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Hello,

I was just wondering what exactly goes on at ASW/ASD's for law schools. All I have to compare them too are undergrad ASD's, which were a pretty boring. People on these forums seem quite excited about ASW's, so I'm just wondering what they are all about! I'm excited to visit the one or two schools that I am the most seriously interested in, but if these things are so fun, maybe I should go to the other ones as well?

Also, how do ASW/ASD's compare to an individual visit? If I have specific questions about a department or program, would it be in my best interest to visit on my own?

Lay it on me, people.

I don't have any personal experience, but here's the schedule for Columbia's ASD, in case it's representative:

• Class visits
  Welcome and discussion with the Dean of the Law School
  Discussion: social Justice Law at columbia
  Lunch
  Mock Classes
  Discussion: Contemporary legal issues
  Student Organization fair
  Guided Tour of Campus
  Welcome reception
  Student Organization Events

By comparison, only the guided tour and the class visit are available during normal visits.

The only real benefit to going to ASD over a random visit is you get to meet people you might be seeing every day for 3 years, and the school may pay for your trip. Otherwise ASD is mostly just a sales pitch. It is extremely unlikely to give a you a realistic view of the school or professors. Everyone is on their best behavior and usually full of shit. You may have a great interaction with a professor that is in reality a major asshole.

If you go on your own, you get the guided tour, but then after you can just wander around the school for awhile on your own, blending in with the other students. You will get a much more realistic feel for what it's like on a day-to-day basis. You can also usually set it up with the admissions to sit in on a real class (instead of whatever BS "class" you would do at ASD).

ASD is a time to go get drunk with some other people that might go to the same school, but it really isn't a time to actually determine if you should go there. That should mainly be done by researching their employment and how much debt you'll be in. Then if you're between some schools, I think visiting on your own will give you a better idea of if you'll actually enjoy the day to day.

So far I've visited one school during its ASW and the other as an individual visit. I agree with the above poster that both are a lot like sales pitches, and I'm not sure you are going to learn that much that you couldn't find out from their website & other materials that they have sent you already. I think the primary benefit of going during an ASW is 1) the school will often pay for a big chunk of your trip 2) you may be able to make more connections with profs/alums than you would otherwise.

For me, my environment/the city I am going to live in is a factor in my decision, so getting a feel for it was important for me -- and I got that both from visiting during ASW and during an individual visit. If it's not going to be easy for you to make it during ASW, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Often, schools will have scheduled tours and panels on Fridays when ASW is not in session, so you can just participate in those.

I only went to NYUs, but theyre a good opportunity to check out campus/the city/housing for free. The actual events were boring as fuck and I skipped almost all of them, there's not really any new information if you've read up about the school online imo.

Free food and alcohol

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Free food and alcohol

This. Plus meeting a ton of your potential classmates. Go to ASWs.

OhBoyOhBortles wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Free food and alcohol

This. Plus meeting a ton of your potential classmates. Go to ASWs.

This. You will be ahead of the curve when it comes to networking if you know a lot of people.

Plus travel stipends.

I went to one ASW and did another individual visit. The ASW showed me that I didn't fit in with the staff at all and would have been fighting my own battles to get the job I want. Their philosophy clashed with my intended industry and they didn't even try to hide it in a recruitment setting. I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't gone to ASW because they did panels for the different specialties and it wasn't something that I ever thought would be a problem anywhere in that state. Sharing my concerns about the ASW school at the individual visit showed me the complete opposite at the individual school. Glad I went because it totally flipped my preference.

it can be a nice way to meet people and find roommates. otherwise i think they are pretty boring. it's a nice excuse to visit a city though, especially if they are giving you travel stipends.

Free food and alcohol plus an opportunity to travel somewhere new. The travel stipend allowed me to tack on a day or two onto the trip and travel to nearby places I had always wanted to see.