Official 2010 Transfer Cycle Results Thread Forum

[Bankhead]

You would be an idiot to leave that for Loyola. I thought you liked this school, Southwestern, and now it seems like you're trying to get out at all costs. Didn't you convince like 20 people to go there last year?

[Danteshek]

I really appreciate the opinions. I just got off the phone with someone I respect who thinks I should transfer.

Are the people who think I should stay familiar with Los Angeles?

[Danteshek]

You would be an idiot to leave that for Loyola. I thought you liked this school, Southwestern, and now it seems like you're trying to get out at all costs. Didn't you convince like 20 people to go there last year?

Haha. I do like Southwestern. The problem is my background and my desire to do something more or less related to that. Check out my profile...

[iheartlaw]

Honestly Dante, I am familiar with LA. I would leave. It's not like you are top 5% or top 10%. you are top 20%. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but I am confident that if you get a chance to start all over, you will crush those kids at loyola. Work hard, study hard, and don't feel bad letting go of a top 20% from SW. Job prospects will already be difficult and likely at the cut-off for OCI's, which mean's most of the people you are competing with are your colleagues who are better than top 20% for the limited jobs available. I say leave. LR is great. But it is not end all be all. It is a "soft," remember that. And by going to Loyola, you will open so many doors. I submit to you to go look at Loyola's OCI firm participation list, now do the same for SW. Look at the requirements for the firms you want, and the bids form last year and how many interviews. I think it will be shocking. Best of luck. Go to LLS!

[patrickd139]

LOL at people who think LR is a soft.

[Bankhead]

If he was top 20% at a T4, why would he do significantly better (or even the same) at a T2? I'm not from LA so whatever.

I realize that LR isn't the be all, end all -- but when you have less than stellar grades at a less than stellar school, what else is there? I don't mean any offense, I'm just analyzing objectively.

[270910]

LR is great. But it is not end all be all It is a "soft," remember that. And by going to Loyola, you will open so many doors. I submit to you to go look at Loyola's OCI firm participation list, now do the same for SW. Look at the requirements for the firms you want, and the bids form last year and how many interviews. I think it will be shocking. Best of luck. Go to LLS!

[98234872348]

I generally agree with the other posters in saying that I think you should stay at your school. Transferring is not going to significantly increase your job prospects, you should just be spending your time networking (i.e. joining the local bar assn) rather than worrying about transferring to a school, which, for all intents and purposes, isn't really that great.

Edit: also, disco, awesome.

[270910]

Especially for your stated ambitions, Dante. I've coined a new phrase, which I call "the abyss" - which I use to dump all law schools that aren't very close or very prestigious. The top 14 schools are clearly national law schools. The next handful are damn near national law schools. After that, employers have a good understanding of the pecking order in the schools in their locality.

The thing is, if you want to work at the SEC full time or get some kind of corporate / regulatory gig of that nature, you're probably looking at DC or NYC anyway, neh? From those places, Southwestern might be better than Loyola. They probably won't even pick up a copy of U.S. News to check - it's just 'the abyss'. A school that isn't particularly good and is particularly far away.

Law Review, on the other hand, has universal cache. It's not going to land you at one first street, but it's going to make you stand out and get taken more seriously anywhere you look for work.

I really just don't see any upside in transferring to Loyola, unless there is an idiosyncratic reason (geography, family, hatred of old school, cost of living change, tarot card reading, etc.) that would make you need to move.

[Danteshek]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

[98234872348]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

I think this is credited. One of the main reasons I decided not to transfer is that our Law Review alumni network is stellar. It's something you will put on your resume for the rest of your life.

[270910]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

Your friend is wise. Law review will never go away and will always be impressive. The short term boost isn't huge, but then, neither is the short term boost that would be associated with the transfer, neh?

[UCLAtransfer]

I generally agree with the other posters in saying that I think you should stay at your school. Transferring is not going to significantly increase your job prospects, you should just be spending your time networking (i.e. joining the local bar assn) rather than worrying about transferring to a school, which, for all intents and purposes, isn't really that great.

Edit: also, disco, awesome.

I think you are absolutely right. Law review can only help in this sort of situation, when grades don't put you at the true top of your class. I really doubt that top 20% at Southwestern is going to have any more luck at Loyola's OCI anyhow. Thus, networking is the way to go, and law review will be an important boost.

[UCLAtransfer]

Especially for your stated ambitions, Dante. I've coined a new phrase, which I call "the abyss" - which I use to dump all law schools that aren't very close or very prestigious. The top 14 schools are clearly national law schools. The next handful are damn near national law schools. After that, employers have a good understanding of the pecking order in the schools in their locality.

The thing is, if you want to work at the SEC full time or get some kind of corporate / regulatory gig of that nature, you're probably looking at DC or NYC anyway, neh? From those places, Southwestern might be better than Loyola. They probably won't even pick up a copy of U.S. News to check - it's just 'the abyss'. A school that isn't particularly good and is particularly far away.

Law Review, on the other hand, has universal cache. It's not going to land you at one first street, but it's going to make you stand out and get taken more seriously anywhere you look for work.

I really just don't see any upside in transferring to Loyola, unless there is an idiosyncratic reason (geography, family, hatred of old school, cost of living change, tarot card reading, etc.) that would make you need to move.

Well stated.

[accent]

T4 - top 13%, legal experience, not a native speaker

applied to DePaul, Chicago Kent, MSU, Rutgers Camden, Rutgers Newark

Accepted in: DePaul, Chicago Kent, MSU, Rutgers Camden

Waiting for: Rutgers Newark

I decided to attend Rutgers. Please share your thoughts if you think otherwise.

Thanks

[stinger35]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

I think this is credited. One of the main reasons I decided not to transfer is that our Law Review alumni network is stellar. It's something you will put on your resume for the rest of your life.

Wait, you aren't transferring? Tell me your school slash acceptances again please?

[A'nold]

T4 - top 13%, legal experience, not a native speaker

applied to DePaul, Chicago Kent, MSU, Rutgers Camden, Rutgers Newark

Accepted in: DePaul, Chicago Kent, MSU, Rutgers Camden

Waiting for: Rutgers Newark

I decided to attend Rutgers. Please share your thoughts if you think otherwise.

Thanks

My thoughts are congrats for one thing but also that you should have applied to some reaches or target-reaches instead of only safeties.

[accent]

I absolutely agree with you. I should have applied to at least 2-3 reaches, but I was so absorbed with exams that I did not do my research on transfers. It is not an excuse, but it is too late to do anything.

I would appreciate your opinion on Rutgers Camden vs. Rutgers Newark (just in case newark decides to accept me last minute)

Thanks

[iheartlaw]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

I think your friend is right to say that nobody will know what your grades were.... but what about where you got your degree from? You have to realize dante that this is TLS, so people are elitist f*cks at times. I remember when I went to LS, people were telling me if you don't go to a T14, then there is no point in going in to law- and you will just be in an ass load of debt and be apart of shit-law. If i listened to them, i would have never taken the chance to see what I could make of myself. Thankfully i've been surrounded by snobby people for most of my life- and never let them get to me.

Do what makes you happy. If that means staying at SW, do it. But if that means xferring, I would do that. Law Review isn't the biggest thing in the world people. I am sorry, but it's really not. There are tons of GREAT attorneys out there who didn't do LR. Besides is it too late for you to try to write on at LLS for LR? If it's not, I think it's worth taking a shot. If you made the cut out of 6 people at SW, hopefully you have what it takes to make the cut at LLS.

The best advice I can give you- is think about your career goals. Can you achieve them coming from SW? If you believe that you can, and think it's what's best for you- stay. If you think it would behoove you to x-fer then I think you should do that. Look at OCI bids/interview ratios for firms at SW v. LLS. I know i was shocked to see that my current LS a High T2, firms like O'Melveny Myers were the most sought after. They require top 5% of the class just to be considered for an interview and its like a 30:1 bid to interview ratio. At the new school I am considering xferring to its seriously like 50 bids for 20 interviews at the OMM office in LA. Yeah I could stick around and see if OMM works out at my current school, or I could do the smart thing and put myself in the best position I can to increase my opportunities across the board. I bet there are SOO many more big firms that participate in LLS OCI then at SW.

[Danteshek]

.

[crossingforHYS]

Glad this is such a controversy! One friend told me that 20 years from now nobody will what your grades were, but they will care you were on law review.

I'm not in law school so take these comments with a grain of salt.

I intern at the DA's office right now, and well the office is FULL of SW grads...I mean FULL of them.

If you want government and want to start in LA from what I have seen, it doesnt seem to be a bad option...but then again it's your choice.

once again, this is for what little info its worth...like I said I am in no real position to give advice.

[A'nold]

This situation is kind of like transferring from U. of Oregon to Lewis and Clark. I would take LR at Oregon any day over Lewis and Clark. The gap b/w Loyola and SW is not big enough to give up LR. This is my opinion.

[haribo77]

at this point i just want to know!! i mean i really want to get into my schools:: uga, ga state. top 20% at a tier 3. and i'm about to be homeless in a week because my lease runs out. i'm crossing my fingers for those of ya'll in the same position

[A'nold]

at this point i just want to know!! i mean i really want to get into my schools:: uga, ga state. top 20% at a tier 3. and i'm about to be homeless in a week because my lease runs out. i'm crossing my fingers for those of ya'll in the same position

I'm with you man. Sending you good luck wishes this week.

[Danteshek]

Susan Estrich, Molly Munger and Steve English all think I should transfer (all close family friends).
A trial lawyer at the SEC thinks I should transfer (he went to NYU).
My new girlfriend thinks I should transfer (but she is very young and doesn't know much about law schools).
A friend of mine who transferred from Whittier to USD and made LR at both thinks I should transfer.
Another very good friend who went to LLS thinks I should transfer (very successful but no journals).

The only people saying I should stay are on this forum...