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I am a 1L student at CN who finished the first semester with an A- average (top 10%). I really enjoy it at my present school, but am entertaining the idea of applying for transfer to HYS for several reasons:

(1) primarily, I am interested in academia, and I understand the difference in placement that exists between HYS and CN is significant, so much so that one professor showed up at our school the other day and mentioned briefly how he'd transferred from our school to another, but was glad to finally be back (reinforcing the idea that a degree from HYS for academics is a huge advantage)

(2) NYC is expensive and though I enjoy it, I'm not in love with it. I would gladly move to a smaller city like Boston or New Haven (or would love to try out Cali) since I seem to like midsize cities more than this.

(3) HYS will always have the prestige advantage (this may go back to point 1, but it's still distinct) and the prestige whore within can't help but wonder what it would be like to attend one of HYS and have that name on my resume for the rest of my career, especially given my academic aspirations

The reasons against would be:

(1) I'm on a significant scholarship (roughly 1/3 of the cost of law school) and I doubt need-based financial aid at one of HYS would match it, though as a counterpoint I think the name is probably worth the extra pay

(2) I am really worried about asking for professor(s) recommendations, particularly if I don't get admitted to any of HYS and end up staying at CN. I don't want to burn bridges with professors by seeking to transfer since I would still be relying on the CN community to stand behind me as I seek clerkships/etc.

(3) I am also worried about law review. As it stands I have a pretty decent shot of making law review here, but I understand that there is a transfer law review write on process at HYS and that it is quite competitive. Is the difference in, worst case scenario, being on law review at CN and not being on law review at HYS such that it practically negates the advantage of moving up?


Basically I'm looking for any advice from anyone that's done the same, and opinions on what you'd do in my situation. Thanks.

bump...gotten some helpful PMs, but interested in other opinions.

ghasafrost wrote:

(2) I am really worried about asking for professor(s) recommendations, particularly if I don't get admitted to any of HYS and end up staying at CN. I don't want to burn bridges with professors by seeking to transfer since I would still be relying on the CN community to stand behind me as I seek clerkships/etc.

I'm interested in how people deal with this, if they don't end up transferring. Stories or opinions?

JPeavy44 wrote:

ghasafrost wrote:

(2) I am really worried about asking for professor(s) recommendations, particularly if I don't get admitted to any of HYS and end up staying at CN. I don't want to burn bridges with professors by seeking to transfer since I would still be relying on the CN community to stand behind me as I seek clerkships/etc.

I'm interested in how people deal with this, if they don't end up transferring. Stories or opinions?

I explained to my professor that I was simply considering transferring to keep my options open. I also stated that I was interested in academia, and he seemed to understand why I would want to transfer.

I asked him HIS opinion on transferring and while he laid out a good argument for staying, he did admit it can be a coinflip decision depending on a lot of factors.

i'm really surprised so many people are saying yes. after PMing with a couple of people, I'm really leaning toward the "only if it's Yale" option. unfortunately, that doesn't avoid the problems of getting things together/letting people know I'm applying, but i'm going to mull it over.

Only if it's Yale, or if you have some major personal reasons for needing to be in Cambridge or Palo Alto.

If you are pretty certain you want academia, I would transfer. More so in other areas (where I think the difference is overstated), HYS really outplaces CCN in academia and clerkships. If you get into Y, it's almost a no-brainer. HS are harder, but I would say the balance still tips in favor.

Also, if you are willing to go to any of HYS, I wouldn't worry about not getting in. Unless you write a horrible PS or get bad recs, you'll get in to at least one of HYS (my guess).

The LR issue is a big one, but my sense is not being on the primary LR isn't necessarily a dealbreaker for academia (though it certainly makes things hard) - you can make it up by 1) being on secondary journal related to your field, 2) getting awesome grades, 3) being published, and 4) making relationships with profs.

I said no. Is top 10%, Order of the Coif (if you can keep your grades up), probably law review at CN less prestigious than potentially medianish (how ever you determine it) at HYS? Maybe if you get into Y, but still, you'd be giving up a lot at the #4/5 school in the country to get a bump to #1/2/3. What if you don't get law review at YHS? It would seem to me ti be an unnecessary risk...

Not to derail the thread, but is 10% good enough for HYS?

Also, if you are good enough for HYS, you are probably good enough for the law review at your current school (assuming you don't horribly mess up the written portion). Are you willing to give that up? Getting on the flagship journal as a transfer is relatively easy at Yale, but I heard it's insanely difficult at Harvard.

Unemployed wrote:Not to derail the thread, but is 10% good enough for HYS?

Also, if you are good enough for HYS, you are probably good enough for the law review at your current school (assuming you don't horribly mess up the written portion). Are you willing to give that up? Getting on the flagship journal as a transfer is relatively easy at Yale, but I heard it's insanely difficult at Harvard.

from what I gather (people's PMs, transferapps on yahoo groups, general intuition based on transfer admit rates at each school), top 10% at CN is good for H (as in significant chance of admit). YS have smaller transfer classes (as they have smaller classes in general) and are more selective.

As an aside:

There is no "transfer write-on" process for H Law Review. You take part in the write-on process with all of the Rising 2Ls. Yes, this means you get to do the LR write-on long before you know whether you have been admitted to the school.

I honestly couldn't justify giving up a 1/3 scholarship at NYU/Columbia, + losing Law Review (getting on to a LR via the write-on competition at any school that has a sigiificant number of grade-on is REALLY hard) for H or S. Because you really want academia, Yale might be worth it (no idea how they handle transfers on the journals.)

ToTransferOrNot wrote:As an aside:

There is no "transfer write-on" process for H Law Review. You take part in the write-on process with all of the Rising 2Ls. Yes, this means you get to do the LR write-on long before you know whether you have been admitted to the school.

I honestly couldn't justify giving up a 1/3 scholarship at NYU/Columbia, + losing Law Review (getting on to a LR via the write-on competition at any school that has a sigiificant number of grade-on is REALLY hard) for H or S. Because you really want academia, Yale might be worth it (no idea how they handle transfers on the journals.)

that's the conclusion I've come to, despite the clear poll results. CN gives me a good start for academia, and it's just not worth taking the risk of things or even going through the hassle of transferring unless it's Y. I'm still going to think it over, but being near the top at CN is pretty nice and I imagine I'll be fine with whatever I want to do with a degree from here in the end.

Do put in the app to H/S, though. You could always try to angle more scholarship money out of it, if you get in.

I can't stress enough that it's pretty easy to make SLR as a transfer. 6/10 who tried out made it.

Edit: I've heard the same is true for YLJ.