Foray to the Forum

Today I'm going to be focusing on #7 from my previous blog: attend a LSAC Forum. 

After I took the LSAT in June, I decided it would be good to attend a law school forum in July, hosted by LSAC (LSAC is the centralized website that you send all your application information to. They compile it, and send it to all the law schools for you). A law school forum is basically a law school fair where representatives from most law schools come and you walk around and talk to the different admissions counselors, get tons of brochures, and if you're lucky even a few fee waivers. There are also seminars you can attend that explain the application process or financial aid. 

Anyway, I signed up for the closest one which was in Chicago. Cool I thought. I love big cities I thought.

WRONG. Or at least driving in them.

See here's the problem, while I may have mental capacities to do well in school, directions and I do not coexist very well together. Meaning, I get lost ALL the time. It's a real struggle. Even with the beautiful invention of GPS I still manage to get lost. Also, I prefer simple country roads to crazy multiple lanes. 3 or more = stressed Maddie. 

Well, no surprise, on a day where I definitely didn't want to be late, I got lost. AND had to drive over one of the biggest bridges. Fun fact, I HATE driving over bridges. Irrational fear? Maybe. Still terrifying? Definitely. Throw in road construction, and it made for one crazy morning.

Pictures of Scary Chicago Skyway Bridge

To make it worse once I finally found the Marriott I pulled into a parking garage that was NOT the Marriott's, realized that all the cars were facing me (apparently it's some place where people park the cars for you...seemed really sketchy to me) and took a creepy "short-cut" down an alley that I was sure I was never going to make it out of. 

Needless to say it started out rough. 

But, once I got there I was so glad I made the trip. I met so many of the admissions counselors for the schools I wanted to attend. I was able to talk with them all, ask questions about their schools, pick up a few fee waivers and even make some friends. I also found some of the seminars I attended very helpful. Especially the one about financial aid. 

I would recommend if you're considering applying to law schools to go to a forum or law school fair if you get the chance. It really helps being able to have a face-to-face conversation with the admissions counselors. 

A few tips for the day:

• Dress professionally. I saw a wide range from suits to jeans. But my motto is "dress to impress." Nothing flashy, but also nothing that looks sloppy or like you don't care. I think first impressions, whether we like it or not, are in part based upon appearance.  
• Leave early. Even though I was "late" by my own standards, I knew myself and my propensity to get hopelessly lost so I left about 2 hours early. And sadly I almost needed all of my extra time. Plan accordingly for the unexpected.
• Practice first. Don't go to your number one pick first. I went to a table where I had no intention of going and chatted with the admission's counselor for a while. It calmed my nerves, and it actually turned out to be really helpful. She was kind and informative and breaking the ice without pressure helped give me confidence for the rest of the day.
• You don't have to go to all the seminars. Only go to the ones that really interest you. Otherwise, you may waste valuable time sitting through something you don't really want/need to hear.
• Talk to other people. It may sound simplistic, but while I was waiting in lines, I used that time to talk to other people. It made the lines seem less long, I got to meet some fun people, and I wasn't worrying about talking to the representative.