Hello,
I was thinking of emailing some student groups - particularly affinity groups - at some of my top choices. Nothing crazy; just asking about offerings and opportunities in areas of law related to the group that I might not see on the website, and asking what they particularly enjoy about the school.
I know quite a people who did this for undergrad, and it seemed to go well. Just making sure it’s not considered rude in the world of law school.
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The HLS and YLS deans have a podcast and mentioned that ABA demographics data isn't necessarily accurate (for example all international students are classified as non-resident aliens and are not assigned a race or ethnicity, so they don't count towards statistics, no category for Middle Eastern students, no breakdown of mixed race students, etc) and actually explicitly recommended applicants out to student groups to get a better idea of school culture and demographics. They explain the ABA inaccuracies beginning at the 36 min mark and you can hear the recommendation to reach out to affinity groups around 37:38 in their episode "Where To Begin" of the Navigating Law School Admissions with Miriam and Kristi podcast, published on Sept 12, 2022. While the advice is a few years old, I can't imagine that has changed. You could mention that you heard advice from deans of admissions saying it'd be a good idea while explaining why you're reaching out, if that would help you feel like you have more legitimacy. Not rude at all IMO! You want to make sure your top choices are places you'd actually be comfortable in.
@maydayings yes, this was along the lines of what I was thinking. You can’t know everything about a school just by what’s on their website.
I shot a few emails out to orgs midway through the week, but no dice so far. I’m guessing people are busy, or maybe my approach is off, lol