How competative are Tax LLM programs to get into?

[whodatwhodat]

Hi,

I am a rising 3L at a T14 law school. Like many others I am EXTREMELY concerned about the lack of jobs....especially after i just received the OCI schedule. I had been thinking about doing an LLM in taxation pretty much since i started. I have taken several business and tax classes while in law school. My GPA is around a 2.9 I am hoping to boost it a bit this year...but i've been working as hard as i can and for the most part all i get are Bs so not sure how realistic it is that it will go up...but one can hope. Anyway I am planning to apply to LLM programs. I have a strong financial background and I have clerked for federal judges for the past two summers. Where do I stand as an applicant? How competitive are the programs? I know very little other then the top 3 are NYU, GULC, UF followed by Northwestern and BU.

Any advice or information that can be shared would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[whodatwhodat]

As an FYI by T14 I meant top 14 not sure if people still use that term or not. Did not want it to be confused with Tier 4.

thanks

[aglittman]

Hello,

I'm also curious about how difficult it will be for me to get into a good LLM tax program.  I have slightly sub-par grades, but at Ohio State University (ranked 30-35 in the nation depending on the year).  My advisor, who used to teach in the Northwestern LLM program, surprised me when she said that since I come from a respected law school, I should not have that much difficulty getting into a very good program.  Do you guys agree?

Also, when do most people apply to these tax LLM programs?  I'm curious because if I try to apply before this year is over, will they ask for my 3L fall grades? 

I really appreciate any feedback anyone has.   

[kenpostudent]

I don't know for sure, but I've heard from admission's reps that the LLM programs at either Florida or NYU are very competitive. Typically, they want to see good grades in law school (generally, above a 3.25), and relevant coursework in tax. Your grades in tax classes will also be strongly scrutinized. They also look at your research and writing abilities because an LLM is a scholarly degree as opposed to a professional degree (which seems kind of counterintuitive). At other schools, I'm not really sure how tough it would be to get into a program. Try calling their admissions reps and see if you can get an idea of what they require. You might also ask your tax professor. I bet he/she knows someone at a school you might be interested in.