non-tradition applicant need some advice. This post is for a friend because she doesn't have a TLS account. Forum

[Tiny123]

Here is her information.

U.S bachelor degree, 2.8 GPA.
Master of Law in China, (3 years program) concentration in International economic law.
Top 5 law school in China. Top 5% in her law school class.
She past China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters, has certificate in both oral and written translation. (If that matters)

She was on China WTO Moot Court Competition during law school, it is a English based program.
And some other softs.

She is a lawyer at King&Wood Mallesons, which is the the No.1 domestic firm in China and the only Chinese firm within T100 world biggest law firm. This is her third year working for them, mostly she handles foreign related trade matters.

She been out of college for 7 years. She is 29 years old is that matters,

Her Oct LSAT is 169, I think she is retaking it in Dec to break 170.

She is moving to U.S because her husband is going o start his PHD at BU, she will only consider school on east-coast and maybe Chicago (I think she has family in Chicago).

Her GPA is horrible, but with her later law studies, LSAT and work experience as a lawyer, is there any chance for her to get into a decent school with some money?

thanks anyone that can give some advice.

[twenty]

Her undergraduate GPA will hurt her for JD admissions. She seems like she could be a solid candidate for a LLM or potentially even JSD, though. What does she want to do with a degree in the US?

[Tiny123]

Her undergraduate GPA will hurt her for JD admissions. She seems like she could be a solid candidate for a LLM or potentially even JSD, though. What does she want to do with a degree in the US?

Well her husband is getting a full ride for his phd, so the next 5 years he will be stay in Boston. if everything goes well he will stay in U.S for work. She want to be with him and she want to practice law too. LLM only can practice in NY and CA, and is almost impossible to get a job.

[ihenry]

Does she have to start over in U.S given she is now working in a prestigious Chinese firm with overseas transactions? I mean, could she lateral to a U.S. firm or be appointed to a U.S branch or something? J.D is a serious investment.

[Tiny123]

Does she have to start over in U.S given she is now working in a prestigious Chinese firm with overseas transactions? I mean, could she lateral to a U.S. firm or be appointed to a U.S branch or something? J.D is a serious investment.

King wood has most oversea office in European countries, they do have 2 office in U.S but I think is fairly small. And almost all the associates in those office has a JD. ( LLB+JD)

I mean I could be wrong, this is just my assumptions based on what I know about KW.

[twenty]

LLM only can practice in NY and CA

And, more importantly, Massachusetts.

https://www.bu.edu/law/central/llm/grad ... cation.pdf

But also New Hampshire and Texas. I believe Rhode Island and Pennsylvania will let LLMs with foreign legal experience sit for their bar exams as well.

No matter what happens, your friend is in trouble. Going to a lower-ranked school on a not-full-scholarship is a seriously bad idea for anyone, and her 2.8 GPA is going to hold her down. It's true that employers aren't going to be hurling themselves at your friend with an LLM, but they're not going to be throwing themselves at her with a T1 or below JD, either. The difference is that the LLM will cost a third of the tuition.

[Tiny123]

LLM only can practice in NY and CA

And, more importantly, Massachusetts.

https://www.bu.edu/law/central/llm/grad ... cation.pdf

But also New Hampshire and Texas. I believe Rhode Island and Pennsylvania will let LLMs with foreign legal experience sit for their bar exams as well.

No matter what happens, your friend is in trouble. Going to a lower-ranked school on a not-full-scholarship is a seriously bad idea for anyone, and her 2.8 GPA is going to hold her down. It's true that employers aren't going to be hurling themselves at your friend with an LLM, but they're not going to be throwing themselves at her with a T1 or below JD, either. The difference is that the LLM will cost a third of the tuition.

Since her LSAT is not horrible. Is there possibilities for her to apply to schools such like BU/BC,maybe even UIUC? (And get some money, not hoping for full ride though)
Lawyers in China doesn't make that much, but enough for her to has some savings, and her husband doesn't need to pay for school, and he will have stipend every month from the university.

We did talk about getting a LLM from a T14 school, but it just seems really weak when you try to make a career out of it.

[Tiny123]

Oh and, with a 2.8 and 168, what is the best options she got?

[mornincounselor]

With her work experience, possibly Northwestern. That's her best bet for a top 14 law school. Otherwise, I don't know. She can use www.mylsn.com to get a better idea of her chances and possible scholarship opportunities.

[twenty]

Even if she increased her score to a 173+, it's going to be an uphill battle on scholarships. Mornin is right in that her best bet is probably Northwestern, but that's not anywhere close to a guarantee, and even still would absolutely be sticker cost. ( http://mylsn.info/v7y28h/ )

UIUC will likely give her a lot of money (maybe even a full ride?) but UIUC is NOT in Chicago - it's about 2.5 hours away. At that point, may as well apply to WUSTL as well, since they're also keen on giving super splitters money.

[Tiny123]

With her work experience, possibly Northwestern. That's her best bet for a top 14 law school. Otherwise, I don't know. She can use http://www.mylsn.com to get a better idea of her chances and possible scholarship opportunities.

Do you have any aspect on BU? Becuase that is her first choice of course. I played around with mylsn, but not a lot of super splitter applies to BU though. The total applicant is like 1 or 2 for the past 3 years.

[Tiny123]

Even if she increased her score to a 173+, it's going to be an uphill battle on scholarships. Mornin is right in that her best bet is probably Northwestern, but that's not anywhere close to a guarantee, and even still would absolutely be sticker cost. ( http://mylsn.info/v7y28h/ )

UIUC will likely give her a lot of money (maybe even a full ride?) but UIUC is NOT in Chicago - it's about 2.5 hours away. At that point, may as well apply to WUSTL as well, since they're also keen on giving super splitters money.

How about BU? I know the Mylsn showed there is only 1 person within her score range applied and got rejected for the past 3 years.. I mean it could happen right?

[twenty]

Her GPA is well, well below BU's and BC's median. Even if she got in, that would be an immensely expensive proposition.