Transfers: Looked at as Median? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Are transfers looked at as median at their new schools or is there some sort of formula (like, take your GPA and subtract by .3 or whatever)? Does it depend on the school? Short of calling useless OCS, how can I find out this info?

[guano]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

[Anonymous User]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

Wouldn't that mean that most transfers will probably strike out at OCI? Let's say a student transfers from a TT where only 5 firms go to OCI. So basically what you're saying is that that student only has a chance at those 5 firms at his new school's OCI. Which means that he is more likely than not to strike out. That seems to run counter to what I've read around here, which is that many transfers do well.

[Anonymous User]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

Wouldn't that mean that most transfers will probably strike out at OCI? Let's say a student transfers from a TT where only 5 firms go to OCI. So basically what you're saying is that that student only has a chance at those 5 firms at his new school's OCI. Which means that he is more likely than not to strike out. That seems to run counter to what I've read around here, which is that many transfers do well.

Don't listen to the silly "you will be treated like a student from your old school" garbage. Myself and many of my friends transferred, and many of the students at my new school (a T6 school) were from T2's. Essentially all of us got jobs at firms that either didn't visit our old schools, or would only hire the top few students.

For example, my friend from low-ranked T2 is going to SullCrom, guy from mid T2 will be at Paul Weiss, guy from borderline T3 at Davis Polk, etc. And these are just the ones that quickly come to mind.

Speaking with firms and recruiters, it became clear that the new school mattered. And, speaking in retrospect with a recruiter who became somewhat of a friend, she said, a top 10% student from (T25) most certainly isn't the same as a top 10% student from that T25 who will graduate with a T6 degree. As odd as it seemed, the piece of paper somehow made a difference.

[Anonymous User]

That's interesting, because I don't know a single person from my transfer class (T14) that broke into the top 10 firms, aside from one person who had special circumstances that really made him more of a 3rd year doing 2nd year at the new school etc.

[Anonymous User]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

Wouldn't that mean that most transfers will probably strike out at OCI? Let's say a student transfers from a TT where only 5 firms go to OCI. So basically what you're saying is that that student only has a chance at those 5 firms at his new school's OCI. Which means that he is more likely than not to strike out. That seems to run counter to what I've read around here, which is that many transfers do well.

How did you and your friends organize your bidlists? Did you only bid on firms at your new school's median? Or did you take your GPA and subtract X number? Or some other way?

[jarofsoup]

The real answer is that you will be looked at differently by every firm that you interview with. Some do not care and some really care.

[IAFG]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

Wouldn't that mean that most transfers will probably strike out at OCI? Let's say a student transfers from a TT where only 5 firms go to OCI. So basically what you're saying is that that student only has a chance at those 5 firms at his new school's OCI. Which means that he is more likely than not to strike out. That seems to run counter to what I've read around here, which is that many transfers do well.

This assumes that a firm wouldn't consider students at a school they don't visit at OCI. Of course not the case.

[Anonymous User]

That's interesting, because I don't know a single person from my transfer class (T14) that broke into the top 10 firms, aside from one person who had special circumstances that really made him more of a 3rd year doing 2nd year at the new school etc.

V10 offers for transfers was pretty rare, I'll admit that. But we most certainly weren't treated just like we would have been at our old schools. At my T6, most transfers ended up with firms in the V15-V30 range or so. Places like Mofo, Jones Day, Ropes, Cahill, all gave out multiple offers to transfers. Yet, for most of us, those firms either don't even recruit at our old schools, or hired to such a small extent that its only the very top few in the class.

[BVest]

This assumes that a firm wouldn't consider students at a school they don't visit at OCI. Of course not the case.

This.

[Anonymous User]

There's about a thousand posts on this website that says players look to the class rank /school the person is transferring from.
e.g. If a firm only takes top 10% from X and a student who was top 25% transfers to Yale, s/he is not competitive for that firm, even if the firm would accept anyone at Yale

(Fictional hypothetical)

Wouldn't that mean that most transfers will probably strike out at OCI? Let's say a student transfers from a TT where only 5 firms go to OCI. So basically what you're saying is that that student only has a chance at those 5 firms at his new school's OCI. Which means that he is more likely than not to strike out. That seems to run counter to what I've read around here, which is that many transfers do well.

This assumes that a firm wouldn't consider students at a school they don't visit at OCI. Of course not the case.

Okay that makes sense. But that doesn't really help me (as a transfer) figure out where I should bid. If a firm goes to my transfer school and not my former TT, how am I supposed to know whether they would hire at the TT and at what GPA? So what I'm asking is, is there some sort of general rule, if you don't know whether that firm would hire someone from your TT, that would serve as a guide, like, take your GPA and reduce it by X amount?

[BVest]

So what I'm asking is, is there some sort of general rule...?

No.

[Anonymous User]

The real answer is that you will be looked at differently by every firm that you interview with. Some do not care and some really care.

I think this is the most accurate statement yet. Some firms will hire people who came from schools they do not interview at and probably would not have considered a student from. The firm I am going to be starting at has about 1000 attorneys and none are from my old school, so I'm fairly sure they would not have considered me coming from the 1L school. I know several others from my transfer class who could say the same. I think that some firms don't have a specific policy on transfer grades and it will vary not only from firm to firm but from interviewer to interviewer. The best I can suggest based on the experience of my transfer class is to bid on a significant number of firms who would be a safe bid from median at your new school, but don't be afraid to add in a few firms who typically hire from above-median at your new school. Even better if you can get in touch with a 3L transfer from your school.

[brotherdarkness]

.

[Wholigan]

How do you go about finding 3L transfers at your new school?

My school put people in touch through admissions. Or go see if there is a 2012 Transfer thread here for your new school and PM someone in that group.