A friend of mine just e-mailed me in regard to his chances of being admitted to an LL.M. program. I have yet to even apply, so I do not feel qualified to give him a good answer. I was hoping that those of you who have gone through the application process could provide some opinions. I will list his credentials below.

Undergrad: James Madison University (Magna Cum Laude)

Law School: Suffolk University Law (GPA: around 3.0)

Work experience: Clerked for a state judge during his 2L summer.

Law school activities: Pretty much zip.

Other relevant info: Has a 150 IQ and knows professor Akhil Amar of Yale fame.

He understands that his less than stellar resume will likely keep him out of the top LL.M. programs, but is curious if he could do something to better his chances. His top choice is Yale's LL.M. Any suggestions?

Hi. I don't think the IQ weights and my guess is that mentioning it in the CV or the statement makes your friend look pathetically arrogant. Anyway, presumably many LLMs at top law schools have very high IQs. As for the rest, I think that a letter of recommendation from Amar can only be helpful (well, assuming he has good things to say about your friend) and a good statement of purpose might compensate, at least in part, the low grades at law school. I have no idea what are your friend's chances because it is almost impossible to identify a pattern of admissions to LLM programs when it comes to people that have mixed credentials. I would risk saying, however, that it might not be good enough for Yale, Harvard and Stanford. But I am just guessing.

I am curious: Why isn't your friend posting by her/himself?

He is not posting for himself for the simple reason that I took the initiative. I told him that I would ask around and thought this was an appropriate forum.