I'm a rising second-year at a Tier-1 school (ranked in the top 40s of us news). I'm interested in getting an LLM in Tax from a relatively good program. I'm thinking USC, Boston U, Florida, UT Austin, Etc., hoping for NYU or Georgetown. Thing is, I don't have good grades. I have around a 3.0, which puts me in the top 65%. I took the basic tax course, loved it, but got a B. I'm taking one other tax class right now, and I'm planning on working for a state tax agency this summer, and maybe next fall. I have some extra-curriculars, but i'm not exactly a superstar. What are my chances of getting in to the schools above? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

First, I think it is positive that you still have some time in law school to add extracurriculars and relevant job experience to your resume before applying to LLM programs.

Because admissions to LLM Tax programs has been competitive over the past two years, I think that being in the top 20-25% in your class and/or having a 3.5 GPA would safely put you at NYU, Georgetown, and Florida. I am not as familiar with the other programs you listed.

Best of luck to you!

- Josh
www.taxdocket.com

I received a letter from University of Miami LLM in Tax program telling me that my application has been reviewed but they wont render a final decision until after my Spring 2010 grades have been posted, any suggestions on what that means??? Is it a good or a bad thing... Thanks

@dah04f13 I got a similar letter from NYU when I applied in October. They said they wanted me to submit my Fall 2009 grades when they came available. About a week after I submitted my updated transcripts I got a letter saying I was admitted. I think the letter is a good thing. However, it puts some pressure on you to get good grades this semester. Best of luck!

- Josh
www.taxdocket.com

Thanks Josh; also, I wanted to know if you knew anything about Tax LLM programs that are not ranked in the top 5. i.e., San Diego, Loyola-LA, Denver, Miami, etc?

@ fudgecycles Of the programs you listed, I know the most about Miami (I am assuming University of Miami and not Miami of Ohio). Miami has is a very well respected tax program in South Florida and has some good professors and adjuncts who are local practitioners. Miami also is one of the only (if not the only) school that has a specific LL.M in Estate Planning. So if this is an area you are interested in you may want to consider that program. As far as other programs, generally, tax programs like San Diego, Denver, Boston, etc are well received in their geographic area. I guarantee that if you were looking for a job in San Diego you would find that a number (if not majority) of tax lawyers have a San Diego Tax LL.M. Therefore, something I would do (and in fact did myself) would be to email tax attorneys that graduated from the various programs who work in cities where you want to work. For example, if you want to work in San Diego, I would look on a random law firm's website, search San Diego for the law school and see who comes up with a San Diego Tax LL.M. Then I would email that person any questions you have. Not only will this give you insight on the school, but will also provide you with a great networking opportunity.

I hope this information helps. If you find any information about particular programs, please feel free to share. I would love to learn about some of these other programs and post the info on my blog @ www.taxdocket.com.

Best of Luck!

- Josh