Top law schools for foreign student Forum

[xuug]

As a foreign law student, what are my chances of getting into a top law school?
- Law undergrad in Spain qualified as average
- LLM degree at PSU law: 3.98
- LSAT score: 173
- 1 year of law-related working experience.

[nealric]

I have no idea what your Spanish undergraduate degree will translate to for LSAC purposes GPA-wise, but your LSAT should make you a strong contender. You are nearly guaranteed to get into at least one T14, and have a reasonable shot at HYSCCN.

[Lawman1865]

Agree with Neal, with a score of 173 you are a strong candidate, apply widely to the T14 schools.

I knew plenty of foreign students, (a couple from Spain), where I was. Schools are pretty accessible to foreign students these days.

Best of luck!

[albanach]

I have no idea what your Spanish undergraduate degree will translate to for LSAC purposes GPA-wise, but your LSAT should make you a strong contender. You are nearly guaranteed to get into at least one T14, and have a reasonable shot at HYSCCN.

I wouldn't be so sure. Average is the second bottom of four designations for an overseas degree. I think schools would read it as being equivalent to a 3.0 or below. The four possible categories are: "Superior," "Above Average," "Average," and "Below Average".

Obviously, running counter to that, are a great PG GPA from a known school, and a very good LSAT score. Plus the GPA, however the school chooses to interpret it, isn't going to be reported and won't affect the school's ranking.

Still, I'd be surprised at HYS taking a shot on an "Average" undergrad who is at their median LSAT score. But maybe the LLM will swing things in OPs favor? I agree that applying widely across the T-14 makes sense.

[xuug]

I have no idea what your Spanish undergraduate degree will translate to for LSAC purposes GPA-wise, but your LSAT should make you a strong contender. You are nearly guaranteed to get into at least one T14, and have a reasonable shot at HYSCCN.

I wouldn't be so sure. Average is the second bottom of four designations for an overseas degree. I think schools would read it as being equivalent to a 3.0 or below. The four possible categories are: "Superior," "Above Average," "Average," and "Below Average".

Obviously, running counter to that, are a great PG GPA from a known school, and a very good LSAT score. Plus the GPA, however the school chooses to interpret it, isn't going to be reported and won't affect the school's ranking.

Still, I'd be surprised at HYS taking a shot on an "Average" undergrad who is at their median LSAT score. But maybe the LLM will swing things in OPs favor? I agree that applying widely across the T-14 makes sense.

I agree with you! That's what I'm most worried about. I was thinking about writing an Amendum on my application. Do you think it would be helpful? Or should I just try to mention a reason in my personal statement in order to explain the qualification?

[albanach]

I agree with you! That's what I'm most worried about. I was thinking about writing an Amendum on my application. Do you think it would be helpful? Or should I just try to mention a reason in my personal statement in order to explain the qualification?

An addendum can only help if there's a good reason for your undergraduate grade or a convincing reason that the CAS analysis was inaccurate (and it that case, it would be better if you could supply an explanation from a professor). Since I don't know the reason, I can't really speculate as to whether it's a good idea or not.

[xuug]

I agree with you! That's what I'm most worried about. I was thinking about writing an Amendum on my application. Do you think it would be helpful? Or should I just try to mention a reason in my personal statement in order to explain the qualification?

An addendum can only help if there's a good reason for your undergraduate grade or a convincing reason that the CAS analysis was inaccurate (and it that case, it would be better if you could supply an explanation from a professor). Since I don't know the reason, I can't really speculate as to whether it's a good idea or not.

To be honest, the main reason is lack of motivation. It wasn't until I started the LLM that I started getting passionate about the law at the US. That's the main reason I want to take a JD at a top law school. It's also true that in Spain it's very impressive to finish the law degree in 4 years. Usually people always fail and grades are not important. Getting a B (7.5/10) in Spain it's considered to be pretty outstanding. But I guess that neither of these reasons justify the Addendum.

[nealric]

I agree with you! That's what I'm most worried about. I was thinking about writing an Amendum on my application. Do you think it would be helpful? Or should I just try to mention a reason in my personal statement in order to explain the qualification?

An addendum can only help if there's a good reason for your undergraduate grade or a convincing reason that the CAS analysis was inaccurate (and it that case, it would be better if you could supply an explanation from a professor). Since I don't know the reason, I can't really speculate as to whether it's a good idea or not.

I agree that an addendum is warranted given this background. Most admissions committee members aren't going to be familiar with the Spanish educational system whatsoever, so they would appreciate some context. The good news is I think they likely have more leeway to overlook grades for a foreign applicant.

[xuug]

Would you also recommend me to write a diversity statement? I read something about these and maybe would be a good idea to talk about how I could bring some civil law and common law experience based on my education.

[albanach]

Would you also recommend me to write a diversity statement? I read something about these and maybe would be a good idea to talk about how I could bring some civil law and common law experience based on my education.

I'd go with a very brief addendum to explain your grade. A diversity statement is fine, clearly you're a diverse candidate, but be careful about how much "law" you put in there. The admissions committee aren't looking for someone to teach the class, they're looking for someone who will contribute to it.

[xuug]

Would you also recommend me to write a diversity statement? I read something about these and maybe would be a good idea to talk about how I could bring some civil law and common law experience based on my education.

I'd go with a very brief addendum to explain your grade. A diversity statement is fine, clearly you're a diverse candidate, but be careful about how much "law" you put in there. The admissions committee aren't looking for someone to teach the class, they're looking for someone who will contribute to it.

So, if you were in my situation, what sort of things would you say in the diversity statement that law schools would like? I'm not very familiarized with this idea and I'm kind of confused about what should I explain.

[Tax29]

I agree with you! That's what I'm most worried about. I was thinking about writing an Amendum on my application. Do you think it would be helpful? Or should I just try to mention a reason in my personal statement in order to explain the qualification?

An addendum can only help if there's a good reason for your undergraduate grade or a convincing reason that the CAS analysis was inaccurate (and it that case, it would be better if you could supply an explanation from a professor). Since I don't know the reason, I can't really speculate as to whether it's a good idea or not.

To be honest, the main reason is lack of motivation. It wasn't until I started the LLM that I started getting passionate about the law at the US. That's the main reason I want to take a JD at a top law school. It's also true that in Spain it's very impressive to finish the law degree in 4 years. Usually people always fail and grades are not important. Getting a B (7.5/10) in Spain it's considered to be pretty outstanding. But I guess that neither of these reasons justify the Addendum.

Did you send your class ranking to LSAC? I mean, if you were 20/100 for example, that's Above Average for sure, despite your grade.