Hello everyone,
I am an international student and I applied for LLM programs in the US. My major is international law. I got into Cornell, Upenn, UC Berkeley(thesis track), and George Washington. I cannot decide and I need your opinion.
For Cornell, I need to pay 18k. It has a great reputation but it does not offer many courses in my field of interest and it is located in the middle of nowhere.
For Upenn, it now costs me 32k but I am waiting for scholarship and maybe with additional funding it can be smt around 18k. It has many courses in my field of interest, it has a great reputation worldwide, but not in my country. Nobody knows it here. I also heard that the neighborhood is not safe.
For UC Berkeley, it offers the most suitable program for me. It is a thesis track(I want to write a thesis) and has many courses in my field. However, the school will cost me 41k. I applied for scholarship but I am not much hopeful, in the best case it will cost 19k. Berkeley is very well known woldwide.
For GWU, I can attend there for free. It is located at DC, great location. It also offers so many courses in my field, more than every other school on the list. Its ranking is not as high as the others, neither its reputation. But it is a good school for international law.
I will be applying for a phd after llm, so reputation is important. I can pay 40k, but i will have spent all my savings in a year and this is so much money to me. Which one should I choose?
GWU. For grad school what matters is the strength of the specific program, not the overall reputation of the university. Free tuition and a full complement of the courses that you want is a clear win.
Be sure that your professors at GWU know that you want to get into a good PhD program. They will have good advice and lots of connections.
PhD in what?
Thank you very much for the answer! I want to pursue a PhD in law in Europe or Canada. Maybe a SJD in the US, depending on my financial situation. I am also open to gaining some work experience before a phd, I would like to work for World Bank, Nato or UN (can also be an internship). Do you think being in DC would help me get a job in one of these?
GWU for sure.
“For grad school what matters is the strength of the specific program, not the overall reputation of the university.” Not necessarily.
Yes, GWU.
What’s the end plan after a PhD in law?
GWU.
Will your LLM be in Comparative Law ? International Law ? Or ?
I just checked GWU’s LLM programs. You will probably be in “International and Comparative Law”. This LLM requires a thesis which can be waived for those with a non-US law degree. If you plan on getting a PhD, then it would be wise to write a thesis in your LLM program.
In answer to your question regarding location: Yes, being in Washington DC should help get you valuable internships in your targeted field. Realistically speaking, you want to be located in either Wash DC or in New York City for your preferred specialty.
P.S. Did you apply to Columbia, Georgetown or to the University of Florida LLM programs ? The University of Michigan has a small, but very highly regarded LLM in International Law. I suspect that Michigan might have been your best match.
Forget the University of Michigan as that offers only an LLM in International Tax Law.
Also, there is a free LLM program in Switzerland that matches your interests. All get free tuition & free travel.
Thank you! My end plan after the PhD is to be an academic.
Thank you very much! Yes, I am admitted to the LLM in International and Comparative Law and I definitely will be writing a thesis. I didn’t apply to Columbia because it required at least 2 years of work experience and I am a recent graduate. For Georgetown, they didn’t offer me the option to graduate from the LLM with a thesis. I don’t remember why I didn’t apply to UF 
Switzerland sounds great, I may go there for a Ph.D! I am a Fulbright grantee, this is why I am only considering the US for an LLM.