Hello friends..

I have received offer letters from Georgetown( rank 10-14) and King's College London ( rank 4th in UK ) for LLM in Commercial/business law.. I believe i will get some more offers from UK/US top 10 Uni.

I have one question as i have only 60,000$ .. my lifetime savings from Asia with 20,000$ loan as i have only 3 yr. work ex. in hand from Asia ...

Should i opt for US top 15 during this economic crisis as in my situation i have no work ex. in USA.. and good job is must for me after this atleast with some international work ex. and money to live)

and i know that US studies are far better than UK.. as Georgetown is far better than king's (see the modules)

But Studies at UK is cheap.. like 35,000 $ for London... so i have this good option to save money... but i think that i can not reach up to oxford,Cambridge or LSE for my LLM so i am with King's college to land in London...

In UK you may get chance for VISA extension for 2 yrs and i may have chance to work there in London ( as i will become solicitor there in 2009, and i am not from UK or ever studied)... It is not the case in USA.. and even for optional training program (kind of US intern).. it is hard to get in US (i have no idea regarding chances of LLM students from top 15 US law school,PLz leave top five from the list),specially in Georgetown for international students...

I can not leave this chance to study in USA as it will be life time asset for any law student but except superior study standerds every thing is against to study in USA( may be good in future, not in near future).. do u think that still it is wise to invest 60,000$ for LLM in USA for which i am not sure to earn within next 2 yrs. after LLM as i wont get job in USA ( lets assume negative).. so i have to go back to my country without even having some work ex in USA (of course the best education experience which lead us for our entire life)..

even passing the Bar exam wont help me to get some kind of work ex. in USA if i am not in top 5 Law schools from USA(in present market).... and i presume that i will be in georgetown not in HLS,Columbia....

Not certain about future after NYU...

What you will do in such a situation as an international student? a LLM at king's from UK or LLM from USA rank 6 to 15 ( Georgetown or Cornell,Northwestern..).. i believe it is the fight between dreams and reality.. at the end of the day (after LLM) you will be down the line (lets say with no job or work ex. atleast to stay for one yr. in USA).. is the possible reality...

what will you suggest in such a situation?

GULC is better thn KCL but not by far... especially outside of the US. (in Eur/Asia it has an outstanding reputation and in the UK it is on par with UCL).
In view of the current market and the difference in finding, i say go for KCL

Am so also in the same situation, I have got offers from Vanderbilt (15) in US, KCL and LSE (wait listed)...and am also waiting to hear from the other schools, as well. ...I guess I will also have to do my analysis of choosing the law school in some times soon, when I have Vandy's scholarship results and results of the others law schools....I hope that the results of the other schools come by the end of this month!!!!!

in my opinion KCL is better thn Vandy...

KCL trumps Vandy. Although Vandy is a beautiful school, it is not known as an academic powerhouse. It is well known for its pretty campus and the monetary wealth of its undergraduate students. I just do not believe that Vandy will be of high value to your career, unless you desire to practice law in the Southern part of the United States.

Unless you an offer from a top 5 in the US, KCL should be seriously considered

Thanks a lot for all the opinions....It will really help me to make a decision.

Hi..
I am from Asia and we have 90% US based law firms in our country.... Do you think that with LLM from US top 15 law schools ,one have good chance against UK based LLM at law firms in Uk, as an international student though in my case i am a solicitor in UK.I look forward to opt subjects among M&A, Antitrust, International Tax and competition law, with Business and Economic Law concentration... now in such situation what is your openion?

Don't want to spoil your American dream, but it's extremely difficult to get a job in US even if you get a LLM from a top 10 law school (let's face it, LLM is not highly regarded in US). Usually less than 10% of the LLM graduates get a job in US (among them, more than half get a job because of their previous personal connections--the ones who get a job purely based on their performance in the NY job fair often come from Ireland, Canada, or other English speaking countries) But of course if you're not that determined to stay in US, a US LLM degree can certainly open doors to some good international law firms in Asia.

Btw, I thought KCL is pretty good, at least as good as LSE. I would strongly recommend that you opt for KCL.

You have made a valid point JJ2009.. but even i am not sure about the future after the LLM from KCL in law firms at UK..
Yes,we have chance to stay in UK after LLM but if we dont get working contract than we have to leave to our country and the situation will be the same.. i cant say about my solicitor's status as whether it will help me or not to get some kind of work ex.? .. but if we fail to get any work ex.fr. UK , in such situation certainly our chances are less than those who hav done their LLM fr. USA as in my country, we hav 90% American firms and 10% EU besed firms... So the bottom line is only that "Education will certainly give us a great impact to find a good job in our country and it is certainly with US LLM if we are applying in US law firms in our countries" However, I dont know about future after LLM fr. KCL.. No doubt it is as reputed as LSE but education system in US is some thing which we can not ignore..

You have made a valid point JJ2009.. but even i am not sure about the future after the LLM from KCL in law firms at UK..
Yes,we have chance to stay in UK after LLM but if we dont get working contract than we have to leave to our country and the situation will be the same.. i cant say about my solicitor's status as whether it will help me or not to get some kind of work ex.? .. but if we fail to get any work ex.fr. UK , in such situation certainly our chances are less than those who hav done their LLM fr. USA as in my country, we hav 90% American firms and 10% EU besed firms... So the bottom line is only that "Education will certainly give us a great impact to find a good job in our country and it is certainly with US LLM if we are applying in US law firms in our countries" However, I dont know about future after LLM fr. KCL.. No doubt it is as reputed as LSE but education system in US is some thing which we can not ignore..

Xdude.. I can only say that i am from Asia ( dont mind as i have not answered ),from a country in which most of the International firms are based from USA or most of the work is directly related to/provided by US.. well in such condition what will you prefer?

:)....I definitely dont mind! Anyways, my guess is you are from Singapore or Hongkong

Well, tel me what do you think regarding such a situation?

Well! my dear friend, for me reputation and ranking of a college matters a lot......am also waiting for the results of the other schools....so lets see. I too am confused as hell, but, ya, i must admit that so far all the votes have gone in for Kings in my case.... I have been interacting with friends in law firms and they all suggest that only if i get in the top 5-7 colleges in the US, i should give up my Kings offer. As a matter of fact, i had applied to only 3 colleges in UK whereas in US I applied to 6 colleges....:). ...Btw, am also waiting for LSE's final results coz I have been wait listed there....so lets see wat happens....Anyways, each to his own but its nice to have such discussions coz then the evaluation ultimately is better!

depends on the subject but go to KCL in my opinion unless you have offers from the Ivy league in the US and even thn KCL would be a close runner up

As you are well aware of the fact that in Asia, reputation counts a lot for the firms based in respective country.. but my concern is to work in International firms which are from USA, as many will be even in your country... what i have seen that they do generally prefer LLM fr. their respective country rather fr. any other countries unless you are from LSE,Oxbridge fr. UK... so i am in a fix over KCL, even it has better name in Asia than the UCL but UCL has better reputation in UK than KCL... my prime concern is not what the people think but about the recruiter from MNC, might be from USA, that person must have known that what is taught to you at KCL,Georgetown or Columbia and how tough to be in USA or UK for such course.. in his/her eyes the difference is amply clear and vibrant....

As you are well aware of the fact that in Asia, reputation counts a lot for the firms based in respective country.. but my concern is to work in International firms which are from USA, as many will be even in your country... what i have seen that they do generally prefer LLM fr. their respective country rather fr. any other countries unless you are from LSE,Oxbridge fr. UK... so i am in a fix over KCL, even it has better name in Asia than the UCL but UCL has better reputation in UK than KCL... my prime concern is not what the people think but about the recruiter from MNC, might be from USA, that person must have known that what is taught to you at KCL,Georgetown or Columbia and how tough to be in USA or UK for such course.. in his/her eyes the difference is amply clear and vibrant....

:)....I definitely dont mind! Anyways, my guess is you are from Singapore or Hongkong