Questions to Ask in Law School Interview
Questions for applicants interviewing at a law school, covering clinics and their waitlists, how grading and class rank work, employment outcomes, scholarship conditions, and academic support. Includes who to ask what.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
What is your own connection to the school?
Easy opener that tells you whether you are speaking to an alumnus, an admissions professional, or a current student, which determines which of the later questions they can actually answer.
- 2
Which clinics do students most want, and can everyone who wants one get one?
Clinics are the most heavily marketed and most rationed part of legal education. Ask about waitlists and lottery systems rather than the list of clinics that exists on paper.
- 3
How is grading done in the first year, and is there a mandatory curve?
A forced curve shapes the entire social and competitive character of first year. Whether it exists, and how tight it is, is usually the most consequential thing about a school's academics.
- 4
Is class rank calculated, and who sees it?
Rank drives early recruiting at many schools and is withheld at others. Knowing which applies here tells you how much a single first-year semester will determine your options.
- 5
Where did last year's graduating class end up?
Ask for the breakdown between firm size, public interest, government, judicial clerkships, and jobs not requiring bar passage. The composite employment percentage conceals most of what matters.
- 6
What share of your graduates sit the bar in this state, and what is the first-time pass rate?
Both figures are published, so asking mostly tests candor. The share sitting locally also tells you whether the alumni network is concentrated in a market you want to work in.
- 7
How does on-campus recruiting work here, and who participates?
Ask which employers come, in which year, and what grades they screen on. Schools with limited recruiting expect students to find work independently, which is a different experience entirely.
- 8
If I have a scholarship, what do I need to maintain it?
Conditional scholarships tied to a grade point average interact badly with a mandatory curve, since a fixed proportion of the class must fall below any cutoff. Ask what proportion of holders keep theirs.
- 9
What does the school do for students who are struggling in first year?
Ask whether academic support is offered before or only after bad grades arrive. A program that only activates after a failed semester arrives too late for most people.
- 10
How do students get research or teaching assistant work, and is it paid?
These roles are how relationships with faculty and clerkship recommendations get built. If they are allocated informally, that is worth knowing before you arrive.
- 11
How does journal membership work, and how many students get on?
Write-on competitions, grade-on rules, and the number of journals vary widely. This is one of the few credentials employers still read, so the mechanics matter.
- 12
What is the relationship between the school and the local legal community?
Ask about adjuncts who practice locally, judges who take externs, and where alumni cluster. Regional strength is real and rarely visible in national rankings.
- 13
How accessible are faculty outside class?
Best directed at a current student. Answers range from open doors to a two-week wait for office hours, and it affects recommendations as much as learning.
- 14
What is the cost of living here, and how do students cover it?
Tuition is published and living costs are not. Ask what students actually spend on rent, since debt is driven as much by the city as by the tuition figure.
- 15
Are students able to work during the school year?
First-year employment is restricted by accreditation rules, which surprises applicants planning to work through. Ask what the limits are and when they lift.
- 16
What support exists for students who are the first in their family to study law?
Legal education assumes a great deal of unspoken background knowledge. Ask whether anything is structured or whether it depends on finding the right person yourself.
- 17
How does the school handle mental health support, and what is the wait for it?
Ask about the waiting time and the session limit rather than whether counseling exists. Legal education places heavy demands on students and capacity is the detail that decides whether the service reaches you.
- 18
What has changed here in the last two years?
New leadership, curriculum reform, or a shrinking class each carry consequences for your three years. Recent change is more informative than long-term plans.
- 19
What do students here complain about most?
Asked of a current student, this produces the specific irritants that no tour covers: a registration bottleneck, an unhelpful career office, a building under permanent renovation.
- 20
Looking back at first year, what would you do differently?
Reflective closer that produces practical advice rather than a sales pitch, and it often reveals what the school does not prepare students for.
Making a Law School Interview Useful
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Know what kind of interview this is
Know what kind of interview this is
Evaluative or informational
Some law school interviews are assessed and factor into the decision; others are recruitment conversations after a likely admission. Ask the admissions office which this is, because it changes how much of the time is yours.
Who is across the table
An admissions officer can answer process and scholarship questions precisely. An alumnus interviewer can speak to outcomes and the local market. A student can tell you what the year actually feels like.
Have three questions, not twelve
Most of these interviews leave ten minutes for your questions. Choose one about academics, one about outcomes, and one about money or support.
Ask for numbers you can check
Ask for numbers you can check
- Employment outcomes are reported publicly by category. Ask the school for its own breakdown and compare afterwards.
- Ask what proportion of conditional scholarship holders keep the scholarship. Schools that publish this are worth trusting more.
- Ask whether clinics are guaranteed or rationed. Guaranteed access is a genuine differentiator.
- Ask about the curve specifically, since its tightness determines how competitive first year feels.
- Where a claim is vague, ask for the year it refers to. Statistics from a strong hiring year get quoted for a long time.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes
Asking about rankings
Interviewers cannot say anything useful and the question reads as though rank is your only criterion. Ask about outcomes in the region you want to work in instead.
Asking what is on the website
Course catalogs, application deadlines, and clinic lists are published. Ask about access, capacity, and outcomes, which are not.
Only asking about prestige
Cost of living, scholarship conditions, and academic support will affect your three years more than reputation will, and they are much easier to get straight answers about.
Not asking a student anything
If a current student is present at any point during the visit, they are the most valuable person there. Save your least polished questions for them.
Before you decide
Before you decide
Steps
- 1Write down the scholarship conditions exactly as stated and ask for them in writing.
- 2Compare the employment breakdown you were given against the school's published report.
- 3Note whether clinic access was described as guaranteed or competitive.
- 4Add estimated rent to tuition and compare schools on that total rather than on tuition alone.
- 5Note anything a student said that contradicted the official account, and ask a second student about it.