Top Law Schools

I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

test the waters at Cooley.. I hear with the drop in applications this year that they have been admitting a few 176's.. but they usually have a soft 3.9 GPA floor :/ .. either way its worth the app fee to find out

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I'll bite. You have a shot at every law school in the country. Here's a list: http://www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.html - I would suggest working your way down from the top. Enjoy.

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I'm curious, as someone from China, in your mind, what does an international law concentration mean?

Drake014 wrote:

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I'm curious, as someone from China, in your mind, what does an international law concentration mean?

Sorry, but I have to admit that I don't entirely understand your question. Upon graduation, I will probably work as the corporate lawyer for a multi-national organization.

I am a bit worried that law schools, for example U of C, do not like international students that much. And from what I saw, U of C only has about fewer than ten internationals.
Does that mean that the chance of my admissions is very low compared to other U.S. citizens applying?

wothli wrote: I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I would just like to comment that there is a serious lack of quality law schools in warm climates. There are no top schools below the 37th parallel. Okay well maybe Duke, but don't go there. If you want a warm climate aim for Stanford. Palo Alto is paradise on earth. And the best part...there is no snow there. Good Luck!

powerlawyer06 wrote:

wothli wrote: I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I would just like to comment that there is a serious lack of quality law schools in warm climates. There are no top schools below the 37th parallel. Okay well maybe Duke, but don't go there. If you want a warm climate aim for Stanford. Palo Alto is paradise on earth. And the best part...there is no snow there. Good Luck!

Berkeley is at exactly the same area, you realize. Though, with the OP's numbers, he really oughta be shooting for Stanford.

Tanicius wrote:
Berkeley is at exactly the same area, you realize. Though, with the OP's numbers, he really oughta be shooting for Stanford.

I did realize. I actually just committed to Boalt myself. I just didn't want to suggest it for two reasons:

1. OP should aim for the highest possible with those numbers.
2. I thought if I mentioned Boalt it would seem biased. I am trying really hard to not become a pro-Berkeley troll.

But since you mentioned it, Berkeley is obviously an amazing choice as well.

Tanicius wrote:

powerlawyer06 wrote:

wothli wrote: I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I would just like to comment that there is a serious lack of quality law schools in warm climates. There are no top schools below the 37th parallel. Okay well maybe Duke, but don't go there. If you want a warm climate aim for Stanford. Palo Alto is paradise on earth. And the best part...there is no snow there. Good Luck!

Berkeley is at exactly the same area, you realize. Though, with the OP's numbers, he really oughta be shooting for Stanford.

Stanford is my top choice. After three years of 20-below winters, I would REALLY love to go somewhere warm - especially since I have been getting sick in the winter.
Berkeley is also good. I really like Berkeley.

International students have a harder time getting into T14 than US citizens or permanent residents. Competition is more intense with so many high-achieving international students applying.

powerlawyer06 wrote:

Tanicius wrote:
Berkeley is at exactly the same area, you realize. Though, with the OP's numbers, he really oughta be shooting for Stanford.

I did realize. I actually just committed to Boalt myself. I just didn't want to suggest it for two reasons:

1. OP should aim for the highest possible with those numbers.
2. I thought if I mentioned Boalt it would seem biased. I am trying really hard to not become a pro-Berkeley troll.

But since you mentioned it, Berkeley is obviously an amazing choice as well.

He might get a major scholly from Boalt, not a bad idea to apply.

oxygenate wrote:International students have a harder time getting into T14 than US citizens or permanent residents. Competition is more intense with so many high-achieving international students applying.

And yeah of course non-international students have so many fewer high-achieving students WTF?!

FiveSermon wrote:

oxygenate wrote:International students have a harder time getting into T14 than US citizens or permanent residents. Competition is more intense with so many high-achieving international students applying.

And yeah of course non-international students have so many fewer high-achieving students WTF?!

I somewhat agree, not because that non-internationals are not high-achieving, but because there are fewer spots in T-14 for internationals. While there is scarcely any quota for non-internationals.

But I am hoping that fewer international students will be applying, since legal systems might be very different from country to country.

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

Apply HYSCCN no matter what, BMVPDN if you can afford the apps. No need to really apply below there. You should be in at CCN, HYS are never guaranteed but you definitely will be competitive, and likely will get H.

wothli wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:

oxygenate wrote:International students have a harder time getting into T14 than US citizens or permanent residents. Competition is more intense with so many high-achieving international students applying.

And yeah of course non-international students have so many fewer high-achieving students WTF?!

I somewhat agree, not because that non-internationals are not high-achieving, but because there are fewer spots in T-14 for internationals. While there is scarcely any quota for non-internationals.

But I am hoping that fewer international students will be applying, since legal systems might be very different from country to country.

Sorry for not being clear. I meant it's harder for internationals to get accepted into top programs because top programs can only accept so few international students. In that sense, yes, there's a "quota". Plus too many Chinese students apply each year, and you may not stand out that much among the crowd. Basically you're competing among other Chinese students, who likely have excellent GPA and LSAT.

Personally, most Chinese I know applying to Harvard have 3.9 and high 170 LSAT. I do think you'll get into CCN.

oxygenate wrote:

wothli wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:

oxygenate wrote:International students have a harder time getting into T14 than US citizens or permanent residents. Competition is more intense with so many high-achieving international students applying.

And yeah of course non-international students have so many fewer high-achieving students WTF?!

I somewhat agree, not because that non-internationals are not high-achieving, but because there are fewer spots in T-14 for internationals. While there is scarcely any quota for non-internationals.

But I am hoping that fewer international students will be applying, since legal systems might be very different from country to country.

Sorry for not being clear. I meant it's harder for internationals to get accepted into top programs because top programs can only accept so few international students. In that sense, yes, there's a "quota". Plus too many Chinese students apply each year, and you may not stand out that much among the crowd. Basically you're competing among other Chinese students, who likely have excellent GPA and LSAT.

Personally, most Chinese I know applying to Harvard have 3.9 and high 170 LSAT. I do think you'll get into CCN.

What about Chinese people that aren't international?

FiveSermon wrote:

oxygenate wrote:

wothli wrote:

FiveSermon wrote: And yeah of course non-international students have so many fewer high-achieving students WTF?!

I somewhat agree, not because that non-internationals are not high-achieving, but because there are fewer spots in T-14 for internationals. While there is scarcely any quota for non-internationals.

But I am hoping that fewer international students will be applying, since legal systems might be very different from country to country.

Sorry for not being clear. I meant it's harder for internationals to get accepted into top programs because top programs can only accept so few international students. In that sense, yes, there's a "quota". Plus too many Chinese students apply each year, and you may not stand out that much among the crowd. Basically you're competing among other Chinese students, who likely have excellent GPA and LSAT.

Personally, most Chinese I know applying to Harvard have 3.9 and high 170 LSAT. I do think you'll get into CCN.

What about Chinese people that aren't international?

You can't discriminate against Chinese Americans, just those bastards that come from the country with the carrier sinking missiles (I kid of course)

I would say that Chinese students who are US citizens or permanent residents fare a little better than international students who happen to be Chinese. But this is just a guess. Don't let your ethnicity be an obstacle in gaining admission to top law schools.

oxygenate wrote:I would say that Chinese students who are US citizens or permanent residents fare a little better than international students who happen to be Chinese. But this is just a guess. Don't let your ethnicity be an obstacle in gaining admission to top law schools.

It makes sense to me in this way. Because I personally know very few people who apply to law school directly from China.
So I assume that the competition is not as fierce.

You're competing not only with Chinese students who are on F1 visa (from Mainland, Taiwan, HK, and Singapore) but also with students from other countries as well for a very few seats for international students. Whereas Chinese students who are also US citizens and permanent residents compete with a wider pool. Considering how prestigious Harvard, Yale, Stanford are, I'd say there are many applicants from all over the world. Some of them don't have to report their GPA because their transcript is foreign. Their LSAT should be high because they're pretty much a self-selected group of high-achievers to consider studying for a legal education at top US law schools. Take a look at this statistics: http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/ ... grads.html

There are 北大，清大，and 台大. (And those people very likely have very high LSAT)

I went off-topic anyway -- your 176/3.86 combo stands a good chance of admission to top half of the top 14. HYS is always risky, but CCN is for sure for you.

wothli wrote:

Drake014 wrote:

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I'm curious, as someone from China, in your mind, what does an international law concentration mean?

Sorry, but I have to admit that I don't entirely understand your question. Upon graduation, I will probably work as the corporate lawyer for a multi-national organization.

I am a bit worried that law schools, for example U of C, do not like international students that much. And from what I saw, U of C only has about fewer than ten internationals.
Does that mean that the chance of my admissions is very low compared to other U.S. citizens applying?

You assume a lot here.

TheOcho wrote:

wothli wrote:

Drake014 wrote:

wothli wrote:I am a Chinese international student studying at Northwestern, majoring in philosophy and physics.
I want to persue a J.D. probably with international law as my concentration.
I plan on returning to China after working in several years in a law firm in the States.

For softs,
I organize a volunteering site at NU - which helps immigrants to apply for citizenship.
I did several summer internships in Latin America.
I am a leader in Campus catalyst, which does consulting for nonprofits in the Chicago area.

What schools should I look at?
F/A would be awesome, but it is not a must.
I would like to go somewhere warm after three years in Chicago, if that's possible.

I'm curious, as someone from China, in your mind, what does an international law concentration mean?

Sorry, but I have to admit that I don't entirely understand your question. Upon graduation, I will probably work as the corporate lawyer for a multi-national organization.

I am a bit worried that law schools, for example U of C, do not like international students that much. And from what I saw, U of C only has about fewer than ten internationals.
Does that mean that the chance of my admissions is very low compared to other U.S. citizens applying?

You assume a lot here.

Actually probably not all that farfetched of an assumption. A Chinese citizen with an American law degree from a top institution? Yeah, they would have to try not to find corporate work in China.

Enjoy Harvard.

retake

American citizens and permanent residents with Chinese ancestry would not receive URM boost, but they don't seem to be disadvantaged in the process either (they seem to be considered on the same terms as other non-URM).

Admission is harder and less predictable for Chinese and Indian international students attending undergrads on F-1 visas in the US. For these students, most of the high achieving ones want to go to law school for the prestige or go into investment banking for the money. Since there are a lot of qualified students (especially from top privates), and law schools don't want the international students they admit to be mostly Chinese and Indian, competition is fiercer than that facing American citizens and permanent residents.

Admissions is hardest for international students (especially Chinese and Indian) who are doing undergrads abroad, since GPA would not be reported and LSAT has greater weight.

wothli wrote:

oxygenate wrote:I would say that Chinese students who are US citizens or permanent residents fare a little better than international students who happen to be Chinese. But this is just a guess. Don't let your ethnicity be an obstacle in gaining admission to top law schools.

It makes sense to me in this way. Because I personally know very few people who apply to law school directly from China.
So I assume that the competition is not as fierce.