Hi everyone,

I am rolling around the idea of pursuing an LLM and I was hoping that some people might have insight regarding the likelihood of my acceptance into Columbia for the 2012-2013 academic year (so an application in December). I might be getting ahead of myself, but I want to know if I should bother squirreling away money to attend, or if I have no shot.

I graduated from University of New Brunswick, which is a smaller Canadian school. I was on the Dean's List in my 3rd year (Top 10%), but not in either my first or second year (though I was probably still Top 20%).

I have a judicial clerkship at a Superior Court (a provincial Court of Queen's Bench), and will be going to the Federal Department of Justice when I'm done there. (so total work experience time at application time of one and a half years).

I would be looking to go for September 2012, and would hopefully have a publication or two by that time.

I know the best way to find out for sure is to just apply, but any insight would be appreciated!

Hi CSamuel,

As a fellow Canadian having done some research on US LLMs, I think based on your background that you have a shot at Columbia. Many US LLM programs seek out applicants with preferably 2+ years work expériences .That being said the difference between 1.5 yrs and 2 yrs is pretty minimal. In your case, I would focus on getting a great letter of recommendation from the judge, trying to get your 2 publications in good journals and writing a very compelling personal statement for the program.

While nothing is guaranteed, with all these in line you would have a good shot. Good luck!