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Why USC? My experience at USC Law School 2008/2009 LLM program.
By vnemiro in Why USC? My experience at USC Law School 2008/2009 LLM program. on Jan 14, 2009
I am currently enrolled in USC LLM Law program and will be graduating this coming May.
I also have an LLB from Moscow State University and an MBA Degree from Washington Int. University. I was considering to apply to LLM program in Los Angeles for quite some time. But could not decide which school shall I choose and how to make the right choice. Fortunately, one of my friends got accepted to USC LLM Law program and successfully graduated in May of 2006. Through him I was able to receive information first hand about admission process, policies and his overall academic experiences at USC. After witnessing his excitement, positive attitude and genuine enthusiasm about the program I was determined to apply myself.
I have submitted my application and was accepted. The school year started in August of 2008 and I will be graduating in May of 2009. Fist semester of school flew by like one week. It is amazing how fast time goes by when you truly enjoy what you do! I love USC Law School. Joining this program was probably one of the best academic decisions I have made. We are about 95 students from all over the world: Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Italy, Iran, Israel, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Poland, India and so on. The fact that all of the students admitted to the program have studied law in their home countries and are licensed to practice law there makes this experience very valuable. You will have an amazing opportunity to meet new people and make friends with intelligent professional individuals from all over the globe, study together, share your experiences, views and build new friendships. Moreover, you will be able to create your own school schedule by selecting classes that would benefit your professional Law career in the best possible way. Here at USC LLM students are treated just as JD students are. We get to choose the same classes, professors and participate in all school activities though out the semester.
For example this winter break the school organized a trip to Chochella and all of the LLM students were welcome to participate in it. All the hotel and transportation expenses were covered by the school. The purpose of the trip was to gain some practical legal work knowledge, such as client interviewing and legal research. I do not know of another Law School that would provide such legal practice opportunities and support to its LLM students.
If you are debating between schools as I was, take a close look at USC and give it your priority consideration. You will never regret it. If you have some questions about the program you can write to me at vnemiro@usc.edu I will be glad to help you out.
Comments
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vnemiro, Thu Jan 15, 2009 07:20 PM
copy of my other comment related to USC Law School LLM program.
_________________
Hi
I could not agree with you more ..... !
You said: "the person who wants to study and receive knowledge will find the way to do it in almost any of top-ranked U.S. universities."
All you need is a strong desire and dedication to make your dreams come true ... Take one step at the time and make it happen for yourself. Regardless of which school you will get accepted to you will be content with yourself and satisfied with the results.
I am not here to tell you that USC is better than UCLA or any other school in USA. All of you guys have an access to online Top Law School nationwide ratings and such information is available to anyone.
I have never studied in UCLA and will not be wasting your time by quoting anyone or anything I have heard or read negative about that school elsewhere.
I can only give you my truthful and realistic testimony of what my personal experiences at USC Law School LLM program are like.
I am very satisfied and believe I am receiving in this school academically and socially much more that I could have hoped for.
Tuition among all California Law Schools costs almost the same, and don't get me wrong, no matter how you look at it -- It is a lot of money! I have never paid that much for one year of school in my whole entire life and I did feel a bit hesitant to do so. $$:($$
However, I am glad that I did. Every penny you will spend at USC Law School will work very hard for you and your future successful law career. Now I know it for a fact that I made a right decision and consider it as an INVESTMENT into my future and my career -- I know it will pay off as soon as I graduate.
Remember, never let yourself to get discouraged and never give up ...
If you feel that you have a very slim chances of getting accepted to USC Law School, send your application and the paperwork required anyway. You may be pleasantly surprised by being accepted!
Just like I was
;)
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dennis2009, Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:00 AM
howdy. thanks for starting this blog, but it kind of sounds like marketing. i don't doubt that you are having a blast at USC (it's a great school), but for some of our foreign readers, it'd be cool if you gave a more complete picture. i'm from southern California, and I think it's important for students to also understand some of the "negatives" of living in LA.
...Or maybe you were going to get to that. Anyway, what is your experience?
take care and good luck,
dennis -
vnemiro, Tue Jan 27, 2009 01:38 AM
Hi dennis2009,
Truly I didn't mean to sound like marketing. I am a real person with a real story that I wanted to share with others. I gave my personal email address to anyone who wishes to contact me direct and posted a few pictures of my class. How can I make it more credible?
Do I have to come up with some made up "negatives" .... Why ?
I have mentioned already that tuition cost is high. For me that was the biggest negative of all. I have never spend that much before for education. But I wrote about it already and don't want to repeat myself.
Here is one more "negative" - I have to study really hard to keep my grades up.
And even harder this semester, because I am working 12 hours a week as an extern for DRLC public service organization. I have to complete 112 hours of legal work in order to earn the necessary academic credit.
Those are my positive "negatives" for you. -
yahn, Tue Jan 27, 2009 01:51 AM
Hi, I'm a current student on the LLM program at USC. I'm from Korea and have studied law in the UK. Before I share my experience at USC, let me just say that I have no interest in advertising the school. I'm only giving my honest opinion and hope any of this information will help someone make the best choice for their further legal education.
I won't ramble on and on about the school's good reputation and excellent teaching quality, because these are all exhibited by any law school of similar caliber. I'll tell you some factors that make USC distinct from other school in my opinion.
1. All the professors are so friendly and helpful. I was very impressed in this aspect, because I was expecting such professors with experience and prestige to be aloof and impersonal. They are all accessible outside class, even willing to meet students off-campus if required, and many of them give out their personal cell phone numbers. They never frown or raise a single eyebrow, even if you ask stupid questions inside or outside class. (Yes, I do it all the time.)
2. The staff at the Graduate and International Programs are incredibly helpful. They're not only the nicest people but they do their job most efficiently. We keep bothering them with our enquiries, both academic and personal, but they're always extremely patient with us and give us the best advice. They make sure we don't miss any important deadlines or events by sending us constant reminders by email, and organize many useful workshops for our career and academic needs. They also make sure we don't miss out on what LA has to offer, by arranging for us complementary tickets to cultural and sport events. We've all enjoyed going to the Hollywood bowl, USC football game, and Lakers game!
3. Students, both LLM and JD, are very friendly and the student body feels like a family. I know from talking to other friends who're studying in other law schools over the country that this is often not the case in many other schools. We don't have a cut-throat competitive environment and we all support each other academically and personally.
Since last year, the school has been running the JD/ LLM partnership program, where each LLM student is partnered with a JD student to foster interaction and rapport between the two student bodies. Through this program, I’ve met a wonderful JD student, who happened to go to the same school that I went in the UK on an exchange program. We could share our experiences in London and she kindly invited me to her family dinner for Thanksgiving, and it was a special experience of American culture I would not otherwise have had.
During the exam period last semester, I've seen many students working together in study groups, including myself, to learn from each other and keep our morale high during the stressful time. We all hang out and have fun outside class, whether it be playing basketball / beach volleyball, going out to check out restaurants and bars in LA, having house parties / potluck. One of our highlights was the Holloween party last semester, where we could hardly recognize each other. (No kidding!)
4. Living in LA has been a wonderful experience for me. Having lived with gloomy weather in London for 10 years, soaking up Californian sunshine is a privilege. LA is the best place to be for foodies, because you can enjoy authentic ethnic cuisines at their very best. Mexican is good anywhere, Korean food is in some cases better than in Korea in Korea town, Thai food just like I had it in Bangkok in Thai town, dim sum just like I had it in Hong Kong in China town, divine sushi in Little Tokyo, best Persian food in Westwood, recently tried Ethiopian food in Little Ethiopia, it was awesome! I can write you a list for the whole day, but I'll discipline myself and stop here. ;) There're so many museums and places to visit around LA that I just don't have enough time for! I visited the Huntington yesterday, I was impressed with the breath of art collections and research exhibits, and pristine gardens there, on par with any other museums and royal palaces in Europe.
Some disadvantages of the school you might consider are:
1. It's true that the school is located in a more crime-prone area of the town. However, many students live away from campus and if you have a car this will not be a problem. I live in Downtown, 8 minutes' drive to school on freeway, and if you get a roommate and live in a 2 bed- 2 bath apartment, it works out cheaper than living near campus by yourself. It has a 24 hour-open gym, gated parking, swimming pool, jacuzzi, basketball court, etc. If you need more information, go to www.theorsini.com.
Some people choose to live near campus and not buy a car, because they're only staying in the US for a year and would like to save on the cost of gas, insurance, and car maintenance. I know many friends who live near campus, and they say safety is not an issue, as long as you're sensible. Most crimes I believe happen because you're not careful. The university does everything possible to make sure students are safe, and the public safety department run by school is on call 24 hours and they are very helpful. The university also runs a program to offer free rides to students near campus: transnet.usc.edu/transit/cruiser_howto.aspx
2. There is no S.J.D. program in the school, if you’re looking for career in academia. However, application to S.J.D. programs in other schools is always feasible after gaining LLM at USC, which some of my friends are doing.
My other personal complaints, albeit minor, would be that the food at law school café is sub-standard and it gets too cold in the library and lecture rooms. But of course all can be resolved by bringing your own lunchbox / stepping outside the law building to grab food and wearing clothes in layers.
Let me just add a couple of things to some comments made about USC being a “party school”. I’m not sure what it exactly means, but I take it that the comment refers to the school allegedly being not serious in academics. Whoever originated this comment, he or she can’t be more wrong. The university as a whole, especially the graduate schools, has the most rigorous academic programs in the country. This I can say with conviction from my experience at the law school at least. We all work extremely hard and the professors expect a lot from us. Also, as a matter of common sense, you’ll always find immature, inconsiderate partiers in any school anywhere in the world. Someone’s bad experience with lousy neighbors shouldn’t discourage you from applying to USC law school. If you’re concerned about how your life at USC law would be affected by immature undergrads, you can rest assured that you’d hardly see them as long as you don’t voluntarily get yourself involved with them. I find that life as a law student is very much separated from undergrads.
My conclusion is, you should keep USC law school on your list of preferred schools. I must say that USC wasn’t my first choice to begin with, but I thank God that I made the decision to come here. If you have any questions at all, you can email me to Yumi.Ahn.2009@lawmail.usc.edu.
Wish you all the best in your applications and all your endeavors.
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