Should I Transfer Undergraduate Schools? Forum

[lisjjen]

If it makes any difference, I have a full ride to Dearborn right now so I'll graduate without any debt from Dearborn, but i probably will if I go to Michigan.

Then you should stay.

I was being paid to go to school before I transferred. It was still worth it to go.

[howlery]

If it makes any difference, I have a full ride to Dearborn right now so I'll graduate without any debt from Dearborn, but i probably will if I go to Michigan.

Then you should stay.

I was being paid to go to school before I transferred. It was still worth it to go.

Thats my situation now. Stop making me want to transfer again D:

[englawyer]

i would transfer. it would be a great experience to study at AA and it also might help in your legal job search (as opposed to law school admissions). interviewers, especially alumni, might be impressed and it could be a nice "soft factor" to help get a job.

[lisjjen]

and not to be the weirdo on the forum, but if you get to the end of undergrad and decide not to go to law school, I don't think I have to remind you that your career options out of undergrad are going to be so, so, so much better coming out of AA. Especially if you ever want to work somewhere besides Michigan.

[Gail]

i would transfer. it would be a great experience to study at AA and it also might help in your legal job search (as opposed to law school admissions). interviewers, especially alumni, might be impressed and it could be a nice "soft factor" to help get a job.

+1


Transfer. Please transfer if you want to be a lawyer with a job.

[howlery]

So how much debt would it be safe to take on?

[wolverine33]

Any other opinions?

[wolverine33]

i would transfer. it would be a great experience to study at AA and it also might help in your legal job search (as opposed to law school admissions). interviewers, especially alumni, might be impressed and it could be a nice "soft factor" to help get a job.

+1

After careful reconsideration and knowing how worried I am about this for myself, I'll echo the sentiment.

Transfer. Please transfer if you want to be a lawyer with a job.

How would transferring now help me get a job after law school?

[Gail]

Take a look at BigLaw websites and see where most UGs are

[kwais]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

[Gail]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

It's more important for jobs.

[Samara]

i would transfer. it would be a great experience to study at AA and it also might help in your legal job search (as opposed to law school admissions). interviewers, especially alumni, might be impressed and it could be a nice "soft factor" to help get a job.

+1

After careful reconsideration and knowing how worried I am about this for myself, I'll echo the sentiment.

Transfer. Please transfer if you want to be a lawyer with a job.

How would transferring now help me get a job after law school?

This is stupid. OP should not transfer based on getting employed after law school. Where someone went to UG has absolutely no bearing on employment once you are in law school and it has very little bearing on law school admissions.

If OP is set on law school, going to Ann Arbor would not be worth the extra expense and risk to GPA. If law school is just one consideration, transferring may be the right choice, depending on how much the extra cost would be.

[Samara]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

It's more important for jobs.

Where is the evidence for either of these claims? Going to Ann Arbor could make a difference in applying to Michigan Law School, but other than that, where is the evidence that it will help at any other school? Where is the evidence that your UG affects OCI?

[lisjjen]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

It's more important for jobs.

Where is the evidence for either of these claims? Going to Ann Arbor could make a difference in applying to Michigan Law School, but other than that, where is the evidence that it will help at any other school? Where is the evidence that your UG affects OCI?

I don't know a single kid who went to a Stanford/Brown/Harvard type school here who is still looking for a job. They're all working at firms and the Securities and Exchanged Commission and such. The takeaway is, everybody cares about what you look like on paper.

[Samara]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

It's more important for jobs.

Where is the evidence for either of these claims? Going to Ann Arbor could make a difference in applying to Michigan Law School, but other than that, where is the evidence that it will help at any other school? Where is the evidence that your UG affects OCI?

I don't know a single kid who went to a Stanford/Brown/Harvard type school here who is still looking for a job. They're all working at firms and the Securities and Exchanged Commission and such. The takeaway is, everybody cares about what you look like on paper.

A) Correlation is not causality. If you are smart and hard working enough to go to Harvard/Stanford/etc. and then smart and hard working enough to get into a T14, chances are high you are going to be smart and hard working enough to get good grades. Those kids are also much more likely to have connections and such.

B) Michigan is not in the same category as the Ivy League. I've heard of people getting an Ivy League boost, but I've never heard of anyone getting a Michigan or similar public school boost.

C) What are the grades of the people you know? Are they significantly outperforming their class rank?

I would buy the transfer if it was to Ivy League/Stanford/etc., but I don't see a lot of value in transferring to AA solely on the basis of law school admissions or legal employment. Transferring may still be a good idea, for the backup options, etc., but I don't see where it is worth the extra debt in terms of law school.

[decaf735]

definitely transfer. no doubt about it.

1) you have no idea you're definitely going to law school
2) job prospects out of UG is huge, even if you still want to go to law school. working for a year or two before law school will strengthen your application and will help you pay down your UG debt/ prepare for more debt.


lots of other reasons. you should transfer

[wolverine33]

What kind of job prospects is a political science major going to have coming out of Michigan then?

[splbagel]

You should probably transfer. It won't help your for law school admissions but 1) it probably isn't that much harder, your friends just want to make excuses why you get better grades 2) you should get professional experience before law school for which U of M -- AA would be better and 3) Ann Arbor is probably a better place to spend 1-3 years.

That's what's up. You'll get a better education and spend a few years in a nicer town. Unless you have some compelling reason to stay, A2 is the way to go.

[englawyer]

absolutely transfer. If you are worried about your GPA, well, then, work really hard in Ann Arbor. That, and I am a little more suspicious than most posters here about the idea that prestigious UG is not a factor in admissions.

It's more important for jobs.

Where is the evidence for either of these claims? Going to Ann Arbor could make a difference in applying to Michigan Law School, but other than that, where is the evidence that it will help at any other school? Where is the evidence that your UG affects OCI?

I imagine OCI interviewers divide ugrads into multiple bins: (1) huh? never heard of it (2) decent midrange schools (3) ivy etc. OP Transfer would be upgrade from at least (1)->(2) if not (1)->(3). For some concrete proof, it is somewhat common knowledge that Boston firms look out for "double harvards", or people that were Harvard U-grad -> HLS.

[PDaddy]

I don't know a single kid who went to a Stanford/Brown/Harvard type school here who is still looking for a job. They're all working at firms and the Securities and Exchanged Commission and such. The takeaway is, everybody cares about what you look like on paper.

The above reasoning is flawed because it:

A) Cites a sample size that is likely to be unrepresentative
B) Fails to define in any meaningful way the "Stanford/Brown/Harvard type" of schools it promotes
C) Assumes without warrant that the UG schools were the sole factors in the job success of the sample group
D) Neglects to consider the possibility that a reverse-causal relationship exists between UG schools and job selection
E) Neglects to consider the prospect of self-selection among the sample size

F) All of the above

[PDaddy]

definitely transfer. no doubt about it.

1) you have no idea you're definitely going to law school
2) job prospects out of UG is huge, even if you still want to go to law school. working for a year or two before law school will strengthen your application and will help you pay down your UG debt/ prepare for more debt.

lots of other reasons. you should transfer

If OP doesn't attend law school right away he should consider one of three "vocational" majors for employment right out of UG: Accounting, Journalism or Engineering. All other majors (aside from performing arts majors) are worthless for employment purposes right out of UG.

[Mal Reynolds]

Egregious anti-Dearborn trolling in this thread.

[wolverine33]

Would going to Ann Arbor give me any boost if I applied to UM for law school?

[Samara]

Would going to Ann Arbor give me any boost if I applied to UM for law school?

There seems to be some evidence for such a boost, though you'd still have to be in the neighborhood of their medians.

[bruss]

definitely transfer. no doubt about it.

1) you have no idea you're definitely going to law school
2) job prospects out of UG is huge, even if you still want to go to law school. working for a year or two before law school will strengthen your application and will help you pay down your UG debt/ prepare for more debt.

lots of other reasons. you should transfer

If OP doesn't attend law school right away he should consider one of three "vocational" majors for employment right out of UG: Accounting, Journalism or Engineering. All other majors (aside from performing arts majors) are worthless for employment purposes right out of UG.

Journalism? Really?