Int. Student Boost? Forum

[stabiloboss]

Do international applicants get some sort of a boost? What if they did UG in USA but are not US citizens, ie international students?

[tvt86]

Do international applicants get some sort of a boost? What if they did UG in USA but are not US citizens, ie international students?

Whether they did undergrad in the US or not, it's doubtful that they get any real boost. However, it may form all or part of a diversity statement, which, if it's meaningful, will be one of many factors that a school will consider in admissions.

[JamMasterJ]

No, it may actually be negative, since the gpa doesn't work for LSAC and USNWR stuff.

[anstone1988]

Do international applicants get some sort of a boost? What if they did UG in USA but are not US citizens, ie international students?

The only "international" applicants I know who believed they got small boosts were citizens of another country who held green card in the US. The international applicants who weren't permanent residents generally believed that they were at a disadvantage whether they attended college in the US or abroad.

[AntipodeanPhil]

I've heard yield protect concerns can count against international applicants without green cards, since it is much harder for those candidates to get the money to pay fees and living costs for law schools they are accepted to (outside of HY). If you don't have a U.S. co-signer or come from a wealthy background you won't be able to pay living costs, even if you get a scholarship to cover fees. What is more, you need to establish that you can pay the costs upfront to get a student visa.

Also, some law schools seem much more keen on internationals than others. Chicago seems to accept VERY few into their JD program, for example, whereas other schools boast about having large numbers of internationals.

[stabiloboss]

not asking for any money, can pay all upfront. Which schools are those that are keen on international students?

[AntipodeanPhil]

not asking for any money, can pay all upfront. Which schools are those that are keen on international students?

To avoid replying with questionable anecdotal evidence, I collected information on international student numbers from the T13 websites. Of course there could be a variety of reasons for the differences here, beyond admissions preferences.

Yale: ?
Harvard: 9%
Stanford: 8 / 539
Columbia: 11%
Chicago: 2-4 / 195
NYU: 3%
Michigan: ?
Penn: ?
Berkeley: ?
Virginia: 6-9 / 375 ('09 data)
Duke: 4%
Northwestern: 3%
Cornell: 20+ countries represented

The number for Yale is probably fairly small.