hi friends!!i would like to know what you think about universities attended before applying for an llm..i mean, does it make any difference(from the point of view of HLS,YALE,OXFORD,CAMBRIDGE) attending a public university without remarkable ranking position or a private university surely more prestigious(in italy)but equally unknown at a world level?

Dear Marco,

This is a tricky question, which no doubt many of us ponder over at one point or another. Furthermore it has several aspects that need to be considered, and the following answer is only some thoughts rather than any kind of statement of definite facts.

Generally speaking the top universities' admissions sections do have some kind of way of assessing candidates coming from a variety of universities. Inevitably this incorporates some kind of a ranking, or hierarchy between schools, so the short answer to your question would be yes it does make a diffence. Consider e.g. the possibility that some top-universities require more of undergrads in terms of achieving the top marks - as such then even the lower marks from those universities are viewed in a better light than same marks from a university from which it is easier to achieve those results.

That said, an impressive resumé and a committed applicant in my mind always stands a chance in applying to these top schools. Generally, if the school is not well known or internationally recognised, the sense seems to be that a top-10% finish (of the year) is recommended. However, even this is highly disputed, and there have been cases where applicants with a top-20% finish have ended up in Harvard thanks to extensive research, brilliant applications materials, plus a lot of extra-curricular activities.

Summa summarum, the name of a university matters, but can never compensate a poor applicant.

As to whether it matters whether the university is public or private, I doubt it (or at least I would like to).

Hope this is helpful and best of luck with your applications!

thank you for your answer!!i admit i'm pleased to hear those considerations from you!!i've left about 15 exams before graduation and at the moment i'm surely in the top10%of my course..well i really think I'm among the top 5 over aprox. 350 students!!do you think it is enough??i hope yes!!

From thereon in, its only a case of 'wait-and-see'. In bocca al lupo!

PKO made some great points

It very much helps your chances when you go to a top-tier law school with great grades

Though, one who comes from a Tier-2 & Tier-3 Law School with still excellent grades has a great shot as well.

I also think past work experience is VERY important

hi linkeds!i think you are right about the importance of past work experience..but i think that i will apply as soon as possible after graduation..so i just can rely on my grades..i hope excellent grades!!but in fact one thing worries me a little..even if i want it would be difficult to do extra-curricula acitivities because from this point of view italy offers almost nothing..so as i've said above i can just put my future in my grades!!!

I agree to the statements given above. To my mind (and I know from my personal surrounding that the majority of employers think similarly) it is by far not that decisive WHERE you have studied (within the EU and the US the standard should be very high anyway), but it is your marks which make the difference. If you are excellent, i.e. among the 10-15% best of your year, you should not worry too much about University reputation (whatever that is...). You have shown that you can stand out in comparison with a lot of other students of similar qualification. That is what counts!

Btw: I am always fascinated when reading some of the comments on this website (not in this threat) how people can pretend to have detailed knowledge of almost every University. This is simply not possible. One can talk about his/her own University, but that's basically it. All the other comments are just unsubstantiated rumours.

Caro connazionale e collega giurista,

conta che tutti i discorsi fatti valgono soltanto in minima parte per gli studenti internazionali. un italiano, alla fine del suo percorso didattico in legge, viene considerato gia' munito di master (sia che tu faccia il 3+2 che la magistrale), dato che il loro college dura 4 anni e non 5. questo e' un bel vantaggio, perche' ti pone sopra la media degli altri applicants. considera poi un'altra cosa: gli atenei americani tengono in somma considerazione la provenienza dei propri studenti ammessi. avere un italiano e' senza dubbio meglio che avere un ennesimo americano, in quando l'ateneo potra' vantare un corpo studenti maggiormente internazionale. questo tuttavia puo' giocare anche a tuo sfavore, dato che qualche altro connazionale sicuramente fara' domanda a Yale piuttosto che ad Harvard o Columbia. Un'ultima considerazione: nessuna universita' italiana viene considerata come una top university, salvo forse la Bocconi in vista di un'ammissione ad una MBA, ma qui siamo gia' sulla business school...
Buona fortuna per i tuoi studi futuri

caro collega nonchè connazionale ti ringrazio per le info!!non immaginavo che per noi italiani ci fosse il vantaggio di cui parlavi..la cosa mi garba parecchio!!ancora grazie!!

Mi permetto da evincere dal tuo nick che sei estremamente giovane. io, per giocare a carte scoperte, ho ben 4 anni piu' di te. deduco anche che tu sia verosimilmente alla fine della tua laurea triennale, che negli usa e' considerato come un LLB, nonostante il college qui duri 4 anni. hai avuto un'idea a dir poco brillante a cercare qualche programma, molto meglio se prestigioso, negli USA. il valore aggiunto sul tuo CV sara' davvero importante. Cio' detto, tuttavia, devi tener conto che la competizione per entrare ad una law school come quelle di Harvard e Yale e' durissima. temo (sperando chiaramente di sbagliare in questi miei ragionamenti superficiali ed intuitivi) che tu al momento abbia poche chances di entrare, per il fatto che ti trovi a competere con gente mediamente di 27/29 anni. io stesso sono ancora sotto l' age average, e vado per i 26... se mai dovessi avere bisogno di qualche informazione particolare non esitare a chiedere.