| Topic Name: |
UK Undergrad Student - Law options? |
| Message Name: |
law schools |
| Date Posted: |
10/04/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I am a final year undergraduate at the University of Newcastle (a respected university located in Northern England). I study Economics and Finance and am currently averaging about 68% (which borders on a first class degree - the highest classification in UK universities).
I have some interesting extra-curricular activities (notably running a ??2500 investment fund for a year whilst at school) and some good, solid charity work. I have not taken a prep course but I have studied a Kaplan book and my LSAT averages about 170. I would definately be willing to take a prep course if it meant raising my score to about 173.
What schools should I apply for? Are there any that like to take on more foreign students than others. Would I be disadvantaged in applying as I am outside the US?
P.S. I am planning to apply next year after I graduate. |
| Message: |
I don't keep up with the student visa issues nowadays, but my rough understanding is that they're still relatively easy to obtain. If you're going to end up with a second and with an LSAT score of x, then your law school fortunes, like those of an American applicant, will vary widely depending on your LSAT score. I never take a 170 practice exam very seriously--people take great hope or great despair from those practice exams, and then perform differently on "game day". In order to figure your admission chances, my understanding is that they'll convert your UK degree to a US assumed gpa equivalent, then run you through the same formulae that everyone else is. A Newcastle degree should give you no particular advantage or disadvantage vis a vis a US degree. You'll have to check over at LSDAS for more info, but my recollection is that the major UK universities are processed by LSDAS to "assign" you a GPA for law admissions purposes, but my memory may be askew, as most foreign GPAs are not converted to US equivs by LSDAS. In general, a few reference guides for unis tell admissions offices what the relative value of a degree might be.
I guess my overall take is that you should get your LSAT,
then you should follow the same general rules all US kids follow--go to the best school you can get into if you can get into a top school. If you can't, go someplace with a good job market.
The thing I can't answer for you which seems key to me, by the way, is the work visa issue. I also can't sort out for you the US v. UK law issue, although my general feeling is that it will be easier for you to just go get law training there than come over.
Best of fortune to you, and good luck on the LSAT.
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