Thursday, September 30, 2010

How to choose the right International Law School

International Law School

Students who are aiming to get into law careers by attending a distinguished law school may have more to think about when making a decision. The first choice they have to make is of course whether or not being a lawyer is the right career for them. Secondly, they have many fields of law to choose from that they can go into, such as criminal law, environmental law, business law, etc… And to think, even after making this choice, it still isn’t the last level to be pursued that law branches out into. The level we’re looking at today is International Law. From there, a student can choose international criminal law, international environmental law, international business law, etc… One would think that the tough choice is finally over, once they’ve decided all these things, however, the toughest choice of all lies ahead. Choosing the best international law school for you, is by far the biggest decision you’ll have to make on your journey to becoming an international lawyer.

Some would disagree and think that picking a law school is not that tough, and it’s as easy as looking up on the internet the most prominent one that is “known” as the best. Instead one should look at which international law school fits them the best, rather than trying to fit into the school. If you’re choices are open to any law school, then you have a lot of outlining and narrowing down to do. However, if you are bound to a certain area by work constraints or having to live at home, then you have less to work with. Once you have these things figured out, it is not only to create a listing of all the schools within your choices, but also to outline them. First off, you must look at which school is known to be an international law school. Different law schools specialize their programs around a certain field of law, even if they offer international law, they may be better suited for let’s say criminal law. This is why it is important to research and find out which school is specifically known to be an “international law school,” offering the best possible program for you. For example research shows that as of February 2010, the top 10 international law schools (placed first place to tenth) are as follows: New York University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Georgetown University, Cornell University, Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of Texas, Yale University, and the University of Virginia. After considering the best international law schools, and finding which ones are in your range as far as distance (if considered) and cost (likewise), it’s time to outline each choice. When creating the outline, it’s just like outlining any tough decision, the two most important categories to make are pro’s and con’s. Things to look into would be the location according to your likes and dislikes. For example, if the school is located in a suburban area and you’d prefer a larger group of people and businesses, you may want to reconsider a school within or closer to a city. Also, you would look into the size of the student body and class size, some people prefer smaller teacher to student ratio to learn better, others see a larger ratio as a way to feel more comfortable in the classroom. These are all determining factors into simplifying your choices to an even smaller amount. When you have your international law school options down to 2-5 schools, there’s only one thing left to do, visit. Visiting a campus can show you first hand the environment you would be subject to, the people, and the faculty, this is as close as you would get to being a student at the school without actually enrolling.

Well as we can see, making a decision as to which international law school to attend may not be as easy as it seems. However, with the right tools and guidance provided here, perhaps it will give you a better understanding of how to go by the process. Hopefully the time you take to make your choice will diminish, and you will feel more at ease about making your choice, best of luck in your future.

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