The worst question I heard at the forum?  A young woman comes to the Stanford table, introduces herself and launches into her story.  After a few minutes she just stops mid-sentence and a quizzical look comes over her face.  “Have I already spoken to you today?  I can’t remember which tables I’ve stopped at.”  The runner-up trophy goes to the young man who asked “Am I too old to go to law school?”  I could not just give him the quick “No” response.  I had to ask how old he was only because he looked so young – to me, that is.  26.  Yes, 26.  Imagine, those of us who are older than 26, thinking you may be too old to attempt something at this young age.  The world is just opening up for you, young man.

The best question?  This is a tough one as the DC crowd is pretty savvy and the questions are usually more precise and focused than at some of the other forums.  “If you were in my shoes and were thinking of applying for Fall 2011 entry, what steps would you be taking to make sure you’ve prepared properly for the application process?”  “How much attention should I pay to the rankings when looking at schools?”  These are the kinds of questions where you can get involved in an interesting discussion.

For those of you thinking of attending other forums this year, keep in mind that this is your opportunity to talk to a real person.  You can explore our websites and you can memorize all the stats that we put out there in our publications, but that’s not the same as actually having a conversation with someone about our programs.  So, think of questions that you’d not really find the answers to in our publications.  Think of a particular aspect of the school or any of our programs that intrigues you and you want to learn more about.  Avoid the usual superficial questions.  Dig deeper.