Transfer to UCLA or Boalt for better LA Big Law chances? (through OCI) Forum

uclahopeful1313 · Post by **uclahopeful1313** » Mon Jun 18, 2018 6:49 pm

Hey!

I am a transfer student who has so far gotten into UCLA and I seem to have a fair shot at UCB as well.

I have a 3.8 from Hastings. My goal is Big Law in LA, see how I like it, and maybe if I hate it try to go in house somewhere, or if I love it, to stay there and hopefully eventually make partner.

I have heard transfers do well at UCLA in OCI. I would really rather go to UCLA but I do not know if I would be shooting myself in the foot down the road turning down Boalt. Any thoughts? How are firms going to view a 3.8 from Hastings during OCI? I know a 3.8 from UCLA would probably look great... but I'm not sure how transfer stuff will factor in. Also I will not have the opportunity to join Law Review until the fall for UCLA so I don't think that would be on my resume for OCI.

I'm definitely a people-person and am pretty social, so I am not too worried about being likable/charismatic during interviews, but I am worried about my stats while entering a competitive Big Law market! I've heard LA can be tough.

I've also applied to GULC, NYU, and Cornell (and HYS as a reach lol) but am unsure of my chances to get in there/am not sure if NYU/Cornell are worth the move across the country if my goal is LA.

Does it seem likely I'll have a good shot at Big Law coming from UCLA, or should I pick UCB over them? Also, will UCLA vs UCB make a big difference down the road (i.e. partnership or in-house somewhere)

Also sorry if this is the wrong board for this! I wasn't sure if I should post here or in transfers but this seemed to make the most sense

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Jun 18, 2018 8:40 pm

If you want LA I would go UCLA > Boalt. UCLA students are all over LA big law. Anecdotally, I know a 3.9 transfer from Davis to UCLA who got an offer at Latham. At OCI you will need to be able to explain why you transferred to LA. While the real answer is probably rankings/job prospects which is good enough answer to me, a lot of hiring partners will look for a deeper connection like family/significant other. Just make something up.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:04 pm

My LA biglaw office is about a third Berkeley, maybe one or two people UCLA.

At equal price, Berkeley and not a question.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:19 pm

How's your Hastings Scholarship? If significant, I would consider staying, go to one of the Bay Area firms with an LA office then transfer down the road. I'm assuming a 3.8 from Hastings is around top 5% - 10% which should make you competitive for OCI. If you're dead set on transferring, go to Berkeley.I do, however, think it would be worth it to transfer to Columbia or NYU if you do get in.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:23 pm

I know someone who had a GPA above 4.0 at UCLA (guess they use the 4.3 scale) and he didn’t get an offer at Gibson Dunn or Latham (he’s not some weirdo either). He ended up going to one of the big NY firms in their NY office.

Also, only like 35-40% of UCLA students get biglaw. Keep that in mind.

I would take Boalt over UCLA even for LA.

LaLiLuLeLo · Post by **LaLiLuLeLo** » Tue Jun 19, 2018 12:33 am

If money is the same, Boalt. No doubt.

If not...well then it depends.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jun 19, 2018 12:49 am

I transferred to Boalt from Hastings a few years ago. A couple of my friends transferred to UCLA. All the Hastings-->Boalt students my year got big law through OCI in the bay or LA. Only 1/3 Hastings--->UCLA students got big law. A lot of the top 10-15% students at Hastings got big law, some even ended up in LA and NY. Please keep in mind that this is anecdotal evidence.

If you are going to pay full tuition for the remaining two years, my opinion is that Boalt>UCLA. However, as some of the other posters suggested, if you get into NYU or Columbia go for it. I don't think Cornell is worth the move east. I regret not applying to east coast schools, even if my ultimate goal was California.

Good luck!

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jun 19, 2018 2:04 am

Another Boalt transfer here. I had a hard time at OCI, but landed biglaw around October. I know one other transfer that struggled, everyone else did great.

Another factor to consider: Boalt is up to 9th this year and may climb more next year because of Chemerinsky's presence.

mmeissn2 · Post by **mmeissn2** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:40 pm

uclahopeful1313 wrote:Hey!

I am a transfer student who has so far gotten into UCLA and I seem to have a fair shot at UCB as well.

I have a 3.8 from Hastings. My goal is Big Law in LA, see how I like it, and maybe if I hate it try to go in house somewhere, or if I love it, to stay there and hopefully eventually make partner.

I have heard transfers do well at UCLA in OCI. I would really rather go to UCLA but I do not know if I would be shooting myself in the foot down the road turning down Boalt. Any thoughts? How are firms going to view a 3.8 from Hastings during OCI? I know a 3.8 from UCLA would probably look great... but I'm not sure how transfer stuff will factor in. Also I will not have the opportunity to join Law Review until the fall for UCLA so I don't think that would be on my resume for OCI.

I'm definitely a people-person and am pretty social, so I am not too worried about being likable/charismatic during interviews, but I am worried about my stats while entering a competitive Big Law market! I've heard LA can be tough.

I've also applied to GULC, NYU, and Cornell (and HYS as a reach lol) but am unsure of my chances to get in there/am not sure if NYU/Cornell are worth the move across the country if my goal is LA.

Does it seem likely I'll have a good shot at Big Law coming from UCLA, or should I pick UCB over them? Also, will UCLA vs UCB make a big difference down the road (i.e. partnership or in-house somewhere)

Also sorry if this is the wrong board for this! I wasn't sure if I should post here or in transfers but this seemed to make the most sense

Boalt, easy

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:19 pm

As a CCN person, I don't think it's necessarily like, obvious that you transfer here rather than Berkeley if you want to end up in the Los Angeles market. It's quite do-able *as a non-transfer*, and all the national BigLaw LA offices do OCI here, but each office is looking to make like 3-4 offers max: West Coast schools predominate. And you're going to be at a disadvantage relative to the CCN non-transfers. By comparison, there are more offers available for Berkeley interviewees and your story makes more sense. "I transferred from Hastings to Berkeley," yeah of course - "I transferred from Hastings to Columbia but want to go back to the West Coast"...not so much. They'll assume you got into Berkeley and UCLA too, or at least I would, and may question your commitment to Los Angeles.

But CCN over Hastings, obviously

Transfer to UCLA or Boalt for better LA Big Law chances? (through OCI) Forum

Transfer to UCLA or Boalt for better LA Big Law chances? (through OCI)

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