Hi, Brazilian applicants for 2011-2012!
Does any of you know if American universities consider the differences between Brazilian universities when evaluating our grades (including the LSAC report)?? I just saw some guy from UFRGS saying that he had a GPA of 8.5 and was only in the middle of the ranking in his class. At USP, for example, a GPA of 8.6 puts you almost for sure among the top 5%. Do they know and consider that? It seems to me that it's a very unfair competition!

In the LSAC report, where you :

-Below average
-average
-above average
-superior

?

Above average, which apparently doesn't mean much (I heard they never put superior for students coming from universities which do not have official ranking (I don't know if it's accurate).

It's partially true : they would not use the rank to put you superior (because there is no official rank), but the final points

For example on my LSAC analysis :
-I had "Superior" in an Academic Diploma : I was 2nd on 25, but with 16/20
-I had "Above average" on my Master 2 : I was 1st on 25, but with 13,5

As they don't have official rank (and they don't care, they don't want to verify our "unofficial" rank with the university by phone or mail), they only use grade points :(

But if there is no official ranking, how do you know if you're 1st, 2nd or 10yh in class?

By asking the professors or the administration of the university

The university "knows" the ranking of students: they have like an Excel file, with all names, grades, etc. They only have to sort the list by grade points, and then looking for your name.
So I asked my professors, or some "nice" persons at the administration who would give me the information.

But the fact is that they would tell you orally, but they TOTALLY refuse to write it, or give it on official paper :'(

That's how I knew my ranking ;)

---

Edit: And on small classes, for example 25 or less students, everyone know everyone: So you just have to ask them their grade points, and then compare yourself to them in the ranks

Unfortunately, this is highly subjective and I really don't think they take into consideration when evaluating our applications...

Hello Everyone!

I have a couple of questions for current brazilian LLM students.
Did anyone get financial aid in the past years?
Has anyone applied for Ling's or Fundação Estudar Scholarships?
Was anyone admitted to any LLM program straight out of law school with limited or no professional experience?
Regards,

Above average, which apparently doesn't mean much (I heard they never put superior for students coming from universities which do not have official ranking (I don't know if it's accurate).

By asking the professors or the administration of the university

The university "knows" the ranking of students: they have like an Excel file, with all names, grades, etc. They only have to sort the list by grade points, and then looking for your name.
So I asked my professors, or some "nice" persons at the administration who would give me the information.

But the fact is that they would tell you orally, but they TOTALLY refuse to write it, or give it on official paper :'(

That's how I knew my ranking ;)

---

Edit: And on small classes, for example 25 or less students, everyone know everyone: So you just have to ask them their grade points, and then compare yourself to them in the ranks

Hi, Brazilian applicants for 2011-2012!
Does any of you know if American universities consider the differences between Brazilian universities when evaluating our grades (including the LSAC report)?? I just saw some guy from UFRGS saying that he had a GPA of 8.5 and was only in the middle of the ranking in his class. At USP, for example, a GPA of 8.6 puts you almost for sure among the top 5%. Do they know and consider that? It seems to me that it's a very unfair competition!

@dggc: I also had a very specific choice and it required me to use LSAC, so I didn't have much choice. I'd like USP to have any influence on the admissions and granting of financial aid but I don't believe so, as I know people from PUC-SP and RJ, Mackenzie and others who got in.
Comparing to my colleagues, my grades put me among the top 5% (I woudn't indicate a ranking as they are too many students in class - around 400). But they are only average comparing to graduates from UFRGS, for example, which seems to me really unfair, particularly because I'm applying for financial aid. At least they can see from my transcripts how many "A"s (9/10) I got. I hope this will have some good impact...
Answering your question, I know 2 people who got financial aid granted by the university, one from USP and the other from PUC-RJ. I also know someone who got a Fundacao Ling's scholarship for UK.
Most Brazilians that I know who got in American universities for LL.M have at least 2 year-work experience.

2 years...
See I have a 2-year work experience but not in law. Since graduating from law school, I have been on an exclusive M.A. government scholarship (which means I can't work)..but I think that's is ok..I covered that on my personal statement...

After reading a lot of these discussion boards here, the only conclusion I've reached is that there really isn't a steady pattern for admissions.

I have also applied for financial aid. In fact, the reason I specifically inquired about it is that, since I can't work until next march when I'll finish my thesis, finaid is THE ONLY possible way for me to do this LLM now...

I probably rank high in my class...but there aren't any official rankings at UFMG so this is just speculation...

I've got my fingers crossed though.

What is M.A.?
I agree, there seems to be no pattern in general. But there seems to be a pattern more or less defined with respect to which candidates are awarded with financial aid.

And what would that finaid profile pattern be?

M.A. = Master of Arts degree

I see! I think this kind of multicultural records is well valued by American universities.
As I could see from NYU's website, for example, the scholarship grantees are all extremely qualified, ranked as one of the first in their class, have been awarded with other scholarships and prizes during their academic life, and plenty of them have professional experiences in governments, international organizations and things like that. Also, as far as I could see, as a rule, the most important scholarships are granted to people interested in international studies, mainly international public law and human rights.

Hi,

I think the competition is really unfair. It is much more difficult to maintain a 85% or higher average in a good Brazilian university than in a American university (Brazilian students in USA tend to have a higher GPA in USA than they had in Brazil).

And it's also important to say that a student from a top university in Brazil tend to have lower GPA than a student from a "B" university in Brazil, and I don't think they take that into consideration when they compare the GPAs.

Regards,

Guilherme.

Does BH stand for Belo Horizonte?

Did you go to UFMG?

Sim, sou de Belo Horizonte mas me formei na Milton Campos.

Eu estudo na UFMG, ou seja, estou em Belo Horizonte também! Você escolheu a Flórida, right?