<p>I am from Japan. I am currently studying at Waseda University (top university in Japan). I am interested in studying law in the US after my undergraduate. People tell me it is near impossible for a student from a foreign undergraduate school to be admitted to a good US law school. Is this true? Am I simply "dreaming" if I want to go to a good US law school?</p>
<p>if you want to practice law in Japan, it might be more helpful for you to get an LLM in the US (this usually happens once you've gotten a law degree in your own country).</p>
<p>if you want to be a lawyer in the US, you'll need to look into American immigration laws first--no use spending $150,000 or something on a degree if you won't be able to work here afterwards! I really have no idea how that works. Emailing the admissions offices, or the offices of international study,at a few law schools might be a way to get some of that information.</p>
<p>i want to be a lawyer at US firms in Japan and most Japanese lawyers there got their JDs from the US. </p>
<p>I just want to know will the fact that I am getting my undergraduate degree from Japan disadvantage me seriously, even if I get a high LSAT and good undergraduate grades.</p>
<p>The people I have known who earned J.D.'s in the US after undergraduate work abroad did so after first obtaining an LL.M.</p>
<p>If you get a high LSAT and a high GPA then where you graduated from is unlikely to signifcantly affect your chances. Obtaining an LLM wouldn't hurt as well. It would also provide for a good admissions essay if you can integrate the uniqueness of living in Japan.</p>
<p>I have the opportunity to spend a year or semester at Tufts University as a visiting undergraduate student next year. Do you think I should go? Will it increase my chances since I can submit a Tufts transcript in addition to my Waseda degree certificate and transcript when I apply to US law schools?</p>
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i want to be a lawyer at US firms in Japan and most Japanese lawyers there got their JDs from the US.
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<p>Here is the issue for you. Most U.S. law firms typically send abroad only those lawyers who have some amount of experience (usually more experience rather than less) working as a lawyer in the U.S. I suppose that this occurs because the best way to gain experience practicing U.S. law is to live and practice here. If you would be required to work in the U.S. before making your way back to Japan to work at the Japanese office of your U.S. law firm, you may encounter significant hurdles to finding a job in the U.S. if obtaining a work visa for you is a challenge. I know that obtaining work visas at law firms has always been problematic, but it has been particularly so since 9/11.</p>
<p>thank you sallyawp for your reply. I will look into this. Can someone tell me whether I should study at Tufts for a visiting undergraduate student for a semester or a year and whether or not will doing so increase my chances in applying to US law schools since I can submit a Tufts transcript in addition to my Waseda degree certificate and transcript?</p>
<p>anyone????</p>
<p>I think spending a year at Tufts would definitely help especially if you get good grades during your year there. It is a very good university and sends quite a few students to law schools. I don't know that much about law school admission, so someone who knows more might want to say something.</p>
<p>It is certainly not impossible to get into a good US law school with a degree from a foreign school. Going to Tufts for a year wouldn't hurt; a couple of the people I know who went to college outside the US spent a semester or year at an American school. Having grades from a school the admissions people are more familiar with might be helpful.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for replying. actually I have 4 choices- UCLA, UC Berkeley, Tufts and University of Virginia. I am leaning towards Tufts because it is cheaper than the others since I got a fellowship which would pay the tuition for me, so I would only have to pay for the tickets, room, food etc. So where should I go?</p>
<p>You just named four totally different schools on opposite coasts of a wide country. All four are very respectable institutions, so in my opinion, you should do some research and go to the one that most interests you.</p>
<p>As I mentioned, Tufts gave me a fellowship which covers tuition fee. While if I want go to the other three, I would have to pay full tuition fee. I am just wondering whether it is worth paying extra to go to the other 3 schools in terms of academics and law school application-wise.</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>Look, you're not going to be getting a degree from any of these schools—you'll just be giving grad schools an idea of how you would have performed as an undergrad at an American university. Take the scholarship @ Tufts—you definitely don't want to pay to be a non-degree student. Plus, Tufts probably has the best undergraduate educational experience of the schools you're deciding between</p>
<p>An update of my current situation, I just got informed that a got a scholarship from California Japanese American Association which will, again, pay the tuition fee for my one semester/year at UC Berkeley or UCLA provided that I teach Japanese and Japanese culture at a local Japanese community centre to Japanese Americans born in America. Now, this is a tough choice- Tuft, UC Berkeley or UCLA? Can someone give me some advice?</p>
<p>It doesn't really matter. You're not getting a degree from any of these places, so just go wherever you want to go.</p>
<p>Even if you WERE gettng a degree from any of these places, general advice is STILL "go where you want to go." You now have more option options, which is great for you, but all of these are wonderful schools and will serve you well for a semester/year, and I can't imagine that it would make any real difference in the eyes of law school admissions officers. </p>
<p>That said, I'm speculating based on the advice I've seen over and over in every place I look. If you're still worried that your situation might be unique, see if you can get in touch with an admissions officer and ask his/her opinion.</p>
<p>Good luck, and congrats on both of your scholarships :)</p>
<p>I noticed many international students doing JD at top US law school (top 15), earned a master at a top US uni before applying to US law schools. Why is this? Is having a US credential at the time of application THAT important?</p>