What are your chances? I'll chance you Forum

[BattleBuddy]

TTTT ranked #1 with a 3.97 GPA and 5 book awards (if this matters at all). What is the highest ranked school I should be looking at? MVP? GULC? T20?

According to previous posts from multiple cycles, the consensus says you should definitely be aiming higher than GULC. MVP is bottom end, CCN as backup and shooting for HYS, specifically H.

[vanwinkle]

Blanket HYSCCN and pray, aim for any of lower T14 you'd actually attend as backup.

[ajaxconstructions]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

[Vronsky]

TTTT ranked #1 with a 3.97 GPA and 5 book awards (if this matters at all). What is the highest ranked school I should be looking at? MVP? GULC? T20?

I do think book awards matter, especially if you can get LORs from those Profs. I think it helped my apps. However, the problem is that you are at a TTTT. I don't think Harvard took #1s from the 4th tier; I think they draw on the T1 and then grab a few #1s from T2 and occasionally a #1 from borderline T2/3. I don't have the data, but I'm not aware of anyone from the 4th tier who got into H or C/N.

IMO, you can apply to H if you want, but save the money on YS and Chi. Add C/N for your long shots, plus Mich, Penn, and Berkley, and then the lower T14 are strong options. I would also apply to GULC, it might be the only T14 you get because of how low your school is ranked.

I know this is somewhat more pessimistic than previous posters, but in my experience, T10 schools just don't reach that far down into 4th tier law schools. GULC is one of the best options for you b/c it is the most friendly to very low ranked schools. Congrats on an awesome 1L, being #1, and killing it in 5 classes. You WILL likely get something, be it lower T10 or T14. Keep your fingers crossed and apply broadly.

[Vronsky]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

There are a couple of people from DCGN at CLS/NYU. You should be very competitive if you remain within the top 20%, especially if you write a compelling PS about family in the area or something. I am confident you will get one of the two if you grades stay high. Also, I would definitely apply to YSH, esp. if you remain near top 10%.

Assuming top 15%:
Y - 20%
S - 15%; 25% if west coast
H - 35%
C - 55%
Chi - 40% (due to small class size, unless you have a compelling Chi reason)
N - 65%

[ajaxconstructions]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

There are a couple of people from DCGN at CLS/NYU. You should be very competitive if you remain within the top 20%, especially if you write a compelling PS about family in the area or something. I am confident you will get one of the two if you grades stay high. Also, I would definitely apply to YSH, esp. if you remain near top 10%.

Assuming top 15%:
Y - 20%
S - 15%; 25% if west coast
H - 35%
C - 55%
Chi - 40% (due to small class size, unless you have a compelling Chi reason)
N - 65%

What about if grades drop to around top 25% range?

[vanwinkle]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

Why would you assume such a huge drop from 1st semester to 2nd?

[Vronsky]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

There are a couple of people from DCGN at CLS/NYU. You should be very competitive if you remain within the top 20%, especially if you write a compelling PS about family in the area or something. I am confident you will get one of the two if you grades stay high. Also, I would definitely apply to YSH, esp. if you remain near top 10%.

Assuming top 15%:
Y - 20%
S - 15%; 25% if west coast
H - 35%
C - 55%
Chi - 40% (due to small class size, unless you have a compelling Chi reason)
N - 65%

What about if grades drop to around top 25% range?

A little bit lower? IIRC, the transfers from T7-14 at C/N were within top 25%. But in that range, you are looking at more of a lateral transfer and can probably cross off YSH.

[ajaxconstructions]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

Why would you assume such a huge drop from 1st semester to 2nd?

Was less motivated and I know I bombed at least one class.

Also got lucky during 1st semester.

[ajaxconstructions]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

There are a couple of people from DCGN at CLS/NYU. You should be very competitive if you remain within the top 20%, especially if you write a compelling PS about family in the area or something. I am confident you will get one of the two if you grades stay high. Also, I would definitely apply to YSH, esp. if you remain near top 10%.

Assuming top 15%:
Y - 20%
S - 15%; 25% if west coast
H - 35%
C - 55%
Chi - 40% (due to small class size, unless you have a compelling Chi reason)
N - 65%

What about if grades drop to around top 25% range?

A little bit lower? IIRC, the transfers from T7-14 at C/N were within top 25%. But in that range, you are looking at more of a lateral transfer and can probably cross off YSH.

Yeah I'm not applying to HYS, but what about DCGN to CCN? Still around a 50% chance?

[vanwinkle]

Lower T14 DCGN, don't have 2nd semester grades back yet but was top 10% first semester, expecting to be around top 30%-35% overall (hopefully) after 2nd semester.

Chances at CCN?

Why would you assume such a huge drop from 1st semester to 2nd?

Was less motivated and I know I bombed at least one class.

Also got lucky during 1st semester.

Successful transfers are people who make their own luck.

[tnguy03]

Top 25% at top 30.
1L Biglaw paid SA
5 years WE

I want to apply to Northwestern upwards. Worthwhile to do so? Thanks

[T10er13]

1L at V or P. Top 20% after first semester. Potentially will be in the 15% range after this semester (based on grades that I've received thus far for second semester). I'm straight from undergrad. I had a very competitive internship during college, but other than that, no full-time WE, naturally. I'm not a URM.

What do you think my chances are at Harvard and Yale? I'm not interested in CCN.

Thank you for doing this thread. Such speculation is helpful to me in determining whether I should or should not put in the work to fill out transfer applications.

[vanwinkle]

1L at V or P. Top 20% after first semester. Potentially will be in the 15% range after this semester (based on grades that I've received thus far for second semester). I'm straight from undergrad. I had a very competitive internship during college, but other than that, no full-time WE, naturally. I'm not a URM.

What do you think my chances are at Harvard and Yale? I'm not interested in CCN.

Thank you for doing this thread. Such speculation is helpful to me in determining whether I should or should not put in the work to fill out transfer applications.

H puts heavy emphasis on WE these days. They actually look for it during admissions now, including transfer apps. I'm not saying you can't transfer in unless you have it; I'm just saying it's harder to sway them into favoring you if you don't.

I'll predict you're out at both H and Y. This isn't to say you shouldn't apply, just that you should be aware of your chances. I was very borderline for H, and yet after I applied anyway, and I got in. (But I had WE, too.)

[quiver]

Top 25% at top 30.
1L Biglaw paid SA
5 years WE

I want to apply to Northwestern upwards. Worthwhile to do so? Thanks

Upwards as in the T10? If so, I'd say almost zero chance.

[T10er13]

1L at V or P. Top 20% after first semester. Potentially will be in the 15% range after this semester (based on grades that I've received thus far for second semester). I'm straight from undergrad. I had a very competitive internship during college, but other than that, no full-time WE, naturally. I'm not a URM.

What do you think my chances are at Harvard and Yale? I'm not interested in CCN.

Thank you for doing this thread. Such speculation is helpful to me in determining whether I should or should not put in the work to fill out transfer applications.

H puts heavy emphasis on WE these days. They actually look for it during admissions now, including transfer apps. I'm not saying you can't transfer in unless you have it; I'm just saying it's harder to sway them into favoring you if you don't.

I'll predict you're out at both H and Y. This isn't to say you shouldn't apply, just that you should be aware of your chances. I was very borderline for H, and yet after I applied anyway, and I got in. (But I had WE, too.)

Thanks for your input, Vanwinkle. Out of curiosity, did you have close relationships with the profs who wrote your recommendations, as well?

[vanwinkle]

Thanks for your input, Vanwinkle. Out of curiosity, did you have close relationships with the profs who wrote your recommendations, as well?

I would say so.

I would also say that, if you have grades worthy of an H/Y transfer from nearly any school, you should have good relationships with at least two profs. Or you're a robot. One of the two.

[tedalbany]

Currently about top 5% at a NYC T30 (school doesn't rank, just gives a top 10% cut off, but using the normal distribution calculation I should be about top 5%) with just 2 grades left to go.

If I stay in the top 5% I plan on HSCCNMP (Already have an ED app at Chi)
Top 10% - CCNMPBDC

[terpfan12]

...

[wightjm]

For a friend:

top 10% at Richmond to UVa?

[dtl]

I was top 2% last semester. Looks like (with two grades out so far) that I am going to drop to top 7-10% or so. School is in the early 40's. I have WE but nothing law related. No real softs.

Looking to transfer to the LA region - UCLA, USC, UCIrvine. Also blanketing rank 3-14.

Oh god chance me.

[JoeFish]

My turn. Just got my grades back. EXACT SAME AS FIRST SEMESTER (A, A-, A-).
So, 3.78 at a school in the mid-30s that, if you even do 10 seconds of digging, should be very easy to figure out. After first semester, cut-off for top 10% was 3.66 and top 5% was 3.88.

So, probably in about the same place, within top 10%, just outside of top 5%, maybe. It'd be really nice if I slid into top 5%, but I'll know in a bit.

Going to apply, I think, to Columbia, NYU, Penn, Michigan, Duke, Georgetown, maybe NU.

Thoughts?

[anon71]

1st semester: top 1-2% (school does not rank first semester) at a very large law school ranked 69 located at the southeast tip of the country.

2nd semester: waiting to get grades back

other: 2 years W.E. with USDOJ before law school, interning with US Dist. Ct. judge this summer and helping a professor write a new law review article.

applying to:
H
NYU
UVA
Mich
Duke
Georgetown

thanks!

[mileslibertatis]

1st semester: top 1-2% (school does not rank first semester) at a very large law school ranked 69 located at the southeast tip of the country.

2nd semester: waiting to get grades back

other: 2 years W.E. with USDOJ before law school, interning with US Dist. Ct. judge this summer and helping a professor write a new law review article.

applying to:
H
NYU
UVA
Mich
Duke
Georgetown

thanks!

Based only on how I have been advised here, you should be almost a lock at Georgetown (thanks to their huge transfer class) and have a solid chance at Duke and Michigan. UVA has a strong bias for Virginians (I blame Thomas Jefferson), and Harvard and NYU are probably both reasonable "reach" schools for you this cycle.

Of course, if you drop out of the top 2%, Harvard and NYU become much longer shots. I am in a similar boat as you, #1 (for now) at a 50s school, so I have thought about many of the same concerns. I would only ask why not apply to other T10 schools?

[Vronsky]

Currently about top 5% at a NYC T30 (school doesn't rank, just gives a top 10% cut off, but using the normal distribution calculation I should be about top 5%) with just 2 grades left to go.

If I stay in the top 5% I plan on HSCCNMP (Already have an ED app at Chi)
Top 10% - CCNMPBDC

I would say you have a very good shot at the T6, and that's all you should consider. You should be set with biglaw options if you stay, btw.