On Wednesday, September 25th, over 60 law schools traveled to Notre Dame’s campus to attend the 2019 Law School Fair in the Duncan Student Center. Many of the admission representatives came as part of a law school fair circuit, including 12 of US News’s top 25 law schools.
According to Anita Rees, the career counselor for students interested in law, non-profit, and government work,“The point of the Law School Fair is to allow students to connect with law school admissions representatives, to talk to them, develop important relationships with them, and ask questions.” Think of it as a career fair for law school: admissions representatives are lined up in rows of tables, each with a student or two waiting to speak with them. The ratio of students to law schools averaged almost one-to-one over the entire night, affording students to spend time building those relationships and asking important questions.
“The Law School Fair, like the Fall Career Fair, is an opportunity for networking and getting answers to your questions, but these relationships are not going to get you into law school,” Anita warned, “There is so much that goes into a law school application other than a student’s relationship with the recruiter - GPA, transcripts, personal statements.” Going to a Law School Fair is a time to figure out if you are a good fit for the program, if they have specializations you want, if they offer an application fee waiver, and other questions only someone from the law school would be able to answer. Remember: You’re the one who is going to pay them so make sure their program works for you.
If you didn’t attend the Law School Fair it’s important to know that there will be no second fair this academic year and most law school applications are due before January (and the sweet spot is between Halloween and Thanksgiving). If you’re a sophomore or junior, keep an eye out for next fall’s fair! If you’re a senior, don’t worry, you still have options - many law schools offer online information sessions on their admissions websites, where you will have the chance to chat virtually with admissions representatives and feel out their program.
If you missed the Law School Fair, but want to get a feel for law school in general, don’t miss the Notre Dame Law School Open House on Friday, November 1st, from 12:30pm-4:45pm. The Open House is a great chance to talk to law school students, professors, advisors, and admissions representatives and attend a full-length contracts law class, to get a feel for what law school is like. Seats are limited, so RSVP through Handshake.