Hi everyone. I am a 3L at Texas Tech University, and am applying for the LL.M. in Taxation at several places for the upcoming academic year. I have not yet sent in my application materials, but plan to have everything in by mid-January (working on the Personal Statement right now). Can anyone give me a good idea, based on their own experiences or otherwise, about what my chances might be to the schools that I'm applying to? I'm applying to NYU, Georgetown, Florida, Miami, Northwestern, Houston, SMU, and Denver. I'm in about the top 25% of my class, am a member of the Law Review, have taken every tax course my school offers (only about 4), and am the founder of the Tax Law Society at my law school. On a personal note, I am the first person in my family to finish high school, let alone anything after that. Does anyone have any idea what chances I might have at some of those schools? Would it be wise to include any personal challenges faced, such as being the first in my family to graduate high school, or losing both parents at a young age? Or are things like that not smart to include? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Update: Can anyone out there, maybe branson1, give me any idea of my chances? I'm actually in the 20-25% range.

???

texasaggie,

good to see a fellow Big 12 person on here. i went to the University of Oklahoma. i'm now at UF for my LLM.

i think your chances are very good for at least one of the top 3 schools (NYU, UF, GT). i think you should focus on those 3. NW, Miami, and the others have good programs, but the top 3 have by far the best reputations nationally. i can tell you that at UF, just about everyone graduated from the top 25% of their class in law school (from what i understand), and the higher the law school is ranked, the lower you can be in your class.

in your personal statement, i would definitely point out all of the obstacles that you have overcome in your education. when you are on the bubble of getting in, that stuff makes a difference. say why you want to do tax and that you have excelled in your study of tax (if you have).

i can also say that if you are wanting to go back to TX, the top 3 schools are your best chance of landing a good job. i'm headed to dallas after i finish and the UF LLM has opened a lot of doors for me there. if you get into more than one of the top 3, just choose based on rankings (1. NYU, 2. UF, 3. GT). believe me, people know that UF has an outstanding reputation. hope this helps. if you have anymore questions, send me a private message on here and i'll give you my email.

Branson1-
I sent you a P.M.

Branson 1 when did you hear back from Florida?

i think i heard from UF around Feb. 1.

Hello, I am foreign lawyer admitted already by Georgetown in the LLM Tax program, I just read your message but I would be more than happy to assist you if you need anything. Just let me know.

Thanks, Peruvian. I'll be sure to let you know if I have any questions about Georgetown.