Got a Meeting with Dean of a HYS Law School. What do I say? Forum

[WhiteHouse]

I'm fortunate enough to have gotten a meeting set up with a HYS Dean (not dean of admission) through a personal connection. I have yet to hear back from this school, but it is highly highly likely that I will be rejected given my stats (<both 25s). I have genuine questions to ask about the school, but I'm afraid I'm going to think of important things I could have asked after the meeting ends and I want to minimize that likelihood.

So let me put it to you: if you had a meeting with the Dean of a HYS law school, with the strong possibility of getting dinged, what would you ask them?

Thanks!!

[rpupkin]

I'm curious: What is the setting? Coffee shop? In the Dean's office?

Also, you're talking about the dean of the law school, right? (Every school has a bunch of assistant and associate deans.)

[FairchildFLT]

Sup bruh, what up wit all deez books?

[Bearlyalive]

This isn't advice, just saying what I would do if I had an opportunity like yours and explaining my rationale. I would probably not ask them much about the school itself, especially questions that could be fielded by the admissions office. I would try to spend most of the conversation talking about their career, and maybe discussing some of my own interests and getting their take on my goals. Questions like, "What experience was the highlight of your time at X?", and "How did your time at Y influence your decision to return to academia?" I enjoy talking to professors about their clerkships (and how they got them, the stories are sometimes fun) and about their early days in academia. Another fun topic is discussing the differences in the legal hiring market when they first graduated with their opinions on the current market.

If you really want to pry them about the school directly, you can use those topics to transition to the differences between the academic cultures of their current position with their past, and that will likely give you a sense of what the professors are like at the school. But I would probably say that the more informal the conversation, the better.

[TheKisSquared]

This isn't advice, just saying what I would do if I had an opportunity like yours and explaining my rationale. I would probably not ask them much about the school itself, especially questions that could be fielded by the admissions office. I would try to spend most of the conversation talking about their career, and maybe discussing some of my own interests and getting their take on my goals. Questions like, "What experience was the highlight of your time at X?", and "How did your time at Y influence your decision to return to academia?" I enjoy talking to professors about their clerkships (and how they got them, the stories are sometimes fun) and about their early days in academia. Another fun topic is discussing the differences in the legal hiring market when they first graduated with their opinions on the current market.

If you really want to pry them about the school directly, you can use those topics to transition to the differences between the academic cultures of their current position with their past, and that will likely give you a sense of what the professors are like at the school. But I would probably say that the more informal the conversation, the better.

Yeah, I agree with this approach generally. I think they as a person will be more interesting/useful than their role in the school to you. I'd be legitimately curious about the path one follows to become the dean of hys!

You could have some *very* specific questions about their time at HYS. For example, if they had a specific campaign on campus that caught your interest, or recent changes that you're curious about, that could lead to interesting and meaningful conversation. If it was the Yale dean I might ask how the protests have touched or affected the law school and what approach(es) they've taken, if any. But it would really depend on the circumstances and the flow of the conversation.

Good luck! I hope it's fun!

[mvp99]

is H (or any LS) worth 300k? report back with her response