Transferring 2x Forum

[Total Litigator]

Only some schools explicitely limit transfer apps to those students who have only completed one year of law school credit - I had a roommate who quasi-joked about doing this. That being said, I have serious doubts this would work at the schools that don't explicitely prohibit transfer applications from 2L's. And THAT being said, I would love to shake the hand of the person who had least attempts it.

[luthersloan]

I sort of doubt a second school would just look at your 1L grades, after all you could just as easily think of it as being your 1L grades that don't count for graduation purposes. The only reason any of your credits don't count is because the institution granting your degree needs to have awarded you two years of credits.

[Coolgrnmen]

Every school I considered applying to transfer to last transfer cycle had a requirement that you complete two years of school there in order to get a J.D. (it's generally a credit limit...like your last 54 hours or something).

Further, that means that you can't do a visiting application for your 3L year, which is the only form of transferring a 2L could do...your degree would still come from your old school.

[concurrent fork]

I sort of doubt a second school would just look at your 1L grades, after all you could just as easily think of it as being your 1L grades that don't count for graduation purposes. The only reason any of your credits don't count is because the institution granting your degree needs to have awarded you two years of credits.

2L grades are very different from 1L grades. Once you are a 2L it becomes much easier to "game the system" if you were so inclined (you can take tons of uncurved classes, clinics, research papers, etc. that at many schools can pretty much guarantee you a high grade). For this reason, I really doubt that a transfer school would use your 2L grades as a basis for its decision.

[RodneyBoonfield]

2L grades are very different from 1L grades. Once you are a 2L it becomes much easier to "game the system" if you were so inclined (you can take tons of uncurved classes, clinics, research papers, etc. that at many schools can pretty much guarantee you a high grade). For this reason, I really doubt that a transfer school would use your 2L grades as a basis for its decision.

At least 1 T14 admissions office said that they consider 2L grades as well and did not indicate that they are treated differently than 1L grades.

[Coolgrnmen]

2L grades are very different from 1L grades. Once you are a 2L it becomes much easier to "game the system" if you were so inclined (you can take tons of uncurved classes, clinics, research papers, etc. that at many schools can pretty much guarantee you a high grade). For this reason, I really doubt that a transfer school would use your 2L grades as a basis for its decision.

At least 1 T14 admissions office said that they consider 2L grades as well and did not indicate that they are treated differently than 1L grades.

Name the school...no reason for anonymity in this circumstance.

Either way, they may be considered for visiting students, but 1L grades would still take precedent over seminars and the like.

[bceagles182]

How in the hell can anyone pay for that? With private loans? I mean, even taking out all the fed aid you can wouldn't cover most top schools....

Why are you surprising by the fact that transfers pay full tuition? Most 2Ls in general pay full tuition considering that most scholarships have stipulations so only a certain percentage of students can retain them from 1L.

Hell, there are a ton of people who pay sticker 1L to go to TTT/TTTTs.

[concurrent fork]

2L grades are very different from 1L grades. Once you are a 2L it becomes much easier to "game the system" if you were so inclined (you can take tons of uncurved classes, clinics, research papers, etc. that at many schools can pretty much guarantee you a high grade). For this reason, I really doubt that a transfer school would use your 2L grades as a basis for its decision.

At least 1 T14 admissions office said that they consider 2L grades as well and did not indicate that they are treated differently than 1L grades.

Which school was it? Are you sure they weren't talking about visiting students?

[RodneyBoonfield]

Duke and yes I'm sure.

[Coolgrnmen]

Duke and yes I'm sure.

Are you really sure?

From: http://www.law.duke.edu/admis/apply/transfer/procedure

Advanced Standing Credit
Transfer students will receive no more than one year of academic credit toward a Duke Law degree for work completed at another law school.

Also...

From: http://www.law.duke.edu/admis/apply/transvis

The deadline for advanced standing applications is July 1. Indicate whether you are applying as a transfer (2L) or visiting (3L) student. Transfer applicants will receive no more than one year of academic credit toward a Duke Law degree for work completed at another law school.

I'm calling this myth... BUSTED. Also, a flame.

[RodneyBoonfield]

Dude

Limiting credits that a student can transfer in with to 30 credits does not mean that they do not consider 2L grades when considering someone for admission. They clarified that you would have to repeat 2L, though. I though I already said that, but Im too lazy to look through the thread.

Let me put this in plain english. They told me they consider 2L grades. If you want to call me a liar, mazal mazal.

[concurrent fork]

Even if Duke lets you do this, I still don't think it makes sense. You would be taking on an additional $60K (conservatively) plus one year opportunity cost. It's far from certain that you would benefit from increased job prospects because you would then need to explain to employers (1) why you did this; and (2) that despite changing your mind twice already, you are now committed to this particular market.

[RodneyBoonfield]

I agree with you.

Do things change for schools within the T6 (hypothetically)? Penn? Excluding money from the equation.

[concurrent fork]

I agree with you.

Do things change for schools within the T6 (hypothetically)? Penn? Excluding money from the equation.

If you remove money and time lost from the equation, maybe. Hypothetically, you get a second chance at OCI. T6 transfers have extremely high success rates, but I don't know how much the perceived indecisiveness re: your desired market would hurt you. NYC firms would be your best shot since they tend not to care about geographic factors.

But, again, I bet some of the T6 prohibit this (someone mentioned Y) and others might look down on it to the point of effectively barring your admission. If you're serious about this, you need to talk to someone in admissions at all of your target schools to confirm their policies (like you did with Duke).

[RodneyBoonfield]

I think many firms would see the T6 transfer as a sign of ambition and work ethic rather than a sign that one is prone indecision, and with money out the equation, I can't see it as being a bad move.

[Coolgrnmen]

Dude

Limiting credits that a student can transfer in with to 30 credits does not mean that they do not consider 2L grades when considering someone for admission. They clarified that you would have to repeat 2L, though. I though I already said that, but Im too lazy to look through the thread.

Let me put this in plain english. They told me they consider 2L grades. If you want to call me a liar, mazal mazal.

Link it or it doesn't exist.

I'm calling this a flame.

[Lawl Shcool]

I think many firms would see the T6 transfer as a sign of ambition and work ethic rather than a sign that one is prone indecision, and with money out the equation, I can't see it as being a bad move.

You would think that but it's not always true, I always tried spinning transferring as a way to proactively improve my career. Law firms would almost certainly question (in a negative way) doing an additional year of law school, even if it was at a "t6".