Law Academia? Stay in Lower T14 or Transfer To Higher T14? Forum

[Dr. Strangelove]

A student from a lower T14 finishes his 1L year in the Top 3%.
He applies to HYSCCN to transfer and gets in all six.
CCN offer him money, HYS make him go at sticker price.
His ultimate goal is to become a law school professor, so he's aiming for a clerkship after law school and plans to work at a firm for a few years.
He already is part of his other school's law review and has awesome 1L grades.
Would it be better for him to stay at his original school or to transfer to one of the higher-ranked schools?

[Chairman]

Transfer to Yale (or maybe Harvard).

[Always Credited]

Transfer to Yale).

[Kiersten1985]

I wouldn't go lower than Columbia. Aside from that, I would just pick based on where you want to live.

And CONGRATS!!

[DerrickRose]

Offering money to a transfer? Go on....

[CanadianWolf]

Great question. I am not qualified to offer anything but my personal opinion on this matter. Would you be more comfortable in a small law school such as Yale, Chicago or Stanford or in a large law school setting such as Harvard or Columbia?
If you are considering a career as a law school professor, then what area of law is of most interest to you & would transferring to a particular law school aid you in pursuit of that interest?
Where do you want to live & work? If on the west coast, then Stanford makes sense; if you prefer New York City or the east coast, then Yale, Columbia or Harvard might be better options. If you want Chicago, then the answer is the University of Chicago.
Basically my opinion is that you should transfer for a reason other than your perception of increased prestige.
Consider what you will be sacrificing if you transfer. Obviously much is going well for you at your current law school, profs probably like & admire you & your abilities, law review awaits & change can be unpredictable.
Will you be eligible for law review at your new school? If not, then transferring might be unwise. Although I believe that Yale assures every law student a place on a journal.
As for federal judicial clerkships, the best suggestion is Yale or your current school as you should receive plenty of support from those who know you best, selected you & taught you.

[Z3RO]

Go to Yale. You've earned it.

[bigben]

Most people in this position stay at their T14. Any T14 is full of professors at the top of their industry. Presumably you have already made connections with them. If you keep your grades roughly where they are, my sense is that these connections will be far more important in your quest for clerkships and academia than any jump in school prestige. Publications will also be more important, and you are already well-positioned to publish on your school's law review. I don't claim to have absolute knowledge about this, but I think that these are the reasons the vast majority of people at the top of their T14 class stay put.

Talk to your professors and see what they think. They will be more than happy to discuss strategies for getting into academia. They won't care that you're considering leaving. Most of them went to H/Y anyway and they understand that you just want to know the best strategy. Of course, Yale is the only transfer you should even be considering.

[Great Satchmo]

Yale -> then dominate Yale -> success.

[underachiever]

YALE

they dominate in academia, in a way that trumps HS or CCN....I would transfer and I would go to Yale in I were this 1L....the loan money is worthless, b/c u can get a firm gig after your almost guaranteed Federal Circuit clerkship out of Yale and payback the loans ....Then go find a law school to teach at.

[djgoldbe]

YHS, maybe Chicago, or else don't bother transferring. Big emphasis on the Y.

[zreinhar]

Offering money to a transfer? Go on....

Aside from the ONE post above, am I the only one that finds it odd he got offered money as a transfer?

[ihurtmyselftoday]

[quote="Z3RO"]You've earned it.[/quote]


[quote="Kiersten1985"]I wouldn't go lower than Columbia. Aside from that, I would just pick based on where you want to live.

And CONGRATS!![/quote]

This a hypothetical you idiots. This is a question from a 0L.

How likely is it that this has ever happened? HYS AND cash from CCN.

OP: If you are badass enough to pull off this bullshit scenario, you might as well open up your own law school and start charging suckers $45K a year to be in the same room as you.

[clintonius]

I'm curious as to the identity of the person in the OP. Is this an actual scenario or an exercise?

Edit: above poster beat me to the punch.

[reverendt]

Hypothetically, congrats!

Yale is the answer, without a doubt.

[thickfreakness]

YALE

they dominate in academia, in a way that trumps HS or CCN....I would transfer and I would go to Yale in I were this 1L....the loan money is worthless, b/c u can get a firm gig after your almost guaranteed Federal Circuit clerkship out of Yale and payback the loans ....Then go find a law school to teach at.

Or just try to go circuit->circuit (maybe Supreme), make less than 90K and pay nothing on your loans.

Point is, Yale is the right answer here and always.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yes. This is hypothetical.
Thanks though!
Sounds like Yale would be the answer.
And too bad transfer acceptees don't get money...

[fortissimo]

I wouldn't transfer to anything lower than YH for academia...maybe S.

[AngryAvocado]

Yale is the clear answer when it comes to academia. It's not even close. Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago make up a very distant second tier, and CNMVPB comprise the third tier (with Columbia doing slightly better than the rest of that group).

Y>>>H/S/Chi>>C>NMVPB

Link: http://www.leiterrankings.com/jobs/2008 ... hing.shtml