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Got the info I needed, Please delete.

So are you considered a 2L now at your school? How many credits have you earned toward graduation?

I really don't know! I have a friend who would love to know more about what your options may be, so if anyone else has any idea I'd love to hear it. My sense is that since you are pretty far removed from after the semester that got you dismissed that schools would be more willing to give it less weight, but I do think it would factor in the calculation to some degree. A solid addendum could help. Then again, a lot of the schools you would be targeting are probably more than willing to take your money regardless of that poor semester (both fortunately and unfortunately).

Some more practical advice would be to first check the transfer guidelines/policies of the schools you are interested in and if you still have questions just call up admissions and ask if you can speak with someone about your situation. No harm in making some phone calls and it is probably the quickest way to get the information you are looking for.

Oh, and congrats on the grades! Nice comeback story, IMO.

Same as above.

lawbosscalif wrote:Thank you for the positive remarks.

When I started over this past fall, I started with a clean slate, gpa and credit wise, but the academic dismissal is on my record. The semester I just completed counted for 16 credits, giving me a 3.82 GPA. I start Spring classes next week (15 credits).

Any advice on regarding my potential transfer to USD would be greatly appreciated. Their admission policy just says no students can transfer who have been disqualified from their current law school. So I should be good there... But I wonder how much weight they will put on my previous law school?

Interesting. I assume that policy is more in reference to the situation that would have occurred had you applied to transfer right after your academic dismissal. Given that you will have distanced yourself from that semester with two semesters of doing very well (assuming you doing about the same next semester), I would actually be surprised if they gave it a ton of weight. If you don't mind me asking, was there any particular reason why you did poorly the first time around? Notwithstanding the dismissal, 10% at a T4 should make your pretty competitive for a T2 in general. I don't know how many transfers USD takes, but I would imagine you would have a good shot. Comes down to what they will make of that one semester.

One other question - are you on a scholarship at your current school? If so and if it is a substantial scholarship, you may want to considers staying unless you absolutely want to work in SD or somewhere else in CA and you your current school doesn't already afford you access to that market. USD probably isn't going to offer the best job prospects, even for transfers who did well at a T4. You may want to hedge your bets and take the money if it's an option.

I can't provide an informed answer, but I can take a guess.


Schools will probably consider your application because you are currently in good standing at an accredited law school. With that said, your application will likely look worse than a similarly ranked student at your school due to the prior law school academic record. The transfer schools might even look at your whole record and not just the "clean slate" record when making an admission decision.

Good luck.