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To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:16 am
by glassman
I know I want to go to law school and I'm aiming T5. The decision I have to make now is whether to transfer from my current undergraduate school to a more prestigious one, but it's a bit more complicated than that...I am currently at a second tier school studying business but I am in a very selective program at my school. Of the ten thousand or so students in the business department, 10 are chosen to be in the program I'm currently in. The program is very hands on and affords me great experience but no one outside my state has really heard much about my school.

In the mean time, there is a much more prestigious school in my area that I have applied to transfer to. I am supposed to hear back any day now but I'm not sure what would be the best decision for me. The more prestigious school is on LSACs list of top feeder schools and is recognized globally but a lot of people in my area believe its business department is worse than mine. Also, right now my GPA is above 4.0 as my current school grades on a 4.3 scale but the other one only goes up to 4.

I would also probably lose out on some soft opportunities. On top of giving up the exclusive program, I have friends who are inviting me to run for student council etc., at my current school. I don't know what those opportunities would be like at the new school but I do do a decent amount of extracurriculars that would stay either way.

I would really appreciate any knowledgable person's two cents worth on the best route to the T5 or at least T14...

Thanks a lot.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:28 am
by reverendt
In regards to law school admission, nobody really cares where you went to undergrad.
It's your LSAT & GPA that matters.
MAYBE if you are deadlocked with another applicant and the adcoms need a tie-breaker a fancy undergrad may help you. But that's probably not worth switching schools for.

Bottom line...stay where you're comfortable and doing well and you'll be fine. There is very little to no reason for you to transfer.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:31 am
by yinz
reverendt wrote:In regards to law school admission, nobody really cares where you went to undergrad.
It's your LSAT & GPA that matters.
MAYBE if you are deadlocked with another applicant and the adcoms need a tie-breaker a fancy undergrad may help you. But that's probably not worth switching schools for.

Bottom line...stay where you're comfortable and doing well and you'll be fine. There is very little to no reason for you to transfer.
Agreed. Unless your 4.0 turns into a sub-3.75 after adjustment, I would say there isn't a significant boost.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:33 am
by glassman
How would a 4.0 turn into a sub 3.75 after adjustments... I know they adjust, but based on what?

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:40 am
by anthropologieaddict
reverendt wrote:In regards to law school admission, nobody really cares where you went to undergrad.
It's your LSAT & GPA that matters.
MAYBE if you are deadlocked with another applicant and the adcoms need a tie-breaker a fancy undergrad may help you. But that's probably not worth switching schools for.

Bottom line...stay where you're comfortable and doing well and you'll be fine. There is very little to no reason for you to transfer.
+100
I don't know why there is this common misconception that where you went for undergrad is significant. If you have a 4.0 gpa coming out of community college that's great. Just worry about killing the LSAT, not transferring out of an undergrad you feel comfortable and are excelling at.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:42 am
by jarofsoup
Its seems like you are doing very well at your school, but it doesn't hurt to apply and see where you get in.


I believe, contrary to what other posters have stated here, that undergrad institution does count when they consider your grades. In fact I talked to an admission department at a T-20 law school and they say they consider the difficulty of the school when looking at grades.

There is evidence of this all over the blog. People will say for instance a 3.2 as an engineer looks really good while a literature major with a 3.2 does not look nearly as good.

Likewise, a 3.2 from Harvard looks probably much better than a 3.2 from Cal State Long Beach, Humboldt State University, or something.

So if you want to transfer then transfer to a school that has a well known reputation for being horribly difficult.

But if you are hitting a 4.0 transfering could throw you off.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 1:47 pm
by gwuorbust
jarofsoup wrote:Its seems like you are doing very well at your school, but it doesn't hurt to apply and see where you get in.


I believe, contrary to what other posters have stated here, that undergrad institution does count when they consider your grades. In fact I talked to an admission department at a T-20 law school and they say they consider the difficulty of the school when looking at grades.

There is evidence of this all over the blog. People will say for instance a 3.2 as an engineer looks really good while a literature major with a 3.2 does not look nearly as good.

Likewise, a 3.2 from Harvard looks probably much better than a 3.2 from Cal State Long Beach, Humboldt State University, or something.

So if you want to transfer then transfer to a school that has a well known reputation for being horribly difficult.

But if you are hitting a 4.0 transfering could throw you off.

correct, but a lit major with a 3.5 is going to have a better cycle then a engineering major with a 3.2.

Re: To Transfer or Not To Transfer...Help!!!

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 2:35 pm
by alexonfyre
Something I wish I knew before hand:
If you learn physics at a T30 engineering school and have about a 3.0, you will be looked at as less desirable than a 4.0 music major from Appalachia State. No lie, that exact thing is happening to me now. Go to the worse college and get a baller GPA then get into a T14 with a great LSAT. Absolutely. No one cares about your UG school, only your highest level.