With law school admissions bloggers on vacation and currently navigating a series of planes, trains, and automobiles

we’re “pre-writing” a few articles to keep the wheels turning for our audience despite our absence. So while we won’t have any time-sensitive information (no discussions of LSAT registration numbers or waitlist activity), we can at least discuss the big things that tend to happen at this time of year.

And if we’re talking “big” and “July,” that can only mean one thing. Can you feel it?

It’s time for the Washington, D.C. LSAC Forum!

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What’s a Forum?

Forums are a specific subset of law school fairs that are specifically organized and run by LSAC. They are also—by far!—the largest law fairs that occur in any given cycle. If you live within commuting distance of these events, they’re very worthwhile to attend.

What makes them the biggest? Part of that is because of LSAC’s smooth operation. Some of it has to do with a “chicken and egg” situation—more law schools will attend Forums because they’re the best attended events by prospective applicants, which then means that prospective applicants are more likely to attend because they know that more law school AdComms will be present than at a regular law fair.

But a lot of what makes these events so important has to do with strategic decisions from LSAC regarding where and when to hold these events.

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When and where are they?

Since LSAC is not only the organization that administers the LSAT, and not only the organization that hosts Forums, but is also the organization that creates the platform that all law schools use for their applications, LSAC has access to an extraordinary wealth of information regarding past, present, and future law school applicants. When organizing the Forums, they consult their data to determine the metropolitan areas with the greatest density of prospective applicants. Not surprisingly, these tend to be

• Major urban markets, with
• A wealth of colleges/universities nearby.

As such, LSAC always hosts Forums in:

• Washington, D.C.
• Miami
• Atlanta
• Toronto
• Chicago
• New York City
• Los Angeles

They also alternate an additional Forum each year between San Francisco and Boston. Why the alternation? Because past attendance at those Forums is a bit smaller than the others and so it makes sense to host them every other year rather than annually. This year is a “San Francisco” year!

Additionally, LSAC tries to host the events on days when prospective applicants are most likely to attend. As such, almost every Forum is on a Saturday with the exceptions being New York (which is so big that it’s a two-day event on Friday and Saturday), Toronto (a Monday, because that’s how Canada rolls), and Atlanta (a Friday because of SEC football, because that’s how the South rolls).

All of these considerations help to maximize student attendance. Which then maximizes law school attendance. Which then creates a gravitational well that other law fairs try to take advantage of—for example, the University of Georgia usually schedules its own law fair directly before or after the Atlanta Forum.

And part of what makes the D.C. Forum unique is that it’s the lone event that occurs in the summer. This is because of the massive influx of undergrads who flock to the Capital City for internships and summer employment.

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OK, that was a lot of technical information and background. Very cool. But what should I actually do at these events?

Great question!

Here are some suggestions for making the most of these events:

• Be strategic. Make your list of your top schools who will be in attendance. Then check out the table numbers: These are important! Tables in the 100s will be closer to the entrance, and higher numbers will be further back. Local schools will be on the aisles because more attendees will want to chat with those schools, and placing those reps on the ends allows for better crowd control.

  Tip: If you can be at the Forum early, consider starting at the back of the room and working your way forward.

• Set expectations. Any time my family goes on vacation, we create a list of sites and activities that are “must do’s” and another of “would like to do’s.” We prioritize the items on the former list and fill in with the items on the latter if we have the time.

  The same theory applies here. Prioritize face time with your top schools. If you can meet those AdComms and introduce yourself—even if it’s just for three or four schools—then you’ve had a successful Forum.

• Set a goal. Be clear with yourself on what you’d like to achieve at this event. For some students, it could be asking questions regarding application procedures for the coming year. For others, it may be networking with admissions reps at their reach schools. Regardless, just know what they want—this will help mitigate any frustration you have as you’re standing in line for 20 minutes to talk with a law school rep.

  Speaking of which….

• Be (professionally) comfortable. While there’s no dress code, consider what impression you’d like to give. You can’t go wrong in either business or business casual attire. The one concession you should grant yourself is your shoes—you’re going to be on your feet a lot so it’s okay to wear either your dressiest sneakers or your most comfortable dress shoes.

• Have your pitch ready. When you finally get to the front of the line, be ready to introduce yourself and mention your interest in applying to this law school for the coming year. Then mention why you wanted to come by:

  “If you don’t mind, I had a few questions I wanted to ask.” Or “I just wanted to take the opportunity and come by to introduce myself.”

  Try to have two or three bullet point items to offer, whether these be questions, points of interest in this law school, or items about your background that are relevant to the admissions process.

  Regarding questions, it’s always appropriate to ask about admissions/application procedures (“I’m starting to work on my statements for this year and I was wondering if you are updating any of your prompts.”), academics and school programming (“I’m really interested in criminal justice work and I see you have an Exoneration Justice clinic—can you tell me a little about that?”), and job outcomes (“I’ve loved my summer in D.C. and I was wondering if you have a lot of students who come here postgrad? If so, what does the recruitment and interviewing process look like?”).

• Be prepared. Per the last point, it can be challenging to remember everything you want to say to each AdComm. So bring a portfolio or a notebook with you. You’ll have time while waiting in lines to refresh your memory on different questions or points that you wanted to raise.

• Have a way to kill time. We’ve made a few references to standing in lines and … yeah, there’s going to be a lot of that, especially if the schools you want to speak with are T14s and/or local schools. It’s okay to bring a book to read or to play on your phone while you’re waiting.

To sum up: dress business casual+, wear comfy shoes, be ready to wait in some lines (and be choosy about which lines), be kind to yourself by setting realistic goals for how many reps you’ll talk with, and bring a notepad so you can remember what you’d like to talk about with each rep. Then take a deep breath or two! You’re going to do great!

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7Sage Events

And if this got you fired up to attend some law fairs, then do we have good news for you!

The next episode of our admissions podcast will drop on Monday and will feature a conversation with Maggie Slater, Assistant Dean for Enrollment Management at West Virginia Law, about what law school reps are looking for when they’re attending forums and fairs. Be sure to check it out on Amazon, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you stream your podcasts!