Hey, I’m an international student in his senior year at high school right now. I’m planning to have an undergrad BA in Political science and then attend law school. However, I had heard SEVERAL sources tell me that law school admission is slim usually and even more so for international students. Given this, I feel that it is best to instead focus on finding law school programs that I can apply to straight out of high school.
So my point is, does anyone know of any law school programs that I can apply to right out of high school together with my undergrad application? Essentially I would be applying to a university AND its respective law school admission program at the same time. This way, i don’t have to risk finishing undergrad only to be rejected by law schools. This way, I’m assured admission as soon as I start undergrad.
Unless you can get admitted into the elite law schools, there are many law school graduates struggling to find work in the US. Without an undergrad degree, you would struggle to get into a reputable program.
What were you planning on doing with your law degree? If you are returning to your home country, then it shouldn’t be an issue.
I was thinking of working as a corporate lawyer in the US, since the educational and legal studies I get there won’t apply to my own country. Furthermore, do you know any law school programs that a student can apply to right out of high school along with the usual undergrad application? I’ve seen plenty of that variety for Med and even some of Pharm. However, Law programs seem to be absent from that category…
Not a good plan. Don’t worry about what SEVERAL people say unless they are U.S.A. lawyers, since that’s what you want to be. U.S.A. lawyers go to college.
Not a good plan, the only law schools that offer this deal are law schools not worth attending.
If you speak French, look into Sherbrooke’s International Law program (Civil and Common Law) which allows one to work in Quebec, English speaking Canada, and the State of NY. It’s very selective and you need a high level in French.
Hanna , these several sources are US college counselors at my school so you can understand my inclination to believe them. To be clear, I am planning to practice corporate law In the US and am terrified of suffering from unemployment due to a saturation of lawyers there.
Anyways, would it be preferable to instead attend undergrad normally and then try for grad school? There are also accelerated or early assurance programs…what are your opinions on those?
upittsburgh has this freshman guarantee program where I am assured a spot in their law school if I meet certain requirements while attending there. Would applying there be favorable?
Pitt typically reserves its guaranteed programs to citizens/permanent residents so check the fine print.
Normal undergrad is probably the best as ling as you find a major in which you are a standout. Law schools (and the Lsat ) seem to really like philosophy.
Hanna is a professional, highly specialized counselor. You can trust what she says.
It’s a real shame that your counselors are giving you such bad advice. In order to avoid becoming an unemployed corporate lawyer in the U.S., you need to go to a top law school. In order to go to a top law school, you need to get excellent grades in college (any college) and get a high score on the LSAT. Those are the only factors that matter.
I am a Harvard Law graduate and former big-firm attorney, and I was a career counselor for five years at Northwestern and Harvard law schools. You don’t want to go to the kind of law school that offers guaranteed entry unless that is your only option.
If you are a non-U.S. citizen, you might also want to look at the requirements for admission to the bar of whatever state(s) that you might wish to practice law in, to verify that non-U.S. citizens can obtain a license to practice law from that state. Each state has its own rules governing licensure of attorneys; so you will need to research that. Most likely these rules will be promulgated by the supreme court of each respective state, and published as part of the rules of that state’s supreme court.
To add, most of the schools that offer a guaranteed spot in law school are analogous to being reserved a spot at Cilis (a rather ubiquitous, pedestrian and all-together not so special chain restaurant in the States).
@ArmanK, where you go to college doesn’t matter for law school admission purposes. Only your GPA and LSAT matter. I recommend that you go to CC’s law school forum to learn more about this. Look in the archive – there’s a lot of reliable information there.
“However, I had heard SEVERAL sources tell me that law school admission is slim usually and even more so for international students.”
I am not sure that is the case Arrman. Yes, getting into a T14 Law school is difficult, but I do not think your chances are "slim if you have a strong GPA and solid LSAT score.
Hanna, I was under the impression that Law schools do not discriminate against international students like medical schools do. Am I incorrect in my assumption?
Listen to Hanna. Don’t go to Law School unless you can get into an elite one, and by elite I mean the well known top-14. The job market is beyond horrible for anyone else.
It’s beyond easy to get into MANY law schools, and the result is a ton of law graduates with horrible job prospects.
If you are an international candidate, and you hope to practice corporate law in the US, that means you would have to be sponsored by an American law firm. There are so many law school graduates who are citizens, who don’t need to be sponsored and who would probably be employed before a non-citizen. (If you don’t have a lead, it will be extremely tough).