Notre Dame? Worth it?
Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:00 pm
My story of mediocrity is known, but a quick summary is that I screwed around in UG, had a mediocre LSAT, and I'm paying sticker, out of state at Wisconsin. This is not a question about chances, but about the value of transferring. If your sole purpose in this thread is to make fun of me for going to Wisconsin, and for paying sticker, you need not reply.
First, I really like UW, and I'd be perfectly happy graduating from here. Second, this is assuming my grades are good enough, so this is all speculative, and I'm not asking for odds. Let's assume I get the grades to get in.
Notre Dame has always been a big part of my family's life. My dad and his brothers and sisters grew up watching ND football, my uncle graduated from the school, we have taken numerous family vacations to ND, and it's still a very important place to my father. I grew up in love with the place (I mean the school, not South Bend). I did well enough in high school and on the ACT to have a chance at acceptance, but I didn't apply because I feared the rejection letter. That's for the best anyway, as I failed out of undergrad before I changed things in my life.
The rankings jump is not huge (35 to 22). It's not a jump to a T14, so I guess this is a lateral situation. It seems that the general consensus is that lateral transfers usually aren't worth it. I'd be taking on slightly more debt ($60k/year to $65k/year). Notre Dame does allow transfer applicants to write on to law review, so I don't have to lose that chance.
I guess my question is effectively whether it'd make sense to try to make a slight jump because the school is special to my family and me, or if the extra $15k and relocating are not worth it. It's basically weighing money/opportunities v. intangibles, which may be a bad idea in its own right. It'd be a dream come true to get to go to ND; the question is if a dream is worth extra money and moving.
My final question is what it takes to transfer in. I know arrow has a guide up top, but I didn't see ND listed in the "popular transfer destinations" category. I don't know how many they accept. Will decreasing numbers of overall 1L applicants affect transfers at all (i.e. will schools be desperate for more money, potentially causing them to let more students in)? Or is ND one of those places that will always have the luxury of being selective no matter what?
Thanks everyone.
First, I really like UW, and I'd be perfectly happy graduating from here. Second, this is assuming my grades are good enough, so this is all speculative, and I'm not asking for odds. Let's assume I get the grades to get in.
Notre Dame has always been a big part of my family's life. My dad and his brothers and sisters grew up watching ND football, my uncle graduated from the school, we have taken numerous family vacations to ND, and it's still a very important place to my father. I grew up in love with the place (I mean the school, not South Bend). I did well enough in high school and on the ACT to have a chance at acceptance, but I didn't apply because I feared the rejection letter. That's for the best anyway, as I failed out of undergrad before I changed things in my life.
The rankings jump is not huge (35 to 22). It's not a jump to a T14, so I guess this is a lateral situation. It seems that the general consensus is that lateral transfers usually aren't worth it. I'd be taking on slightly more debt ($60k/year to $65k/year). Notre Dame does allow transfer applicants to write on to law review, so I don't have to lose that chance.
I guess my question is effectively whether it'd make sense to try to make a slight jump because the school is special to my family and me, or if the extra $15k and relocating are not worth it. It's basically weighing money/opportunities v. intangibles, which may be a bad idea in its own right. It'd be a dream come true to get to go to ND; the question is if a dream is worth extra money and moving.
My final question is what it takes to transfer in. I know arrow has a guide up top, but I didn't see ND listed in the "popular transfer destinations" category. I don't know how many they accept. Will decreasing numbers of overall 1L applicants affect transfers at all (i.e. will schools be desperate for more money, potentially causing them to let more students in)? Or is ND one of those places that will always have the luxury of being selective no matter what?
Thanks everyone.