1L, 4.05 GPA, T30 School, looking to transfer Forum

[lawbound1524]

Hahaha now I remember. HOW YOU LIKE THEM APPLES!

[lawbound1524]

Harvard really turned me off recently when I emailed them a few questions about transferring, and I got back a copy-paste of the paragraph on transferring from their website, which didn't answer ANY of my questions. As if I couldn't read the website for myself. If ONLY I had thought to check ONLINE before I emailed my questions! Thanks Harvard! Maybe they were too busy to answer each email individually, but still....

Shoulda replied:

"Keep quoting VICKAS"

anyone? anyone?

I don't get it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s

I may have just downloaded Good Will Hunting and watched it. Possibly.

[Andrew the Wolverine]

+1, great movie

[cj30303]

Hello TLS, long-time lurker, first time poster here. Anyway, I am finishing up my first year at a T25-30 school, my first semester grades were all A's and A+'s, and I'm projecting to finish up with a 4.0+ GPA cumulative for my first year. I actually think I did better 2nd semester than first. I have two very good LORs lined up, one of which is from a prof who went to Yale Law (don't know if that helps). I am looking to transfer to any of HYS, can I get at least 1 of the 3? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

One of my friends from a t20-25 school with a 4.0+ gpa got accepted to both Y and H (last year) so i would think your chances are pretty good to at least one of them.

Also congrats on your great gpa, can you post your study strategy?

[lawbound1524]

Hello TLS, long-time lurker, first time poster here. Anyway, I am finishing up my first year at a T25-30 school, my first semester grades were all A's and A+'s, and I'm projecting to finish up with a 4.0+ GPA cumulative for my first year. I actually think I did better 2nd semester than first. I have two very good LORs lined up, one of which is from a prof who went to Yale Law (don't know if that helps). I am looking to transfer to any of HYS, can I get at least 1 of the 3? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

One of my friends from a t20-25 school with a 4.0+ gpa got accepted to both Y and H (last year) so i would think your chances are pretty good to at least one of them.

Also congrats on your great gpa, can you post your study strategy?

That's great to hear, I hope I'm as fortunate as your friend.

As for my studying, I can give you a general idea of what I did. It started on Day 1, I kept a fairly strict eating and exercise schedule, and I made sure to give myself 1 day of relaxation per week. On that day, I would go out to dinner, go see a movie, maybe go out for drinks at a bar, etc., and not kick my ass studying for that day. For the actual classwork, I worked very hard on outlines, asked a lot of questions outside of class, and probably most important, I did every practice/old test problems I could get my hands on. I really believe doing old exams helped me more than anything because I basically did every exam before I got there. I'm no brilliant legal scholar, I just worked very hard starting Day 1 (maybe even a little before) and kept my schedule consistent. Beyond that, I'd say find what works for you and stick to it.

[pinkzeppelin]

I may have just downloaded Good Will Hunting and watched it. Possibly.

Me too... which is not good...I should be studying for finals...

[lawbound1524]

I may have just downloaded Good Will Hunting and watched it. Possibly.

Me too... which is not good...I should be studying for finals...

Just visualize yourself as Will Hunting, it's better than studying.

[dresden doll]

If you are #1 or 2 in your class at a t30, why the need to transfer up? You should have your pick of quality jobs and clerkships, plus your school will probably up your scholly to retain your services.

I agree that it's a tough decision, that's why I'm only shooting for HYS. I am very much interested in BigLaw and politics in the future, and my current school is good, but not great, in those departments. Also, I have no scholarship, and won't get one next year, regardless of my grades. Fortunately money isn't an issue for me (very generous parents), so tuition isn't my major concern. The shallow side of me just loves the thought of having an HYS-name diploma on my wall, too.

Opportunities open to HYS kids (solely because they attend HYS) >>> opportunities available to number 1 at a T30. I wouldn't call attempting to transfer shallow - I'd call it a wise decision. I'd definitely do it in your place.

That said, I def. wouldn't give up old school for a spot at any T14.CCN might be debatable, but I highly doubt that MPBVCNDG would be worth it.

Harvard is your best shot. Also, I hear that Stanford is a tightly knit community so if you can get a LOR from an SLS prof, that would probably be to your advantage.

Best of luck to you.

[Lawgirl77]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

[patrickd139]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why should OP go to Columbia over Harvard? OP also has a 99% shot at transferring to pretty much any school outside the T14, doesn't mean s/he should go there.

[TheBigMediocre]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why should OP go to Columbia over Harvard? OP also has a 99% shot at transferring to pretty much any school outside the T14, doesn't mean s/he should go there.

Other-Denny, you wow me every time.

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why should OP go to Columbia over Harvard?

S/he shouldn't.

If OP is interested, of course also apply to Columbia (I would were I in that same situation and looking to transfer). Just pick Harvard if you get into both of them. But for OP's stated goals... apply to YH and S (and maybe add one or two more if interested). Never hurts to find out what all of them would say.

[patrickd139]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why should OP go to Columbia over Harvard? OP also has a 99% shot at transferring to pretty much any school outside the T14, doesn't mean s/he should go there.

Other-Denny, you wow me every time.

[lawbound1524]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

I really don't have any interest in Columbia. Don't like NYC for school. Are my chances of getting into Harvard significantly less than Columbia?

[dresden doll]

I personally think that CLS would probably be worth it. Then again, if you're simply after a Biglaw job as opposed to prestigious Biglaw (particularly in NYC)/academia/uber prestigious PI, there's really no reason to go anywhere short of HYS.

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Forget Harvard, go to Columbia, you have a 99% chance of getting in.

I really don't have any interest in Columbia. Don't like NYC for school. Are my chances of getting into Harvard significantly less than Columbia?

Who knows? But your chances at Columbia, in any case, are better than they are at Harvard. So if I were you, I'd apply to both of them (along with Y and S). Then again, if you have no interest whatsoever in Columbia, don't waste your time, or theirs.

[redsox]

I don't get it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s

Great scene.

[ToTransferOrNot]

A: I know people who were in the top 5 students at Wisconsin this year who got shut out at OCI. Even just for biglaw, making the jump up might be worth it.

B: Assuming your grades stay where they are, I'd be surprised if you don't snag at least one of HYS. And I would say yeah, Harvard is the most likely, followed by Stanford, then Yale--I would be surprised if you get dinged at Harvard, and I think you have a reasonable shot at Yale.

C: You should probably apply to CCN. At least give yourself the option to bolt, if you decide to do so. You may not like New York, but because money doesn't factor in to your calculus, the opportunities out of CCN are notably better than those from your T30. The chances of ending up median at your new school are really, really miniscule, so that isn't a fair comparison (#1 at old school v. median at new school).

Congrats on your grades.

[lawbound1524]

A: I know people who were in the top 5 students at Wisconsin this year who got shut out at OCI. Even just for biglaw, making the jump up might be worth it.

B: Assuming your grades stay where they are, I'd be surprised if you don't snag at least one of HYS. And I would say yeah, Harvard is the most likely, followed by Stanford, then Yale--I would be surprised if you get dinged at Harvard, and I think you have a reasonable shot at Yale.

C: You should probably apply to CCN. At least give yourself the option to bolt, if you decide to do so. You may not like New York, but because money doesn't factor in to your calculus, the opportunities out of CCN are notably better than those from your T30. The chances of ending up median at your new school are really, really miniscule, so that isn't a fair comparison (#1 at old school v. median at new school).

Congrats on your grades.

Can you explain this? I don't know what the ranking process is for new transfer students. If I somehow kept up good grades at the new school, why shouldn't I be able to get above median? Obviously the competition is much tougher, but I feel I can hold my own.

[traydeuce]

^^

I think he meant that it's unlikely you'll fall all the way to median. That's what I (currently #1 at my ex-t30 school) have been told.

[TheBigMediocre]

A: I know people who were in the top 5 students at Wisconsin this year who got shut out at OCI. Even just for biglaw, making the jump up might be worth it.

B: Assuming your grades stay where they are, I'd be surprised if you don't snag at least one of HYS. And I would say yeah, Harvard is the most likely, followed by Stanford, then Yale--I would be surprised if you get dinged at Harvard, and I think you have a reasonable shot at Yale.

C: You should probably apply to CCN. At least give yourself the option to bolt, if you decide to do so. You may not like New York, but because money doesn't factor in to your calculus, the opportunities out of CCN are notably better than those from your T30. The chances of ending up median at your new school are really, really miniscule, so that isn't a fair comparison (#1 at old school v. median at new school).

Congrats on your grades.

Can you explain this? I don't know what the ranking process is for new transfer students. If I somehow kept up good grades at the new school, why shouldn't I be able to get above median? Obviously the competition is much tougher, but I feel I can hold my own.

It's been observed that those who have a knack for the law and do well enough at their school to transfer up continue to do well at their new, higher ranked school.

[lawbound1524]

^^

I think he meant that it's unlikely you'll fall all the way to median. That's what I (currently #1 at my ex-t30 school) have been told.

Oops. I thought he meant that getting all the way up to median (presumably starting off at "0") is incredibly difficult and therefore unlikely.

[ToTransferOrNot]

^^

I think he meant that it's unlikely you'll fall all the way to median. That's what I (currently #1 at my ex-t30 school) have been told.

Oops. I thought he meant that getting all the way up to median (presumably starting off at "0") is incredibly difficult and therefore unlikely.

Oh, no, sorry for the confusion. I meant that it's very unlikely that you'll "fall" to median at the new school. Quite the contrary, most transfers end up doing really, really well at their new school, oftentimes ending up back toward the top of the class again.

(Proof that the LSAT = lolz)

[lawbound1524]

^^

I think he meant that it's unlikely you'll fall all the way to median. That's what I (currently #1 at my ex-t30 school) have been told.

Oops. I thought he meant that getting all the way up to median (presumably starting off at "0") is incredibly difficult and therefore unlikely.

Oh, no, sorry for the confusion. I meant that it's very unlikely that you'll "fall" to median at the new school. Quite the contrary, most transfers end up doing really, really well at their new school, oftentimes ending up back toward the top of the class again.

(Proof that the LSAT = lolz)

I hope you're right. Is any ranking possible for a transfer? Can you graduate top of your class even if you only went for two years?

[ToTransferOrNot]

^^

I think he meant that it's unlikely you'll fall all the way to median. That's what I (currently #1 at my ex-t30 school) have been told.

Oops. I thought he meant that getting all the way up to median (presumably starting off at "0") is incredibly difficult and therefore unlikely.

Oh, no, sorry for the confusion. I meant that it's very unlikely that you'll "fall" to median at the new school. Quite the contrary, most transfers end up doing really, really well at their new school, oftentimes ending up back toward the top of the class again.

(Proof that the LSAT = lolz)

I hope you're right. Is any ranking possible for a transfer? Can you graduate top of your class even if you only went for two years?

Well, I don't think many T14s identify the valedictorian. Whether you can graduate with honors or not varies by school, but I think you can at HYSCCN. I know you can at Chicago anyway. FWIW, I know a transfer that has the highest current GPA in his class at his CCN.