I attend SMU Law in Texas, a tier 1 law school. My grades are in the top 15% of my class. Does anyone know if this is good enough to get into top LLM programs like Georgetown and NYU? I am working for two firms this summer and will probably get offers but I am not sure that I want to settle down yet. Does an LLM in something, say tax, increase a student's marketability or is it just a $50k resume booster? I'd appreciate brutal honesty. Thanks

Frankly it depends on what you arre looking for and what you want. I went U of Miami, graduated with honors in the top 15%. I have some interesting work experience and published a couple articles. I got into NYU's tax and georgetown's Securities and Financial Reg program. I also got into UCL's and King's College's Banking and Finance law programs. One of the big reasons I decided to apply, aside from hating my job, is that I grew up in the northeast and I want to live there or abroad. Miami is a great school but it does not have alot pull in NY, DC or internationally. Also the jobs I was being offered were suitablly uninspiring. If you want to stay in Texas I would say its not a great idea. But ultimately it depends what you are looking for. You do have some time to think it over since most programs are no longer accepting applications. Over all I think you have a pretty reasonable shot as long as your recs are good and you have some interesting work experience. The key thing is apply early (which is something I should have done) it definitely boosts your chances.

Drop me a line if you have any questions.

J

I attend SMU Law in Texas, a tier 1 law school. My grades are in the top 15% of my class. Does anyone know if this is good enough to get into top LLM programs like Georgetown and NYU? I am working for two firms this summer and will probably get offers but I am not sure that I want to settle down yet. Does an LLM in something, say tax, increase a student's marketability or is it just a $50k resume booster? I'd appreciate brutal honesty. Thanks

I just got my LLM in inidividual study from G'town Law in May.
I had a great time, learned a lot, and their new fitness and classroom building is great.
You're near the Capitol, including the Fed Tax Court

On deciding to go/apply, I think it's better if you have a goal you want to reach and you show the school how the LLM will help you achieve that

So, maybe work at a firm or try to clerk for a judge and get your feet wet. If you decide tax is the way to go and you really like it, then try the LLM. Plus, you'll appreciate a 4th year of law school more after a few years in the "real world"

Also, going for the LLM can give you the "name" value to get higher tier jobs. It certainly has opened more doors for me and will be worth the cost in the long run

Bolster your resume post-JD also. I had a Top 30% from a fourth tier school (Widener), but I wrote 4 law review articles post-JD in 3 years(including one in an Ivy), clerked, and applied early

If you go to G'town Law, make sure you try for the "with distinction" graduation honor - that helps a lot

Good luck

hello cjs! do you think that it's possible for one to get admitted in top llm schools such as georgetown, columbia, and cornell on the bases of less than stellar grades (middle ranking in class and 83.9% gpa in one of the top 2 lawschools in my country) but with a couple of years of government service (court clerkship included) as far as experience goes? having already come from georgetown, i'm sure you could make a general indication of your classmates' background and if mine could possibly fly with the admissions panel of gerogetown and other such schools. thanks in advance :)

I think you could have a chance at the schools you mentioned. The number 2 ranking of your law school will carry a lot of weight. And your experience is a plus. Try to publish a journal article before you apply, that will help as well. Also, I know the G'town admissions director reads every applicant's file personally. So, make sure your personal statement in the file is short and punchy and indicates what you could bring to G'town - for example, an energetic student who will be active in school activities, internships, etc.

Hope this helps, CJS

An LLM in tax is very worthwhile. However, a general LLM is a waste - it would be patently obvious that you are just trying to pad your resume.

An LLM in tax is very worthwhile. However, a general LLM is a waste - it would be patently obvious that you are just trying to pad your resume.

I have a question. I go to a horrible law school (4th Tier) but am at the top of my class. I didn't even apply to the top three tax LLM's because I thought it would be a waste of time but I have gotten into Boston University and Northwestern University. These schools are even offering fairly large scholarships. Does anyone know if I should apply to Gtown, NYU, and Florida? And if I decide to go to one of the schools that I have been accepted to, which school is better, Northwestern or BU?

Could you let me know anything about the new Global Health Law program at Georgetown? I would like to apply to it, but I know the program is fairly new. Is it difficult to get in, and do you recommend I visit Georgetown before applying?

Oh, and the post was directed to cjs00009 - having just graduated from Georgetown, I thought you could provide some good insight.
Thanks.

Hi nicolausm,
When did you find out about the scholarship from BU, and did you apply separately for it? Also, how long ago did you send in your appls to NU and BU? I was in at BU, but haven't heard anything about a scholarship offer.

As far as NU and BU, I'd prefer BU. I know a lot of people might go otherwise because of the name recognition, but I really like the administration at BU, the tuition is cheaper, they have more electives, and BU doesn't have the 80HR 0credit research requirement. (Which are some reasons why I didn't apply to NU. )... What are you thoughts?

Re: G'town Global Health

I do not know about this program. As far as visiting G'town, it is a very nice urban campus. The law school is not in the G'town section of DC, but is near the Capitol. It has 4 buildings, one of which is 2 years old and has an international law facilities and a work-out center. The campus is nice and pretty safe, and near Metro train stops.