J.D. Admissions | Columbia Law School

Options for Your Visit

Take a Tour | Attend a Class | Open-Door Policy | On-Campus Visitation

Take a Tour

Applicants and prospective students are welcome to visit Columbia Law School during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can speak with an admissions officer on a walk-in or call-in basis, and you do not need an appointment. The Office of Admissions is located on the fifth floor of William and June Warren Hall (WJ), 1125 Amsterdam Ave., between West 115th and West 116th Streets.

We do not offer daily guided tours of the Law School; however, you may pick up information to conduct a self-guided tour or download a copy of the self-guided tour brochure.

Please be advised that you will need a pass from the reception desk in the Office of Admissions to enter the Law School library.

Download the the self-guided tour brochure

Attend a Class

A variety of first-year and upperclass courses are open to prospective students and visitors during the academic year, and we invite you to attend a sampling of subjects. We do ask that you arrive at the classroom a few minutes before the class is scheduled to begin, and to provide the faculty member the courtesy of notifying him or her that you will be observing class that day. Please ask the faculty member if there is a particular area or seat in the classroom where you should sit, as some classes may have limited seating.

Note: The Office of Admissions is unable to anticipate class schedule changes, and faculty members may cancel classes without notice to our office. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience if this should occur.

Classes have concluded for the spring 2012 semester.  The Fall 2012 Class Visitation Schedule will be posted at the end of September.

Open-Door Policy

Columbia Law School wishes to remain as available as possible to prospective students. The Office of Admissions does maintain a liberal open-door policy for prospective students and applicants who would like to speak with an admissions officer. No appointment is necessary, and you may speak with an officer on a call-in or walk-in basis during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Please note that because of the high volume of applicants from all over the U.S. and abroad, it is not logistically possible for personal interviews to be included as part of the selection process. As such, the admissions committee depends upon the insights provided by applicants' personal statements, addenda, and letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf.

On-Campus Visitation Program

We offer special visitation programs, which enable you to attend Law School classes, tour the Law School and the Law Library, meet and interact with current students, and attend an Admissions Information Session. At each session, an admissions officer will discuss in considerable detail the subtleties of Columbia’s selection process, as well as the Law School’s financial aid procedures, career placement services, our faculty and curriculum, special enrichment programs, and internships. The Office of Admissions offers these sessions as an educational support to our candidates for admission, and since consistent information is presented in each session, you need only attend one.

Attendance is by no means required of applicants, and you do not need to RSVP in advance.

Visitation programs begin at the Office of Admissions, located on the fifth floor of William and June Warren Hall (WJW), with a student-led tour of the Law School from 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., followed by a tour of the Law Library from 11:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. Following the tour of the Law Library, there will be an information session, which begins promptly at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:30 p.m.

Additionally, members of the Latino/a, Black, and/or Native American Law Students Association invite all prospective students for refreshments at 1:30 p.m., following each Information Session, to discuss the Columbia experience in more detail at the fifth floor reception area of William and June Warren Hall.

In addition, the offices of admission for the J.D. program and the M.B.A. program will host two joint sessions in which officers from both schools will answer your questions about the Columbia Three-Year J.D./M.B.A. Program.

Note: WJW is located at 1125 Amsterdam Ave., between West 115th and West 116th streets; JG is located on the northeastcorner of Amsterdam Avenue and West 116th Street.