Questions to Ask on a Law School Tour
Questions for prospective and admitted students visiting a law school, covering the grading curve, first year workload, clinics, recruiting and employment numbers, scholarship conditions, cost of living, and what to ask a student guide rather than admissions.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
Why did you choose here, and where else were you admitted?
Asked of a student guide, the comparison set tells you which schools this one actually competes with. The reason is usually money or a city rather than anything in the brochure, and that honesty sets the tone for the rest of the tour.
- 2
What does a normal week look like for a first year: class hours and reading hours?
You want two numbers, not an impression. Reading hours vary enormously between schools and between sections, and a guide who cannot estimate their own is worth gently pressing, because it is the number that defines the year.
- 3
Where do people live, and what is rent around here?
Cost of living moves the final debt figure more than tuition differences between similar schools. Ask whether people drive, whether parking is included, and how long the commute is from wherever students actually rent.
- 4
How is the curve set, and are grades or rank published?
Grading policy is the culture of a law school in one paragraph. Ask whether the curve is mandatory, what the median grade is, whether rank is released, and when first year grades come out, since the answer shapes the entire hiring timeline.
- 5
How do people get outlines and old exams here?
Whether these circulate openly, sit in a shared folder, or get traded privately is the cleanest measure of how competitive the place is. It is also a question an admissions officer cannot answer and a student can answer instantly.
- 6
How big is the first year section, and how long do you stay together?
The section is your social world and your study group for the year. Ask how many people are in it, whether it stays fixed through both semesters, and how much choice you get about anything before second year.
- 7
Who teaches the first year courses: full time faculty, adjuncts, or visitors?
First year teaching assignments tell you where a school puts its attention. Ask specifically who is teaching the courses you would take next year, not who appears in the promotional material.
- 8
What is the cold call culture like in most classes?
This ranges from a panel system with advance notice to genuinely random questioning all semester. It affects daily preparation more than any other classroom detail and is rarely mentioned on an official tour.
- 9
Have you ever gone to a professor's office hours, and what happened?
The specific version of the question about accessibility. Every school says faculty are approachable, so ask for one instance instead, and note whether the guide has an actual story or a general impression.
- 10
How does recruiting work here, and when does it happen?
Ask which employers come to campus, how many, and whether students from this school travel to job fairs elsewhere. Timing matters too, because in many places the interviews happen before you have much of a transcript.
- 11
Where do graduates actually end up: which cities, and what kind of employers?
Ask for the published employment report rather than an impression, and look specifically at full time, long term jobs that require bar passage. Headline employment percentages can include school funded and non-legal positions.
- 12
What percentage of students keep the scholarship they were offered?
If a scholarship is conditional on a grade point average, the mandatory curve tells you how many people can possibly keep it. Ask what the condition is, how many lost it last year, and get the answer in writing before you commit.
- 13
What is the total cost of attendance here, including everything?
Ask for the figure the financial aid office uses rather than the tuition line, and ask what it assumes about rent, health insurance, books, and bar preparation. That is the number your loans will be sized against.
- 14
How many clinics are there, when can you join one, and do people get turned away?
Clinics are the part of law school where you do the actual work, and access is the real question. A school with eight clinics and space for a fifth of the class is different from one with three that everyone can get into.
- 15
What is this school genuinely known for that is not in the brochure?
Guides usually have a candid answer: a particular field, a judge who hires from here, a professor everyone takes, a regional pipeline. It also reveals what the school does not do, which is the more useful half.
- 16
Who do students go to when something goes wrong, academically or personally?
Ask for a name or a role rather than an office. If nothing comes to mind quickly, the support structure exists on a website rather than in practice, which matters more in law school than almost anywhere else.
- 17
How many people transfer out, and how many students do not finish the first year?
Attrition and transfer numbers are published and are rarely volunteered on a tour. High outbound transfer means students are using this school as a stepping stone rather than a destination.
- 18
What does the school do about bar preparation, and what did last year's pass rate look like?
Ask about the first time pass rate for the state most graduates sit in, and whether any bar preparation is included or paid for. Some schools build it into the final year and some leave it entirely to you and a commercial course.
- 19
What is the thing you would change about this place?
The highest yield question you can ask a student, and the speed of the answer tells you as much as the content. A long pause followed by a small complaint is a good sign, and a list that arrives instantly is worth listening to carefully.
- 20
Knowing what you know now, would you come here at full price?
This separates enthusiasm from value, because almost everyone is happy at a discount. It is also the question that gets the most honest answer of the day, usually once the group has moved on and you are walking behind them.
Getting past the official version
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Who to ask what
Who to ask what
Student guides
Ask about the curve, cold calls, outlines, the group chat, rent, and what they would change. They are the only people on campus who can answer these and they are usually candid when the admissions staff are not standing next to them.
Admissions
Ask for documents rather than opinions: the employment report, the scholarship conditions in writing, the cost of attendance, section sizes, and attrition figures. Anything they will not put in writing is worth noting.
Career services
Ask how many students they see individually, when that starts, and which employers hired here last year. Ask whether they support students aiming at other cities, which is the weak point at regionally focused schools.
Current second and third years
Email two of them afterwards, ideally people not chosen by the school. They have been through recruiting and grades and will answer questions the tour guide has not lived through yet.
Get these in writing
Get these in writing
- The scholarship condition, the grade point average required, and the number of students who kept theirs last year.
- The full cost of attendance for the coming year, and what it assumes about housing and insurance.
- The employment report broken down by job type, employer size, and location.
- Bar passage rates for the jurisdiction most graduates sit in, first time takers.
- Anything a person told you verbally that would change your decision. Ask them to confirm it by email afterwards.
What a tour cannot tell you
What a tour cannot tell you
- Ask to sit in on a class, ideally a first year one, and watch how many people are engaged rather than how good the professor is.
- Walk through the library at nine in the evening on a weeknight. The atmosphere there says more about the culture than any presentation.
- Eat where students eat and listen. Overheard conversation is the most reliable data you will collect all day.
- Look at the noticeboards for student groups, events, and job postings, which show what the place actually does week to week.
- Visit the city as a place to live for three years, not only the campus. Most people who are unhappy at law school are unhappy about the life around it.