Chances at top law schools - sorry if done before..

Graduate School Law School
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<p>First of all, sorry if this is the 152nd thread of this kind but I am quite new on this forum and don't have too much time to dig into it at the moment.</p>

<p>So here is my profile: current undergraduate student at King's College London in BSc Business Management - graduating 2013 if all goes well, I will be 20 by the time of graduation. I'm expecting a 1st degree (the 'highest'/'best' undergrad degree in UK system) - my degree will be focused on finance and economics but I am also taking a full credit law module next semester (Business Law or smth of the alike). I am currently completing a 4 month internship with a natural resources/mining 'giant' focused on shipping/logistics and the trade process in general - working on contracts, arbitration and some other 'paralegal' topics amongst many other things. I am planning on doing another ~3month internship next year at either a bank or a mining/trading firm and have two smaller internships with boutique investment firms in the alternative investments sector under my belt also (only 4 weeks each and not of particular substance but nonetheless...).</p>

<p>As for my non-academic profile: I have lived in Germany, Poland, Switzerland and am currently in the UK studying as mentioned previously - I also spent a year in boarding school in Canada (yeh I know, shame on me...) during high school to gain some international experience if you will. I further speak 5 languages - 4 of which fluently and the 5th I am expecting to speak well by the end of my undergrad. Planning on starting and/or joining a business related club at my university. Furthermore in the process of opening up/integrating my own company which will deal with distribution and marketing of educational tools in the UK uni market and I have an investment portfolio that is showing promising growth. I could potentially complete an internship with a law firm (not a big one for sure but could work on that) if need be so please advise if the US law schools care about that at all. I have also captained and been very involved in my high schools varsity rugby team and won the mvp award in senior year.</p>

<p>What are my chances?</p>

<p>Should I work for two years in finance/natural resources upon completion of my undergrad and then apply to law school or will my roughly 9 months of internship experience be 'enough'? Will my relatively young age put me at a disadvantage/advantage?</p>

<p>I am looking at applying to Harvard, Columbia, Yale, (my bad) and Chicago for the J.D. programs or alternatively also maybe the JD/MBA combined programs.</p>

<p>I do not necessarily want to become a lawyer (although I am not excluding it...) but merely find law extremely interesting, especially relevant to commerce, finance etc and believe as though a law degree will definitely help me in life and I'll enjoy studying the subject (in terms of decision making, thinking etc) whether or not I actually choose to practice law.</p>

<p>Again - sorry if this is the wrong place - pls advise if so and I'll repost it in the correct place.
Furthermore I'd like to apologize if I sound arrogant, it really is not my intention but I am just clueless concerning US law/grad schools and thought this would be the best place to ask.</p>

<p>your help is greatly appreciated. thanks in advance guys.</p>

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<p>For the 153rd tome, Princeton does not have a law school. Without actual LSAT and GPA numbers, no one will be able to give you an asssement on your chances.</p>

3

<p>Sorry about that, thought I saw something on Princeton…my bad.</p>

<p>GPA 3.6 or higher and LSAT I can’t really give an indication and won’t be able to do so in the near future but of course I am not expecting to be eligible with a bad score - is it inappropriate to ask for [an assessment of] chances based on my profile given above and assuming a decent LSAT score?</p>

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<p>3.6 is generally low for the very elite law schools, and yes, the LSAT is generally much more difficult than people expect. It’s not an overstatement to call a 170+ score a gift from God.</p>

<p>Internships won’t matter that much. While I admit they look impressive, law school admissions are overwhelmingly driven by LSAT and GPA (LSAT more than GPA).</p>

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<p>thanks JH! How do they value work experience in terms of full time job, i.e. analyst at Investment bank?</p>

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<p>quick answer- your LSAT score is the most important factor. It’s not worth anyone’s time to speculate on your chances to get into a top law school without that score. Aim for 173 and you might do ok with a shot at HCCY (and then it’s no guarantee).<br>
168 (top 4 %)/ 3.6 sounds like alot of waitlists at T 10-14 schools even with work experience as an investment banker.<br>
so use your energy in studying for the LSAT as that will determine where you go to law school.
with a score of 165, it is highly unlikely that you get into a
T-14 law school regardless of what your work experience is</p>

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<p>Capvee, as someone who is familiar with the UK system of grading, you will be fine for top law schools. I don’t think there is really a “translation” from the UK to the American system. Academically, just focus on getting a first, as it is the highest honor. As for the LSAT, to be sure of getting a top U.S. law school, try to get 170+. If you want recommendations on test prep materials, just sent me a private message. Finally, just apply to the top 14 law schools (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, UChicago, Berkeley, UPenn, UVA, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, and Georgetown). </p>

<p>Congrats on kicking butt at KCL, but you do know the LSE is still better right? (Just kidding… sort of…)</p>

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<p>marny - many thanks, appreciated - I’ll start looking into the LSAT and relevant preparation then.</p>

<p>shannon - also much appreciated, thanks a lot for the reply. I’ll contact you sometime soon about the test prep materials… and yes, LSE is better though the KCL entry requirements for BM are higher now!</p>

<p>cheers again guys.</p>