Many J.D. candidates spend their summer breaks interning or vacationing, leaving room for a different kind of student on campus: the prospective student.

For applicants who may be tied up during the school year — maybe finishing their bachelor’s degree or a graduate school program — summer can be the most convenient time to visit schools they’re considering for their J.D.

They likely won’t see a vibrant campus, with students ducking in and out of class or practicing for an upcoming mock trial, but there are benefits of touring a law school during this time of year.

“You have a time advantage,” says Shawn McShay, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid at Boston College Law School.

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During the summer, a school visit may be wrapped into a vacation, giving the applicant a more leisurely schedule for exploring the campus and surrounding community.

Plus, “staff should generally be more accessible,” says McShay. Summer often means slower work days, giving law school administrators more time to answer an applicant’s questions.

During tours, applicants usually see the university’s law school building and classrooms. If they really want to make the most of this experience, though, law school experts recommend they look out for these four things while on a tour.

— Libraries: Once applicants become law students, they will likely spend hours each week preparing for class or studying for exams at the school’s library, making it a critical stop on almost any tour, experts say.

But if possible, they should also try to glimpse other nearby libraries, says Alison Monahan, founder of the website The Girl’s Guide to Law School.

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“It’s good to have options for where to study,” says Monahan, who graduated from the law school at Columbia University. The library on a law school campus can sometimes come with a drawback: other law students.

“It’s just too stressful,” says Monahan. Studying at a school’s business school library, for example, can give students a break from being around peers who are competing with them for grades or anxious about surviving a J.D. program, she says.

— Bulletin boards: The fliers pinned to these boards can give applicants an idea of what happens when students aren’t in class and what extracurricular opportunities are offered to them.

“You’ll find information about clubs,” says McShay. There may also be information about what intramural sports are offered and what’s happening with those teams, he says.

— Eateries and other amenities: In law school, students often spend all day and much of the night on campus, and working hard can make them hungry.

“Look at the food that’s available,” says Monahan. If there’s only one food court nearby, “that’s going to get old pretty quickly.”

Students should also use summer visits to learn about the community where the law school is located, McShay says. In addition to finding out how many restaurants are nearby, they can also find out if there’s dry cleaning close by if they need a suit cleaned before a sudden job interview.

[Learn how much a law school’s location can affect your job prospects.]

— Clinics: By the second or third year of school, law students are often focused on getting hands-on experience that will help them get hired after graduation. Many learn what it’s like to practice law by joining clinics at their school, where they get assigned real cases and clients under the guidance of school faculty.

If applicants are interested in a school’s clinic options, checking them out during a campus tour is a good idea, says Charles Roboski, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid at Michigan State University College of Law.

But visiting campus as an applicant isn’t critical, Roboski says.

“If you’re only going to visit once, visit when you’re admitted,” he says. A campus tour for admitted students can be very different from one when they are applicants.

Accepted students can get the red-carpet treatment.

Michigan State, for example, sometimes pays for admitted students to travel to campus for a visit. A school may also put in the extra effort to make available faculty members a student is interested in speaking with, he says.

It’s a school’s last chance to sell itself to people who have proved they are ready for what it has to offer.

“The visit experience at that point, once someone’s admitted, is really critical,” he says.

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4 Things to Look for During a Law School Visit originally appeared on usnews.com