I have posted this before in another thread but not received any responses yet. I thought I might get more responses by starting a new thread...

I'm thinking about applying to Stanford (and Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA) in a few years time. I was hoping someone might be able to tell me whether it's worth applying to these schools without a perfect academic record.

I have an Oxbridge 2.1 but my first two years there were each a 2.2, and during those two years I failed (and had to retake) 3 of around 20 subjects. I then did the UK GDL and LPC law conversion (with commendations).

Applying to US LLM schools is quite a commitment, and in my personal situation I'm not sure that it would be worthwhile unless there's a realistic chance of getting into the schools I have targeted.

Has anyone with similarly patchy academics successfully applied to any of these schools? Is a perfect academic record a prerequisite?

Any relevant advice would be very welcome...

Firstly, you should be aware that Princeton doesn't have a law school and thus no LL.M.

I don't think you will need perfect academic records but there have to be other great credentials to make up for mediocre academic performance. People with straight As may not always get in to top schools.

Thanks, have now removed the references to Princeton!

I guess maybe it would also depend on what you did in the interim - post GDL/LPC etc. - and how the LL.M. fits in with your career plans; there seems to be quite a focus on that, at least from what I've seen...

Generally, for SLS and HLS you will need to be in the top 2-5% of your class. I do not think even a 2.1 will put you there.

Berkeley is possible. I cannot give an educated estimate on that.

yes. berkeley is possible. but it's a lottery.