Transfer from a top 20 with full scholarship? Forum

[Nebby]

I got into an MVP! To those that are considering doing a transfer go for it!

If your T20 is a strong regional, stay there. A full ride from e.g. UCLA is a significantly better gig than sticker at MVP. Whatever better shot MVP gives you at OCI (which isn't much if it's Michigan) is not worth an additionally $120,000 by any stretch of the imagination.

You raise a good point. I just wanted to show others thinking about sending out aps not be be detered by conventional TLS wisdom.

Troll just outed himself. Anon posting is hard.

[derfs]

LOL

[toothbrush]

So if you got a full ride to WUSTL why are you thinking of transferring? You must have gotten into some of the t14, if not MVP, when you applied?

[jdmonkey]

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[jdmonkey]

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[toothbrush]

So if you got a full ride to WUSTL why are you thinking of transferring? You must have gotten into some of the t14, if not MVP, when you applied?

No. USC was the highest ranked school I got into.

retake

[lhanvt13]

So if you got a full ride to WUSTL why are you thinking of transferring? You must have gotten into some of the t14, if not MVP, when you applied?

No. USC was the highest ranked school I got into.

retake

Lol.

But yeah, full ride at WUSTL isn't worth giving up for MVP

[jdmonkey]

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[WokeUpInACar]

You seem kind of dumb and obsessed with prestige.

[jdmonkey]

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[DoveBodyWash]

OP is median at WUSTL...this isn't a case where a top student is trading up for the same/similar prospects. Median means virtually certain likelihood of striking out at OCI completely. Also OP has no ties to our home region.

I don't know enough about Michigan and its placement vis-a-vis transfers to say whether leaving will certainly be better...but staying at WUSTL at median isn't secure either.

Keep in mind that even full ride here still means 70-80k COA (before UG loans) once you include tuition increases and interest.

[WokeUpInACar]

OP is median at WUSTL...this isn't a case where a top student is trading up for the same/similar prospects. Median means virtually certain likelihood of striking out at OCI completely. Also OP has no ties to our home region.

I don't know enough about Michigan and its placement vis-a-vis transfers to say whether leaving will certainly be better...but staying at WUSTL at median isn't secure either.

Keep in mind that even full ride here still means 70-80k COA (before UG loans) once you include tuition increases and interest.

I just don't see why an employer at Michigan OCI would view him differently than any other median student from WUSTL.

[Danger Zone]

You seem kind of dumb and obsessed with prestige.

TBF so is the rest of the legal industry

[toothbrush]

I just don't see why an employer at Michigan OCI would view him differently than any other median student from WUSTL.

Could it be because the screener doesn't know what WUSTL's grade system is like? Aren't the screening interviewers usually from the school you're interviewing with? Or is that completely wrong.

[DoveBodyWash]

OP is median at WUSTL...this isn't a case where a top student is trading up for the same/similar prospects. Median means virtually certain likelihood of striking out at OCI completely. Also OP has no ties to our home region.

I don't know enough about Michigan and its placement vis-a-vis transfers to say whether leaving will certainly be better...but staying at WUSTL at median isn't secure either.

Keep in mind that even full ride here still means 70-80k COA (before UG loans) once you include tuition increases and interest.

I just don't see why an employer at Michigan OCI would view him differently than any other median student from WUSTL.

yea i don't know how much it'll matter, i'm not sure how this works. If Michigan OCI is 100% lottery and the firm only has a handful of Michigan students to interview, then maybe he'll be in a stronger position. OP definitely can't be gunning for the top firms at M's OCI...but i can see some of the less competitive firms just wanting a Michigan grad in general.

Could it be because the screener doesn't know what WUSTL's grade system is like? Aren't the screening interviewers usually from the school you're interviewing with? Or is that completely wrong.

Yeah quite possibly. We don't publish the median cutoff, so no one knows where they are outside of the top third..."Median" could be anything from 3.5 to 3.6.

Our GPA's are heavily inflated so a 3.6 from WUSTL might look decent to a screener if they don't know how our grading system works

[rpupkin]

I just don't see why an employer at Michigan OCI would view him differently than any other median student from WUSTL.

Could it be because the screener doesn't know what WUSTL's grade system is like? Aren't the screening interviewers usually from the school you're interviewing with? Or is that completely wrong.

In defense of the OP, I assume he or she is thinking long-term here. Yeah, there's no way he's getting anything out of Michigan OCI with median grades from WUSTL. (Hell, it's hard enough to get something out of Michigan OCI with median grades from Michigan.) But I could see the argument that he'll have more post-grad opportunities out of a school like Michigan. Actually, now that I think about it some more, most of those post-grad opportunities will be fairly low paying, which makes the extra $100K of debt (which the OP will incur by transferring) even more painful.

Never mind. I actually don't think transferring is a smart move here.

[toothbrush]

Could it be because the screener doesn't know what WUSTL's grade system is like? Aren't the screening interviewers usually from the school you're interviewing with? Or is that completely wrong.
In defense of the OP, I assume he or she is thinking long-term here. Yeah, there's no way he's getting anything out of Michigan OCI with median grades from WUSTL. (Hell, it's hard enough to get something out of Michigan OCI with median grades from Michigan.) But I could see the argument that he'll have more post-grad opportunities out of a school like Michigan. Actually, now that I think about it some more, most of those post-grad opportunities will be fairly low paying, which makes the extra $100K of debt (which the OP will incur by transferring) even more painful.
Never mind. I actually don't think transferring is a smart move here.

this was beautiful to read. solid post.

[WokeUpInACar]

Median is above 3.5 at WUSTL? Damn UT needs to get their shit together. 3.5 is like top 1/3 here.

[DoveBodyWash]

Median is above 3.5 at WUSTL? Damn UT needs to get their shit together. 3.5 is like top 1/3 here.

lol top third is 3.69 here

[toothbrush]

Median is above 3.5 at WUSTL? Damn UT needs to get their shit together. 3.5 is like top 1/3 here.

This was my point, basically. =P

[rpupkin]

Median is misleading. I did well second semester and very poor first semester, so I think admissions took the upward grade trend into account. My plan is to lead off with spring GPA then put cumulative GPA on the resume. So hopefully firms will be like OK this guy had no idea what he was doing first semester, but once he figured out how to take law school exams he did well.

What do you mean by "lead off with spring GPA"? If you mean that you will put your "spring GPA" in your cover letter, I suggest rethinking this strategy. As someone who has reviewed applications from law school students, I can tell you what I do when I see a cover letter that mentions just one semester's grades: I immediately flip to the person's transcript to check out the other semester's grades. I think: "Why is this person mentioning just half of their academic performance? That other half must be a real trainwreck." Basically, the ploy backfires, as it draws attention to the very thing that the applicant doesn't want the employer to focus on.

Just play it straight. The employer will see the upward trend on your transcript. You can even mention the upward trend in your cover letter if you would like. But don't represent half of your academic performance as a "GPA" anywhere.

[jdmonkey]

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[lhanvt13]

Could it be because the screener doesn't know what WUSTL's grade system is like? Aren't the screening interviewers usually from the school you're interviewing with? Or is that completely wrong.
In defense of the OP, I assume he or she is thinking long-term here. Yeah, there's no way he's getting anything out of Michigan OCI with median grades from WUSTL. (Hell, it's hard enough to get something out of Michigan OCI with median grades from Michigan.) But I could see the argument that he'll have more post-grad opportunities out of a school like Michigan. Actually, now that I think about it some more, most of those post-grad opportunities will be fairly low paying, which makes the extra $100K of debt (which the OP will incur by transferring) even more painful.
Never mind. I actually don't think transferring is a smart move here.

this was beautiful to read. solid post.

+1

[rpupkin]

Just play it straight. The employer will see the upward trend on your transcript. You can even mention the upward trend in your cover letter if you would like. But don't represent half of your academic performance as a "GPA" anywhere.

On the resume itself can I write Spring GPA: x; Cumulative GPA: y. Or would you recommend I that only put cumulative GPA and write about the upward trend in the cover letter?

I think it's less of a problem to isolate your Spring GPA if you list it right next to your Cumulative GPA. I still lean slightly towards not singling out one semester's GPA on either your resume or cover letter, but it probably won't hurt so long as it doesn't come off like you're trying to hide half of your academic record.

[jdmonkey]

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