This article is written by Suman Chatterjee, Team LawSikho.
Hey,
“Losing your head during a crisis is a good way to become the crisis.” – C. J. Redwine
This is what I would like to say to the Indian law students who were looking forward to a foreign LLM this year.
Keep your calm now, will you?
Yes, you proposed a plan and God seems to have poured water on it, certainly.
But is it only a crisis or is there a hidden opportunity?
You need to gather information to know for sure.
We have done the hard work for you. Read on.
How is this crisis going to affect your foreign LLM plans? Is there any positive connotation to this crisis? Is it easier to get an admission to a top notch University this year? What about scholarship? Will competition be less fierce? Will you lose a year due to this or is there an alternative?
That’s what we are going to talk about in this email. The information below is generalized from the data collected from the top universities in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Are foreign universities taking new admissions right now?
Recently, we contacted David W. Dye, Assistant Dean, Graduate Programs, from the Texas A&M University, about the status of their admissions in this COVID period.
This is what the reply said:
“During these unprecedented times, Texas A&M School of Law remains focused on being flexible with a view to help students as much as possible.
Our application for the fall term is still open and we are processing completed applications in just weeks. We have also moved to year-round admissions. If a student runs into challenges obtaining any of the supporting documents to their application, we encourage them to reach out to us. We will do what we can to assist them through the process. Students can apply to Texas A&M School of Law through LSAC or our streamlined direct application found here. Students may also apply through our India consultants who can guide you through the process and can be reached at [email protected].
At this time, we are still hopeful that classes will be offered on campus in the Fall. However, we know this may not be possible. In our efforts to be flexible for our incoming students, we are working on two solutions should on-campus courses be unavailable in August. One option would be for a student to start courses in the fall semester online and then continue on-campus in the spring and graduate on schedule in May. Another option for students would be for students to move their start date to January and finish the program the following fall semester. We are also working on other flexible possibilities such as holding promised scholarships if the fall semester is suspended because of coronavirus.
If this pandemic forces us to move our fall courses online, we are considering additional scholarships for students enrolled in the fall courses. It is important to also note that the Texas A&M School Law LLM is very competitively priced compared to other LLM programs in the United States. And, Texas has a much lower cost of living than the coastal States in the U.S. An LLM from Texas A&M has great value given our ranking, faculty and more!”
I also checked out the websites of a few top universities in the US and the UK. (I haven’t got any replies to my emails from them as of yet.)
My finding? Yes, they are accepting admissions for the Fall semester.
The schedule might vary from one university to another. It’s best if you could contact the admissions office at the respective university for further details.
But as far as I found out, admissions are still being continued without any major interruption so far. This is the same in both the US and the UK.
For most US universities, the academic calendar is not affected. Admissions will start as and when they usually do for that particular university. In some cases, it might be postponed for some time.
Except for Harvard where admissions have been stopped temporarily.
If one faces a problem regarding starting the classes in the upcoming session due to the COVID-19 crisis, the university might allow the students to defer starting their classes by a year or so.
Even though most UK universities have been shut down due to the outbreak, applications are still being processed and admissions are still going on.
In my opinion, since the universities would need to pay for the fixed costs, including the faculty, they would not stop taking in new admissions. The only issue would be to run the session in time.
And the even bigger question is, once the session starts, how are the classes going to occur?
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How will the classes take place if COVID lockdown continues, or if lockdown is lifted but the risk of infection remains high, requiring social isolation?
The lockdown has been recently extended in India for two more weeks. The coronavirus nightmare does not seem to be on its way out any time soon.
The whole world is under shock.
Will this impact higher education? You bet it will.
Devoid of physical campus visits, one-on-one counselling and on-campus classes, most universities would have to consider moving online, which might present a pretty big challenge to good, old traditional education.
Most top US universities have already taken their classes and events into the virtual world. If you join an LLM program now, it would probably be an “online” one by default, at least for one semester!
As UK schools and universities have already been shut down on campus and classes and exams taken online, you would probably have to wait for further notice from the institution. However, measures are being taken to stay prepared for online classes indefinitely.
How and when? Only the university officials will be able to clarify on that point.
Nicole Pilar, a college counsellor with CollegeWise, says:
“The requisite change to online learning has been challenging for most colleges, especially those campuses that emphasize an intimate college experience. What’s more, with campus closures, colleges have lost the opportunity to actively engage with potential students through on-campus experiences, such as admitted student days and open houses. Sure, a college can mount a ton of webinars, but the fact remains that on-campus events are the most impactful events for students who want to get a visceral feel for a particular campus.”
No doubt, universities will not be able to walk the fence anymore and will need to decide what they should do next. Stick to age-old traditions or keep pace with modern times?
What visa problems can I face if I get through a foreign LLM at present? When are flying restrictions likely to be lifted?
Here’s a screenshot from the Yale University website (I believe you would want to see this.)
If you are thinking of going to the United States or the United Kingdom, it might be a little difficult to get through at this time. Even if you achieve the apparently “impossible”—especially as you chose a study destination apart from the States and the Kingdom, you would still have to spend two weeks under quarantine and perhaps, even after that.
There may not even be flights to travel in, for that matter.
Visa does not help if you get stuck in a foreign country, inside a dingy hotel without easy availability to basic life necessities. Please note, hostel facilities would not exist during this emergency since on-campus is practically nil.
If I were you, I would not be worried too much about whether I would get the visa or not. I would rather be more concerned about what will happen once I finally land over there.
Not the greatest time to travel abroad.
But there are some places where there are no restrictions. In some places, universities are being opened up and lockdown is being comprehensively lifted. You can definitely look at those places for foreign LLM.
Keep an eye on how things evolve, and stay in touch with admission offices of universities where you want to study.
You might just get a surprising window a few months down the line to get into an University that was otherwise out of reach for you.
Will I get a good education if I opt to do an LLM abroad right now?
I don’t see why the Harvard, the Cambridge and the Stanford officials would think of lowering the educational standards they strove to set over the last few centuries.
Irrespective of whether these universities choose to adopt a new educational platform or a modified grading system, it does not mean that the professors and lecturers would suddenly stop being awesome and accept mediocrity because COVID-19 happened.
If anything, universities, especially the top ones would want to justify their high tuition fees by ramping on the quality of study materials, enhanced technical facilities and personal coaching support. When the field is even for most, it all comes down to sheer merit.
I expect the quality of education to go up and not down.
You should not be too worried about lack of physical interaction. Law professors are going to work hard this year to teach the few students they get, and put extra effort in supporting their career goals – because this is the year to stand out for universities.
They are all ready to go the extra mile. It is unprecedented. You can join this year’s LLM program and demand one on one online time from a professor and you will get it more than ever.
However, some of you still may value the personal experience of being in a campus for a year. Then you must wait.
Is it easier to get through to top universities around the world right now?
It might be.
Not always though.
Just because Harvard is running online classes does not mean that it will become Udemy anytime soon. (Hey, no offence to Udemy though! It serves its purpose and has its own target audience.)
The top law schools will always be choosy as to who let into their classes, whether it is offline or online. And top law schools will still get lots of top applications, more than they can admit.
Here’s what Colleen Ganjian, a former undergraduate admissions officer and the owner of a college admissions consulting practice, DC College Counseling, says:
“Students for whom finances were not a particular concern are now focusing on their state institutions to save money. I think that schools like Harvard and Yale will always be just as selective as they are today, as most families would go to great lengths to make that a financial reality for an admitted student, but schools that are a few notches below in selectivity will see a substantial impact to their applicant pool. Parents have shifted from considering whether a school is a good fit to asking themselves whether it is ‘worth it’ from a financial perspective. As a result, I think it will be easier to gain admission to many selective private schools, but much harder to get into the highly regarded state institutions.”
If you think you can give slack in your LLM application because it is going to be a free entry through the Colombian doors, I am sorry to burst your bubble. It’s not going to be so.
You will have to work hard at your applications, but if you did well, you might just get through an institution this year which would be impossible next year – because all said and done, most international students are choosing to play it safe this year and opt out.
Some competition for top law schools will be less this year for sure. But it is unlikely to be a shoo in.
Can I expect some fee concession or extra scholarship at this difficult time?
As per my research, no university is giving COVID-special scholarships as of yet.
Universities do offer merit-based scholarships based on their eligibility criteria focusing on academic excellence, extracurricular presence and extraordinary personal achievements.
However, my common sense tells me that if you can contact the admissions counsellors personally and can convince them that you are eligible for the LLM program and are facing a severe financial crisis due to this coronavirus outbreak, some other option might come up.
Financial aids are occasionally available for the truly meritorious and downtrodden.
On second thought, there are external scholarships like Chevening, Fullbright, Inlaks etc that you can tap into. You can apply to multiple scholarships at once but do note the total money donated will never be more than what you need. These are for US universities though.
Note that this year competition for these scholarships may be lesser, at least marginally, simply because many meritorious candidates will choose to not apply this year.
If you are applying to UK universities, good news for you. Since the UK and India have academic collaborations in the legal education niche, financial aid is more easily available. Check with the respective universities for better understanding.
Overall, due to pandemic, there may be less scholarships this year.
How will my opportunities to get recruited in a foreign law firm or organization post LLM be impacted due to COVID?
For one, will you be able to procure work during your LLM course? Looks doubtful.
With widespread job losses and impending economic downturn, businesses will not want to add to their fixed overheads. But there may be selective opportunities.
When experienced lawyers are being handed the pink slips, I don’t know whether you will be able to create magic being from a foreign country and perhaps, especially, without significant industry experience.
However, this is also the time when employers look to cut costs. If you can find such opportunities, it may just work out, especially if you work out of India on a remote basis and charge a fraction of what someone in the USA will charge.
If you are very enterprising, you may be able to get some busy lawyers to give you minimum wage jobs for doing clerical work online too.
That may be one perk of COVID crisis.
After you are done with your LLM course in a year or so, situations might change for the better.
The legal profession is not bereft of lucrative money making opportunities if you know where to look and gear up to exploit them right in time.
Once you have your LLM degree in your hand, you can choose to specialize in those niches with an increasing demand of legal professionals.
By that time, the world would go back to normal and the ban on foreign travel would be lifted.
One thing needs to be noted that the value of your LLM would not be diminished that the classes are being held online or that you would probably have no on-campus experience. The LLM degree will be deemed at par with a regular LLM degree from the same university.
Given that some of the top destination countries like the USA and the UK are badly affected, are there some other countries I should prefer right now for doing a foreign LLM?
Yes. There are countries and places that are not particularly affected by COVID, and those which handled the crisis extremely well.
For instance, South Korea and China have mostly returned to normalcy. Sweden expects to reach herd immunity by the end of May. Japan never did a formal lockdown. Spain and Italy have formally exited lockdown.
There are countries where it will be over sooner compared to others.
This does not mean they are all welcoming foreign law students with open arms yet. You probably have to wait and watch for a while before foreign travel becomes acceptable. Could happen sooner as more countries emerge from lockdown.
It is also a good opportunity to explore a little lesser known economies with great law schools and more potential for jobs. Getting a job in China, New Zealand or South Korea for an Indian lawyer may be simply easier because supply is almost nil!
Hardly any Indian students choose to do their degrees from such countries and that itself may open doors for you. Getting a scholarship from such places may also be easier due to lack of competition.
Definitely worth considering.
Are there are some special cross border work opportunities arising out of the COVID situation that LLM students and graduates can benefit from?
Definitely.
There will be more cross border disputes work than ever in light of all the contractual breaches. International disputes resolution work is likely to pick up in months to come.
Also, there is a mad rush to procure essentials from countries with stockpiles or excess productions.
India provides a large amount of generic medicines to the world, and we are also ramping up PPE production.
There would be work related to international trade, shipping and logistics.
Is it a good idea to do an online LLM given the circumstances?
Yes and no.
If the primary intent behind doing a foreign LLM was to travel to a foreign land, imbibe their work culture and establish your professional presence over there, it might not be possible with an online LLM, even from an Ivy League school.
You need to wait till the crisis is over and the world recedes to its usual ways once again.
Till then, you can continue to work on yourself in your own little ways.
Reading legal journals, writing research papers, or upskilling yourself with online courses… whatever you think will benefit you once you pursue your career at full capacity once this lockdown is over.
Doing charity work at this time will also be important. Is there a way in which you can make a big difference to people?
However, if you are just after an LLM degree from your chosen foreign university, you can go ahead. The best thing about it is that you would not have to worry about getting an off-campus apartment, making food arrangements from home while hunting for the nearby grocery store, or the multiple rendezvous with the visa officials.
If you ask my opinion, I would suggest you go for an online LLM provided it is valued on par with regular LLM degrees. You can always travel abroad as a visiting scholar or on a business trip later. Maybe for your PhD or MPhil.
You can also travel abroad as a visiting fellow – many foreign universities have such opportunities.
There are upsides to every downside.
Is it a good idea to do an LLM from India in the current situation?
The country is under lockdown and opening universities is the last priority of the government. That means, no regular classes, no canteen addas or after-school group study sessions.
If you just want the degree, it may be the greatest time to get one from an Indian university in the easiest possible way.
Just because you can’t go out of the country right now does not mean that you would discard your career plans altogether. The world is not going to end, my friend.
Of course, you can go abroad for another reason later on.
What should you do next?
Keep your fingers crossed and stay put for the time being. That’s it.
Will it be better to postpone my LLM plans?
To answer this question, you need to answer this first.
“What do you want? How important is a foreign LLM to your career? Why? Can you afford to wait? Do the current circumstances pose any serious objection to your pursuing the foreign LLM, online or not? Also, is there some special opportunity that has arisen due to COVID that you want to grab and not miss…?”
Hold on, I just figured there are a lot of questions that need to be answered to tell you whether to postpone your LLM plans or not. It depends on who you are, what you have been doing so far and what you want to achieve in the near future.
I would suggest you get in touch with our career counselling expert to get a more specific answer as more suitable for you.
Give us a call on 011 4084 5203 and ask for the LLM guidance expert, or reply to this email with your phone number, stating “Should I do a foreign LLM at present?” Our experts will reach out to you urgently.
In the end, I think even before asking whether it is a good time to do a foreign LLM during this COVID situation, you should rather ask yourself first, “Why a foreign LLM?”
Once you get the answer to that question, the puzzle will get solved on its own.
Cheers to your foreign LLM,
Suman Chatterjee, Email Chief
Team LawSikho
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References
https://www.lawctopus.com/llm-abroad-foreign-advice-tips-india/
https://www.stoodnt.com/blog/impact-of-covid-19-coronavirus-admissions-international-students/
https://monitor.icef.com/2020/04/measuring-covid-19s-impact-on-higher-education/
https://www.study.eu/article/impact-of-covid-19-on-studying-abroad-in-europe-overview
https://educationusa.state.gov/scholarships/llm-merit-based-scholarship-international-students
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/llm/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/240/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52103747
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