Top Law Schools

Hey All,
I have some dilemma here. I am an international student from China and I just graduated from UNC Chapel Hill as a double major in Stats and Poli Sci. I am going back to my country in a month and I am interested in applying to law school.

I don't have a good GPA in Stats but decent in Poli Sci, and there's some medical situation involved. and I haven't taken the LSAT yet. The earliest I can take is December in China. If I take the December LSAT I can barely make it to the admission office on time. and next year I will be working in China, doing something I wanna do. If I get into a law school and I will try to transfer to a better one hopefully.

OR

I apply law school next year, with plenty of time preparing my LSAT. Since my bad GPA, I probably wouldn't get into any top law schools. So, I still have to try to transfer to a better law school at my 2L.

I know transfer in law school is not as easy as I think, but at least that's the plan and the hope. BTW, after law school, my intention is to try to stay in US , but eventually my interest is to go back to my country and translate my knowledge to the legal system there.But that's long term plan. ( if you could give me some examples of what kind of laws have an internationally translatable nature, that would be greatly appreciated)


In both ways my plan is to land onto a less prestigious school first, and then try to transfer to a better one. The problem is between taking one year off or taking two years off. Taking two years off will give me more time to prepare, but does the difference worth the 1 extra year off?
What do you guys think? Thank you very much. I appreciate in advance.

How bad a GPA are we talking?

sanduo wrote:Hey All,
In both ways my plan is to land onto a less prestigious school first, and then try to transfer to a better one. The problem is between taking one year off or taking two years off. Taking two years off will give me more time to prepare, but does the difference worth the 1 extra year off?
What do you guys think? Thank you very much. I appreciate in advance.

Without exception a terrible, terrible plan. Do not do this.

whitespider wrote:How bad a GPA are we talking?

Yeah bro is your GPA like regular bad or Asian bad.

Either way you should just work in China and fully prepare for the LSAT.

sanduo wrote:Hey All,
I have some dilemma here. I am an international student from China and I just graduated from UNC Chapel Hill as a double major in Stats and Poli Sci. I am going back to my country in a month and I am interested in applying to law school.

I don't have a good GPA in Stats but decent in Poli Sci, and there's some medical situation involved. and I haven't taken the LSAT yet. The earliest I can take is December in China. If I take the December LSAT I can barely make it to the admission office on time. and next year I will be working in China, doing something I wanna do. If I get into a law school and I will try to transfer to a better one hopefully.

OR

I apply law school next year, with plenty of time preparing my LSAT. Since my bad GPA, I probably wouldn't get into any top law schools. So, I still have to try to transfer to a better law school at my 2L.

I know transfer in law school is not as easy as I think, but at least that's the plan and the hope. BTW, after law school, my intention is to try to stay in US , but eventually my interest is to go back to my country and translate my knowledge to the legal system there.But that's long term plan. ( if you could give me some examples of what kind of laws have an internationally translatable nature, that would be greatly appreciated)


In both ways my plan is to land onto a less prestigious school first, and then try to transfer to a better one. The problem is between taking one year off or taking two years off. Taking two years off will give me more time to prepare, but does the difference worth the 1 extra year off?
What do you guys think? Thank you very much. I appreciate in advance.

Sounds like flame, but if not...

If you're going to a job in China that you want to do, do it. Figure out professional education later. It would be an unequivocally bad decision to enter any US law school thinking you'll "transfer somewhere better."

If you're really all about law school, focus HEAVILY on the LSAT and find a way into the 170+ range, get a scholly to a T14, and get a BIGLAW firm to sponsor your visa to work here. It's the only way a US legal education makes sense.

thank you all for your answers! my gpa is regular and real bad. My senior year GPA is better. Sophomore is the worst. although i have some excuses of various hospitalization and interruptions, I don't wanna make the impression that I am all about my excuses.
that's why I thought I couldn't get into a good school anyway and that's the reason to come up with the transfer thing.(cuz when transfer they don't look at your undergrad GPA do they?)

So, from I have read, the suggestion is to take 2 years off and prepare HEAVILY for the next June LSAT while working in China?

Thank you very much again!

If your GPA doesn't at least start with a 3, and you aren't a URM...

Don't go to law school. Seriously, it won't be worth it.

Best you can do is to work that job in China and focus on prepping for the LSAT. You can refer to http://www.mylsn.info/ once you have a practice test average to work with. If you do end up applying and getting into a few schools, refer to http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/ for employment prospects at those schools.

Also keep in mind that law school is objectively a bad idea under most circumstances, and that there are half as many jobs available annually as there are students graduating from law school. Your best shot at working in an "international" capacity in China after law school would be working for a big firm, which generally necessitates that you graduate from a top school.

I would recommend that you read up on a few of the threads on this board to shed any potential preconceived notions you may have about how prestigious and high-paying a legal career is.