The U.S. law school experience is intensive. For foreign-educated lawyers, that experience can feel even more challenging in some ways. For LL.M. students, the one-year nature of the LL.M. experience makes it crucial to “hit the ground running.”

Today’s blog is about the academic side of the U.S. law school experience. The focus will be on LL.M. students.

1. Selecting Courses: When you make your school decision, it is important to learn about what requirements you’ll need to take. This is important for multiple reasons. First, you need to build your schedule around required courses. Second, required courses may conflict with other courses you really want to take. For example, if you really want to study Environmental Law but it meets once a year at the same time as your required U.S. Law course, you would likely miss that opportunity.

2. Number of Credits: If you are paying block tuition, you’ll need to decide how many credits to take. If your LL.M. program is 24 credits, you may want to take 12 credits each semester. You may want to start with 11 credits and then take 13 in the second semester. But you may want to take more credits for the same price. After all, courses can help you with the job search, bar prep, or further your interests. My suggestion: speak with current students at the school about the intensity of courses to choose the number of credits that makes sense for you based on your background and goals.

3. Classroom Experience: For most General LL.M. and some specialized LL.M. programs, your courses will primarily be with J.D. students. How do LL.M. students feel about their classroom experience? Do professors generally welcome them into class? Are they viewed as extra seats filled up in the back of the class? Do faculty welcome LL.M. research papers or other opportunities? You’ll learn a lot from the recently graduated students about the “vibe” around LL.M. students in primarily J.D. courses.

4. Grading: Grades are important for law students in the United States. What’s the grading policy at your school for LL.M. students. Are LL.M. students on a curve? How do grades impact scholarships? This is something you may want to research before deciding on a school. Your grades, including first-semester grades, may make your job search easier or harder.