General Advice about Law School Visits Forum

[angiej]

I will be visiting a school in May, and this is my first ever "official tour." Is there any general advice or tips my fellow TLSers would like to share with me? I was a bit taken off guard when the person I spoke with said "you do not need to bring a resume but certainly may if you would like to share it with us." So I'm guessing I will, what else do I need?

[AllBusiness]

Why would you need to bring a resume to a campus tour?

[09042014]

Why would you need to bring a resume to a campus tour?

If you want to meet with an adcom I guess.

[Thirteen]

You don't have to wear a suit, but don't show up in shorts. On school visits, I usually wore a polo shirt and jeans. Also, prepare a list of a few questions you have about the school.

[gmichaelbluth]

Just my $.02, but I visited a couple of schools before being admitted, and I have to say, I hated the experience. The adcomms really didn't seem at all interested in me at the time--yes, they talked to me and answered my questions, but they were not going out of their way at all to sell the school to me or convince me to apply there. Note: this all changed when I visited later as an admitted student. Visiting after being admitted was much more informative and satisfying.

I guess it was helpful because I figured out one school that I was sure I was applying to before visiting, and came away knowing I didn't need to waste the time applying since I wouldn't be happy there (UChicago). But after the second pre-admission visit, I knew I was done visiting until I after I got into schools.

[angiej]

Why would you need to bring a resume to a campus tour?

If you want to meet with an adcom I guess.

I hadn't planned on it all, but when the admissions person told me "you don't have to bring one unless you would like to" I thought what she was saying was "the really super duper prepared prospective students bring a resume, so if you want to look good, you should bring one."

I will also be sitting in on a class and meeting a professor that I admire greatly (she teaches animal law) so I'm very much looking forward to having a conversation with her - though I can't imagine she has any clout with the admissions people.

[icydash]

I'm really confused. Are you admitted to this school already or not? If you're admitted, I can't fathom a reason why you would need to bring any additional information (resume, etc) or dress to impress. If not, they probably already have your resume on file (since you submit it with your application usually) and dressing in a suit/etc usually just makes you look like a douche.

Dress business casual or jeans and a nice shirt, and don't bring anything else with you (except maybe a pen and paper to take notes with).

[angiej]

I'm really confused. Are you admitted to this school already or not? If you're admitted, I can't fathom a reason why you would need to bring any additional information (resume, etc) or dress to impress. If not, they probably already have your resume on file (since you submit it with your application usually) and dressing in a suit/etc usually just makes you look like a douche.

Dress business casual or jeans and a nice shirt, and don't bring anything else with you (except maybe a pen and paper to take notes with).

I will be applying this fall. I'm ahead of the game I guess but will be in the area (3 hours away) and wanted to visit since I will be there.

[icydash]

I'm really confused. Are you admitted to this school already or not? If you're admitted, I can't fathom a reason why you would need to bring any additional information (resume, etc) or dress to impress. If not, they probably already have your resume on file (since you submit it with your application usually) and dressing in a suit/etc usually just makes you look like a douche.

Dress business casual or jeans and a nice shirt, and don't bring anything else with you (except maybe a pen and paper to take notes with).

I will be applying this fall. I'm ahead of the game I guess but will be in the area (3 hours away) and wanted to visit since I will be there.

Ok. Well I still don't think there's any need for a resume. They won't start assessing you until they get your full application in the fall, which usually includes your resume anyway.

[darknightbegins]

I will be visiting a school in May, and this is my first ever "official tour." Is there any general advice or tips my fellow TLSers would like to share with me? I was a bit taken off guard when the person I spoke with said "you do not need to bring a resume but certainly may if you would like to share it with us." So I'm guessing I will, what else do I need?

Get a new Tar because that face scares the shit out of me when I'm up late and drunk.

Oh...and you usually don't have to start kissing ass until you actually apply to the school.

[angiej]

I will be visiting a school in May, and this is my first ever "official tour." Is there any general advice or tips my fellow TLSers would like to share with me? I was a bit taken off guard when the person I spoke with said "you do not need to bring a resume but certainly may if you would like to share it with us." So I'm guessing I will, what else do I need?

Get a new Tar because that face scares the shit out of me when I'm up late and drunk.

Oh...and you usually don't have to start kissing ass until you actually apply to the school.

LOL - no way I <3 Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Thanks all for the tips - I assume between my visit in May and my application submission in September/October the school will forget all about me, but I'm eager and will be in town anyway, so I figured it would be worthwhile to stop in.

[JOThompson]

I've visited well over a dozen schools and I quickly discovered that most adcomms weren't interested in reading resumes. Since this admissions office raised the idea though, it won't hurt to bring a copy. My best advice is this--ask plenty of questions to demonstrate your interest and knowledge of the school. Good luck.

[TCScrutinizer]

A resume is something you send someone to get an interview... why bring it to an interview? I suppose you could bring your resume just in case, but never show it without prompting. A sheet of paper tells me far less about a person than a five minute conversation.

[angiej]

I've visited well over a dozen schools and I quickly discovered that most adcomms weren't interested in reading resumes. Since this admissions office raised the idea though, it won't hurt to bring a copy. My best advice is this--ask plenty of questions to demonstrate your interest and knowledge of the school. Good luck.

Thanks. I am polishing it up now, will bring a copy or two, but will not break it out unless asked. It seems kind of douchey to provide it to anyone. But I am also meeting with a professor while I'm there - I am interested in animal law and this professor (who is an expert in animal law) has agreed to meet with me to talk about an independent study I am doing for undergrad, so she may ask (though I doubt it).