A high school student seeking help ....

<p>I am a Vietnamese student currently studying in grade 11, and I am vastly interested in studying law in the US. I am totally confused with so many new concepts about US education and literally I don't know anything at all yet. My friends told me that I could get much help from 'collegeconfidential' ... I wanted to ask what are the ways for me to get to a law school??? Meaning to say, what steps are needed to take from high school, to undergraduate, to a law school??? </p>

<p>Any help,any advice/recommendation for info etc... anything at all will be appreciated, </p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>In the US, law school is a post-college school. So first you need to attend a college, either in the US or another country, which means that you need to check the admission requirements of colleges, the financial situation, etc. To be adnmitted to a law school you do not need to have taken any "pre-law" courses or to have majored in any specific subject. You do need to have obtained very good grades and score well on the LSAT (law school aptitude test) which you will take in your junior or senior year in college, assuming that by that time you still are interested in studying law (taking courses in college can introduce you to completely new fields of study).</p>

<p>So go up to the boards on college admissions for advice on choosing a college, the finances, etc.</p>

<p>thanx to dadofsam ..... I wonder what if I study law during my undergraduate years somewhere else outside of America....would I still have to take LSAT??? What would I have to do then???</p>

<p>Yes, you would still have to study for the LSAT (stands for Law School ADMISSIONS Test), and if you get an LLB in a common-law country, like England or Canada, then you might be able to take the bar right away in New York State, but if not, then you can go directly into an LLM program which is a specialist degree unlike the JD, where you don't specialize. You can get like an LLM in tax law or corporate law or IP law or something like that, but for the JD, you have to study ALL fields of law. </p>

<p>First, choose a college and do the best you can there. Take the LSAT somewhere during junior year, and of course, get involved with things like mock trial and the prelaw society right from the get-go. And you should take a practice LSAT during freshman year just to see how you're going to do.</p>

<p>futurenyustudent,</p>

<p>You cannot go into an LLB program in Canada directly from h/s, so that advice is not particularly relevant to the original poster. Virtually all of accepted students, to Canadian law schools have completed an undergraduate degree, just as those in the U.S. have.</p>

<p>One thing to consider is where you would want to live and practice law after attending a U.S. law school. If you would want to live and practice law in the United States, an additional hurdle you would have to leap would be finding an employer willing to sponsor you for a visa to live and work here. I know that in recent years, this has been a difficult issue for many foreign law students studying in the U.S.</p>

<p>Being a Vietnamese, your prospect of practicing law in the States is quite unrealistic.</p>

<p>^
as in it is uncommon? or is there some discriminatory basis?</p>

<p>i myself am chinese, and i am interested in studying law as well</p>

<p>There are planty of asian lawyers even in the top bigfirms. Visit some of their websites and read profiles. Most of the large firm attorneys hold JDs from the top law schools in the United States and often speak 2nd or 3rd foreign languages. Though It seems like those asian lawyers take extra 2 or 3 years longer to make partners but being an asian doesn't seem like a disadvantage as long as you have what it takes to compete with the majority. Let's not be discouraged...</p>

<p>It's not a question of race; it is that you are not a US citizen. There is NO guarantee that if you go to a US law school and get a JD that you will be allowed to stay and work in the US. </p>

<p>You could, of course, look up the procedures that exist now and decide whether you want to run the risk. However, you will not be applying to law school for at least 4 years. You will not graduate for at least 7 years. There is no way anyone can tell you now how hard it will be seven years from now to get a visa which would allow you to stay and work in the US. </p>

<p>However, there is an oversupply of US citizens who are lawyers. There is very little reason for a US firm to go through everything that has to be done to sponsor a non-citizen for a visa for a newly minted attorney. The ones that do so usually only sponsor them for a specific period of time--often two years.</p>

<p>Many non-citizen attorneys in the US have practiced in another country first and then are hired primarily for their expertise in the laws of the other nation. While I am not familiar with the details, I know that it is easier for citizens of certain nations to get visas to work as attorneys here. Vietnam is not one of those nations. Again, this is not based on race--it is based on foreign policy considerations. </p>

<p>I would discourage you from thinking that you can do this. I'm not saying it's impossible--it isn't. It is, however, very, very difficult. It is not something anyone can promise you that you will be able to do seven years from now. </p>

<p>It's not like those fields in which the US is short of professionals and welcomes immigrants in those specialities.</p>

<p>Thank u all who have posted in this discussion ... but I would like to make it clear that I really haven't got any interest of getting US citizenship at the moment ... studying in a US law school does not necessarily means I should work in the US (not that I have interest in working in any other foreign country) >>> after all, I will be aiming to work in Vietnam after graduation.....</p>

<p>Any more help will be appreciated ....</p>

<p>Once again ... thank u all ^^</p>

<p>The H1B is 3 years long, renewable twice, and you're eligible to apply for a greencard after 4 years. There's an alternative though, it's called the L1 for internal transfers into the United States, renewable indefinitely as long as you're working for the same company. You're eligible for a greencard after 2 years going that route. You can also get a greencard through marriage with an American citizen or greencard holder, which takes 2 years, I believe.</p>

<p>So working in London/Hong Kong for a year or two and taking a transfer into the US is an alternative. Or working in London/Hong Kong forever.</p>

<p>Ok, assuming that you do not want to work in the US, but for some reason want to get a US law degree...Follow the advice in post #2. </p>

<p>There are no course prerequisites for law school. You can major in the subject of your choice as an undergraduate, although it's best to stay away from "easy" vocational majors, like golf course management or elementary education. (It is okay to major in engineering, which in one sense is a vocational course, but is recognized as very tough.) </p>

<p>You do have to take the LSAT and do well on it. However, that is probably at least 4 years in the future for you.</p>

<p>If you are going to come to America to get a US law degree, and then go practice in Vietnam, you better be going to the Harvard, Yale, or Stanford.</p>

<p>Hm... Sorry, I don't see how US Law is applicable to Vietnamese law?</p>

<p>Do any US unis offer integrated programs like a BA (hons) LLb?</p>

<p>I believe not. There's no such thing as an LLB in the US. I heard there is a program at Penn where you can submatriculate into their JD program before finishing your BA. I'm sure there are other 6-year BA/JD programs out there.</p>

<p>Do you mean to say that a JD is an equivalent of an LLB??
So a BA.JD program would mean you can enroll fresh outta High School??</p>

<p>Well, in the US a law degree, or JD is a GRADUATE degree, so you have to apply after or during college. Most submatriculation programs, I believe you have to apply during junior year of college or something.</p>

<p>Yes and no. </p>

<p>A long time ago, law degrees in the US were known as LLBs. However, for at least 100 years, if not longer, a law degree was an advanced degree, even though it was called a bachelor's. So, you got a bachelor's degree and then you got a LLB which was a bachelor's degree in law. That didn't make a heck of a lot of sense. Moreover, when LLB's went into fields other than law, their LLB sometimes wasn't recognized as an advanced degree and thus LLBs did not get the extra pay those with other degrees received. So, the degree was renamed a J.D. to make it clear that it's an advanced degree. </p>

<p>The American LLB wasn't like the degree in law you can get as a college degree in some UK universities. </p>

<p>There are some schools, and UPenn is one, which will allow some students to use the first year of law school as the last year of college. This enables you to get the degree in 6 years rather than 7. However, as far as I know, you don't apply to the program out of high school. Instead, you go to Penn, and after studying there for a few years, you apply to "submatriculate" which allows you to be admitted early to law school and count the first year of law school as your last year of college. I am not certain, but I think Penn does require you to take the LSAT as part of the application process. You have to have an academic record which would be good enough to get into UPenn Law, except that you only have three years of undergrad. In fact, the few kids I personally know who have done this probably could have been admitted to even higher ranked law schools--they only went to UPenn to save the year of time and tuition. One did this because he was in ROTC and doing it allowed him to defer his military service until after he finishes law school and enables him to do it as a JAG officer. </p>

<p>I believe that there are a few other schools that do allow you to be admitted into a combined 6 year program straight out of high school. Most of these are lower ranked law schools. Again, you are permitted to "double count" the first year of law school as the last year of college. Some require you to maintain a very high undergrad gpa to stay in the program. Again, most people who can maintain that gpa for 3 years probably could have gotten into a better law school. </p>

<p>I hope that helps.</p>