Law School Transfer Q Forum

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UAKAVA

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Law School Transfer Q

Post by UAKAVA » Sun Sep 05, 2010 11:32 pm

I've been thinking about transferring schools recently. I really dislike the market that my school is located in, and really can't see myself having much of a future here. I'm currently attending a T50 school (ranked 48 without giving away too much), and my wife may be taking a job in a new city come next year. I really want to follow her out there, but the only issue is I could potentially be transferring down a notch if I did. How easy would it be to transfer from a T50 school to either a mid T2 or, my other option in that city, a T30? I understand that I'm being an idiot in even considering transferring down, but she's worth it. Let's say if I'm just inside the top 1/3rd of my class and had a good LSAT score (166) but relatively blah UG grades (3.31)? Are these stats alright for some movement? Ignore the weird timing, long story in terms of schedule and such.

concurrent fork

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Re: Law School Transfer Q

Post by concurrent fork » Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:05 pm

This question is better suited for the transfer forum, but some quick thoughts:

--Yes, lateral transfers are more common than you might think, but the process is still competitive.
--You can only transfer the summer between your 1L and 2L year.
--The time frame is extremely condensed. Unless the school has an ED option, you will typically find out whether you are admitted a couple of weeks before you need to make a decision. If you do not have confirmation of your wife's work situation by that time, you could be in a tough spot.
--Numbers on successful transfer applicants are notoriously hard to come by. However, your UGPA and LSAT will have virtually no impact on your application. Decisions are based on your first-year grades with some weight given to personal circumstances (need to relocate due to spouse is a plus). Anecdotally, top 1/3 is probably the outside range of a successful lateral transfer. If you want to move up to a higher T1, you need a better class rank to stand a realistic shot.
--These are just my observations from this year's transfer cycle - for more info try the Yahoo transferapps database and the various result threads of the transfer forum.

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