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[vhopeful88]

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[PeanutsNJam]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/unc/2015/

22% of UNC grads get biglaw.

Most of those are not DC. I would venture 5%? Maybe less? Get DC biglaw.

Even if it's a 22% chance of DC biglaw, would you gamble 200k and 3 years of your life on that?

[BlackAndOrange84]

Someone else upvoted this analogy of how 1L grading works so I'll trot it out again:
3) Transferring in and of itself is not going to help you get biglaw in DC. You'll go into OCI with your transfer grades and your transfer resume - and firms will know. The V15 parter who posts on TLS has said as much - when he sees a transfer he sees someone who is chasing prestige. The stigma is real.

This.

UNC grad here. You need to be about in the top 10% at UNC to transfer to a T14. But as pancakes points out, the premise of your question is flawed. Being top 10% at UNC gives you a pretty decent shot at DC biglaw, and taking on full-sticker tuition at a T14 probably gives you a marginal benefit at best in terms of getting DC biglaw. If there's any effect, it's that you'd have access to more firms at OCI.

There are lots of smart, hard-working people at UNC. Many of them don't end up in the top 10%. This includes folks with full or close to full scholarships who have been habitual overachievers who came in above 75% in both LSAT and GPA. You just can't count on it.

There are a lot of good things about UNC, but if you want a decent shot at DC biglaw, the advice that everyone has stated here is correct—retake. If you insist on going to UNC, you should be ready to stay in NC or the Southeast and hustle to find a small firm to work at or a local or state government job. You had also better have ties in NC or somewhere close in the Southeast otherwise that task becomes much more difficult.

Hi-- I'd love to talk to you more about your experience.... sending you a pm

Happy to talk. Please also see the edit to my post.

Also, everyone here who is trying to help you is right. The unanimity in the basic message among all these posters should be persuasive.

[BlackAndOrange84]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/unc/2015/

22% of UNC grads get biglaw.

Most of those are not DC. I would venture 5%? Maybe less? Get DC biglaw.

Even if it's a 22% chance of DC biglaw, would you gamble 200k and 3 years of your life on that?

Yes, less than 5% are getting DC biglaw. A handful of very top students (Ranked 1–10 in the class) get excellent firms in DC. There's lots of self-selection to stay in NC, and I suspect a few more could get it if they wanted it, but few want it. Below those students, in the top 10%, you have a chance with one of the other DC firms that comes to OCI or does the DC job fair that UNC participates in, but I've seen people in the top 10% completely strike out going for DC biglaw.

[quiver]

I was a T2 to T14 transfer and I just wanted to co-sign everything that people have said in this thread. You cannot predict law school grades, there is an overwhelming possibility that you will not have the grades to transfer, etc. If you want a T14, you should retake the LSAT and reapply.

[vhopeful88]

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[TLSDookie]

I was a T2 to T14 transfer and I just wanted to co-sign everything that people have said in this thread. You cannot predict law school grades, there is an overwhelming possibility that you will not have the grades to transfer, etc. If you want a T14, you should retake the LSAT and reapply.

What motivated you to just go into law school and transfer, in that case? Additionally what has been your experience as a transfer in terms of recruitment for big firms?

Not quiver but I doubt s/he went in to school with the plan to transfer, but rather decided to as a happenstance of being at the top of their class. If you are not happy with a job in North Carolina/Raleigh mid or small law, you should not attend UNC.

[quiver]

I was a T2 to T14 transfer and I just wanted to co-sign everything that people have said in this thread. You cannot predict law school grades, there is an overwhelming possibility that you will not have the grades to transfer, etc. If you want a T14, you should retake the LSAT and reapply.

What motivated you to just go into law school and transfer, in that case? Additionally what has been your experience as a transfer in terms of recruitment for big firms?

I did not attend law school with the intention of transferring. I had a substantial scholarship to my 1L school and I would have been fine graduating from that school. Once I had the option of transferring, I weighed all my options and career goals, and I decided that transferring was the best decision for me.

In terms of biglaw, everyone (or nearly everyone) in my transfer class who wanted biglaw received an offer. I, too, worked in biglaw before I left to clerk.

I can give more details over PM, but I think the point is that you should not attend law school expecting to transfer. Instead, you should attend a law school that you will be happy graduating from. If you want a T14, you should retake and reapply.

[browniestasty]

OP: I was in similar situation and opted not to retake. I actually would have been okay graduating from where I attended but I knew it would not be ideal.

I regret the decision.

I did very well and did finish in the top 10% but I still were not able to transfer to the schools I wanted to. Just don't do it. I got one of the better outcomes of the attending to transfer plan and I am still telling you what rest of TLS is saying.