I now have readers from 5 out of the 7 continents! Now I just need to make friends with someone in Africa and Antarctica and I'll have truly global readership...cool. When I started this blog it was mostly a way to keep from constantly ranting to everyone around me about the law school waiting game. It's nice to know there is someone else out there that is reading this and hopefully benefiting. To that end I will try to provide some non-ranting actual content.
What to do when a law school dean calls you to tell you've been admitted to his/her school, but this is the first you've heard of it.
To start with, never accept the bait when they say, "I don't know where our school is on your wishlist, but I would love to help you make the best choice for you by providing you whatever information I can." Do not take this as a cue for you to explain or defend your choices, or even to discuss them. Simply stick to the conversation at hand and try and come up with a few intelligent questions to ask. Then ask for a contact name and phone number/e-mail so that once you actually come up with some questions that you would like answered you can call someone other than the admissions office.
If this is the first that you've heard that you are admitted express pleasure at your acceptance. This should be easy as I'm sure you're genuinely delighted that someone thinks that you're awesome. It's very flattering.
Good things to discuss with random phone caller, be they student or dean:
1. What special programs or courses does your school have in the Intellectual Property area (or whatever your field of interest is)? This one question actually took up most of the conversation and really helped me understand the school.
2. If you don't know a lot about the area the school is located in, this is always a good conversation starter. "I'm from Alaska so this is going to be a big change for me. What can you tell me about X city?" People love talking about their home towns and this can really tell you a lot. Not necessarily about the city. You will get a better idea how personable the administrator who is calling you is by how willing they are to chat with you. Students can often provide helpful info on where students live, rent prices, and other things that their professors haven't worried about in years.
If you are planning to vist, you might add.
3. While I am visiting, what are the "must sees" in your city other than the law school of course? I've gotten a few great restaurant recommendations this way.
Speaking of visiting law schools, we leave on March 9th, for our grand-tour. So I will be posting suggestions on how to maximize campus visits a little later.
What to do when a law school dean calls you to tell you've been admitted to his/her school, but this is the first you've heard of it.
To start with, never accept the bait when they say, "I don't know where our school is on your wishlist, but I would love to help you make the best choice for you by providing you whatever information I can." Do not take this as a cue for you to explain or defend your choices, or even to discuss them. Simply stick to the conversation at hand and try and come up with a few intelligent questions to ask. Then ask for a contact name and phone number/e-mail so that once you actually come up with some questions that you would like answered you can call someone other than the admissions office.
If this is the first that you've heard that you are admitted express pleasure at your acceptance. This should be easy as I'm sure you're genuinely delighted that someone thinks that you're awesome. It's very flattering.
Good things to discuss with random phone caller, be they student or dean:
1. What special programs or courses does your school have in the Intellectual Property area (or whatever your field of interest is)? This one question actually took up most of the conversation and really helped me understand the school.
2. If you don't know a lot about the area the school is located in, this is always a good conversation starter. "I'm from Alaska so this is going to be a big change for me. What can you tell me about X city?" People love talking about their home towns and this can really tell you a lot. Not necessarily about the city. You will get a better idea how personable the administrator who is calling you is by how willing they are to chat with you. Students can often provide helpful info on where students live, rent prices, and other things that their professors haven't worried about in years.
If you are planning to vist, you might add.
3. While I am visiting, what are the "must sees" in your city other than the law school of course? I've gotten a few great restaurant recommendations this way.
Speaking of visiting law schools, we leave on March 9th, for our grand-tour. So I will be posting suggestions on how to maximize campus visits a little later.
