Hello. I'm curious, have any domestic applicants been admitted to the LL.M. programs at HLS or YLS? If so, were you notified via phone, "snail mail," or email?

Hmmm...I take it that no American applicants have been admitted to either of these two LL.M. programs for Fall 2008.

I wonder if this will change during the week to come?

I'm from Canada. I'm still waiting.

Domestic applicant here - Earlier today, I sent an email to llmquery@law.harvard.edu and received an automated response immediately and an email rejecting my application about 5 minutes later.

Domestic applicant here - Earlier today, I sent an email to llmquery@law.harvard.edu and received an automated response immediately and an email rejecting my application about 5 minutes later.

Well..it is really rude... one would expect a different approach...but what the heck... I suppose they can do whatever they want to...!!!

Well, it appears that neither of these two schools has offered any places to American LL.M. applicants for the 2008-2009 year. Of course, there may be applicants who are unaware of this board that received good news from HLS/YLS.

I'm curious, is it typical for these two schools to omit domestic applicants entirely?

I hear the top 10 US schools very very rarely admit US JDs because they don't want their LLM to become finishing school for 2nd tier JDs. Some specify that in order to be considered, US applicants must have LSAT and undergrad GPA similar to their JD admitted students (on top of a top 20% ranking for JD).

It would make sense because US LLM courses are JD upper level courses, designed to give foriegn lawyers a taste of US legal system. It adds very little academic value to US JDs, other than to add a prestigious name on their resume and open doors to top firms. To put it bluntly, it would kind of cheapen their LLM program if they admit US JDs that weren't good enough for them in the first place.

So I guess US JDs must show that they would have gotten into a top JD program in the first place and that an extra year would benefit their academic curiosity. US JDs might have better luck applying to top UK programs like OXbridge, LSE, UCL, King's if they are after that brand name on their resume.

Thanks for your response, Mr. Easter. Although I don't entirely agree with your analysis, several of your assertions do make sense.

Ultimately, I'm seeking an LL.M. so that I may prepare for a teaching career at an American law school. I hold a J.D. from a top-tier school, and have experience as a corporate lawyer and a federal law clerk (U.S. Court of Appeals). I have served as a professor of political science for the past five years, and now wish to make the transition to a law faculty.

I have yet to hear anything from either HLS or YLS, but I did receive some awesome news today via email...the University of Virginia has admitted me to their LL.M. program for 2008-2009! As such, I now feel at ease with whatever decision Harvard and Yale ultimately release.

I understand HLS/YLS admit very few American or Canadian students.

I'm a US applicant and received my acceptance notice on Monday via email.

Awesome, Todd, congratulations!

It appears as though you are the only American (at least, amongst those who actually post on this board) who has heard "good news" from either HLS or YLS.

I'm very proud of you, dude!

Thanks! I was quite surprised. Have you heard back yet from any schools? If so, have you decided where you'll attend? I was accepted at Michigan and Fletcher in addition to Harvard but am almost certain I'll be attending Harvard. I also applied to Columbia but haven't heard anything yet.

Thus far, I've been admitted to the University of Houston (my hometown school), the University of Washington (great school and city, Seattle, also "U-Dub" is my alma mater!) and the University of Virginia (a great faculty/curriculum, and I've heard Charlottesville is terrific). I also applied to Harvard and Yale, but haven't yet been notified by either.

I'm going to wait until I hear from the two remaining programs before making a final decision.
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***Update*** I just took a late-night stroll to my mailbox and found a very succinct rejection letter from a Ms. Maria Z. Dino, Director of Graduate Programs, Yale Law School!

Curiously, the letter was dated 14 MAR 08, but it wasn't mailed until 19 MAR 08...go figure?!

One never wishes to receive a rejection; however, given the tone/tenor of recent posts to this board, I fully expected this news. In fact, I'm actually not disturbed in the slightest by this notice from YLS.

Hopefully, Harvard followed suit, and has also already dispatched their "yea or nea" letters to each of us who are still waiting.

In sum, it will likely all come down to UW, UH or UVA! The toughest choice for me will be deciding between UW and UVA.

Sorry to hear about Yale, but oh well, their loss! Charlottesville is a great town and the campus is beautiful. Of course, Seattle is also a wonderful place. I can't remember if I read in your posts what you want to study. I think UW has a great IP program while UVa has great International Law and National Security Law programs. Some people also told me that I should get my LLM from a school from which I have not previously received a degree. I don't know how important that is, but might be something you want to consider when deciding. I had actually considered applying to UVa as well but in the end decided against paying out another application fee! If you like the smaller, collegiate town feel, but with a lot of great things to do, I would vote for UVa. Good luck!

Thanks Todd, that's exactly how I feel about the YLS rejection!

As for my areas of interest...

Besides being in Seattle (one of my very favorite cities), fond memories, and a splendid faculty, I found UW's unique interdisciplinary program on "sustainable international development law" (SID) very appealing. No other American school has such an emphasis for an LL.M program. SID students are allowed to take up to 60% of their courses in other UW graduate departments (e.g., anthropology, economics, political science, public affairs, etc.) and count these credits toward their LL.M. UW is currently in the process of combining the SID program with another area of emphasis (Asian & Comparative Law). Ultimately, the resulting LL.M. program will have a "general" character akin to other leading American schools. UW also has solid LL.M. programs in IP law and Tax law, but I'm not interested in either of those areas.

UH offered me a very affordable and accessible local alternative (my immediate family is here in Houston). The graduate program at UH offers several areas of emphasis, but the best fit for me was their international law program. They have a pretty decent faculty, but I'll most likely go elsewhere.

Finally, I found UVA attractive due to the law school's overall academic excellence, tranquil locale (Charlottesville), "networking pipeline" to D.C. (I may elect to work in government for just a bit afterwards), and faculty expertise in the areas of legal/constitutional history, international law, and the balance between civil liberties and national security policy. I currently teach undergraduate courses on these topics, and eventually hope to do so at the law school level. Plus, I wish to get published in one or more of these subject areas, and I suspect that I'll be able to accomplish this goal through matriculation to UVA.

Additionally, you raised a very good point about "résumé diversification," some people have also advised me to attend a different school for my LL.M., but UW is such an awesome place to spend a year! Alas, this is why deciding between UVA and UW will be tough for me...both programs are located in cool places, and "fit" my varied research/professional interests very well.

Another update:

Today, I received a very polite rejection letter from a Ms. Sarine Der Kaloustian, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, HLS. So the elaborate and stressful admission process has finally concluded for me!!!

Todd, right now, I'm leaning very heavily toward UVA. Despite my love of Seattle (and UW), I feel an irresistible "pull" from Charlottesville!