Smart Ways to Leverage Law School Forums

Prospective students should review a school's website before the forum to better tailor questions for representatives.

Stephen Brown, the assistant dean of enrollment at the Fordham University School of Law, knows the angst that comes with meeting a law school representative. He has been to possibly 60 recruitment forums, answering questions from nervous applicants and noticing those who make the peculiar choice of wearing beach attire for the professional event.

He believes the Law School Admission Council recruitment forums are an easy way for prospective students to get ahead in the admissions process.

"A real advantage is they get to talk to lots of different people from different schools," he says. Aspiring J.D. candidates can ask questions that are not covered by school websites.

Brown was one of many school representatives in attendance Saturday at the LSAC's first recruitment forum of 2013. Between 140 and 160 schools attend each forum, which is held in nine locations around the U.S. and one location in Canada.

The forums are much like a college fair but also include workshops on how to apply, pay for and succeed at law school. They occur between June and November and give hundreds of students one-on-one opportunities to speak with law school representatives.

Though filled with opportunities for networking and learning about legal education, the forums can also be challenging: There's so much to do, not much time and limited ways to participate virtually.

[Determine if law school is the right move.]

There are limited options for staying abreast from a distance. Sessions are not live streamed or conducted through Google Hangouts, though prospective students can follow live tweets, says Wendy Margolis, director of communications for LSAC. As travel becomes more expensive, the LSAC is considering other forms of engaging students through technology, she says.

For those able to make the trip, forums last one or two days. They offer about five or six workshops taught by practicing attorneys, members of the LSAC test development staff and other legal professionals.

"The financial aid workshop and the LSAT workshop are extremely popular," says Margolis. Even if forum participants are interested in some of the other workshops, such as the ones on diversity or learning about industry jobs, they should plan for a packed crowd. "The workshops most of the time are standing room only," she says.

Workshops can be helpful for applicants who are unsure of how to approach school representatives, says Traci Howard, assistant dean for admissions at California Western School of Law.

"A lot of the conversations that happen in the workshops can form the questions and help the applicant engage with the representatives in a better way. Because they're armed with the right information when they're going into the tables," she says.

Some of the biggest mistakes students make at these events are not managing their time wisely and not asking thoughtful questions, experts say. Several applicants make the mistake of thinking the forums are an opportunity to turn schools against each other as they compete for students, Howard says.

[Apply to law school with a low GPA.]

"They ask the rep to tell me why you're better than this school or tell me why you're better than that school," she says. "It's a question that I think is commonly asked, and it's a question that frustrates a lot of law school representatives because really we're not there to compare ourselves to other schools. The forums are really a means for us to provide information to you about our law schools and a means for prospective students to gather that information."

Students should be prepared to have a lengthy wait if they want to speak with a school that's located in the same state as the forum. These institutions are often the most popular and have long lines at the school tables.

"If we're at a forum in Los Angeles, all of the California schools are really slammed," Howard says. "We may not have a lot of opportunities to have a conversation with a potential applicant."

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Leverage International Roots for U.S. Grad School Applications

Emphasizing cultural differences is a natural way prospective international graduate students can craft unique applications.

Every college-age individual wants to believe that he or she is special and has something unique to offer the world. The good news is that being from somewhere other than the U.S. automatically provides you with some key talking points for your postsecondary application essays.

You have something that really sets you apart, and I'm not just talking about the ocean or the plane ride.

Schools are interested in influence, primarily the kind of influence their alumni will have on the global village. A student's experience will shape his or her influence on the world – where you come from has a big impact on where you go.

In applying to graduate school in the U.S., I talked about my home country's multicultural perspective. We like to call Canada a mosaic, a piece of art, a coast-to-coast picture made up of a variety of smaller shades and shapes.

As a prospective international student, I talked about how the experience of growing up in Canada shaped me. The Canadian national attitude of inclusion and participation in service has greatly influenced the way in which I view people and interact with them.

Using your status as an international student is an interesting hook for applications, and begins with the influence of country, culture and courage.

[Learn how grad school officials evaluate international applications.]

1. Country: You are from somewhere the school is not. This means you have been exposed to a different government and history and have a unique perspective on international relations. Use these global experiences to distinguish yourself as an academic asset.

To describe my interest in community service, I wrote about a central Alberta youth project where we worked with young immigrant families and provided child care while the parents learned English. This showed the effects of those cultural attitudes of inclusion and service, but also how I was able to exhibit an international interest while still at home.

Not only did this demonstrate that I was a functional and eager team player, but it also revealed that I could see where I stood in terms of others and their experiences, as well as identify and respond to community needs.

Besides that, I proved that I could make the connection between my home and my hopeful future and what impact I could make at Andrews University.

Presenting an issue of global import and discussing your nation's response allows you to state and defend your opinion and talk about what you would like to do about it if you had the education to back up your beliefs.

[Get answers to concerns of international grad school applicants.]

2. Culture: The way you approach, interact and relate to others is fundamentally grounded in your cultural background. For instance, some cultures are more collectivist while others are individualistic.

These aspects of intercultural relations are good to emphasize as you introduce yourself in essays. Referring to your own background and comparing it with what you expect to find in the U.S. will demonstrate two things: You already know how to do research, and you are smart enough to put the pieces together.

In my admissions essay, I wrote that the purpose of my educational pursuit was to leave a better world for future generations. I showed that my goals were aligned with the recent emphasis on ethical, self-sustaining production of goods and services that the U.S. has embraced.

[Explore ways to choose a U.S. graduate school.]

3. Courage: Talking about a risk you have taken or a problem you have solved is a fairly common essay prompt, and as a student contemplating leaving home and loved ones for a foreign land, you have more than enough angles to cover.

In applying for a scholarship on campus, I wrote about the international financing dilemma. The Canadian dollar is close but not equal to the U.S. dollar, and I discussed how student loans from one country did not take into account the currency exchange resulting in less than had been promised. It was an interesting twist that drew attention to the financial plight of international students coming to the States.

You might discuss your choice to study abroad, your appreciation for the challenges of living somewhere new or your doubts about leaving and how you plan to combat them. Being an international student in the U.S. takes courage of the highest caliber.

Learning how to present your past as an advantage will open up possibilities in the U.S. and elsewhere. Celebrate your background even as you begin this new journey. Of all the parts that make up your whole, it is a truly important one.

Katelyn Ruiz, from Canada, is pursuing an interdisciplinary master's degree in communication and English from Andrews University.

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