Hello.. I am an undergraduate student from Georgia, the country in eastern Europe. I have to study 3 more years for my bachelor degree and I am going to apply for LLM in 2012-13. I know that it's quite early yet, but I think that everyone should plan his/her activities as early as possible to get the admission. I realise it will be quite difficult to get the admission from top US/UK law schools because of the ranking of my country's educational system. Please, can you write me, how can I increase my chances? What are the top universities taking into consideration during the admission process?.. I know about the language and academic requirements. But do they pay attention to the achievements in international moot courts, essay competition, summer schools etc. Please can you identify some of the most important ones?

Thank you in advance..
I'll really appreciate your attention and look forward to your replies..

All the aspects you've mentioned would increase your chances. Every relevant extracurricular activities may help.

I'd suggest a summer program in a prestigious US or UK University; participating in an exchange program such as Erasmus in a prestigious Lawschool; publications in law related journals and reviews; summer internships in lawfirms, etc.

good luck to you

Regards

I would also suggest an early preparation for the TOEFL exam.

However, please bear in mind that the scores are valid only for 2 years.

Good luck!

Do not worry about your country's law school rankings. If you are a good student in your country, you have a fair chance of getting admission in a good school in USA. By good, I would mean one amongst top 5 in a class of 50. In other words, if you rank amongst top ten percent of your class in the law school, you may need to develop your writing skills. A good statement of purpose, a good essay and good score in your basic law degree, alongwith good letters of recommendations from your law school faculty will be important consideration for law school in USA for LL.M admission.

You may have a very good chance of getting partial scholarship from some of the good law schools in USA. They also encourage diverse student body. Therefore, do not consider yourself any less a candidate than from other countries.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for the information and encouragement.. How do you think, which law schools encourage diverse student body? Are there Harward, Yale, Columbia or Stanford among them?