it.

As someone who went to one and had a positive experience overall, I think a 3 hour trip is really pushing it and it definitely wouldn't be worth a 4-5 hour trip.

JDizzle2015 wrote:As someone who went to one and had a positive experience overall, I think a 3 hour trip is really pushing it and it definitely wouldn't be worth a 4-5 hour trip.

Could you elaborate? I'm trying to figure out how it can only be a positive experience for someone who live less than 3 hours away. I know it's going to take more time to get there and to get home, but that seems to be par for the course for anyone who doesn't live really close to a major metropolitan area - traveling to get to an event because they only hit mega or centrally located markets. Thanks!

Just a personal, arguably unjustified, unwillingness towards doing anything that takes longer to get to than the duration of the actual event; I don't see how you could spend more than 3 hours at a LSAC forum. Even getting into extra-law school interests like comparing notes on restaurants and fantasy football with adcomms, I was there for about 2 and a half hours and was able to hit 12 of the T14s and the strong regionals.

You need to get there early (like around the time it starts) because by lunch time a lot of the reps are noticeably more cranky and you only get a minute or so with them since lines will develop. Keep in mind that they've been answering the same 6 or 7 questions over and over again. It's just not as enjoyable as the first hour or two of the forum, imo.

westie25 wrote:

JDizzle2015 wrote:As someone who went to one and had a positive experience overall, I think a 3 hour trip is really pushing it and it definitely wouldn't be worth a 4-5 hour trip.

Could you elaborate? I'm trying to figure out how it can only be a positive experience for someone who live less than 3 hours away. I know it's going to take more time to get there and to get home, but that seems to be par for the course for anyone who doesn't live really close to a major metropolitan area - traveling to get to an event because they only hit mega or centrally located markets. Thanks!

The forum is marginally useful to you, but the time and money spent going there are costs to you. Because the forum is only of marginal use, if it is far away from you then it is not worth it. The costs exceed the benefits.

Now, if you want to look at it as the first law school event you ever go to, then that could make it more worth it. I got a kick out of being surrounded by future lawyers for the first time. Unfortunately you don't socialize much with the fellow pre-laws there.

JDizzle2015 wrote:I got a couple fee waivers last year by asking law school reps. I think it's worth attending.

Skip the sessions.

This might be a silly question, but how exactly did you ask for a fee waiver? I'm not sure what to say...

^
"I'm interested in applying to your school, but law school applications are fairly expensive for me. Do you have fee waivers available?"

You might have to specifically ask about merit based waivers (and be ready to give them your numbers) since they'll likely direct need-based inquires to LSAC's fee waiver process.

Keep up-to-date with each law school's social media accounts (twitter/facebook). AdComm can be pretty active and give fee waivers/tips through their social media accounts. Last cycle, UofChicago tweeted fee waiver questions so that if you could provide the answer at their forum table, you'd get a waiver. I'm pretty sure there were other schools which did similar things.

JDizzle2015 wrote:^
"I'm interested in applying to your school, but law school applications are fairly expensive for me. Do you have fee waivers available?"

You might have to specifically ask about merit based waivers (and be ready to give them your numbers) since they'll likely direct need-based inquires to LSAC's fee waiver process.

Keep up-to-date with each law school's social media accounts (twitter/facebook). AdComm can be pretty active and give fee waivers/tips through their social media accounts. Last cycle, UofChicago tweeted fee waiver questions so that if you could provide the answer at their forum table, you'd get a waiver. I'm pretty sure there were other schools which did similar things.

Thanks for this - super helpful.

What if my numbers put me as a "Deny" or "Weak Consider" at a given school on LSP? Would it be a waste of time to ask them for a waiver? Or is there a chance they might give me one for selectivity boost?

i was 'deny' on lsp for a T14. I hit a 170+ (still listed as 'deny') on the LSAT, got a fee waiver, and was admitted.

This is me NOT making another post about the same thing, but I had a stupid question to ask.

I searched TLS about LSAC forums and it seems the advice is basically go if it's close (check for me, NYC) and just skip the info sessions and talk to adcomms. People suggest asking GOOD questions, but at the same time say that if you browse TLS nothing is going to be new.

So what is considered a good question to ask?

I'm interested in CLS NYU and lower t14, and will *hopefully* be competitive.

Any thoughts? I've been to CLS and NYU, seen the campus, read their sites, read TLS about them.

And do you think they actually give fee waivers?

bump dead thread pleasseeee new question see above

toothbrush wrote:This is me NOT making another post about the same thing, but I had a stupid question to ask.

I searched TLS about LSAC forums and it seems the advice is basically go if it's close (check for me, NYC) and just skip the info sessions and talk to adcomms. People suggest asking GOOD questions, but at the same time say that if you browse TLS nothing is going to be new.

So what is considered a good question to ask?

I'm interested in CLS NYU and lower t14, and will *hopefully* be competitive.

Any thoughts? I've been to CLS and NYU, seen the campus, read their sites, read TLS about them.

And do you think they actually give fee waivers?

I can see that you've spent a lot of time doing research and gone above and beyond in visiting the schools and perusing TLS. Are you asking if it would be a waste of time to go spend a few more hours standing in a room and being pitched a bunch of TTTs while you already know which law schools that you're pretty set on attending? My answer to that questions would be: Probably.

jstacks wrote:If I live 3-4 hours away from the nearest forum, should I skip it?

No. Drop everything and GO NOW!