Hi,
Im interested in admission in what would be termed top 15% llm schools. I will embark on my final year of law school (kenya) beginning August. I will graduate among the top 10% of my class 5% if i really push (the class is about 160).

i could graduate with a cumulative percentage score of about 65-68 where a first is awarded at 70% at my school.

Also i am the president of the students body.

what are my chances for a hls,yale,nyu,cornell, georgetown.....etc admission?

what should i do btn now and graduation to enhance the possibilities of admission?

JM

Well, I doubt that your chances for the law schools are that good. First of all, your class size is not that high. So, being among the top 10% is not really representative. Think you should compare your results nation wide. Furthermore, an aggregate mark of 65-68% is alright, but not outstanding. I guess for Harvard this is definetely not enough. Don't really understand why you mention being head of students body. Think those "soft-skills" should not be overestimated. At the end of the day, its your performance which is decisive. What you do in your leisure time is only a supplement (although one sometimes gets the impression, it is the other way round). However, did you publish a lot in highly regarded journals? This would be more impressive. Moot courts may also help and above all internships or paralegal work in major law firms, government, UN or something comparable. My tip is therefore, try to push yourself to a first class degree and try to something really substantial as a supplement of your study. Of any help, of course, learn languages by going abroad.

Good luck anyway!

I agree. I am from Germany and there being among the top 10% means being top 10% out of 10,000 law graduates per year!

Richie_85, soft skills are important, but you may be right that they are sometimes overestimated. But it is not bad to be in the student body.

And yes, you should definetely try to get a first!

Don't be discouraged, Jose.

I was (only just) within the top 20% of my year of law school (at a top uni) and I was admitted to the Columbia Law School LLM program. I do, however, have a fair bit of post-uni work experience.

I don't think admission to the programs at Harvard/Yale is a given for you but on the other hand it's not totally outside the realm of possibility. It would definitely be worth trying (and applying to some back-up schools like Columbia, NYU, Chicago). I think you could weave the extra-curricular stuff into your personal statement as a way of saying you're someone who'll be an active and engaged member of the law school community.

Thanks guys,
perhaps as an addendum, i do periodic research with a human rights NGO in my country.

I will then be doing a lot more publication in my final year of school.

id much appreciate a list of backup schools.

thanks

JM

Hello everyone, I just want to know how much more does it help to publish an article or two in a respectable law journal?