TwelfthMonkey,

I admit defeat. My style was unnecessarily brutish and for this I offer a virtual friendly hand as a sign of regret. No irony, sarcasm, joke or whatever. Good luck with your LL.M. studies, it will be a fantastic year no matter what excellent school you end up at.

Na hard feelings, pal. Thanks for the kind words. Are you also applying somewhere?

So far I've read about approximately 6 guys from this board who got in, I guess it's too early for a facebook group?

Hey Guys,

Just let me give you some advice in general while you are choosing your LL.M. program (I am doing it right now so I guess I can tell you something I've learned from my mistakes):

1. choose the program that better fits your interests, go to NYU if are a Tax lawyer, go to Berkeley if you are interested in IP, Columbia for Capital Markets, etc. Don't stick to names or rankings.

2. the LL.M. is one year experience and you should live at 100%. If want to study but also have fun don't even think twice and go to Columbia or NYU: leaving in New York as a student is the best experience ever (trust me on this...). If you are a more quiet person or you like campus life you can go to Stanford for instance.

3. Consider the age factor, at Columbia (fortunately) the average age is quite high..let's say 27/28. There are a lot of people well above 30 with a considerable firm experience; if you go to Harvard the majority of students is their 24 with no experience...very good students but with a totally different persective.

4. Don't think that the best students are all in Yale or Stanford. For example: this year the best German student (he achieved the history highest score at the German State exam) is at NYU, and the best Swiss student is as well at NYU. At Columbia there is the best Italian bankruptcy lawyer and the top graduate from HEC Paris...so don't think that the best ends up in the #1 ranked school.
Such people know that the rankings are not that important (especially for LL.M.) and they take into consideration other factors like: running in Central Park, going out in the Lower East Side, having brunch in Soho, etc... ;-) Or going surfing every morning if you are at UCLA...

5. The LL.M. will not change your CV: if you were a top student in your country you will remain the same even if you go to Brooklyn Law School; and if you were an average student Harvard won't help you. Law firms will look with greater attention at your homecountry university grades than at your LL.M. grades.

6. Again, please don't stick to names and rankings...there is so much more about LL.M.; and even if you think that you know it better, once in the U.S. you will figure it out and regret your choices...(I can tell you that my friends that are right noe stuck in Boston, they hate it they come to NYC whenever possible).

7. Calm down...the aim of this website is to provide information, it is not a battle ground for soldiers!

8. If you are a cool person choose New York (Columbia or NYU), you won't regret it...trust me...a lot of hard work but a lot of fun too!

Cheers
P.

Thanks Pitch for the good post!

I 2nd that, a great post Pitch!

$$$ Lawyer:
'' To me its obvious that the Harvard LL.M. is more valuable than a Columbia ditto. Harvard is more competitive for admissions, the faculty is better...''

Pitch:
''The LL.M. will not change your CV: if you were a top student in your country you will remain the same even if you go to Brooklyn Law School; and if you were an average student Harvard won't help you....''

$$$ Lawyer:
'' I 2nd that, a great post Pitch!...''

Question: if Harvard is more competitive for LL.M admission purposes, how would an average student get it? How could $$$ lawyer second that?

Answer: Only through the work of His Highest Blessed One. Praise Him, Praise Him, Praise Him.

Hey Pitch,

what are employers looking for? does it help to be a US citizen?

I would like to be able to answer that question....I think that as far as this year is concerned the U.S. employers are not looking for anything or anyone...we are all pretty aware of the fact that only few (very very few) will get temporary jobs in New York.
In these times, when the regular J.D. offers are on the line (of all top 4 law schools) can you imagine how is the market for LL.M.????
Anyway, in an abstract world, being a U.S. citizen is for sure an asset (they don't have to pay for your Visa and that is for sure an incentive to hire you).

As to our Christian friend, my point is the following:
take the German student, he/she is the #1 in GErmany in the last 50 years or so. He/she was in the newspaper when he/she achieved the highest score in history at the State Exam. He/She got admitted to all top U.S. Law school (Yale, Stanford, COlumbia and Harvard) but ultimately decided to attend NYU for all sorts of reasons (location, scholarship, etc...) so in the other 4 law schools 4 other german students were admitted in order to replace him/her...these 4 student (though they are excellent) are not compareable to him/her, who will remain a step ahead of them even if Yale, Stanford, Columbia and Harvard are considered better than NYU.
Cheers my friend

Pitch: '' these 4 student (though they are excellent) are not compareable to him/her..''

Brother, the point still remains that they are not average students. That is the point in the last post.

Additionally, the fellow is not replaced by four students - that is double counting. He could only have attended one school at a time and different sets of competitive standards would have been faced across the four schools.

Finally, ranking #1 generally does not mean you're the cleverest - exams can sometimes be a roll of the dice and all conditions may just be right at certain times. Just refer to Einstein (as a patent clerk) prolaiming that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in rote learning (such as in law - cases, statutes and all that).

Brother, Praise Him for His wisdom.

Bless.

Hi Guys, you all sound very accomplished and I'm sure you"ll enjoy NYC. I live in NYC and I think it's the best city in the US from all perspectives. I also got the CLS admission email and look forward to meeting you guys for those who eventually decide to chose CLS . However, I think making a choice between CLS, HLS, and NYU is a really personal choice. And though life is NYC is second to none in the US, you may want to consider some other factors.As an African and I know that HLS will open many more doors than CLS just because of the name brand should I decide to return to my Country in the future( I'm sure it is the same case in other third world countries). So if I had the priviledge like some of you to get HLS admission, I think my decision will be a simple one. In the US, I noticed that most employers regard CLS grads almost as high as HLS grads,So if you are thinking about returning to your country and you are from a third world country , think well and whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll be fine.
This is my first post on this board and I hope to meet you guys soon.

Has anyone received the admissions package yet? whats the deadline for the deposit? Once the deposit is made is the admission binding on us? I'm still waiting for HLS

Hi Guys, you all sound very accomplished and I'm sure you"ll enjoy NYC. I live in NYC and I think it's the best city in the US from all perspectives. I also got the CLS admission email and look forward to meeting you guys for those who eventually decide to chose CLS . However, I think making a choice between CLS, HLS, and NYU is a really personal choice. And though life is NYC is second to none in the US, you may want to consider some other factors.As an African and I know that HLS will open many more doors than CLS just because of the name brand should I decide to return to my Country in the future( I'm sure it is the same case in other third world countries). So if I had the priviledge like some of you to get HLS admission, I think my decision will be a simple one. In the US, I noticed that most employers regard CLS grads almost as high as HLS grads,So if you are thinking about returning to your country and you are from a third world country , think well and whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll be fine.
This is my first post on this board and I hope to meet you guys soon.

@applicant 2009

I was called by FedEx today, apparently the package is on its way. As for the deposit deadline, my email stated March 10th. Concerning its binding charakter, well, I guess if you understand "binding" as losing 500 USD in case you withdraw later, then yes, it is.

I received the package from FedEx today... very heavy one! My deadline is March 10.

Hi Scholar,

I got in through the early review process.

Btwn: I am available to give a helping hand to any one as you look forward to relocating to NYC.

Since I start Reading this forum Ive been freaking out. Everybody has excellent credentials and now Im thinking Im never going to be accepted in any program. I want to know if anyone has been accepted with an above average credentials?.

Gonher, just work hard and hope for the best. You might get lucky. Congratulations to those who made it through early review. Good luck to those who are in the regular review schedule.

Hey all,

I received my CLS admissions package today as well. However, i have been told, that my deposit deadline will be finalized once my financial aid decision is made.

FYI still haven't heard anything from HLS... no second email :(

congrats! applicant2009!

when did you apply?
Did u receive "complete" mail from CLS?

Mulema- Congratulations on your admission to CLS. My application was deferred to the regular admissions cycle. Just out of curiosity, have you received any funding from CLS?
Has anyone who was deferred heard back from CLS?