Top Law Schools

As in previous years, it might be nice to have a thread for all international applicants this cycle (2014-15, c/o 2018).

I'm happy with a disjunctive understanding of "international applicant": you count as one either (i) if you have a foreign undergraduate degree, and thus - unless you're Canadian - you don't have an uGPA that's reportable, or (ii) you are not a US citizen or permanent resident. (Perhaps superfluously: the disjunction is inclusive - we're broad church 'round here!).

The point of the thread is to (i) collect information specifically relevant to international applicants, (ii) offer a centralized spot for tailor-made speculation about chances of admissions and/or scholarships, and, once we get going, (iii) to keep track of how our respective cycles are developing.

As to (i), here is, first of all, is the ~*~INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS SPREADSHEET~*~ where you can enter your info, so that future generations of international applicants may be less clueless than we are, courtesy of musedriverie:

SPREADSHEET

PLEASE DON'T MESS WITH OR SORT THE SHEET, JUST LOOK AND/OR ENTER YOUR OWN INFO kthanx
(For discussion of how to rank your softs, see e.g. this thread)

Second, I've created a spreadsheet compiling the information about (1) matriculants without a GPA and (2) non-resident aliens for the T14 based on the ABA required disclosure forms for 2014, here's the result:



With this information, you can generate the following rankings of how international-friendly schools are:

T14 ranked by percentage of 2014 matriculants without a GPA

01. Cornell University (5.91%)
02. Georgetown (4.48%)
03. Northwestern University (3.31%)
04. University of Michigan (3.14%)
05. Duke University (2.26%)
06. University of California Berkeley (2.19%)
07. Harvard University (1.78%)
08. University of Chicago (1.58%)
09. Columbia University (1.31%)
10. Stanford University (1.12%)
11. New York University (1.11%)
12. Yale University (1.00%)
13. University of Virginia (0.65%)
14. University of Pennsylvania (0.00%)

T14 ranked by the percentage of non-resident aliens in total student body

01. Cornell University (13.58%)
02. Columbia University (8.64%)
03. Harvard University (8.04%)
04. Duke University (6.65%)
05. Northwestern University (6.29%)
06. New York University (6.21%)
07. University of Chicago (5.72%)
08. Yale University (5.27%)
09. University of California Berkeley (5.01%)
10. Georgetown (4.09%)
11. University of Michigan (3.70%)
12. University of Pennsylvania (3.31%)
13. Stanford University (2.44%)
14. University of Virginia (0.19%)

Third, here's an overview of how schools notify international applicants of a decision (to be filled in):

01. Yale: TBD
02. Stanford: TBD
02. Harvard: email
04. University of Chicago: email
04. Columbia: TBD
06. New York University: email
07. University of Pennsylvania: TBD
07. University of Virginia: TBD
09. Berkeley: TBD
09. University of Michigan: status checker
11. Duke: email
12. Northwestern: TBD
13. Cornell: status checker, email
14. Georgetown: snail mail

Fourth, here are links to the international applicant threads of the previous four cycles:

2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11

In addition, it may be worthwhile to read this thread for some discussion of questions about employment-sponsored visas.

Finally, listen to some topical tunes!

Song 01
Song 02
Song 03

Come check in, fellow internationals!

Poll results:

Checking in.. Final Year LLB from India

LSAT 172, Transcripts yet to be evaluated but top 5%tile.

Thanks for starting this thread

Checking in!
B.S. from a top3 university in Taiwan
Currently serving in the Taiwanese military
Transcript evaluated as "superior"
LSAT 171, TOEFL iBT 120

Glad I'm not alone in here anymore! There's only three of us so far of course, but with nothing but 170+ LSAT scores, I hope we'll be able to make this an outstanding cycle for international applicants.

yashranade, bear in mind that it can take a good while before your transcripts are evaluated... between getting your home university to mail the documents, the time the mail takes, and the time LSAC takes (both for acknowledging receipt, and for processing), the whole thing took close to three months for me.

Thanks for creating the thread!
Information about US Law Schools is extremely limited in my country.
(Only 200~300 LSAT takers in Taiwan every year, and most of them are foreign)

On my transcript (MIS major),
I had 159 credits, cumulative average 88.3, GPA 3.81, and two course withdrawals.
While going through other forums, I was worried that I would end up with "above average",
so I was really relieved when it turned out to be "superior"
(And yeah, it can take up to 2~3 months getting the transcripts evaluated)

yes.. thanks guys.. I am sending mine in asap. hopefully they will reach by next friday.

I already had mine evaluated in 2012. It took about 3-4 weeks for me. Now I just have to update them with 2 additional years (4 semesters of coursework). I guess it would be safe to assume that, it will be quicker this time by about a week, right?

Checking in. International but went to college in the US.

parkcity wrote:Checking in. International but went to a private liberal arts school in the US.
3.65 GPA, taking the September LSAT.

Welcome to the thread! I'm gonna try and compile some data on the % of foreign nationals at t20 schools one of these days. Maybe we can also get a banner...

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Checking in again



Good Luck everyone

Edit:.....will ask this question in the URM thread.

Checking in! Had my UG outside the states. Transcript rated as "superior". Underperformed in the Feb test so will be retaking in Sep.

Best luck to all of you in the coming cycle! BTW, what fee waivers have all of you received so far? Got one from Vandy today, but nothing else.

smccgrey wrote:Onehand you have 100 posts! Yay! I'm not technically international since I'm Canadian/US dual citizen, but I'll be curious to discuss international moves, healthcare, greencards, and other concerns with you guys!

Banner added, courtesy of smccgrey! And happy to see some more people checking in.

Veronica2015 wrote:Checking in! Had my UG outside the states. Transcript rated as "superior". Underperformed in the Feb test so will be retaking in Sep.

Best luck to all of you in the coming cycle! BTW, what fee waivers have all of you received so far? Got one from Vandy today, but nothing else.

I got Vandy and Emory yesterday, and a few TTTs.

hereisonehand wrote:

Veronica2015 wrote:Checking in! Had my UG outside the states. Transcript rated as "superior". Underperformed in the Feb test so will be retaking in Sep.

Best luck to all of you in the coming cycle! BTW, what fee waivers have all of you received so far? Got one from Vandy today, but nothing else.

I got Vandy and Emory yesterday, and a few TTTs.

Thanks for sharing! Any idea whether Duke will give Priority Track invitation to internationals?

Checking in!!

Had my undergrad edu in France! LSAT 168, retaking in September. GPA Above Average.

RobertoReNu wrote:Checking in!!

Had my undergrad edu in France! LSAT 168, retaking in September. GPA Above Average.

Welcome!

Veronica2015, I didn't even know Duke offered PT until a week ago, but I sure hope so - as with fee waivers, it's hard to say, as there is not a lot of past data to draw on, and there is not much information as to how they exactly decide who gets invited. I'm still a little reluctant about applying to Duke, as they (like Michigan) require a TOEFL for non-native speakers, although I believe Duke offers the option to take an interview instead.

Hello, checking in as well, +7yrs QE as transactional lawyer at international law firm in LatAm. Above average and scoring in the low 170s, will be taking it in September.

Does anyone know whether international students taking the JD have job prospects outside of biglaw firms?

Thanks!

charrob wrote:Does anyone know whether international students taking the JD have job prospects outside of biglaw firms?

Thanks!

It'd be awesome if there was any data on how international applicants fare/where they work after earning the JD, but unfortunately, I don't have it.

Unless you find a US citizen to marry before graduating, you gotta ask: who will be willing to sponsor your H1-B? I assume most big law offices will have no problem with this, and I know that if you find long term academic employment (that is, a tenure-track position), you'll be fine too. Government jobs are often only open to US citizens (or in the best case, permanent residents and citizens). A small firm might be happy to sponsor you, but I assume they need to be making good money before they'll be willing to do so. As to non-profits and such... I wouldn't count on it.

Checking in!
Not US citizen, but had my undergraduate in the United States
Thx OP for creating this thread. I glimpsed through the last year one and it was pretty informative

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smccgrey wrote:So I'm not sure if anyone here will have experience with this, but maybe someone knows something.

I'm a US Citizen by birth (I've never lived in the states) but my husband is not. My understanding is that once we move, he would immediately be eligible for a Greencard, but how does that happen, exactly? And, more importantly, how should he go about demonstrating to employers that he will be able work?

Not sure about green card.

For the second question, employers would normally ask if the applicant needs sponsorship for visa in order to work in the states. As long as your husband is eligible for a green card and would not need the employer to pay for a working visa, he would be considered the same as a US citizen.

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smccgrey wrote:

nyanyanya wrote:

smccgrey wrote:So I'm not sure if anyone here will have experience with this, but maybe someone knows something.

I'm a US Citizen by birth (I've never lived in the states) but my husband is not. My understanding is that once we move, he would immediately be eligible for a Greencard, but how does that happen, exactly? And, more importantly, how should he go about demonstrating to employers that he will be able work?

Not sure about green card.

For the second question, employers would normally ask if the applicant needs sponsorship for visa in order to work in the states. As long as your husband is eligible for a green card and would not need the employer to pay for a working visa, he would be considered the same as a US citizen.

He's already been asked to prove eligibility! He tried to explain the situation, but I think we might have to go to the consulate or something.

Is your husband Canadian? That makes a rather big difference, as I think he would be able to get a work permit simply by finding a full-time job (at least, this is what my Canadian friend told me). If he's not, he will need to go through the regular marriage-based immigration procedure, which normally takes up to a year if things go well (and can take considerably longer if they don't). He wouldn't be eligible to work in the US while his application is pending.

smccgrey wrote:
He's already been asked to prove eligibility! He tried to explain the situation, but I think we might have to go to the consulate or something.

Sorry I misunderstood your question
Check with the consulate should be helpful. There are a lot of information about US green card on the internet, but some of them are quite misleading