Conversation with Director Vic Telesino (Post Your Questions Here)

我是四蛋UID: 2922967

Please posting any question or concern you may have for UCLA in this new post.

Let's warmly welcome Mr. Vic Telesino, the director of UCLA School of Law Admission Office!

Many Thanks !

阿泰UID: 209473

Are there different admission policies on two groups of perspective students who concentrate on practicing and academics respectively?  

二毛毛二新新UID: 3438858

What's the difference between UCLA Law School and other law schools?What features do you think attract us to your school?

hala92UID: 3402130

Hello, Mr. Vic Telesion, I am planning to continue my study for J.D after graduating from LL.M. I have taken LSAT once this October, but I didn't prepare well enough and scored 161, 83%. I want to retake it next year. Yet now I am applying for LL.M. My question is: first, will my intention look bad in law school LL.M admission officers' eye? Because the program is intended for lawyers' career development. second, I like UCLA very much; I have friends studying there. How are the chances I can be admitted? My TOEFL is 111 but my GPA is low: 3.48/4.00. Thank you very much.
Sorry I may have to add other crucial information for your evaluation. I had a short-term internship at an arbitration center; I also attended several moot court contests and an international arbitration contests on behalf of our school. I am good at debating as well.

CocoSunshineUID: 3476646

Mr. Vic Telesion, I am a third-year undergraduate who plans to apply for JD program next cycle. Below are a list of questions I would like to know about UCLA LAW and its JD program. Thank you in advance for your kind help!

1. How does UCLA admission office view international students' GPA processed by LSAC? More specifically, if two international students are both labeled "superior" by LSAC, will the admission office still take the absolute numbers and their graduate institutions into account?
2. How many international students/Chinese students typically enroll at UCLA Law School each year?
3. Are international students eligible for all scholarships in UCLA? Will the same standards be applied as domestic students when the admissions make scholarship decisions?
4. For students who want to seek for an academic career, what opportunities are provided by this law school? Is there any possibility to teach or research in UCLA after graduation?
5. For students applying for Joint Degree Programs, are admission processes to respective departments entirely separate from each other?
6. Could you please give some suggestions on how international students can improve their performance in law school?

Again thank you sincerely!

MissTCCUID: 3438100

Good evening Vic, Will student with medium GPA but excellent extracurriculum academic achievements still be considered to be less competitive than students with higher GPA in academics?
Thank you very much!

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

阿泰 发表于 2013-11-10 10:25
Are there different admission policies on two groups of perspective students who concentrate on prac ...

Thanks for your question! When evaluating an application to the LL.M. Program, the Graduate Studies Committee does not employ different admission policies for applicants who indicate an interest in practicing law versus those who plan to concentrate on academics. In general, the Committee takes numerous factors into account when making its holistic evaluation of each application: quality of the applicant's academic performance and the institution from which he or she earned the degree(s), enthusiasm of reference letters, English language proficiency, professional and extracurricular activities, and more.

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

二毛毛二新新 发表于 2013-11-10 10:38
What's the difference between UCLA Law School and other law schools?What features do you think attra ...

Thanks for your question. While UCLA performs quite well in publicly-available university rankings such as those published U.S. News, the Times U.K. World University Rankings, and more, there are many factors that draw students to UCLA aside from these measures. UCLA receives more applications from undergraduate students than any other U.S. school. Speaking personally, I attended UCLA as an undergraduate student and among the many factors that attracted me was its diverse, dynamic campus, home to more than 70 academic departments, 19 libraries, and attended by more than 40,000 students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries around the world.

As I grew up in a somewhat small town in northern California, moving to Los Angeles was a truly life-changing experience that enabled me to engage with students and faculty from nearly every culture on earth. At UCLA School of Law, our LL.M. Program is currently attended by 127 students from more than 30 countries. Aside from a brief orientation course for international students, they take the same law school classes alongside our U.S. J.D. students, providing an invaluable opportunity to learn from, network with, and forge connections with classmates and professors. Our flexible curriculum allows students to pursue the course of study that will best meet their academic and professional goals. Students may choose to pursue a general course of study, or to specialize their studies in fields in which UCLA ranks among the top law schools in the nation, such as Business Law, Entertainment Law, International and Comparative Law, and more.

And, aside from academics, the university and city are among the most diverse and dynamic in the country and world, and UCLA's Westwood campus is particularly pleasantly situated among popular neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles such as Brentwood, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and more. And while I'm admittedly a bit biased, I can't imagine living in a more comfortable and beautiful climate and environment than that of southern California. :)

CostLLMUID: 3282841

Dear Mr. Telesion, really nice to talk to you.

Since I have worked with a law firm for more than 4 years, I would be grateful if you could let me know whether UCLA has a preference for the LL.M.  applicants with work experience.  

As for the UCLA LL.M. class profile, generally, how many Chinese applicants are admitted by UCLA each year and how many of them have work experience?

Thank you for your time.

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

hala92 发表于 2013-11-10 10:41
Hello, Mr. Vic Telesion, I am planning to continue my study for J.D after graduating from LL.M. I ha ...

Thanks for your question. I direct the admissions for UCLA's LL.M. Program, but unfortunately do not have a role in the J.D. admissions process. However, if you have not yet done so, you are welcome to contact my colleague, Assistant Dean Robert Schwartz, with any questions at the email address listed on this page: http://www.law.ucla.edu/about-uc ... Pages/default.aspx.

Speaking in my more limited experience with J.D. admissions, I don't believe that re-taking the LSAT exam will be necessarily viewed as a negative, given that it is quite common for U.S. J.D. applicants to take the exam several times before applying. I have several friends who earned a similar score the first time they took the exam, and then enrolled in an intensive LSAT exam preparation course through companies such as Blueprint, Kaplan, or Testmasters (UCLA is not affiliated with these courses and does not endorse any particular company.) Several of them improved their score the second time they took the exam, thereby improving their chances of admission.

I would expect that a TOEFL score of 111 will be viewed quite favorably, and a GPA of 3.48/4.00 will be seen as roughly equivalent to an "A-" or "B+" on the U.S. grading scale, which is still considered worthy of admission. So if you continue to improve your LSAT score and provide strong recommendation letters from law professors who can speak to your academic abilities, I think you definitely have a chance to be admitted. Good luck!

hala92UID: 3402130

UCLA-Vic 发表于 2013-11-10 11:53
Thanks for your question. I direct the admissions for UCLA's LL.M. Program, but unfortunately do n ...

Thank you, sir~ I want to apply for your LL.M program this year, while improving my LSAT score for J.D admission next cycle. I am just concerned whether LL.M admission officers would not favor my intention for continuing J.D study after graduating from LL.M. I also want to know my chances of being admitted by your LL.M program. Thank you very much~

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

CocoSunshine 发表于 2013-11-10 10:43
Mr. Vic Telesion, I am a third-year undergraduate who plans to apply for JD program next cycle. Belo ...

Thanks for your question. With regard to the J.D. Program, please see my previous post regarding my role in the admissions process. However, I'm happy to offer as much guidance as I can:

1. Applicants whose academic performance is categorized by LSAC as "Superior" are viewed quite favorably by the Graduate Studies Committee. The Committee will take the absolute grade point average and the relative quality/reputation of the institution into account as well. So, for example, if there are two international applicants who have similar TOEFL scores, similarly positive recommendation letters, and academic performance LSAC labels "Superior," the applicant with the higher absolute GPA and/or who attended a school that is generally regarded as superior may be viewed a bit more favorably. But in practice, these differences are relatively minor, given that both applications would be viewed quite favorably.
2. You can view overall statistics for our J.D. Program here: http://www.law.ucla.edu/prospect ... d-Disclosures.aspx. For our current LL.M. Program, we have 127 students from 34 different countries. 10 are from the U.S. and 117 are international. Approximately one third of the students are from Asia, one third are from Europe, 15-20% are from Latin America, and smaller groups are from Africa, the Middle East, and Canada and Australia.
3. Yes, international students are given consideration for financial aid. While I can't speak to the financial aid policies employed by the J.D. Program, for the LL.M. Program we do not differentiate between international and U.S. students when making financial aid decisions; both are granted equal consideration. Given that our LL.M. Program is composed primarily of international students, the vast majority of LL.M. scholarship funds are awarded to international students. The Committee grants these awards on both a need-based and merit-based basis. No separate application is necessary; on the UCLA LL.M. application that is currently available on the LSAC website, you may click "Yes" in the "Financial Information" section in order to be considered for an award, and enter any additional information that will help the Committee reach its decision.
5. Unfortunately I'm not privy to the admissions policies for the J.D. joint degree programs, but I'm sure my colleagues in the J.D. Admissions Office would be happy to provide you with information: http://www.law.ucla.edu/prospect ... ct-information.aspx
6. While there is no single factor the Committee prefers when evaluating an international applicant, it has been my experience that academic performance (the grades and overall GPA a student earned in their first law degree) and English language proficiency are considered quite important. So if you are still in the process of completing your first law degree, earning strong grades and/or awards in your final year will certainly increase your chances of admission. Similarly, if your TOEFL score is below or not far above UCLA's preferred minimum (96), re-taking the exam to improve your score to 100 or higher will also bolster your chances. Good luck!

evelynleafUID: 3335756

Dear Mr. Telesion，thank you very much for your time. I am a senior student in college.

My questions are:
1. I took part in China Bar Exam this year and I'm still waiting for the results. If I pass the exam, will it be a plus in my application to UCLA?
2. I am quite interested in Business Law. But I don't have any systematic education of business or economics theory. Usually I get information from newspapers. Do you think students like me will have any problem in pursuing a Business Law Program?

Thank you again for your patient reply!

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

MissTCC 发表于 2013-11-10 10:52
Good evening Vic, Will student with medium GPA but excellent extracurriculum academic achievements s ...

Good evening MissTCC, thanks for your question. It has been my experience that the Committee will grant the highest consideration to a student with a higher GPA in academics. However, UCLA employs a holistic evaluation process in which many factors are taken into consideration when evaluating an application. So a student with a less strong GPA but excellent extracurricular academic achievements, and other positive attributes like very supportive reference letters, a strong TOEFL score, a persuasive personal statement, etc. will still receive full consideration and stand a chance of gaining admission.

UCLA-VicUID: 3483700

CostLLM 发表于 2013-11-10 11:46
Dear Mr. Telesion, really nice to talk to you.

Since I have worked with a law firm for more than ...

Thank you for your question. While UCLA does not require applicants to our LL.M. Program to have worked professionally prior to applying, having such experience can certainly increase an applicant's chances of admission, particularly if they have engaged in progressively responsible work in a legal capacity for a law firm, corporation, or government agency. So your experience over the last four years will certainly be viewed positively be the Committee.

Over the past few years, we have granted admission to approximately 30 to 40 percent of applicants to our LL.M. Program. We currently have 11 Chinese students in our 2013-2014 program. As I'm typing these responses from home on Saturday evening, I don't have access to the admission files at the moment, but I believe most of our current Chinese students are attending the program directly after completing their LL.B. degrees. However, this year is a bit of an outlier, as in general the majority of the students who enroll in our program have worked for at least a few years before enrolling. Again, the Committee will certainly grant admission to applicants who have no prior work experience, but applicants who have already been working will also be viewed positively.