Transferring from a Bad School Forum

[akalarrybird]

I know that it's far from a secret that Arizona Summit Law School is below par, but I was wondering as to your opinions about transferring out of there. I got into several T2/T3 schools but none of them really interest me. I got scholarships from Arizona Summit and its only a few minutes from where I currently live. I guess the root of my question would be how much weight would that hold against me coming from a crappy school like that? I'm fairly confident that I could do quite well and would then plan to transfer out to ASU or a T1/T2 school that captivates my interest. I also have some family reasons for staying in phx... Thank you for your opinions!

[d cooper]

You have a much better shot at scoring a 170+ on a retake.

[paayter]

most people will tell you....this is never a good idea.

[TheSpanishMain]

Do not do this. It's a dumpster fire of a school. You can't count on transferring even from a legitimate school, and this place supposedly deliberately tries to stop students from transferring out. Retaking the LSAT is WAY easier than wasting a year at this failure factory.

[d cooper]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... mmit/2013/

You won't escape.

(Probably the lowest LSAT median I've seen, as well.)

[Ricky-Bobby]

You should not go to Arizona Summit under any circumstances.

That scholarship they offered? 47% of the class of 2015 has already lost their scholarships.

[HRomanus]

Would a T1/T2 even be interested in an Infi-1L? The students and faculty at a TTTT in my state are going fucking insane about their school being sold to InfiLaw. Their (un)ranking and employment scores already completely suck, so I assume being an Infi-L is a special circle of hell.

[koalacity]

You do realize that this is a school that is the subject of a lawsuit over claims that it intentionally makes it exceptionally difficult to transfer out (withholding transcripts, refusing to write letters of recommendation, adopting obtuse grading systems, etc), right? DO NOT DO THIS.

(for reference: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ ... urage_stu/)

[akalarrybird]

Thanks for the input, everyone. My reasoning that I could rank higher in a worse school obviously doesn't apply when it comes to this particular school. Thank you.

[rickgrimes69]

Do not do this. It's a dumpster fire of a school. You can't count on transferring even from a legitimate school, and this place supposedly deliberately tries to stop students from transferring out. Retaking the LSAT is WAY easier than wasting a year at this failure factory.

[koalacity]

Thanks for the input, everyone. My reasoning that I could rank higher in a worse school obviously doesn't apply when it comes to this particular school. Thank you.

I know no one wants to retake, but truly, your best option is to retake and go to ASU/UofA with a scholarship if you want to practice in Phoenix.

[akalarrybird]

Thanks for the input, everyone. My reasoning that I could rank higher in a worse school obviously doesn't apply when it comes to this particular school. Thank you.

I know no one wants to retake, but truly, your best option is to retake and go to ASU/UofA with a scholarship if you want to practice in Phoenix.

Thank you. I'll do just that.

[John Everyman]

[koalacity]

Thanks for the input, everyone. My reasoning that I could rank higher in a worse school obviously doesn't apply when it comes to this particular school. Thank you.

I know no one wants to retake, but truly, your best option is to retake and go to ASU/UofA with a scholarship if you want to practice in Phoenix.

Thank you. I'll do just that.

If you haven't looked into them already, TLS has a wealth of amazing resources for the LSAT, and there's a great community here to help support/motivate you for your retake. If I hadn't found TLS, I definitely wouldn't have gotten the score that I did. Good luck!

[akalarrybird]

Thank you, I'm looking into that right now!

[Princetonlaw68]

Do not do this. It's a dumpster fire of a school. You can't count on transferring even from a legitimate school, and this place supposedly deliberately tries to stop students from transferring out. Retaking the LSAT is WAY easier than wasting a year at this failure factory.

I don't know if this is relevant to you, but in case you were curious about how a school might try to prevent you from transferring (which this school may or may not do. I have absolutely no idea.) Here is an article that talks a little bit about it:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/advice-f ... rring.html

Here's the excerpt:
I have heard all sorts of stories. Some schools prevent transfers from getting future recommendations for jobs or clerkships. Some schools make it harder by mailing the things out slowly. Others charge you over $100 dollars for a Dean’s certification or try to rack up fees somehow. Some require you to have a big long talk with the dean. Some tell the entire faculty to not write recommendations or to discourage students from transferring (making the process of getting LORS extra awkward). They may even prevent you from bidding on fall OCI. Many schools try to keep it on the down-low and make it seem like the most outrageous thing that they have ever heard of.

[timbs4339]

Do not do this. It's a dumpster fire of a school. You can't count on transferring even from a legitimate school, and this place supposedly deliberately tries to stop students from transferring out. Retaking the LSAT is WAY easier than wasting a year at this failure factory.

I don't know if this is relevant to you, but in case you were curious about how a school might try to prevent you from transferring (which this school may or may not do. I have absolutely no idea.) Here is an article that talks a little bit about it:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/advice-f ... rring.html

Here's the excerpt:
I have heard all sorts of stories. Some schools prevent transfers from getting future recommendations for jobs or clerkships. Some schools make it harder by mailing the things out slowly. Others charge you over $100 dollars for a Dean’s certification or try to rack up fees somehow. Some require you to have a big long talk with the dean. Some tell the entire faculty to not write recommendations or to discourage students from transferring (making the process of getting LORS extra awkward). They may even prevent you from bidding on fall OCI. Many schools try to keep it on the down-low and make it seem like the most outrageous thing that they have ever heard of.

If you want to be a bit more specific:

"Two tenured law professors at Phoenix School of Law have filed a suit claiming they were fired after objecting to proposals making it more difficult for students to transfer to other schools...Also discussed, the suit says, were proposals to discourage transfers by refusing to write recommendation letters, changing first-year classes to make them incompatible with other schools, and adopting a pass-fail grading system that would make it hard for other schools to identify top students."

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ ... urage_stu/

[20141023]

.

[Ricky-Bobby]

Making the distinction between "for-profit" and "non-profit" dumpster fires is a waste of time. You're kidding yourself if you think non-profits aren't the exact same way. Just because it's shareholders getting a cut as opposed to overpaid deans and professors does not make for-profits more evil than Thomas Jefferson and its peers.

[20141023]

.

[Ricky-Bobby]

Making the distinction between "for-profit" and "non-profit" dumpster fires is a waste of time. You're kidding yourself if you think non-profits aren't the exact same way. Just because it's shareholders getting a cut as opposed to overpaid deans and professors does not make for-profits more evil than Thomas Jefferson and its peers.

I am not saying that non-profits aren't also egregious offenders. This has been brought up before, and the only real difference is that for-profits are more forthcoming in saying "fuck the students, we're in this for the profits." Non-profits generally have a horrible reputation for being shit-holes because of how they treat students and faculty alike. I am not sure why anyone would be willing to pay to associate their resume with an organization that is well known for ripping people off; personally, I would be willing to pay money to avoid having the same of an Infilaw school on my resume.

I agree completely. I just get the feeling that some people automatically assume for-profit = evil and non-profit = benevolent when that is obviously not the case. Everybody's out to screw you, so just get yours and screw them back.

ETA: Those graphs are awesome, and any comments I make should not detract from the awfulness of Summit/Florida Coastal/etc./et al/ad infinitum.

[Young Marino]

You're better off paying sticker at one of those TT/TTT schools you got into.

[jdx2014]

I know that it's far from a secret that Arizona Summit Law School is below par, but I was wondering as to your opinions about transferring out of there. I got into several T2/T3 schools but none of them really interest me. I got scholarships from Arizona Summit and its only a few minutes from where I currently live. I guess the root of my question would be how much weight would that hold against me coming from a crappy school like that? I'm fairly confident that I could do quite well and would then plan to transfer out to ASU or a T1/T2 school that captivates my interest. I also have some family reasons for staying in phx... Thank you for your opinions!

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/55666 ... commercial
THIS

[20141023]

.

[Volake]

Do it! It'll be like hunger games except not as publicized or thrilling. The consequences of failure at pretty lateral: death vs. crippling debt with bad life prospects. I prevailed through the games (I liked my first school a great deal though), so you could consider me like that Haymitch dude, except more attractive than the guy who played him in the movies. May the odds be ever in your favor!