Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year Forum

A forum for those current students who are or may be transferring from one school to another. Post any questions, advice, or other transfer related comments here.
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Cccolwell

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Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by Cccolwell » Sun Apr 01, 2018 11:14 pm

I'm trying to decide whether to go to W&L or George Mason with similar scholarships. To get this out of the way, my GOAL is to transfer into the T14 (I know it would be stupid to count on it). I would be happy having a degree from either school, but the problem is I would prefer to have a degree from W&L. However after visiting the school, I know I couldn't live there for 3 years, and I'm not sure how much more valuable a degree from there is than Mason. Also, my fiancee is going to move with me, but she works at a top 5 nationally ranked pediatric hospital as a nurse, so she couldn't find work that she would want in Lexington. Although I would prefer a degree from W&L, I would much, much, rather live in the DC area and can see myself settling there permanently.

To get to the point, I'm wondering if anyone out there knows if W&L is going to give me a significantly better shot at transferring into a T14, and if it would be significant enough to warrant risking being stuck in Lexington for 2 more years if i'm not successful.

Also something I've considered is if I did decide to go to W&L and wasn't successful in transferring to a T14, there are still some pretty good top 25 schools (GW for example) that have favorable transfer statistics that I would be very happy to go to. I know those schools aren't guarantees either, but a lateral transfer into GW seems to require around a 3.15 GPA.

Anyways, if anyone has any sort of insight to this I would greatly appreciate your help.

TEIAM

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by TEIAM » Mon Apr 02, 2018 1:53 pm

I know this isn't what you want to hear but you really should not go to either of these schools. Going to law school is a large commitment, particularly when you are moving your SO with you...

As for W&L, living in a small town can be isolating and if your SO cannot find comparable work, it's going to hurt the relationship. She will not be able to find the same network of friends that you will because she won't have the opportunity to be around other people. Although she will likely make friends with whomever you do, it's not the same. Choosing to go to W&L would be an incredibly selfish decision and, most likely, not a worthwhile one.

As for ASSOL, it's a better option but it does not compete compared to other DC schools. I don't know your politics but it's a pretty conservative school with a conservative student body. Almost assuredly, you will finance $55,000/year because you'll be living in an incredibly expensive area and be at a private school. ASSOL struggles to put its students in the high-paying jobs that it's pricetag demands. The average salary for an ASSOL grad is only about $80,000.

You got into these schools so you have to have decent stats. I'd guess you are on the WL at GW. If you can (or have) been admitted there, leverage the hell out of your scholarship offers. If you can get GW with $30-35,000 you should consider it, although it's still risky.

As to your desire to transfer, I won't beat you up. You know it's a bad mindset to have. What you seem to ignore, however, is that by transferring to a T14, you'll be paying sticker. That will easily add another $80-100,000 in student loan debt that will seem insurmountable if you end up striking out at OCI.

For your SO, either retake and wait a year, or find a better option.

Generic1L

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by Generic1L » Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:40 pm

So a moderator will probably tell you soon that you're not supposed to post on this forum unless you're a current law student who has a semester of grades under their belt.

That being said, I'm not a moderator, so here's some advice: If your wife's livelihood is going to be poor by virtue of you choosing Lexington (and if you/she is/are adamant on being in the same location), do not choose W&L. Law school does not outweigh your personal relationships, and the second you start compromising that, you'll find yourself being one of the posters who keep giving us cautionary tales in the Legal Employment forum.

1L grades matter FAR more than any other factor in determining transfer acceptances, so I would look at historic grading curves. If they're even (and somehow your wife will be able to find employment in either location), I would pick W&L because I personally believe people perform better in a location where they're happier. However, this is all conjecture and you have zero clue how you'll do, even if you're very confident in your abilities.

If you're adamant on transferring without even considering the possibility of sticking it out at the law schools you're going into, I would highly recommend just taking more time off and taking another LSAT or another LSAT prep course. The extra investment might seem like a burden, but it's no more a burden than a year of dissatisfaction at your current school plus a lack of scholarship at your transfer school.

FWIW, I transferred and I'm very happy with the decision, but transferring is far from the path of least resistance. I know this is a difficult decision, so regardless of what you do, I wish you the best of luck!

nls336

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by nls336 » Sat May 26, 2018 1:46 pm

I don't know if you're still thinking about it, but I actually go to W&L right now, and am trying to transfer to NYU or Georgetown. I went to W&L with the mindset of transferring. I completely disagree with the conventional wisdom that you shouldn't go to a law school with that mindset. If you know yourself, know you're a hard worker and want to take the bet on yourself that you can pull it off I think it's a fine decision. I just finished top 12% of my class this semester and think I may have a pretty decent shot at my transfer options so from what I can say this was a gamble, but it was worth it to me.

Additionally, it is much easier to transfer to a T14 from a T30 than it is from anywhere beyond, in my opinion so if that is honestly you're goal I would think seriously about W&L. In terms of lexington, I went to NYU before coming here, I don't dislike Lex. at all. Of course it's not that lively but it does provide the perfect atmosphere to really be studious year round. However, if you and your S/O are depending on being able to support your partnership here, definitely don't come. This is not a place with lots of jobs. In that regard everyone else is right.

TransferAdvice18

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by TransferAdvice18 » Sat May 26, 2018 4:28 pm

nls336 wrote:I don't know if you're still thinking about it, but I actually go to W&L right now, and am trying to transfer to NYU or Georgetown. I went to W&L with the mindset of transferring. I completely disagree with the conventional wisdom that you shouldn't go to a law school with that mindset. If you know yourself, know you're a hard worker and want to take the bet on yourself that you can pull it off I think it's a fine decision. I just finished top 12% of my class this semester and think I may have a pretty decent shot at my transfer options so from what I can say this was a gamble, but it was worth it to me.

Additionally, it is much easier to transfer to a T14 from a T30 than it is from anywhere beyond, in my opinion so if that is honestly you're goal I would think seriously about W&L. In terms of lexington, I went to NYU before coming here, I don't dislike Lex. at all. Of course it's not that lively but it does provide the perfect atmosphere to really be studious year round. However, if you and your S/O are depending on being able to support your partnership here, definitely don't come. This is not a place with lots of jobs. In that regard everyone else is right.
I agree that the general advice not to go to a school with the mindset of transferring is bad advice. I started school at my T1 knowing that I wanted transfer after the first year. Like you said, I knew my capabilities and that I am a hard worker. I finished my 1L year in the top 15% and I'm already in at WUSTL with $$ and hoping to snag a T14 acceptance.

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Alive97

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by Alive97 » Thu May 31, 2018 2:26 pm

It is good that the OP probably made his decision before being advised to go to law school with the intent to transfer. You will have 8 exams in your first year (compared to one LSAT prior to school). To be able to transfer you will need to end up not in the top third, but in the top 10 or 15%. Have you ever issue spotted before? What is the difference between the top third and the top 15%? How much of that difference is attributable to chance? What if you get two median grades, or one grade in the bottom third? It's not a wise decision.

nls336

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Re: Washington and Lee with 35K a year or George Mason with 30K a year

Post by nls336 » Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:23 pm

Alive97 wrote:It is good that the OP probably made his decision before being advised to go to law school with the intent to transfer. You will have 8 exams in your first year (compared to one LSAT prior to school). To be able to transfer you will need to end up not in the top third, but in the top 10 or 15%. Have you ever issue spotted before? What is the difference between the top third and the top 15%? How much of that difference is attributable to chance? What if you get two median grades, or one grade in the bottom third? It's not a wise decision.
different strokes for different folks I guess. I still stand by the choice to do it. If you know yourself well and know what you're capable of the exams aren't really that scary. If you're a hard-worker and willing to take the bet on a T1 school that you could end up transferring vs. are okay potentially staying there then I really don't see the downsides. Some people, like myself, just need a good, hard goal to set themselves up to achieve to pass the monotony.

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