Behind the Scenes of an Application

Sandra* is a law student who wished to apply for a Master's program in law in the United States. See how our consultant takes you step-by-step through her application and shows you how she got accepted!

Program applied to: Master's of Law (LL.M)

Her focus: Civil law with a special focus on minority welfare. Sandra was particularly interested in studying race, gender, and age discrimination.

Her background: Sandra completed a law degree (LL.B) at a university in Taiwan. As an undergraduate student, she had worked as a volunteer legal assistant on community legal service projects organized by the law school. After law school, Sandra chose not to write the bar exam. Instead, she worked as a paralegal t a well-known law firm in Taiwan.

Long term goals: After completing the LL.M degree, Sandra would like to pursue a doctorate in law and eventually, teach at a university.

Her Weak Areas:

1. Low quantitative scores. GPA - Sandra received a GPA of 3.5 (after conversion to the American system) in law school. She ranked in the top 15% of her graduating class and was concerned about this. She knew that most competitive schools in the U.S. accept candidates who had rank in the top 10% of their class. TOEFL - She had scored quite poorly on the TOEFL, with a score under 600 points. She told us that she did not adequately prepare for the TOEFL because of her busy work schedule. Since most graduate programs required scores over 600 points, Sandra was concerned.

2. Sandra had not taken the bar exam. She saw this as a great weakness in her overall competitiveness as an applicant. Although she had 2 years of experience at a well-known firm, she worked as a paralegal, not as a certified attorney. Most Master's program applicants have passed the bar exam.

3. She did not have any research experience.

4. Her academic interest was unrelated to her previous legal experience. During our initial conversation, Sandra expressed a keen interest in civil law pertaining to minority issues. However, the law firm she worked at was known for its specialization in corporate and investment law.

Putting our plan into action:

How did her past personal experience influence her interest in social welfare? We discussed her personal experience with prejudice against women and her views on social issues such as domestic violence and child welfare. As a young child, her best friend had been abused and Sandra witnessed her low self-esteem, isolation, and progressive social withdrawal.  Her friend did not have anyone to turn to for help and she endured years of silent suffering.

Sandra herself had experienced gender discrimination while seeking work after graduation.  Even with a strong academic record from a leading university in Taiwan, she was not hired for positions that far less qualified men were hired for. Her employers often did not even disguise this fact either.  Sandra's personal experience made her realize the shortcomings of the social support system in Taiwan and its effect on people's lives.

Sandra's experience at the legal aid clinic also had a profound impact on her interest in civil law. Before volunteering at the clinic, Sandra had always been impressed with Taiwan and its rapid social and economic development.  Through her work with these socially marginalized people, she saw first-hand that a large portion of society had not benefited from these developments. 

We focused on her understanding of the role of law in society, her intended impact as a lawyer, and how a graduate degree would help her attain these career goals. I reiterated to Sandra that she would stand a good chance if she showed that her personal experiences are compatible with her choice of civil law.

What specific areas of social welfare did she want to focus on?   She did not have any significant research experience.  In my view, this was a major weak point in her application, especially considering that she also lacked related professional work experience. I recommended that she prepare a research proposal summarizing the courses she hoped to take, and the research she hoped to pursue. Although this proposal was not a required component of the application, I hoped it would draw attention to her academic potential and to her sincere enthusiasm for studying social welfare.  I also thought it would demonstrate her ability for logical thinking, which was a quality that was valued by the admission committees'.

How can she explain her low TOEFL score? I encouraged Sandra to write a letter to the admission committee to explain her personal circumstances that resulted in the low score and prevented her from rewriting the test.  In lieu of a new TOEFL score, she requested a personal interview with the admissions officers to demonstrate her English abilities.

What was the result? Our efforts paid off.  After several months, Sandra contacted us with great news!  She had been accepted to the LL.M programs at Stanford, The University of Pennsylvania, and the Georgetown University.  Three competitive law programs - these results even surpassed our expectations!

Look at Sandra's essay and research proposal.