Should I transfer undergrad to save money? Forum

[odetojefferson]

I was in a similar position to you and did decide to transfer. I attended NYU for my freshman year and did mediocre (~3.2, but I was pre-med there and am now a sociology major with a 4.0). Anyways, I was feeling guilty going there because it was a huge burden on my parents to pay for that since I am not willing to take out loans for my UG. I made to decision to transfer to an easy in-state school for my second year, Now, I had several factors pushing me to transfer that you do not seem to have (I am graduating 3 semesters early because of the transfer, cost of living was significantly lower, and my general fear of having a low GPA by staying at NYU). To me, law school is something I have aimed for for a very long time and taking UG law courses have only fueled my need to go to law school. Because of all these factors, I believed that sacrificing my UG experience was more important than not getting into a top law school. I have maintained close relationships with my friends from NYU but because of this I have very few close friends at my current school. I spend the majority of my time doing homework and reading, hiking, etc on my own. I have gotten a little depressed, but like I said, getting into a top law school is my priority.

My point is that this decision is extremely personal. It is hard to spend one year building friendships and then to have to up and leave and then try and make all new friends again. I am very much an introvert and I love going to school and learning, so spending time by myself does not bother me as much as it would other people. I am a very forward thinking person, so even when I get depressed because of my situation I am happy in knowing it will greatly advance my future. By graduating early, I am planning to move back to NY to work for a year or 2 before applying to law school. If you think you will perform fine at your current school, then I would definitely advise you to stay there.

[ggocat]

In no situation available to me would I be without heavy constraints after graduating law school.

1. Transfer to cheaper undergrad and get $60K from parents.
2. Take a full ride scholarship for law school--easy to do even if your LSAT isn't stellar.
3. Graduate law school with no debt.

[james999]

In no situation available to me would I be without heavy constraints after graduating law school.

1. Transfer to cheaper undergrad and get $60K from parents.
2. Take a full ride scholarship for law school--easy to do even if your LSAT isn't stellar.
3. Graduate law school with no debt.

How far down the rankings does one typically have to go for a good scholarship?

[09042014]

In no situation available to me would I be without heavy constraints after graduating law school.

1. Transfer to cheaper undergrad and get $60K from parents.
2. Take a full ride scholarship for law school--easy to do even if your LSAT isn't stellar.
3. Graduate law school with no debt.

How far down the rankings does one typically have to go for a good scholarship?

Depends on your numbers. Northwestern gives out almost full rides to people whose numbers are damn close to HYS.

[james999]

In no situation available to me would I be without heavy constraints after graduating law school.

1. Transfer to cheaper undergrad and get $60K from parents.
2. Take a full ride scholarship for law school--easy to do even if your LSAT isn't stellar.
3. Graduate law school with no debt.

How far down the rankings does one typically have to go for a good scholarship?

Depends on your numbers. Northwestern gives out almost full rides to people whose numbers are damn close to HYS.

Okay, so:

HYS = Northwestern full ride = ?? half-ride
CCN = ?? full ride = ?? half-ride
etc.

Any sense of this? Is there a master list of this sort?

[ggocat]

Any sense of this? Is there a master list of this sort?

Here are (somewhat) recent data from ABA in a spreadsheet:
--LinkRemoved--
(via http://www.abanet.org/legaled/statistics/stats.html)

relevant columns:
N = 75th percentile GPA
Q = 50th percentile GPA
W = 75th percentile LSAT
Z = 50th percentile LSAT
BD = total percent of students receiving full scholarships
BJ = total percent of students receiving more than full scholarships (include living/book stipends)

(you can play around with the spreadsheet if you want to look at other size scholarships, etc.)

Depending on the school, you may need both numbers above the 75th percentiles for a full ride, but for other schools you may need only one above the 75th and another above the 50th. (I'm not saying being above the 75th is a lock at any school).

Note that the "total percent" columns only include students actually attending the school. So for a school that has 10% with full rides, you don't really need to be in the top 10% of applicants because some applicants who are awarded scholarships will decide not to matriculate.

Here is a good article for someone considering law school: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 7904889498