But before that, a couple of disclaimers.
One, the LLM applicant in question had quite the stellar profile. The kind that most US law schools would be happy to have as their student cohort and alumni.
Two, I would like to believe that this is a one-off case, where a combination of factors including profile, school-applicant fit, and timing just came together.
Three, the applicant had applied for an LLM a few years ago, and hence was familiar with the requirements and the application process in general.
And four, the role played by Amicus Partners in this LLM application was very (very) minor. Hence, the learnings were made from a distance.
With that out of the way, these are the facts of the matter: An LLM applicant (hereinafter referred to as “Bojack”) received an LLM admit offer from one of the top-5 ranked US law schools LLM. From start to finish, Bojack must have spent roughly fourteen days on the application process.
And while Amicus Partners played a (very) minor role in this entire journey, these are a few of the learnings I made:
One, know your worth.
This could be quite literal, for instance, the revenue you have generated as a professional or the deal size(s) you have worked on. Or this could require a bit more introspection. For Bojack, it was a mix of clients onboarded (and billables generated) and leadership abilities displayed.
Two, communicate.
Be it with the graduate admissions team (of your target law school), your mentor/guide (should you choose to have one), your referees or anyone else playing a role in the admission process. Bojack used this to great effect, making sure that target law school knew of his interest (and application status) which, I think, played a role in one of the quickest admissions offers I have ever seen.
Three, research.
Read up on your target law school, dig deep to find out if any particular aspect(s) of the school appeal to you. In other words, personalize your personal statement. For Bojack, this meant highlighting the culture of the law school, the school’s ethos so to speak, and how and why that resonated with him.
Four, do away with the procedural formalities as soon as possible.
Be it English proficiency tests (or their waivers) or evaluation of transcripts – these things can really eat into precious time. I don’t think Bojack did this particularly well, and the resulting increase in stress levels did no one any good.
Lastly, coming back to my initial words, I would not recommend anyone rushing through the application process. Certainly not in the manner that Bojack did.
For one, it prevents the grooming and the polishing, the revision process which is such an important part of the application process. For another, it means lesser revenue for organizations such as Amicus Partners.
And that is no good thing.
(Lead image by Tim Gouw on Unsplash)