Forum 101

 

Law School Representatives: Who Are They?

Law schools send representatives to meet prospective students attending recruiting events. Law school representatives may hold different roles associated with their respective law school. Regardless of their role in the law school, recruiters will be knowledgeable about deadlines, statistics, and the overall admission process. Below is a detailed description of what you should expect from each type of person you may meet.
  • Admission Professionals: Admission professionals include admission counselors, assistant/associate directors, directors, assistant/associate deans, and other admission officers. These professionals can address questions on the overall admission and application-review process. They can provide statistics on number of applications, applicants admitted, minority enrollment, attrition rates, and so on. Admission officers will be able to describe the law school environment, the school’s programs, and opportunities available to law students. Other professionals representing a law school at today’s forum may include career services deans, development officers, alumni directors, and student services deans.
  • Faculty: Law school professors can address your questions about the curriculum, specialization areas, the number of hours of study per class, the areas of expertise of the faculty, the clinical opportunities available to students, and so on. They can address the teaching philosophy of the school as well as what they expect from students in their classes. If they are members of the admission committee, they can talk about the application-review process.
  • Students and Seasonal Recruiters: Current students and seasonal recruiters will be able to address your questions about the law school environment, accessibility of the professors, ease or difficulty of finding housing in the area, study-abroad programs, and student organizations. Apart from being able to describe candidly the climate of the school, they can explain why they chose their particular schools and talk about their experiences during the application process.
  • Alumni: Graduates of the school can provide information about how their particular school prepared them for their current position and/or professional experience. They can answer questions about law school in general, the practice of law in general, and networking opportunities available to law students. They can also describe the legal market in their area and discuss career options available to law school graduates.
  • Financial Aid Officers: While familiar with the application process and programs of the law school, financial aid officers also have special knowledge about the process of applying for and obtaining scholarships and loans to finance a legal education.

Suggested Questions for Law School Representatives

Below is a list of suggested questions you might ask law school representatives today, followed by a list of suggested topics to help further guide your discussions with the law school representatives. Keep in mind what type of law school representative you are talking to as you ask your questions; i.e., is the person a student, alumni, administrator, admission professional, seasonal recruiter, or faculty member?

  1. What percentage of applicants are admitted to your school?
  2. Does your committee favor a particular type of personal statement?
  3. Does your school accept optional and/or diversity statements?
  4. Does the school accept addenda such as optional essays or grade-explanation statements?
  5. What opportunities does your school offer for internships/externships?
  6. What opportunities are available to prospective and/or admitted students to visit your campus?
  7. What is your student-to-faculty ratio?
  8. Does your institution provide academic support to students? Is it open to all students or only to students who are in academic jeopardy?
  9. Does your financial aid package include merit-based and need-based aid?
  10. What scholarship opportunities are available to students after their first year?
  11. What is your first-year attrition rate?
  12. How do I strengthen my chances of being admitted?
  13. What are the strengths of your law school and its programs? (Ask this rather than asking why you should attend that law school.)
  14. What is the range of UGPA and LSAT scores represented in your student body? (Ask this rather than asking for a school’s median UGPA and LSAT score.)

Other topics you may want to explore with law school representatives include:

  • Clinical programs/opportunities
  • Counseling and advising opportunities
  • Student organizations
  • Diversity of students and faculty
  • Law reviews and student journals
  • Moot court
  • Housing
  • Mentoring programs
  • Career services for students and alumni

Things to Consider

One of your goals today is to gather as much information as you can so that you can use your conversations to compare law schools based on the factors that are most important to you. Those factors will vary depending on each applicant’s personal preferences. A law school will not compare itself to other law schools.

Law school rankings do not take into consideration many factors that you might find important in choosing a law school.

Every school has strengths, and you must explore the factors that are important to you in order to find the right fit.

 

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