There are several schools that I didn't have a great shot of getting into as a full-time student so I applied to there PT programs knowing I would most likely get in. I know it depends on the school but in general, how easy/possible is it to transfer into the full-time program after my first year. And assuming I am able to do this, would I be able to graduate in 3 years or would I still need to be there for four (making the transfer pointless and more expensive)? Also, if I were to graduate from a school's PT program would firms look down on this or would they just simply see a law degree from the school I went to. Any advice would be helpful.

Without knowing which you've applied to, please double check the info... However, that being said, I think that a large number of PT programs allow you to switch to FT after the first year.

As far as how firms view the programs, I don't think the degree specifies whether you were PT for FT, so I doubt they would have much of way of knowing which program you started / finished in.

Again, you might double check, but from other posts, plus what I have seen on various school websites, this is the information I've come up with.

Good luck!!!

Firms don't care from what I have heard. They will know, because they can look at your transcript and see how many hours you take per semester. What school are you considering doing this with?

University of Denver, Loyola Chicago, and DePaul. I am definitely going to PT to one of those schools next year and would love to transfer after my first year but I obviously wouldn't if I couldn't get done in three years since PT is cheaper. Is there summer school in law school (that was a joke but not really).

If the school offers a PT program, it is very likely that they offer summer courses. Transferring to FT generally involves catching up by taking 2-4 courses. If summer classes are offered, they can easily be made up then (either/both summers). You may also be able to increase your load the last 2 years to offset this. Summer programs abroad can help with this too.

I would imagine the schools you are looking at would not make it too hard to transfer to FT, but I could be wrong. Check with the schools and any students you can find from there. The admissions office may have to tell you that it's difficult, but there may be plenty of evidence of only needing to be in good standing to transfer.

I know there is one guy on TLS that transferred from GULC PT to FT pretty easily. Hopefully he'll post something here for you soon.

*waves*

I can't really speak to the schools the OP applied to. At GULC, you literally just send an email to the registrar asking to switch. You then have to sign up for 2 summer classes (which can be done at night so you can still do an internship).

This shouldn't be a problem for you to do at most schools, the only school where I heard they hate doing that is Loyola - Los Angeles. They make it practically impossible to switch.

Just check with those schools that you mentioned, I sure you will be fine but better ask now then as opposed to when you have already matriculated and be surprised.

We have the same process at Fordham. Six credits in the summer, and you can switch over. Check with your school for specifics, but my understanding is that the vast majority of schools make the process easy for you, and the vast majority of employers care about your GPA above all else (in the private sector, anyway.)