#1 at T4 school Forum

[AOI87]

I am currently studying at a T4 school and 3/4 into the year I am number 1. I chose to go to the school because I related to the mission of the school and a full scholarship. I turned down T2 schools and was wait-listed at a T1.

My undergrad was UCLA where I got over a 3.5 and I didn't completely bomb the LSAT. Also, I am Mexican with good softs.

I want to come back to California but I am nervous that I might not be able to get the schools I want, namely UC Davis (waitlisted last year) and UCLA. I've heard #1 at any law school is impressive, but maybe my choice of school will do me in in the end.

Will the fact that I had a personal reason to choose this school over others and the fact that I was a competitive applicant during the last admissions cycle help to explain/alleviate the T4 ness of my school in the eyes of Admissions? How strong are my chances at getting in to either those schools?

[lsat_fear]

Transfer cycles can be hard to predict. If I were in your shoes, I'd apply to Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Irvine, Hastings, and Davis.

[AOI87]

I've also heard not to apply to schools you know you don't want to go to. A few of those schools I don't think are right for me (Berkeley, USC, and Hastings). UCI hasn't said anything about transfers. (they told me to check their website periodically).

My mom wants me to apply to Stanford, I laughed and told her that she was funny. My brother is there at the undergrad but I don't think that helps. (app only wants to know about alumni from the Law School).

Is it better to do a ton of applications and see where you get in like the initial admissions cycle or do you focus on the few that you really want and that are relatively realistic?

[XM3045]

I would say you have a decent shot at any of those. Boalt seems fine with the occasional T4 student....Stanford, not a chance. Good luck!

[XxSpyKEx]

Lower ranked school transfers are the hardest to predict. Apply very broadly. Apply throughout the t14 schools (because any of those will give you a shot at going back to Cali when you are done), and also target through the t15-30 to schools that place well in Cali (i.e. there is no point to applying to Fordham if you only want to live in Cali when you are done). If you have a perfect GPA (i.e. a 4.0/4.0 or 4.3/4.3) or extremely close (e.g. 3.98/4.0) then I would even apply to HYS and just give it a shot (worst case scenario you are out $75 for the application).

[UCLAtransfer]

Transfer cycles are VERY unpredictable. I would definitely recommend applying very broadly. If you can stay at #1 I think you may have a pretty decent shot at the some of the schools mentioned previously.

I have a friend who was #1 at a T4 and got transfer acceptances at UCLA, USC, Gtown, and Cornell. The #2 person in her class didn't get any acceptances higher than T20 schools. Purely anecdotal, but I guess it kind of shows how unpredictable it can be.

If you are applying to schools in CA, I would definitely recommend tailoring your personal statement to why exactly you want to go to that specific school, and explain your ties to the area. E.g., for UCLA talk about how much you loved being there for ugrad, etc.

Good luck!

[Wooster33]

Don't underestimate the importance of a good LOR and personal statement. These can overcome whatever reservations they have about you because of the school rank (and not all T4 schools are the same, there are some that are notoriously difficult to transfer out of, like Cooley). Your URM status will also help. If you stay near top of the class, I would also apply above Berkeley given your URM status.

Good luck.

[newyorker69]

I'm in the same boat as you OP. I hear #1's at T4's place in the T14 all the time... and several students at my school have went as far up as NYU/CLS

[AOI87]

I'm in the same boat as you OP. I hear #1's at T4's place in the T14 all the time... and several students at my school have went as far up as NYU/CLS

Thanks for the encouragement. Congratulations on your academic success and Good Luck! I'd like to know how your transfer cycle turns out.

Everyone else- Thank you for your positive and informative comments. I wish everyone a successful exam season and transfer cycle. I also welcome any more comments anyone has to offer.

Have a great weekend!

[Lawl Shcool]

same boat as OP, applying everywhere too. Good luck all.

[PDaddy]

I am currently studying at a T4 school and 3/4 into the year I am number 1. I chose to go to the school because I related to the mission of the school and a full scholarship. I turned down T2 schools and was wait-listed at a T1.

My undergrad was UCLA where I got over a 3.5 and I didn't completely bomb the LSAT. Also, I am Mexican with good softs.

I want to come back to California but I am nervous that I might not be able to get the schools I want, namely UC Davis (waitlisted last year) and UCLA. I've heard #1 at any law school is impressive, but maybe my choice of school will do me in in the end.

Will the fact that I had a personal reason to choose this school over others and the fact that I was a competitive applicant during the last admissions cycle help to explain/alleviate the T4 ness of my school in the eyes of Admissions?

First of all, congrats on your performance! Secondly, UCLA and UC-Davis (and possibly even USC and Berkeley) will be good schools for you to apply to. If it were Stanford, I might say that the T4-ness of your school would factor in at least a little bit, b/c Stanford almost always considers whether or not a transfer applicant would have been competitive for first-year admission. But even that wouldn't necessarily stop "the #1 student at another school" from getting in.

Your URM status is going to be even more of a plus during transfer admissions, due to attrition at certain schools, etc. Schools have fewer restrictions on what they do with trasnsfers. Lastly, not all T4's are created equally. For example, Wayne State and Southwestern were T4's (don't know if they still are), and both are good schools with smart students.

I say throw some mud on the wall and see what sticks. Apply to all five schools and see what happens. You are not going to get into all of them, but I would put money down that you get into at least two or three. #1 at another school, being Mexican and having a 3.5 UGPA is probably like being a white dude with a 3.8 and a 170ish LSAT.

[bwv812]

.

[UCLAtransfer]

First of all, congrats on your performance! Secondly, UCLA and UC-Davis (and possibly even USC and Berkeley) will be good schools for you to apply to. If it were Stanford, I might say that the T4-ness of your school would factor in at least a little bit, b/c Stanford almost always considers whether or not a transfer applicant would have been competitive for first-year admission.

Where did you get this from?

Some schools say this on their transfer admissions websites. (Stanford and Harvard come to mind immediately.)

I think conventional wisdom is that this is absolutely not necessary to transfer. I have seen many people on here and transferapps who made it into HYS as transfers that wouldn't have had a shot in hell the first time around.

I'm sure it would dramatically increase your chances of getting in if you had been competitive for first-year admission, but is by no means a prerequisite.

[bwv812]

.

[CanadianWolf]

Being ranked #1 in your law school class after the first year indictes that you "get it" and renders LSAT scores almost meaningless. Apply to whichever law schools you wish to attend & apply to as many as you are interested in. Congratulations!

[AOI87]

Time to revive this thread. This is for anyone who is in a similar situation who does not feel like anyone else knows what it is like to be where we are.

Update on Transferring:
1) I am still Mexican. That seems to be important to private schools.
2) Grades are trickling in (not as quickly as I'd like)
So far this semester:
Research and Writing: A
Contracts: A
Criminal Law: A (top score)
3 more grades left...but it looks good
3) Working on transfer apps (only a 2 page personal statement which is nice)
4) Applying to 6 Schools
UCI
UCLA
UC Davis
UC Berkeley
Stanford
Harvard (for Shits and giggles)
5) I am still at a TTTT school

This should be interesting, folks.

How is everyone else doing???

[LogosEther]

Time to revive this thread. This is for anyone who is in a similar situation who does not feel like anyone else knows what it is like to be where we are.

Update on Transferring:
1) I am still Mexican. That seems to be important to private schools.
2) Grades are trickling in (not as quickly as I'd like)
So far this semester:
Research and Writing: A
Contracts: A
Criminal Law: A (top score)
3 more grades left...but it looks good
3) Working on transfer apps (only a 2 page personal statement which is nice)
4) Applying to 6 Schools
UCI
UCLA
UC Davis
UC Berkeley
Stanford
Harvard (for Shits and giggles)
5) I am still at a TTTT school

This should be interesting, folks.

How is everyone else doing???

I'm glad you decided to try Berkeley, Stanford and Harvard. Your grades will make anyone take you seriously, no matter who it is. Most people will tell you that you've got like a 4% shot at H&S and a 10% shot at Berkeley and I wouldn't feel confident in arguing with them, but think about it... That $75-or-so and 3-or-so hours that you're investing is totally worth finding out, yeah? Otherwise you'd probably wonder about it, if nothing else...

[ToTransferOrNot]

Apply everywhere, $75 per application is a drop in the bucket compared to the payoff. Even if you apply to 20 schools and get in to none of them, it was worth taking the shot.

[dbt]

#1 at any school should feel comfortable applying to any school. Transfer cycles are unpredictable, as noted, but what more could a person in your position offer? Go for it.

[SwollenMonkey]

Shoot for Harvard, become a Supreme Court Justice, and kick Arizona's immigration laws in the face. Good work! Transfer and Viva La Bam! (Oops, my bad, I meant "Viva La Raza!")

[GeePee]

Is #1 at a T4 really worth giving up for UCI or UCD?

[ggocat]

Is #1 at a T4 really worth giving up for UCI or UCD?

I wouldn't.

[AOI87]

I came out with 3.98/4.0
Don't know my rank yet.

Apps are in.

Transcripts aren't sent out from the school yet. I might be paranoid, but do schools slack on getting transcripts out to sabotage transfers?

[NoleinNY]

Good luck, man.

[Lawl Shcool]

T4 top 5%, just got a Berkeley acceptance. Anything is possible so apply everywhere. Good luck.