hopefulmover123

Just kidding LOL

I'm a UK citizen. I've read Pulanski's article and I know that the best way for me to move to the US is through law school. I've taken the LSAT, scored well, was accepted to a school and then realised how well I'd actually done and that for various reasons (I fit into highly desired ethnic group) I would be eligible for lots of scholarships and to attend a better school than I previously thought.

So I withdrew and am reapplying this year. I'm likely to get a full scholarship from the school I want to go to. My question - if I don't have to pay for school, do I still need a certain level of money in my bank account? And what about credit? For various reasons, my credit rating is not great and while my parents are willing to co-sign a loan for me, in this economy I don't know if that will be a problem. If I take the full scholarship, will it matter?

Leyther

Scholarship money generally only covers tuition fees, upto of course, the amount stated. You will still need to show that you can afford living expenses (room & board, food, medical insurance, transportation etc) as well as books and the rest of the tuition expenses, if your fees exceed the scholarship amount.

hopefulmover123

That makes complete sense and you are spot on for most legal scholarships.

The most likely scholarships would be tuition only but there are a few tuition with stipend possibilities. Basically have got good grades and desired ethnic group so think this is my best shot. Living costs are 20k a year in most places. I get the impression that education is generally shot down as an impossible route on this board but I've researched the law school process in a lot of detail. the problem is that a lot of the info is for USCs and while I've gotten over most of the hurdles (tests, acceptance and I think I'll get the cash) I'm not sure about the visa stuff.

I can probably save about 9k in the next 10 months and parents are willing to co sign a loan if they are allowed to. They are UKCs with good credit.

I went to the US on a j1 (non res req) for a year previously if that helps.

EDIT: If I took the stipend, would I need extra cash?

ian-mstm

You'd be paying international tuition fees, so keep that in mind. You see to have a good head on your shoulders, so you've probably already considered this!


Go for it!


Generally, an F-1 student visa is the easiest way to get to the US, but unlike some employment- or investment-visas, there's no long-term solution for someone wanting to remain in the US after their studies are complete. It's a terrific interim step, but many people want a long-term solution "right now" and are not willing to go the student route.

Personally, I am a long-time and fervent advocate of lifelong learning!


It will neither help nor hurt you. You didn't have the 2-year HRR on the J-1, right? Just checking.


This is the US... you *always* need extra cash!

Ian

hopefulmover123

that all sounds so true. I'm pretty excited and am on a diet to help with the insurance costs!

scrubbedexpat099

You have to show funds, not that you have them. So funds from a School in the US as a stipend would be fine, as long as it was enough.

caleyjag

Dunno how you get that idea. After marriage and academic routes, its the third best way to get out here.

JAJ

How would this lead to a green card?

fatbrit

Well I'm glad you asked......because I was scratching my head, too!

henryh

Go to a good law school, pass the bar, get a job, employer sponsors you. Pretty straightforward really. You were actually scratching your head?

agentred

While making 'oog oog' noises I believe

hopefulmover123

Yeah that was my plan. I've spoken to several lawyers and basically, these big firms are fairly comfortable with taking on foreigners because the visa cost (5k) is nothing to the average recruiting cost for an associate (50k) or the salary (160k).

However it's really important that you 'fit' with the corporate culture and people etc...

hopefulmover123

sorry if I'm wrong. It's just that when people mention it they seem to say 'if you've got 60k for tuition' but I know quite a few people who are going out to study and they are all on scholarship.

Also no one seems to have mentioned that certain groups will be really privileged on admissions and then british people are obviously better off on visas than a lot of others. So for some people education may be more realistic than work or marriage.

lisa67

I know that this is different from your scenario, but I know that my son will find it difficult to get scholarships for US college as he isn't an LPR yet.
Is it different for Law Students?

hopefulmover123

Re grad school most scholarships (as you know) require PR or citizenship.

But law school is different because it is basically not usually paid for by schools. Merit scholarships are really just a bribe to get students with superior numbers to attend. There is no residency requirement because schools just want you to go and so make no real distinction. The trick is getting them to want you to go enough to pay for you. That's hard unless you are a genius with perfect grades and even if you are, they know you are foreign so may not feel the need to pay.

But they will pay if they give you something they can't get elsewhere. Basically certain ethnic groups perform fairly badly in the US but for political/social reasons are highly desired in the admissions process. So if you fit this profile and are not American, they'd rather take you than take a USC with much lower grades. And they have to take someone cos of affirmative action quotas.

But (even better) most people who fit this profile from outside of the US come from poorer countries with (maybe) difficult relationships to the US or 'inferior' education systems. But British people do not. It's like you provide diversity but without the risk of overstaying, terrorism etc.

If I know any British people or Europeans who fit these profiles, they are much better off doing the school route as they prob wont have to pay.

The trick to avoiding residency requirements for scholarships is to find merit based stuff from the schools themselves. Anything from external sources will be for citizens only. Anything need based from schools is for citizens only. I know tons and tons of (white) students studying on sports scholarships, or doing something obscure or in a state no one else has really heard of. Most US schools are the same so just make your son go cheap and enjoy it.

The lower ranked the school is the more American you need to sound, the higher ranked the school is the more international you need to sound, generally.