International student, no academic Lors, how bad it hurts Forum

[IwishIknewIt]

Hi TLS,

Long time lurker here, first time post.

I am an international student. I dropped out of college at my sophomore year ( I would rather not delve into that) one year later I enrolled at a community college taking online class while working full time.

I graduated 3 years ago, I have a superior on LSAC transcript evaluation, 177 LSAT, but with no academic Lors, because I don't know any professors at the college.

Just want to know how bad that hurts? I intend to apply next cycle because of my work.

What should I do?

[toothbrush]

Hello,

I'll give my insight for what it's worth.

First off, congrats on an amazing lsat score. If your gpa is decent then you're off to a great start. To your question, academic LoR's are asked for but i'm pretty sure they are not required. As such, if you exhaust every effort to contact old professors (aleast for 1 of your 2 letters) then I believe you can try to find strong employers who may know you to your intellectual capacities (if possible).

I don't know if you can succinctly say "how much it hurts" you but I think your credentials speak for their own and if you try to find strong LOR's you may be in okay shape.

[dingbat]

Hello,

I'll give my insight for what it's worth.

First off, congrats on an amazing lsat score. If your gpa is decent then you're off to a great start. To your question, academic LoR's are asked for but i'm pretty sure they are not required. As such, if you exhaust every effort to contact old professors (aleast for 1 of your 2 letters) then I believe you can try to find strong employers who may know you to your intellectual capacities (if possible).

I don't know if you can succinctly say "how much it hurts" you but I think your credentials speak for their own and if you try to find strong LOR's you may be in okay shape.

Just ignore this.

International students don't have a GPA, which means that for most law schools the only thing they really look at is your LSAT score (which is amazing). That being said, you shouldn't be applying to "most law schools". You should be setting your sights to the top schools.

With a Superior and a 177, you are competitive for HYS. Yale in particular cares a lot about academic recommendations. Not having one will reflect badly on you, but doesn't mean you're automatically denied. You should apply to HYSCCN and will probably get into several of those (and probably some money at CCN).
I don't know how you plan to pay for law school, so you might need to consider applying to the rest of the T14 to secure a free ride.

[toothbrush]

Hello,

I'll give my insight for what it's worth.

First off, congrats on an amazing lsat score. If your gpa is decent then you're off to a great start. To your question, academic LoR's are asked for but i'm pretty sure they are not required. As such, if you exhaust every effort to contact old professors (aleast for 1 of your 2 letters) then I believe you can try to find strong employers who may know you to your intellectual capacities (if possible).

I don't know if you can succinctly say "how much it hurts" you but I think your credentials speak for their own and if you try to find strong LOR's you may be in okay shape.

Just ignore this.

International students don't have a GPA, which means that for most law schools the only thing they really look at is your LSAT score (which is amazing). That being said, you shouldn't be applying to "most law schools". You should be setting your sights to the top schools.

With a Superior and a 177, you are competitive for HYS. Yale in particular cares a lot about academic recommendations. Not having one will reflect badly on you, but doesn't mean you're automatically denied. You should apply to HYSCCN and will probably get into several of those (and probably some money at CCN).
I don't know how you plan to pay for law school, so you might need to consider applying to the rest of the T14 to secure a free ride.

wow i'm dumb for some reason I thought he was saying he had a superior gpa and was an international student (as in, he is from outside USA and studied here for a bit)

my b.

dingbat wins

[IwishIknewIt]

wow i'm dumb for some reason I thought he was saying he had a superior gpa and was an international student (as in, he is from outside USA and studied here for a bit)

my b.

dingbat wins

Sorry for the confusing, it may be worded in a confusing manner......
But thanks for the input, I am now working in non-profit sector, I read one of LoR thread posted by acrossthelake stated that unless you are out of college for maybe 10 years you'd better have an academic LoR. So I think I am screwed.

[IwishIknewIt]

Just ignore this.

International students don't have a GPA, which means that for most law schools the only thing they really look at is your LSAT score (which is amazing). That being said, you shouldn't be applying to "most law schools". You should be setting your sights to the top schools.

With a Superior and a 177, you are competitive for HYS. Yale in particular cares a lot about academic recommendations. Not having one will reflect badly on you, but doesn't mean you're automatically denied. You should apply to HYSCCN and will probably get into several of those (and probably some money at CCN).
I don't know how you plan to pay for law school, so you might need to consider applying to the rest of the T14 to secure a free ride.

Dingbat, thanks for the kind word!!! I am from a poor family, so I don't have much saving. I'll take your advices for blanket all T14 to see if I can get in ( I am still worried that no academic LoR will hurt me a lot ) and get some $$

[toothbrush]

Just ignore this.

International students don't have a GPA, which means that for most law schools the only thing they really look at is your LSAT score (which is amazing). That being said, you shouldn't be applying to "most law schools". You should be setting your sights to the top schools.

With a Superior and a 177, you are competitive for HYS. Yale in particular cares a lot about academic recommendations. Not having one will reflect badly on you, but doesn't mean you're automatically denied. You should apply to HYSCCN and will probably get into several of those (and probably some money at CCN).
I don't know how you plan to pay for law school, so you might need to consider applying to the rest of the T14 to secure a free ride.

Dingbat, thanks for the kind word!!! I am from a poor family, so I don't have much saving. I'll take your advices for blanket all T14 to see if I can get in ( I am still worried that no academic LoR will hurt me a lot ) and get some $$

I really wouldn't freak out too much about the LoR. If I were you I would write my PS about an MEANINGFUL employment / volunteer experience that shaped your decision to go to LS and then have a LoR from that employer strengthen your app. You're basically a special case who wants to boost up the special aspect and let you 177 / superior stand on its own. You have the numbers. A 177 is seriously amazing enough to get you most schools.

Also, in terms of the financial aspect, please please please solicit fee waivers from the t14. You should get from all schools. Also, if you are poor as you say, you could actually get a waiver from LSAC to waive their fee and such.

Best of luck.

Please continue to use TLS as a source of info because I truly hope everything works out for you!

[dingbat]

Dingbat, thanks for the kind word!!! I am from a poor family, so I don't have much saving. I'll take your advices for blanket all T14 to see if I can get in ( I am still worried that no academic LoR will hurt me a lot ) and get some $$

I'd be more concerned about how to pay for it. If you're not a US citizen, you won't be eligible for federal loans. Living expenses will be anywhere between $10k to $20k per year and I don't know if any of the T14 give full ride + living stips. Luckily, if you get a biglaw SA during your second summer, that'll cover your living expenses for your third year (but you'll need part of that money for the time period between graduating and starting work).

Still, depending on which school you're at, that's a good chunk of cash you need, even with a full scholarship

[eyfl]

Also, in terms of the financial aspect, please please please solicit fee waivers from the t14. You should get from all schools. Also, if you are poor as you say, you could actually get a waiver from LSAC to waive their fee and such.

LSAC only gives need-based fee-waivers for US citizens, if I'm not mistaken.

[eyfl]

*edit*

[M458]

Dingbat, thanks for the kind word!!! I am from a poor family, so I don't have much saving. I'll take your advices for blanket all T14 to see if I can get in ( I am still worried that no academic LoR will hurt me a lot ) and get some $$

I'd be more concerned about how to pay for it. If you're not a US citizen, you won't be eligible for federal loans. Living expenses will be anywhere between $10k to $20k per year and I don't know if any of the T14 give full ride + living stips. Luckily, if you get a biglaw SA during your second summer, that'll cover your living expenses for your third year (but you'll need part of that money for the time period between graduating and starting work).

Still, depending on which school you're at, that's a good chunk of cash you need, even with a full scholarship

This. A full ride won't cover books, health insurance, transportation, and room/board. You really are looking at closer to 20-25k per year. Yale and Harvard are the two schools that I am positive will give you aid and also insitutional loans. Other than those two, you can consider NU's ED program, which would get you 150k...but that still leaves you with about 70-80k to pay on your own.

[poichi]

Federal loans and LSAC fee waivers are also available to US permanent residents (aka "green card" holders), fyi.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/eligibility/non-us-citizens

http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/fee-waivers.asp

(Additionally, Canadian citizens are eligible for LSAC fee waivers, though this is less likely to apply to OP.)

We also have an international applicants thread if you want to drop by.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=199435