I am presently studying in the fourth year of NALSAR i.e. an Indian Law School in the five year programme of B.A. LLb Hons. which is an undergradate degree. I am keen on an LLM from UK or USA. I kno its a bit early since I would be applying in 2010 November in my Fifth year.

Although, I am very confused about the requirments to secure a position in the better law schools. I was reading the discussion on this site and thought that some experienced chaps could help me.

I wanted to apply to Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, NYU, Stanford, Harvard. NALSAR the place im studying from is arguably the best law school of the country, due to which it becomes very difficult to mainatain a good rank within the class. With a CGPA of 6.6 / 8 I have managed to be in the top 20% of the class. I have won two All India moot court competitions and worked with professors, judges, lawyers and ngo`s by the end of the third year. I have 1 and half year to go before I apply for my LLM. I have also been to some international conferences and two or three publications.

I am very keen on getting into one of the abovementioned institutions. This year some 4 people got thru oxford and 4 at nyu from nalsar out of a class of 80 which is the batch size.

I wanted to kno, that what should i do in the next one and half yrs to improve my chances of getting through a desired LLM. Considering moving up the rank ladder for grades has become very difficult as the class has the most competitive and intelligent students of the country. Which institutions could be gud for internships. Does conferences help or publications? Does specialisation in one particular area help and should i concentrate my domain of activities only on one path or should the CV be very diverse and involved in multidisciplinary fields.

For refrees, only academic refrees are eligible, and cant i take a recommendation from one of the judges i have interned with? Would the fact that im in the top 20% of the class spoil my chances of getting through? Would the fact that my graduation colege is one of the best in the country help?

Kindly answer to my queries as I am confused on these issues. it could be of great help if someone acquainted in these areas could help.

hi santhalia. even i've got admission in Oxford and NYU (along with a few others), so i'm not too sure how helpful my advice would be (given that you already know 8 ppl who've done the same).
regarding your questions... i surely feel that your CV should show focus on atleast one area... too much diversity doesn't show well on your future planning and goals. The colleges in the US especially like that.
publications are preferred over conferences... again try getting some in your area of interest.
academic referees would, obviously, not include the judge you've worked under... but you can take his reco for a few colleges which allow some recos other than academic (HLS, Oxford, for eg).
hope that helps.

thx a ton "fingers crossed"...........it wud be of gr8 help........i just had one more query.........did all of you who ur referring who have made it to oxford and NYU.......have been in ur top 10%of the batch? is it like a very strict crtierion that one has to be in the top ten% bcoz iam in the top 20% of the batch with strong extra curriculars.........

actually i was referring to the 4+4 ppl who made it to Oxford and NYU from NALSAR (i dont know how many of them are joining though... i believe some of them have got TCs). From my place the other guy who's made it to NYU is not in the top 10%, but he's somewhere between 10-15%. And NYU (along with most US colleges) are not as bent on you being in the top 5% / 10% as Oxford and Cambridge.
Strong ECAs should be of great help for your SOP. Highlight them. Shows that ur an all-rounder, and not just looking for a high GPA.

hi everyone,

thanks a lot for all the info...its really helpful....

i also wanted to know wat kind of internships matter for llm.... as in wrk with advocates judges companies or law firms....

also wat kind of work experience are we talking about... does internship period count as work ex.

n do tell me the things tat make a CV look impressive...

thanks a tonne

Judicial Clerkships will help a great deal. Like Fingers Crossed had put it, focus on one main area. I've got an offer NYU and LSE. I'm most likely going to be picking LSE over NYU.

thanks Ruleoflaw....

what i also wanted to know is what exactly is the requirement criteria for being able to study in UK or US....
like what exams one has to take (like TOFEL)
and what kind of marks does one need in %
and if ders anything else required like class 10 or other class performance etc.
please do let me know....ANYBODY

thanks a tonne guys..
tc

How is the national university of singapore(NUS) as compared to the universities in U.K and U.S. They require a good LLB degree and they haven't specified as to what might constitute the same unlike different universities in the west which have uploaded the marks equivalency on their website. I have been pursuing the five yr course from the university of mumbai(BLS Llb) and i have maintained 60% average up until my third year, as also maintained my C.V with a few internships, diplomas etc. So is it possible for me to get into the south asian global law schools for LLM? HKG, NUS and Peking?
Please it'd be of great help if the above query is answered.
Regards

Hey everyone!! I'm studying in Mumbai and have completed 4yrs of my BLS/LLB course.. At this point, I am very clueless as to how to find out about LLM courses in UK and Singapore univs (thankfully stumbled upon this blog) and would like to know what are the requirements for getting into the LLM programme at NUS.. I have an average of 58% in these 4yrs of my course with 3 good internships, one publication and few moots. Please guide me about UK univs as well as NUS. Also, is there anything like LLM in Real Estate laws?
Awaiting reply!!

Hello.
I'm from India. I'm in my final year of law college. I have pretty low marks, an aggregate of 50%.
Am i qualified for any college in UK or Ireland for doing LLM?
Thanks

Hey I have an average of 70% until 4th year now.. I wish to study for my masters at Oxford or US based top universities. What are the chances? And my cv is honestly average. Can you please help me figure out what else should I do? You think work experience is important before studying or not?