Should We Transfer? (Non-T14 1Ls Who Owned Exams) Forum

[j7108]

Thanks for replying to my post Arrow, and thanks for the advice!

I'll keep up the work, and hopefully I can stay #1. I will have to attend summer classes, but it's only for 1 class (Property). I would assume if I can keep up my same study habits that I'll do well in Property.

I do feel a lot better now, so definitely thank you brother.

[vanwinkle]

Arrow's reputation stands on its own, but I still want to second everything that he said. Keep it up, and you have a shot at some top schools.

[ttinpa1234]

Ok so here's new thoughts

3.88 GPA; #1 at middle tier-2 (one of five schools tied for 72)

1) Odds at GULC?

2) Odds at UC early decision?

3) Odds if I remain #1 at HYS?

4) Odds at Duke / Virginia ?

[Wholigan]

.

[vanwinkle]

Ok so here's new thoughts

3.88 GPA; #1 at middle tier-2 (one of five schools tied for 72)

1) Odds at GULC?

2) Odds at UC early decision?

3) Odds if I remain #1 at HYS?

4) Odds at Duke / Virginia ?

If you think you can stay #1 and are serious about transferring, I would say don't ED to Chicago, because you're throwing away your shot at HYS. Y is probably out unless you have the kind of epic softs that would grab their attention, but H and S are possibilities.

(One question: Do you have pre-LS WE? It seems like H is looking for WE in both normal and transfer apps at this point, and using it as a deciding factor. Many of the transfers at H this year had significant pre-LS WE from what I can tell, and I've heard from someone on staff that it's something they're actively looking for and considering now.)

If you maintain your rank you should be shooting hard for CCN minimum; CLS takes a large number of transfers each year (I think it was like 50 last year) and if you can't crack H or S, you should hopefully be able to get in there with those grades. I think you'd remain strong enough at Chicago that you don't need to ED, either. It's just a matter of whether you think you can maintain your rank. If you could hit #1 first semester, I'd imagine you know what you're doing.

[ttinpa1234]

I have significant WE. Financial and Education.

[vanwinkle]

I have significant WE. Financial and Education.

That should help, IMO. Other than that, I think staying ranked #1 matters significantly; if you think you can do so, you should hold out and apply to the entire T6 (and any lower T14 schools you'd be interested in). If you're feeling doubtful and want to lock this up now, then ED to Chicago.

[Ty Webb]

What is a top 10%er from one of UH/SMU looking at in terms of chances (rough approximation, of course)?

I'm probably somewhere in the 6-8% range, but we only have 5%/10%/15% cutoffs.

Decent shot at Georgetown EA? Or more of a long shot?

[vanwinkle]

What is a top 10%er from one of UH/SMU looking at in terms of chances (rough approximation, of course)?

I'm probably somewhere in the 6-8% range, but we only have 5%/10%/15% cutoffs.

Decent shot at Georgetown EA? Or more of a long shot?

Where do you want to work when you graduate? Do you have strong Texas ties predating LS? Intending to return there when you graduate?

It might be better for you to target UT than GULC.

[lawfuture10]

Any idea how much your UG prestige plays into this?

Seems to me that many of you are saying that schools are taking into account how well you will be able to "sell yourself" to firms and how employable you will be when you arrive at said school post transfer. Maybe I'm incorrect here, but wouldn't your UG play into this somewhat?

Say you're at a lowerish T2, you're #1-#3 in your class overall. You came from a very highly ranked UG school. Think Upenn Wharton Undergrad (in that neighborhood).

Is this going to improve your chances at HYS? CCN? Rest of T-14? The way I'm figuring it here, I'm T-14 or no transfer, as I'll be going for free to my T2 the rest of the way.

[Wholigan]

Any idea how much your UG prestige plays into this?

Seems to me that many of you are saying that schools are taking into account how well you will be able to "sell yourself" to firms and how employable you will be when you arrive at said school post transfer. Maybe I'm incorrect here, but wouldn't your UG play into this somewhat?
Say you're at a lowerish T2, you're #1-#3 in your class overall. You came from a very highly ranked UG school. Think Upenn Wharton Undergrad (in that neighborhood).

Is this going to improve your chances at HYS? CCN? Rest of T-14? The way I'm figuring it here, I'm T-14 or no transfer, as I'll be going for free to my T2 the rest of the way.

No.

[Ty Webb]

What is a top 10%er from one of UH/SMU looking at in terms of chances (rough approximation, of course)?

I'm probably somewhere in the 6-8% range, but we only have 5%/10%/15% cutoffs.

Decent shot at Georgetown EA? Or more of a long shot?

Where do you want to work when you graduate? Do you have strong Texas ties predating LS? Intending to return there when you graduate?

It might be better for you to target UT than GULC.

I have no Texas ties other than law school (hadn't crossed into the state until about 7 days before 1L). I do like the idea of working here, but I'm an east coast guy. DC/NYC is appealing to me, and NYC is where all of my business/legal connections are.

It's worth noting that I pay full sticker price, so the cost is essentially negligible if I were to move up.

I'm open to ideas, including staying or blanketing the T-14 with apps. Just kind of trying to sort through the smarts of transferring at this point, too, since the top 10% here do very well.

[dakatz]

.

[vanwinkle]

I have no Texas ties other than law school (hadn't crossed into the state until about 7 days before 1L). I do like the idea of working here, but I'm an east coast guy. DC/NYC is appealing to me, and NYC is where all of my business/legal connections are.

It's worth noting that I pay full sticker price, so the cost is essentially negligible if I were to move up.

I'm open to ideas, including staying or blanketing the T-14 with apps. Just kind of trying to sort through the smarts of transferring at this point, too, since the top 10% here do very well.

Bolded are the parts that matter.

I seriously urge you to write off DC now. DC is just an insanely tough market, and one of the few stories of transfer dissatisfaction I see on here involves someone who transferred to GULC and got shut out of the DC market. That said, you could certainly shoot for any number of T14 schools that place well in NYC, and you possibly have a shot at CLS or NYU, especially if you can tell them you really want to be in New York.

However, your statement that the top 10% at your current school "do very well" is significant. You don't want to be giving up opportunities you have to go elsewhere; I think transferring to CLS or NYU might make sense, especially if you'd prefer to be in New York, but otherwise you might be better staying put.

[vanwinkle]

With transferring, it's important to understand that 1L grades are the single most necessary thing, but they are not sufficient. Especially when discussing the very top schools, they get more than enough applicants with grades good enough to transfer, and they can't take them all. The impression I get is that URM status matters as a distinguishing additional factor after you're above the threshold of having the necessary grades.

That said, I personally think a URM who is top 10% at T25 has a very good shot at the T6. I don't have enough of a data set to really support this, but it's just based on my own intuition and a couple anecdotes I've heard, and a conversation I had with a prominent adcomm. Top 10% at T25 is within the threshold for consideration even here at HLS, and I believe that at that point, being URM would be a significant help.

[phoenixsoars]

.

[vanwinkle]

Of course, keep in mind that nobody really knows for sure. We just don't have enough data. How many URMs are in the top 10% at T25 schools? Of those, how many apply to transfer? Of those that apply, how many get in, and where? So there's probably a positive bump but its magnitude is unknown.

Yeah, that's why I pointed out in my post that I'm working from an extremely limited data set. I sure don't intend to claim I know for sure, only that what I said is what I believe based on what I've learned so far.