Before entering the University of Pennsylvania Law School, I already had two LLMs from PFUR and Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (Toronto, Canada). That’s why it wasn’t a novelty for me.
Nevertheless, the University of Pennsylvania has its own specific challenges. For example, the training program here is very intensive and complicated. In general, how busy you are depends on the number of credits you choose. You can pick a minimum of 9 credits for the term and a maximum of 15. I choose 13 credits in the first term - these were in total four subjects and work in the student journal.
I devoted a lot of time studying and had no free time to do something else, for example, part-time work. However, there are some pluses - the course is very interesting itself and there are good academics and an opportunity to choose any subjects you like.
The group on my program is quite large and varied. There are 115 people from different countries in the group, such as students from England, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Canada, China, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela and many other places. All the other students are very nice and my relations with my classmates are okay, but I haven’t become close friends with anybody.
In addition to studying, I am an editorial staff member on the Journal of International Law. The time commitment is not very big – only a couple of hours a week. I also study for the Wharton Business School in addition to the Law School, which is approximately an additional 5 hours a week. Plus, I volunteer for a project that helps veterans, called the Veterans Law Project. The volunteer time is another two-to-four hours a week. Overall, the workload is intense, but I like it.
My main advice to any applicant is to do a good deal of research about the universities before you apply! In addition, find graduates from this university through LinkedIn and ask them in detail about their studies.
Good luck to everybody!
