Top Law Schools

Hello,
I will be a student at Northwestern Law School and I might have to transfer to a peer school (Cornell, Georgetown, Duke, for example) in the future because of health concerns. I have serious rheumatoid and I am constantly paralyzed at least once a week because of joint pain in the recent 20 years. Living in Chicago might make it worse that I couldn't continue my study (I don't know what I will be facing because I have never lived in an environment as cold as Chicago).
I researched but found it was uncommon to transfer between peer schools and the data was more valuable for students transferring from a tier-1 school to the top 14. Will I be required to achieve the same class rank and GPA in order to transfer?
Thank you in advance.

I really doubt anyone has hard numbers on this. But why are you going to Northwestern with this issue? Why not go to one of the other schools you named instead of putting yourself in a position where you'll have to transfer?

I wish you luck, but if Chicago doesn’t work for you, upstate NY (Cornell) won’t either. The other concern is that if the weather creates such problems that you need to transfer, I’d worry that it will affect your 1L performance as well, which will make everything else much harder.

That said, can you take your classes remotely in the fall?

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:47 am

I really doubt anyone has hard numbers on this. But why are you going to Northwestern with this issue? Why not go to one of the other schools you named instead of putting yourself in a position where you'll have to transfer?

Because it is the only top 20 school that admitted me.

fatandfat wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:05 pm

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:47 am

I really doubt anyone has hard numbers on this. But why are you going to Northwestern with this issue? Why not go to one of the other schools you named instead of putting yourself in a position where you'll have to transfer?

Because it is the only top 20 school that admitted me.

What are your numbers? I know NW is splitter-friendly, but it seems unlikely that you wouldn't be able to land WashU or Vanderbilt if you got in there.

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 9:05 am

fatandfat wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:05 pm

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:47 am

I really doubt anyone has hard numbers on this. But why are you going to Northwestern with this issue? Why not go to one of the other schools you named instead of putting yourself in a position where you'll have to transfer?

Because it is the only top 20 school that admitted me.

What are your numbers? I know NW is splitter-friendly, but it seems unlikely that you wouldn't be able to land WashU or Vanderbilt if you got in there.

LSAT is between 25% and 50% of T4-T14 but below 25% of HYS. GPA is at 75% of almost all T14. I applied to all the private schools from lower T14 to T30. I have exceeded the 7 LSAT limit and this is my third application cycle so I decided to attend, although I am unhappy about my LSAT score.

fatandfat wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 12:28 pm

LSAT is between 25% and 50% of T4-T14 but below 25% of HYS. GPA is at 75% of almost all T14. I applied to all the private schools from lower T14 to T30. I have exceeded the 7 LSAT limit and this is my third application cycle so I decided to attend, although I am unhappy about my LSAT score.

I'd normally think that you underperformed, but I haven't actually seen anyone with 7 reportable LSAT scores, so that likely had an effect.

But when you say you applied to all "private schools," in that range, please tell me you don't mean you left out UVA, UT, and UCLA.

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 1:14 pm

But when you say you applied to all "private schools," in that range, please tell me you don't mean you left out UVA, UT, and UCLA.

Yeah, if OP needs a warm-weather T20 then the list is UVA, Duke, GULC, UCLA, UT, Vandy.

Don't go to Northwestern if it's going to jeopardize your health, OP. You simply can't count on being able to transfer, regardless of what the grades requirements are.

The Lsat Airbender wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 1:26 pm

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 1:14 pm

But when you say you applied to all "private schools," in that range, please tell me you don't mean you left out UVA, UT, and UCLA.

Yeah, if OP needs a warm-weather T20 then the list is UVA, Duke, GULC, UCLA, UT, Vandy.

Don't go to Northwestern if it's going to jeopardize your health, OP. You simply can't count on being able to transfer, regardless of what the grades requirements are.

I'm not saying that D.C. is comparable to Chicago winters, but I'd probably narrow to just UT and UCLA if you really need only warm weather. D.C. still has the occasional snowstorm and tends to get a lot of freezing rain/sleet type weather in the winter, which to me can be much more chilling than a snowstorm when it is 10 degrees colder. UVA/Duke/Vandy will only be a touch warmer than D.C., if at all. Perhaps your doctor could provide more insight as to how climate might impact your condition.

To answer your question about transferring to rank-peer schools, there's anecdotal support for transfer applicants with lackluster (but still above median) GPAs from rank-peer or higher schools getting accepted to a similar or lower-ranked schools. Note that every school has a different transfer policy, and it's worth looking into the transfer policies and usual practices of your target schools before committing to a plan like this.