Transfer Advice from one of the #22's Forum

[transferbro]

I was hoping to get some feedback on the merits of transferring from my current school.

After one semester I have a 3.72, which I would guess puts me around the top 10%. I like my school, but don't love it - I would much rather be in DC, NY or Chicago. I'm worried about my GPA dropping this semester - considering transferring into Georgetown EA out of fear. Wondering if it worth it to transfer from top 10% at one of the 22's into Georgetown. Also, (although I'm sure if I searched the forums diligently there would be an answer) I wondered if anyone has any information on how closely first and second semester grades typically correlate assuming one works just as hard. The grade that really held me back was writing and research.

As an aside, I'm from Chicago and consistently get told my family-friend lawyers the NU is the "gold standard" in Chicago - I went to LS straight out of undergrad and again was curious if anyone knows how seriously they take the WE for transfers.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[patrickd139]

I was hoping to get some feedback on the merits of transferring from my current school.

After one semester I have a 3.72, which I would guess puts me around the top 10%. I like my school, but don't love it - I would much rather be in DC, NY or Chicago. I'm worried about my GPA dropping this semester - considering transferring into Georgetown EA out of fear. Wondering if it worth it to transfer from top 10% at one of the 22's into Georgetown. Also, (although I'm sure if I searched the forums diligently there would be an answer) I wondered if anyone has any information on how closely first and second semester grades typically correlate assuming one works just as hard. The grade that really held me back was writing and research.

As an aside, I'm from Chicago and consistently get told my family-friend lawyers the NU is the "gold standard" in Chicago - I went to LS straight out of undergrad and again was curious if anyone knows how seriously they take the WE for transfers.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Transfer advice is inherently difficult to give in the aggregate. Working on the assumption that you want Chicago post-graduation, I would think that top 10% at ND or Minn would be a better option than transferring to GULC. If you're at BU and want DC, that's a different story. Care to narrow it down a little more for us?

On NU's w/e requirement: NU heavily considers w/e for 1L admissions, visiting admissions and JD/LLM admissions. I don't see why (weighing it heavily in those three admissions programs) NU would suddenly disregard w/e as a "requirement" for transfer admissions, but, again, I don't know for sure that it's a necessity.

[Younger Abstention]

You do realize that GULC Early Action is non-binding, right?

[patrickd139]

You do realize that GULC Early Action is non-binding, right?

Who are you, and why do you ask off-topic questions in threads like this?

[ndirish2010]

Why not try Chicago ED if you really want to be in Chicago. I could be wrong, but top 10% at least gives you a chance, right?

[transferbro]

Thanks for the responses.

Where to? I don't really have a preference between Chi, Dc, NY - I'm from Chicago but wouldn't mind branching out. I suppose eventually I'd like to come back home so I don't want to pigeonhole myself to one geographic location.

I did know GT was non-binding - another question I have is whether GT transfer would be better than top ten % at my school generally - for NY for example where neither school is tied to geographically.

Chicago ED - That it is binding worries me - if I improved my performance - which might be possible because LW and R was what held me back from having a 3.9 (and now we don't have it) I would be upset at not having options elsewhere.

...the reality is I should have narrowed things down in my mind before posting. I'm looking for direction from everyone but me. For now, I'll EA Georgetown - I feel like it's a good hedge in case I drop enough that my job prospects would be crippled here.

Thanks again.

[Aberzombie1892]

If you are currently top 5%, don't EA to Chicago.

If you are currently between top 5-15% EA to Chicago. This is because odds are you won't raise your rank and if you are not top 5% or higher, you are most likely not getting HYS. Also, if your rank goes down, you won't have a shot at Chicago (or "better").

[ndirish2010]

Depending on which one of the #22s you're at, 3.72 could easily be top 5%. It would be here (or really close, but you wouldn't know because we don't rank.)

[patrickd139]

Thanks for the responses.

Where to? I don't really have a preference between Chi, Dc, NY - I'm from Chicago but wouldn't mind branching out. I suppose eventually I'd like to come back home so I don't want to pigeonhole myself to one geographic location.

I did know GT was non-binding - another question I have is whether GT transfer would be better than top ten % at my school generally - for NY for example where neither school is tied to geographically.

Chicago ED - That it is binding worries me - if I improved my performance - which might be possible because LW and R was what held me back from having a 3.9 (and now we don't have it) I would be upset at not having options elsewhere.

...the reality is I should have narrowed things down in my mind before posting. I'm looking for direction from everyone but me. For now, I'll EA Georgetown - I feel like it's a good hedge in case I drop enough that my job prospects would be crippled here.

Thanks again.

Applying EA to GULC is probably not a good idea, more from a waste of time standpoint than future harm to career prospects. I wouldn't advise someone transfer from a school ranked 22 to a school ranked 14, barring personal reasons. The risks are just too large, especially considering what you're giving up.

You need to figure out which city you want to practice in. NY, DC and Chicago are three vastly different markets. UMinn, ND and BU are three vastly different schools, too. If you could narrow it down to which school you're at and which area of the country you want to practice in, that will greatly help us try to help you.

[ToTransferOrNot]

I was hoping to get some feedback on the merits of transferring from my current school.

After one semester I have a 3.72, which I would guess puts me around the top 10%. I like my school, but don't love it - I would much rather be in DC, NY or Chicago. I'm worried about my GPA dropping this semester - considering transferring into Georgetown EA out of fear. Wondering if it worth it to transfer from top 10% at one of the 22's into Georgetown. Also, (although I'm sure if I searched the forums diligently there would be an answer) I wondered if anyone has any information on how closely first and second semester grades typically correlate assuming one works just as hard. The grade that really held me back was writing and research.

As an aside, I'm from Chicago and consistently get told my family-friend lawyers the NU is the "gold standard" in Chicago - I went to LS straight out of undergrad and again was curious if anyone knows how seriously they take the WE for transfers.

Thank you in advance for your help.

NU is not the "gold standard" in Chicago - Chicago is the "gold standard" in Chicago.

I agree with the idea that if you are not currently top 5%, you should ED Chicago. I would add - comfortably top 5%, not "just barely." To have a reasonable shot at HYS, you probably need top 1-2%. If you aren't comfortably in the top 5%, CCN is the best you can hope for - and, unless you have a burning desire to be in New York City, I would take the stab at UChi.

[ndirish2010]

Just interested...how does Chicago RD compare to Chicago ED for transfers? Would top 10% after 1 semester have a better chance ED than top 10% after two semesters have RD? Is that why everyone is telling OP to apply ED?