Study Law (JD) in Australia

[rvegas]

It would be great if you guys could give me some opinions about the following

1. Which is a better location to study law in? (Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra?)
2. What is the median acceptance LSAT at UMelbourne? (What would be a competitive score?)
3. Which is the best school for International Law?
4. I have already written the LSAT in June 2010. But I want to apply to attend in Feb 2012. (I wanted a year to work and travel) Will my 2010 scores be accepted? I can't seem to find how long they are valid for when applying to Australia.

I'm an Indian student, with a UGPA o 3.67 on a 4.0 scale with a 159 = 78 percentile on the LSAT. What are my chances at Australian Law Schools?

Any help would be great!

Thank you guys!

[RykerNo1]

Originally Posted by rvegas

Hi,

From my research it seems that the best schools to study (JD) in would be,
1. University of Melbourne
2. University of Sydney
3. Australian National University
4. University of New South Wales
(possibly not in that order)

It would be great if you guys could give me some opinions about the following

1. Which is a better location to study law in? (Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra?)
2. What is the median acceptance LSAT at UMelbourne? (What would be a competitive score?)
3. Which is the best school for International Law?
4. I have already written the LSAT in June 2010. But I want to apply to attend in Feb 2012. (I wanted a year to work and travel) Will my 2010 scores be accepted? I can't seem to find how long they are valid for when applying to Australia.

I'm an Indian student, with a UGPA o 3.67 on a 4.0 scale with a 159 = 78 percentile on the LSAT. What are my chances at the 4 schools listed above?

Any help would be great!

Thank you guys!

All the universities you mentioned have very good law schools so either one is fine.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'international law' because all these law schools will have programs involving elements of international law, as well as exchange programs with a very wide range of other universities/law schools all around the world. The University of Melbourne and another top Australian law school at Monash University have made overt efforts to establish a presence overseas though, UniMelb will allow you to gain American Bar Association approval, and at Monash law school there is a program that will allow you to study at both Monash and Washington College of Law, allowing you to graduate with a JD in both countries.

I don't know about the LSAT scores so you'll have to contact the universities themselves and ask them for those details.

As for Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra ... I live in Melbourne and have visited both Canberra and Sydney. I may be biased but I'd rather live in Melbourne. I don't really know what kind of person you are and what kind of lifestyle you're after, so it's not really a question I can answer for you.

[rvegas]

Hey ryker! Thank you so much for replying!

In the US, they have rankings for law schools based on the different types of law.. like international law, health law etc. Some schools which don't rank too high overall, specialize in one field and have a good department for that area and are ranked high in the rankings of those particular types.. Was wondering if any one school was known for their international law specialization.

I guess it really would be hard for me to figure out which would be a better place to stay without adequately feeling out each of the places..

Are the job prospects post law similar in both melbourne and sydney? And is it harder for an international student to get a job? I'm sure it sort of is, cause the company has to take a gamble on you cause they have to apply for a visa and all.. What are your views?

[RykerNo1]

Originally Posted by rvegas

In the US, they have rankings for law schools based on the different types of law.. like international law, health law etc. Some schools which don't rank too high overall, specialize in one field and have a good department for that area and are ranked high in the rankings of those particular types.. Was wondering if any one school was known for their international law specialization.

I see where you're coming from now, it doesn't really work that way for Australian law schools, not at that top level anyway. Some of the mid tier law schools might advertise that they have a particular specialty but it's mainly to try and give themselves an edge over the top tier law schools.

Originally Posted by rvegas

I guess it really would be hard for me to figure out which would be a better place to stay without adequately feeling out each of the places..

You're talking about a different country from your home country, you're going to feel out of place here anyway in the beginning, no matter what. But there's a pretty decent sized Indian population in Melbourne. Don't know about Canberra or Sydney.

Originally Posted by rvegas

Are the job prospects post law similar in both melbourne and sydney? And is it harder for an international student to get a job? I'm sure it sort of is, cause the company has to take a gamble on you cause they have to apply for a visa and all.. What are your views?

I've talked about this somewhere else in this forum before, you are right, your international student status might pose a problem for you in applying for jobs after graduation:

http://www.studyconnect.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=20977

[rvegas]

Hmm.. ok.

I'm hoping to get a PR by the time I'm done, I guess I'll have to prioritize accordingly.

How about summer clerkships? Do those also mostly go to local students? Or are the possibilities relatively equal as compared to graduate employment?

[RykerNo1]

I talked about summer clerkships in that thread as well.

[rvegas]

thank you so much ryker.

[MelbJD]

Hi rvegas

Are you happy with your LSAT score? What did you do for prep? I am curious to know as I am looking to do the LSAT June 2011!

Cheers

M