International Students

INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Those who have completed their undergraduate education OUTSIDE the US:

If you would like to practice law in the United States after graduation, then you must apply for the JD program. The prerequisites are the following:

• You must submit an LSAT score. To register, go to www.LSAC.org
• The BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School does not require you to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), but there are other law schools that request it in order to apply. Check individual law school websites to find out if you will need to submit a TOEFL score.
• To determine if your foreign school is eligible for LSDAS (the law school grade service that receives your transcripts and sends them to the law schools), please refer to LSAC's website, www.LSAC.org. If your school is eligible, you must subscribe for LSDAS and send your undergraduate transcripts directly to LSAC.
• The method for submitting transcripts varies depending on the undergraduate school attended.
• If your school is not eligible for the LSDAS service, foreign transcripts must be evaluated by a credential evaluation service and forwarded to the admissions office at the law school you are applying to. Among these services are the Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) www.ece.org, or World Education Services (WES) www.wes.org. An LSAT ONLY report must be submitted directly to LSAC.

If you would like to practice law in your native country or a different country outside the US, then you must apply for the LLM program

• A LLM is a Master’s of law in comparative law and takes one year to complete.   Students must have completed a bachelor’s of law in a country other than the United States and be certified or eligible to be certified to practice law in that country.
• To apply for a LLM program, you must submit the results of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) if English is not the primary language of your native country. You do NOT need to take the LSAT.
• Completion of the LLM degree does not qualify you to take the bar exam and to practice law in most states, including Utah. It is designed for students who are committed to returning to their country or a country other than the US to practice law.

Those who have completed their undergraduate education IN the US:

The application process is the same as it is for US applicants if you wish to attend an American law school.

Financial Aid for International Students

• The US government requires BYU and all American law schools to verify that international students can provide evidence of financial support necessary to complete the JD or LLM program. You may provide evidence of financial support in one or a combination of the following ways.

1. Proof of necessary cash from personal savings (submit a recent official bank statement).
2. A contract of support from parents or a sponsor* who will pay educational expenses (Form I-2 and attach a recent bank statement or tax return).
3. Proof of a grant or funding from your government or another agency (enclose an official letter verifying the amount and length of time of the award).
4. Proof of a scholarship or assistantship from a department at BYU or the law school you will be attending.

• International students are not eligible for U.S. government aid (such as Federal Stafford Loans). For more information on loans for international students, contact the law schools you are applying to.
• Scholarships, assistantships, and internships may be awarded through the law school. Tuition scholarships are only based on merit and not on financial need.
• If you attend BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School, the Roland Rich Woolley Law School Loan is available for all full-time law students. To qualify, you need a cosigner who is at least a 21 year-old US citizen, and must be employed full-time or retired with ability to repay the loan. Your cosigner cannot be a student, spouse, BYU employee, or a Church leader. The Woolley loan amount ranges from $3,500 per semester to $23,500 for all three years of Law School attendance. For questions about interest rates and repayment, contact the BYU Office of Financial Aid at 422-4104. They are located at A-41 ASB.

* Applicants who need to apply for a visa must fill out Form I-1 and Form I-2 if they have a sponsor. A sponsor is a US citizen with sufficient financial resources to cover the student promised support. The amount pledged by the sponsor should not exceed 30% of their total income. All sponsors must sign and date the Form I-2 Contract of Support.  The applicant will then have their finances verified to receive the I-20 form.   Applicants who cannot obtain an I-20, because they cannot prove they have the finances necessary to complete the degree, are not eligible for admission.