<p>I'm a current undergraduate studying for a degree in International Relations and Arabic in Scotland. I'm interested in applying for a JD at various law schools in the States, namely Harvard, Columbia, Duke and Princeton. What does an international student coming from the UK need to be able to apply, as all colleges seem to have a different requirement. I know for competitive institutions an LSAT score of 170+ is a given, but what else is needed?</p>
<p>Princeton doesn’t have a law school. US law schools care about your GPA and LSAT exclusively. As an international student, that means really [just</a> your LSAT](<a href=“http://www.lsac.org/jd/applying-to-law-school/cas/internationally-educated-apps]just”>How to Apply for JD Programs | LSAC). A more important question, however, is whether or not you have US citizenship or a means to get it? </p>
<p>I don’t have a US citizenship, just British and Canadian. Does the US not have study visas for international students?</p>
<p>The US has study visas, the problem is getting a work visa. US law degrees are basically only good in the US. Some British firms hire a few US trained lawyers to work in their capital markets departments. If that’s something that interests you, US law school may be worth considering. Similarly some Canadian firms hire out of US law schools. If you want to work in the US, however, work visas are extremely hard to get for lawyers. To get a work visa your employer has to show a need not able to be met by a US citizen, and with the massive oversupply of law grads that’s extremely unlikely. </p>
<p>Although visas may take some work on the part of the employer, there are Canadian law school grads every year who go to work for U.S. firms. It isn’t impossible, or all that difficult if a firm happens to want you. There are several U.S. firms who conduct OCIs on Canadian campuses every year. Although the vast majority of Canadian law grads (wisely) choose to remain in Canada to work, there are definitely some who choose to go to U.S. firms, in addition to those Canadians who attend U.S. law schools and remain.</p>