Transferapps - lies or the truth? Forum

[iheartlaw]

When I look through transferapps and I see people who are top 10% at T4's getting in to T25 schools, and people in T3's getting in to T14 schools, it's making me really excited of the possibilities that I may have coming from a T2. So much so that I am almost questioning the legitimacy of the postings... I always felt like I needed to be in the top 5% of my class to get in to a T20. But from reading the site, it almost seems like I may have a legitimate shot even if I am in the top 10%. Are these statistics and numbers getting anyone else excited or are they misleading? I mean granted, everything rests on how I did spring semester, but if I can do as well as I did in fall, I'm getting excited just thinking about how CLS, NYU, and Boalt are possibilities.

[Mox]

The transfer process is so unpredictable that it is very plausible that a TTTT or a TTT student in the top 10% could make it into the top 25. A lot of it depends on how many seats are available in the 2L class, the credentials of the other students applying, and how "transfer freindly" the school is.

[Mr. Pablo]

I think that some schools take more kids from certain other schools, i.e. NYU/CLS seem to take the more of the top kids from the local lower tiered schools, or at least that is what I have heard. I could be wrong, it's happened before.

[A'nold]

Actually, if you look at all the data compiled over the years, hundreds and hundreds of samples, you will see that it is extremely accurate, especially when compared with actual transfer students that post on all the law topic websites.

[Bankhead]

Sometimes crazy shit happens with transfers (i.e. top 20% at a T25 getting into Columbia). I wouldn't hold my breath though.

[CMR]

I have all kinds of questions about those databases. For example, do people really put on their resume that they were on academic scholarship at their T4? Not knocking it, just something I didn't think at all to do...same with law review invites, etc.

Reading that database is a mixed bag for me - on the one hand, it's fairly encouraging to read most of the T4 stats. On the other, if you look at those that specified my particular school, it's an absolute slaughter. I'm considering dropping an app at Berkeley after reviewing it again.

[clintonius]

Does transferapps also list how many people attempted these transfers and were NOT successful? If that information isn't available, then take what you see with salt. It's akin to the way lawschoolpredictor is set up -- for example, my overall index was better than 56% of people who gained admission according to their database, which made me feel like I had a much better shot than I actually did, because it doesn't take into account rejected apps. So people who look like you might be getting into these places, but that doesn't tell you how many people look like you and did not get in.

(Apologies if I'm way out of my league here -- had the thought and figured I would post it in the hopes of being helpful, but please tell me to piss off if I'm simply being an uninformed 0L)

Edit -- meant to say "gained admission to a particular school according to..."

[Bert]

I have all kinds of questions about those databases. For example, do people really put on their resume that they were on academic scholarship at their T4? Not knocking it, just something I didn't think at all to do...same with law review invites, etc.

Reading that database is a mixed bag for me - on the one hand, it's fairly encouraging to read most of the T4 stats. On the other, if you look at those that specified my particular school, it's an absolute slaughter. I'm considering dropping an app at Berkeley after reviewing it again.

What is the database of which you speak?

[CMR]

Does transferapps also list how many people attempted these transfers and were NOT successful? If that information isn't available, then take what you see with salt. It's akin to the way lawschoolpredictor is set up -- for example, my overall index was better than 56% of people who gained admission according to their database, which made me feel like I had a much better shot than I actually did, because it doesn't take into account rejected apps. So people who look like you might be getting into these places, but that doesn't tell you how many people look like you and did not get in.

(Apologies if I'm way out of my league here -- had the thought and figured I would post it in the hopes of being helpful, but please tell me to piss off if I'm simply being an uninformed 0L)

The databases are largely incomplete, but it appears that most people fill it out when they're applying with the intent of returning later to fill in the accepted/rejection portion. Unless someone is obviously a lock (with, with a T3/T4 doesn't really happen unless they're applying at a T2) you're probably safe assuming that if the person didn't report being accepted, they were rejected.

I have all kinds of questions about those databases. For example, do people really put on their resume that they were on academic scholarship at their T4? Not knocking it, just something I didn't think at all to do...same with law review invites, etc.

Reading that database is a mixed bag for me - on the one hand, it's fairly encouraging to read most of the T4 stats. On the other, if you look at those that specified my particular school, it's an absolute slaughter. I'm considering dropping an app at Berkeley after reviewing it again.

What is the database of which you speak?

2009. Truly horrible for my epic T4.

[A'nold]

Nope, you are wrong. People usually post where they are rejected. A quick look at the database would tell you this.

[CMR]

Nope, you are wrong. People usually post where they are rejected. A quick look at the database would tell you this.

g
Well, of the first 40 entries in the 2009 database, less than half are fully complete; glancing at the rest of the entries, it appears that this is a fully representative, and even generous, sampling. A quick look at the database would tell you this . But I wasn't suggesting that it was useless, just that if a person doesn't report being accepted or rejected, obviously the more prudent move is to assume they were rejected.

[bizen boat]

I'd like to update my entry on transfer apps, but I can't figure out how to edit it. I've seen some people just create new entries instead of editing their old ones, sometimes making several new entries each time they get a new acceptance. Of course, with no clear way to delete an entry, the database looks like there are five people with identical stats, only each person is slightly more successful at getting accepted than the last.

Anyway, the point is that transfer apps is annoying to use, and presumably there are people who did get accepted but also couldn't figure out how to update their stats. I hate transfer apps.

[CMR]

I think it's somewhat valuable for people like me, as it gives some measure of hope, but for students already at T1 schools I think it can be deceptive.

[A'nold]

Nope, you are wrong. People usually post where they are rejected. A quick look at the database would tell you this.

g
Well, of the first 40 entries in the 2009 database, less than half are fully complete; glancing at the rest of the entries, it appears that this is a fully representative, and even generous, sampling. A quick look at the database would tell you this . But I wasn't suggesting that it was useless, just that if a person doesn't report being accepted or rejected, obviously the more prudent move is to assume they were rejected.

Why don't you actually do as I suggested and look at different years genius. 2009 was an anomaly.

[CMR]

Nope, you are wrong. People usually post where they are rejected. A quick look at the database would tell you this.

g
Well, of the first 40 entries in the 2009 database, less than half are fully complete; glancing at the rest of the entries, it appears that this is a fully representative, and even generous, sampling. A quick look at the database would tell you this . But I wasn't suggesting that it was useless, just that if a person doesn't report being accepted or rejected, obviously the more prudent move is to assume they were rejected.

Why don't you actually do as I suggested and look at different years genius. 2009 was an anomaly.

You're a real hit at parties, I bet.

[upgrade]

I don't have much time to update this for this year's cycle because I am still studying for finals, but I think the standardized data entry and presentation is much better here:

--LinkRemoved--
Filter data at the top and enter data at the bottom. I modified the structure a bit so that it can be used for the 2010 cycle as well.

My goal was to have something like this replace the transferapps database. DabbleDB is good, but I couldn't figure out how to get things setup the way I wanted to, so I just left it like it is. They may have added new features in the last year that would make it easier to work with if someone is interested in picking this up.

I also created a separate database for notification methods and timing here:
--LinkRemoved--