The answer: go! Try to attend as many open houses and tours as you can. Make the time now to attend these events to visit the school, see what you think of the location, observe a class or two if possible, and consider other factors that are important to you. Attending open houses will make your law school decision much easier later on.
Once the Law School Fair is over on Tuesday, you should begin planning and registering for open houses and touring schools. Listed below are the open houses or tour opportunities for schools in Illinois.
Open House/Tour Info for Illinois Law Schools 2016-2017
Note, the first open house is THIS weekend at John Marshall on October 8. The next one is on October 15 at Chicago-Kent.
- University of Chicago: Monday October 31, Monday November 21. http://www.law.uchicago.edu/prospective/openhouse.
- Chicago-Kent: Saturday, October 15, http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/prospective-students/jd-program-admissions/visit-campus/open-house-programs/october-open-house
- DePaul University: Saturday November 12, Saturday January 21, http://law.depaul.edu/admission/visit/Pages/open-house.aspx
- University of Illinois: Contact us today to schedule a visit, attend a class, and meet with faculty, students, and senior administrators to discover all that Illinois Law has to offer.
- John Marshall: Saturday, October 8; Saturday, November 19; Saturday, January 28, http://www.jmls.edu/admission/jd/visiting.php.
- Loyola-Chicago: Loyola offers tours on Mondays and Fridays at noon. Class visits are also available. To register for these events, go here: http://www.luc.edu/law/admission/visit_us1.html.
- Northern Illinois University: NIU Law Pre-Law Advising and Interview Days: Friday, November 11; Friday, November 18; Monday, November 21; Friday, December 2; Monday, December 19. All weekday sessions 9am-3pm. Saturday, January 14, 2017, 10am-1pm. Contact them at (815) 753-8595 to make an appointment to attend one of these sessions. Click here to look at the calendar of events. http://bit.ly/23yAxym.
- Northwestern University: Virtual tour available. In addition, student guided tours are offered Mondays and Fridays at Noon. http://www.law.northwestern.edu/admissions/tour/index.html
- Southern Illinois University: Open Houses on Friday, October 9; Saturday, October 17; Saturday, November 7. Click here to register: http://admissions.siu.edu/visit/programs/open-house.html
Please check our Compass page for more information. The information is located in Compass under the “Applying to Law School Folder.”
Once you decide to attend a law school open house or tour, here are a few things you should do.
- REGISTER! Make you are following the school’s directions and reserve a spot for the open house or tour.
- Dress professionally for the event. Likely the open houses will have a business casual dress code. Tours may be more casual attire, but check with the school and see what they encourage prospective students to wear.
- Read the website and be familiar with the time, date, where to park, and what to bring to the event.
Also, research schools that you are considering out of state. Most schools offer open houses throughout the year and regular tours. Make use of the week off for Thanksgiving break and the long winter break for farther distance trips. Schedule these events early!
