Discussions

pickupel375

Joined: Apr 2025
Subscription: Free

pickupel375

Friday, Dec 29 2017

@ I’ve definitely thought about doing an LLM, but ultimately decided a JD was the better option for three reasons:

Job portability within the US. My wife is a medical student and, once she’s a doctor, may have to move states for her career. I don’t want to overly limit her options down the line and only a few states allow LLMs to practice.

A lot of top schools give advanced standing to JD students with foreign law degrees. I know Harvard has previously allowed UK trained lawyers to do the JD in two years. I know Sen. Feingold, who did the same degree program I did at Oxford, was able to do it in two.

I think I’ll have better job prospects with a JD.

That said, a friend who was a year above me at Oxford did an LLM at Penn and is now a lawyer in NY. So it definitely is possible.

@ Thanks for your input! I was thinking along the same lines regarding scholarship offers. If a few points extra end up being worth $10,000+, then time spent studying seems well paid!

General · Retake 173

pickupel375

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

To follow up my last comment, this is LSAC's grading scale for international degrees, lifted from my transcript evaluation:

This field is based on the indigenous grade average. AACRAO evaluators enter Superior for A-level work, Above Average for B-level work, Average for C-level work, and Below Average for D and below-level work.

General · Retake 173

pickupel375

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

@ LSAC do indeed grade international degrees on a scale ranging from 'below average' to 'superior'. I have two degrees —undergrad and UK law degree — both of which are graded 'superior' by LSAC. They also give a UK - US conversion table, which puts my suggested US GPA at 4.0 for both degrees. I'm not sure how much weight LSAC's ranking is given by law schools, however, particularly when most top US schools are pretty familiar with the UK's grading system (first, upper second, lower second, third, pass, fail).

It's good to hear about your friend getting in to Harvard last cycle! There's so little data on international applicants without US GPAs that it's hard to get a good idea of what my chances are like.

General · Retake 173

pickupel375

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it! I agree that the risk is dropping a few points, so I'll only retake if extremely confident that I'll improve.

My GPA, although not reportable, equates to a 4.0 on the scale LSAC attached to my transcript. I'm confident that my softs are pretty strong — a few years of legal research work, current M&A work, competing in high-profile sporting events during undergrad. I just want to make sure I give myself the best possible chance and it sounds like a slightly higher LSAT may help.

@ Thanks for linking the repeater data. It's interesting reading. Of course, those kind of statistics don't speak to a given individual's chance and I would only retake if I'm consistently scoring in the 177-180 range. There are definitely no guarantees when trying to move up the 99th percentile, however, since the margin for error is so slim.

@ I like the Jordan / Jackson analogy! I'll be sure to focus on my weaknesses as I get closer to the test, but I think teaching others the basics may help nail down my own understanding of the fundamentals.

I think I'm going to go forward with my retake plan. Worst case scenario is I tutor for a few months after work and earn some extra money —I don't need to fully commit to a retake until closer to the June 2018 test.

Thanks again for the advice!

Admissions · International Student here! Some questions

pickupel375

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

I’m in a very similar situation (international applicant with173 LSAT, ‘superior’ GPA assessment). I’ll try and answer your questions:

January is not too late in the cycle to apply. However, given international applicants seem to have less predictable cycles, it may give you a slight boost to apply in the first wave next year.

I don’t think you can apply to other schools while holding a deferred acceptance at Columbia. You would have to relinquish your spot in order to reapply.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your applications!

General · Retake 173

pickupel375

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

Thanks for the advice! I think I’ll see how tutoring goes and make a judgment call in April / May 2018 about whether to retake.

General

•

Thursday, Dec 28 2017

pickupel375

Retake 173

**Question: ** should I retake the LSAT?

**Background: ** I took the Dec. LSAT (first time) and scored a 173. I know that’s a good score, but it’s below my PT average (last three PTs: 179, 180, 180). I had an unexpectedly busy week leading up to the LSAT and felt a bit burned out during the test. I am an international applicant, with a degree from Oxford law (GPA assessed ‘superior’ by LSAC) and a few prestigious national scholarships in the UK. I plan to apply next cycle and would ideally like Harvard or Yale, but will apply across the T14. Although I’m a UK citizen, I currently work in the US, providing post-closing legal analysis on large M&A transactions.

**Concerns: ** My concerns are twofold: (i) I don’t think I’ve scored at my potential; (ii) I’m worried my score is inadequate for a run at Harvard and Yale, particularly considering the weight accorded to the LSAT scores of international applicants without a reportable GPA.

**Potential retake strategy: ** I would aim to part-time tutor the LSAT between now and June, teaching 2-3 classes a week after work. This would effectively fund any retake as my time preping / delivering lessons would double as personal study time. I would then address my remaining weaknesses in the weeks leading up to the test.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!