Still worth a try, in case your UK plan falls through.
Oh yes, everything is still on the table. I just wanted to see what my UK options could be.
Yes, pursuing the US law route is certainly still an option. The only problem is I will mot likely need at least 2 years of work experience (like you pointed out) and get at least 176 on the LSAT (or higher given how schools will really be increasing their medians over the next few cycles). I just don’t think that score is realistic for me, especially given the amount of studying I’ve already put in. I’m not decided on anything yet, I just wanted to see what my options in the UK could potentially look like.
As the OP states he is interested in any City law firm and you state he has little chance of getting into LSE in the first place, then I think the debate on LSE being good for MCs really becomes redundant.
How many years have you been in college? That does tend to complicate things a bit.
If you’re going in as a first year, your ACT and SAT are both a bit low for Oxford and LSE. Additionally, while it’s no longer a complete, set in stone, requirement, there is a bias in favor of UCAS Group A courses when compared to UCAS Group B (Group A courses are those which, in the US, would grant a full year of credit, while Group B offers only a semester of credit).
You mention that you’re most interested in Big Law in the City; as others have mentioned, your training as a solicitor would all but max out your visa, but you are right to point to the visas given by the bigger firms. However, those visas are dependent on proving you’re invaluable; a solicitor trainee is not always such.
Of course, you can return to the US and practice law, but you’d likely need an LL.M for that. CA, NY, and TX, among others, permit this. Instead, I’d consider an accelerated JD as a way to make sure that you can practice in every state.
I’m a rising sophomore and will be entering the LLB as a first year.
I know that Oxford is pretty much out of the question for me so I’m thinking of adding in KCL instead.
Do you know if there is any central location where I could ask about my chances at getting a training contract/visa. I know it’s hard to predict as we don’t know my potential course or grades, but I’m having a hard time even finding general information about international students’ chances.
Kind of a tangent, but does anyone know how foreigner’s fare doing a PGDL/Senior LLB employment wise?
Unfortunately, without first year marks, that’s pretty difficult. I’ve got some information, but it’s a bit too specific to share here.
Your personal statement is going to be vital for those programs, as there will be plenty of questions about your desire to study law after performing decently well (ok, quite well actually, but I get what you’re saying about your concerns re LSAT) on a US university course.
Speaking of the LSAT, have you begun researching the LNAT? It’s not a universal requirement, but will be something you want to do.
As for the PGDL/Senior LLB, both of those would require you to graduate first. At that point, I’m not sure why you don’t just go on to a US law school that has a good rate of putting people into Big Law, even if they aren’t a T14 (e.g. Fordham, Wisconsin, Georgetown [a cheap shot, I know]). Also, state bar associations don’t have as much respect for the Senior Status LLB; many mention explicitly that they want someone with three years of common law experience.
Yep, I’ve taken 4 LNAT practice tests and have averaged a 29. I think that’s above average (maybe?) but I don’t know what my target schools are looking for.
As for PGDL/Senior LLB’s I was talking about UK placement. I’ve had 2 people in Senior LLB programs tell me that they have more then a few Americans in their course, but I haven’t been able to find much about job prospects using that route.
I would like to do a US JD, but some external factors put me into a “T-5 or nothing” situation. I would also have to transfer schools for undergrad as I really dislike my school, so that’s another challenge making me reconsider things.
What about the Exeter cpurse this Fall?
It’s definitely an option, but I’m really only looking for law courses in the UK (unless I were to get into Oxford or something lol).
There are law courses available at Exeter for international students for this autumn. Look at the link.
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I checked and they don’t have any spots left for the LLB program in Clearing.
Yeah I contacted the admissions staff and an admissions counselor and they said it’s full. Thank you for the help though!
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ah well- at least you tried 
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