Hi everybody,

Three years ago, while doing my LL.B. in Europe, I spent 1 semester in Duke University (exchange program). Things didn't go exactly as planned, and I ended up with an average GPA of 3.2. Taking into account the famous "curve" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_school_GPA_curves), this does not seem to be a very good result. Luckily, I still graduated within the 7% of my LL.B. class. Immediately after graduation I started working for a famous law firm, and did some part-time academic work.

I now intend to apply to the top 5 U.S. law schools for the LL.M. program (and perhaps Cambridge/Oxford as well). Do you guys think this 1semester at Duke will affect my chances to get admitted in respectively Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Columbia/Chicago? Perhaps I can explain the situation: I was quite young at the time, lacked experience, etcetera. Or do I not stand a chance at all?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Nobody? Any advice would be appreciated...

Obviously I fully realize that making it into Harvard's/Yale's class of 2014/2015 won't be a piece of cake -and to a certain extent even 'mission impossible'. By contrast, I am of the opinion that I might have a shot with regard to the other universities. Indeed, alumni from my university who graduated in the top 10% of their class got admitted to (some of) these universities. However, as discussed in my previous board message, I am concerned that admission officers may not like the fact that I haven't obtained good grades at Duke during my exchange (a university with comparable standards of theirs), despite my overall above average LL.B. GPA.

1 of the things I was thinking about is arguing that my average Duke GPA 3.2, albeit below average, clearly demonstrates my ability to engage in a top 10 U.S. law school. Put differently, far from having become Duke's 'valedictorian', I have demonstrated I can handle the level of a top 10 U.S. law school. Given the fact that I have gained substantial professional and academic experience over the past years, I believe I am now in a stronger position than ever before to enroll in a top 5 U.S. law school.

Any thoughts on this?