First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of Indian graduates who have pursued, or are pursuing, a post-graduate course (LL.M. or otherwise) from different universities across the world.
Sanjini Jain is a 2019 LL.M. graduate of the University of Washington’s School of Law. In this FPA, the law graduate from Nirma University (’17) shares her reasons for narrowing down on the University of Washington, her LL.M. experience, and a whole lot more.
Did you contemplate going for the LLM right after your undergraduate course? Or was the plan to always to work for a bit and then apply ?
I always sure that I wanted to pursue my LL.M. abroad to gain international exposure. I worked for a year with the legal department of a leading pharmaceutical company before finally deciding to pursue LL.M.
I feel its important to get some work experience in your country to gain more out of your LL.M. I was the youngest in my cohort at University of Washington School of Law while all others had work experiences ranging from 5-10 years.
That itself speaks a lot.
How did you go about selecting just where to apply? What got you to narrow down on the University of Washington?
My interest areas were primarily in International Dispute Resolution, Corporate Social Responsibility & International Human Rights Law. University of Washington School of Law was the only university in USA offering a specialisation in Sustainable International Development Law. The course structure & curriculum perfectly catered to my interest areas.
Having said that, I did apply to 5-6 universities apart from UW Law.
The deciding factor for me was the sort of commitment shown by the faculty members from UW Law towards their international students. Not only did they respond proactively to all my queries, they took the efforts to give extremely detailed responses. The guidance received from them was not only restricted to academics, but also about any other query which an international student might have/face which made my experience absolutely great & more importantly easy.
“The deciding factor for me was the sort of commitment shown by the faculty members from UW Law towards their international students. Not only did they respond proactively to all my queries, they took the efforts to give extremely detailed responses. “
Did you apply for/receive financial aid?
I was a recipient of the partial tuition scholarship from University of Washington International Student Tuition Waiver Program. Being a public university, the tuition fee at UW Law was relatively less as compared to other private law schools which further helped in mitigating my costs.
How was the LLM experience at Washington University? What were some of the highlights along the way?
If I had to sum up my time at University of Washington School of Law in two words, it would be “Life Changing”.
I was the only LL.M. candidate to be selected as a Research Assistant for working with the Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library. I assisted the law library in their research services as well their Microfiche Project on Washington Appellate Court & Congressional Records.
I was also selected as the LL.M. Representative at the Women’s law caucus. It was the first time any LL.M. Representative had been chosen at the Caucus. I was also one of the two LL.M. Candidates chosen to work with the Washington International Law Journal.
Moreover the sort of diversity the class of 2019 had was absolutely brilliant. There were total of 3 Indians in my class with me being the only one who had come all the way from India to specifically pursue masters. I had the chance to learn about so many different cultures & share snippets from ours. The joy of being on a dinner table with people from more than 8 nationalities and learning about their life & experiences is something that is greater than any academic achievement.
“I had the chance to learn about so many different cultures & share snippets from ours. The joy of being on a dinner table with people from more than 8 nationalities and learning about their life & experiences is something that is greater than any academic achievement. “
Moreover Seattle is a beautiful & inspiring city to live in. One can never get tired of taking strolls along their lake side parks, seeing the famous cherry blossoms, tulip valley festivals and hiking on Mt. Rainier.
Lastly, any advice for the Indian law graduate who may be considering a master’s abroad?
Choose your school carefully, do not rely too much on rankings. Speak to the professors, understand the course structure & try to speak to students studying there to understand their experiences. Choose a school that values diversity above all.
If you would like Amicus Partners to provide some personalised advice on your LLM applications, please fill in this form and we shall get back to you as soon as possible.