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What are the chances of someone transferring to GWU or GULC after 1L? With my dismal LSAT, I'm considering applying to American U. then transferring to GWU or GULC after my first year. Is this statistically possible (retention rates, etc.)? What do I need to do GPA-wise to accomplish this?

I would think top 15% for sure.

not top 15% for GW, more like top 25% to top 1/3...which you shouldn't bank on btw. I'm sure you have heard it before, but seriously, only go to a school you would be happy to graduate from. If that is American, great. If not, rethink your plans.

I wouldn't make that your plan. Go to American only if you would be happy to graduate from American.

nealric wrote:I wouldn't make that your plan. Go to American only if you would be happy to graduate from American.

Thanks -- can you elaborate? Is it because it's harder to transfer?

Thanks -- can you elaborate? Is it because it's harder to transfer?

Yes- it is very hard to transfer. Statistically, your chances are something like 10-15% of transferring from American to GULC (that's the required GPA range). You simply can't plan on something like that working out.

Most of the transfers I've met at GULC from DC-area were at the very top of their classes (like top 4-5 people).

PetitBonaparte wrote:

nealric wrote:I wouldn't make that your plan. Go to American only if you would be happy to graduate from American.

Thanks -- can you elaborate? Is it because it's harder to transfer?

TLS Conventional Wisdom: "Do not go into law school planning to transfer." Everybody's trying to get the best grades possible. Just because you "want it reeeeeal bad" doesn't mean that you're going to get better grades than anybody. If you go to a school that you won't be happy graduating from, then a year from now you'll likely have wasted $50k+ and be some place where you're really not happy.

100% of 0Ls plan to finish 1L in the top 10%. Your odds of failing at this are about 9-to-1. Do not attend AU unless you'd be happy taking your JD from AU. Period.

Agreed. You may be extremely intelligent and very hard working but that still does not necessarily mean you will succed in law school (ie the top 10%). Its not really something that you can predict. I know of a few 176 LSAT 3.85 GPA s w/ Ivy League undergrad educations that went to say a T30 with a scholarship over a T10 thinking they would graduate debt free and at the top of their class but were completly suprised to end up closer to the mean. Some people are naturals and some struggle. Its hard to tell in advance. Just don't bank on it. American is a decent school though.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:100% of 0Ls plan to finish 1L in the top 10%. Your odds of failing at this are about 9-to-1. Do not attend AU unless you'd be happy taking your JD from AU. Period.

well i donno about that...
I go to a school ranked 40-60 range. A sizable minority of my classmates do not try very hard in school. Think 20-40%. In my LW class, after we get our graded papers, the teacher randomly gives each student a paper to edit. Each paper has a page limit of 12 pages. All three papers that i edited were 3-4 pages below the 12 page limit. Factor in that that the facts, issue, and conclusion takes up about 3-4 pages and you end up with 3-4 pages of substance. It is impossible to write a good research memo with 3-4 pages of substance.
Second example. In my civ pro class, the teacher wrote a practice exam for the class and announced that she will choose a couple of papers and post them online. After the deadline, she sent an email saying, due to the low turnout, I decided to grade only 1 paper. I quickly emailed her back and thanked her for choosing mine. She responded back by saying that I was the only one to do it. Opportunities to get a teacher to actually grade a practice exam dont come every day. I jumped on that like flies on shit. I was totally shocked that I was the only one that actually did the assignment.

If you go to a T1/T2 school you need to be prepare to grind. Almost all the kids that did well at my school worked harder than the rest of the class. I know almost all the kids in my section that were on deans list. I would say only 1 of the kids on deans list is natrually smart. He reads a case in 5 mins and can explain the whole thing. Safe to say that he is transferring to a T6 school next year. In my Crim law class, there was one kid that did EVERY SINGLE practice problem in our textbook! He received an A in Crim law and is a 4.0 student.