UW(ashington) for Patent Law -- Questions Forum

[Chemeng2!]

Thanks in advance for the help.

Two questions here. One regarding patent law in Seattle and the other regarding admission likelihood....

I'm in my late 20s and married, so moving around the country for law school is not an option. Currently, University of Washington is my top choice school for beginning a career in patent law.

1)I have a BS in chemistry, minor in math, approximately 3 years work experience, a research-based MS in chemical engineering from UT and great references. I am a good writer and have been told I have an excellent PS. I had to support myself and help support both my ill parents as an undergrad (not a typical experience), which lead to a 3.1 UGPA. No upward trend, I continued to help my parents until 2 years after I finished my BS. I am Mexican-American and a WA resident.

With a 166 LSAT score, what do you think my prospects are? I will be submitting the application in mid to late October.

2) Any thoughts on patent law work in Seattle? How important is it to go to a top law school for patent law if one already has an engineering degree from a top school?

And, lastly, what does the admissions committee at UW want? Any tips on the application?

[deadpoetnsp]

I've PMed you.

[WonkyPanda]

Awww, no PM. I was curious to some of these answer about UW as well.

[JakeL]

Well, first of all, UW doesn't even start looking at applications untill January. So, as long as you get your application in before then, there's no real rush. My numbers though, are the exact same, with similar WE, so I would be curious to know if they are looking for anything in particular as well.

Unfortunately, I have heard that UW favors a high GPA significantly (not sure how true this is). However, they also significantly favor WA residents(I think ~60% admitted), which can be good or bad depending on who you are.

You are URM, and if your writing is as good as you say, I bet you're pretty much a lock. It's probably more of a reach for me as your everyday white guy, but I will be applying too. Good luck.

[094320]

..

[WonkyPanda]

I actually had the honor of speaking to Mathiew Le, the director of admissions, and asked him the question about WA residents. He told me that the state does not have any sort of requirement that the school needs to accept X amount of residents and being from another state does not weigh against you. He told me that they always try to create a diverse student body and there is no preference of WA residents over any others.

Very cool guy by the way. Out of all the admission directors I met at the law school forum, he was the most approachable and friendly. I must admit though, Greg Canada from Hastings was pretty bad ass though. The guy totally looks like he could be in a movie.

[Chemeng2!]

Thanks everyone...please, keep the post coming!

Unfortunately, I've also heard UW is not very splitter friendly but does look for diversity in a student body (socioeconomic background as well as minorities) and may take my extenuating circumstances under consideration (especially considering I have a grad degree). It's extraordinarily frustrating to have the admissions committee at such a respected program (UT chemical engineering) look past my UGPA because of my other accomplishments (and the aforementioned circumstances), do well there and then have to worry again about the grades I got what seems like a lifetime ago!

I have heard good things about Mathiew Le. Unfortunately, he wasn't at the school when I visited a couple of weeks ago. The other staff members I spoke to were very encouraging but I'm not sure how much I can rely on their opinion and how much comfort I should take from that. I was told that they do try to shoot for a certain percentage of in-state admits and that my residency status would help a little.

I'll be applying to backup schools, but there aren't a lot of options in Seattle.

Thanks again!