"Planning" to Transfer Forum

[confused111]

Any thoughts on whether it's harder to transfer out of a school if they don't provide class rank? I'm in this situation and it's very frustrating, I can't really tell where I have a shot.

I'm also in the same situation. I don't think it matters.

[Kobe_Teeth]

The advice from the W&L student seems to indicate that those people with LSATs above the 75th percentile, such as the OP, should not be dissuaded from thinking of transferring. Quite frankly, the OP is in the top 15% or higher in terms of 'intelligence' based on his LSAT score at his school

Whether one wishes to believe in the ability of the LSAT to predict 1L success, the OP is clearly be one of the smartest people in his class based on his LSAT score. Since the LSAT is a standardized test taken by all law school applicants, and thus a better measure of 'intelligence' than undergraduate GPA, I do not see why the OP should not be confident in his ability to transfer. To be honest, it is not as if he is going to a law school that will be populated with the top kids from the best undergraduate schools. He is a 1L that is 'smarter', based on the LSAT, than atleast 75-80% of his class. With this in mind, and a solid work ethic, I see no reason why the OP needs to be 'fearful' of his ability to transfer. Best of luck OP!

So many ridiculous assumptions, so little time.

Assumptions aside, his point is still made. There's no need to have the millionth TLS convo over the LSAT's predictive ability.

And really, my question has been answered. Its ok to "plan" or go in with a certain mindset as long as you are ok graduating median at your current/future school, which I am. Truly.

Also, tons of students at T2's and TTT and TTTT say they are going to transfer, few do. I suspected this and it was confirmed.

I think, from what I have gathered, that I am going to into this with a pretty healthy mindset.

Thank you TLS.

[SaintClarence27]

The advice from the W&L student seems to indicate that those people with LSATs above the 75th percentile, such as the OP, should not be dissuaded from thinking of transferring. Quite frankly, the OP is in the top 15% or higher in terms of 'intelligence' based on his LSAT score at his school

Whether one wishes to believe in the ability of the LSAT to predict 1L success, the OP is clearly be one of the smartest people in his class based on his LSAT score. Since the LSAT is a standardized test taken by all law school applicants, and thus a better measure of 'intelligence' than undergraduate GPA, I do not see why the OP should not be confident in his ability to transfer. To be honest, it is not as if he is going to a law school that will be populated with the top kids from the best undergraduate schools. He is a 1L that is 'smarter', based on the LSAT, than atleast 75-80% of his class. With this in mind, and a solid work ethic, I see no reason why the OP needs to be 'fearful' of his ability to transfer. Best of luck OP!

So many ridiculous assumptions, so little time.

Assumptions aside, his point is still made. There's no need to have the millionth TLS convo over the LSAT's predictive ability.

And really, my question has been answered. Its ok to "plan" or go in with a certain mindset as long as you are ok graduating median at your current/future school, which I am. Truly.

Also, tons of students at T2's and TTT and TTTT say they are going to transfer, few do. I suspected this and it was confirmed.

I think, from what I have gathered, that I am going to into this with a pretty healthy mindset.

Thank you TLS.

You're welcome.

[SummerBrees]

Does your LSAT score affect your ability to transfer, or not really?

At some schools it does. I took a look at Harvard's transfer policy and it basically said that they accept students that would have gotten in anyway. So if you were rejected, don't hold your breath, if you were waitlisted maybe there is a chance in hell. Other schools are less direct.

[bwv812]

.

[NU_Jet55]

Assumptions aside, his point is still made.

lol. Have fun in law school. I hope I get to make ridiculous claims and my professor says "well,the assumptions of your argument were completely off base and therefore destroy your argument and your credibility, but hey, here's an A. I mean, they gave 'em out like candy in your liberal arts undergrad, and like your mother always said, you're a delicate flower. So go enjoy your beautiful life in your beautiful world where you can say whatever you want and everyone around you will act like you aren't an idiot. Because, after all, your point is still made."

/rant

[SummerBrees]

Does your LSAT score affect your ability to transfer, or not really?

At some schools it does. I took a look at Harvard's transfer policy and it basically said that they accept students that would have gotten in anyway. So if you were rejected, don't hold your breath, if you were waitlisted maybe there is a chance in hell. Other schools are less direct.

It doesn't say anything remotely resembling this. People who had no chance as 0Ls get accepted as transfers every year.

From Harvard's website...

Competition for Transfer Admission
The competition for transfer admission is high. Many successful transfer candidates typically place very near the top of their first-year law class and would have also been admitted or wait-listed as first-year students on the basis of their pre-law-school credentials. Given the small number of transfer spaces available and a comparatively large and accomplished transfer applicant pool, some applicants who meet these characterizations cannot be offered admission. We cannot make estimates of an individual's chances for admission.


Now there are a couple of qualifiers in there (typically, some) but I think you can catch their drift

[270910]

Argh, that Harvard quote has done more damage to the understanding of the transfer process than anything I've ever heard.

There is a dump truck full of data on the yahoogroups database. It's clear Harvard chiefly (nearly exclusively) takes transfers from already decent law schools - and they can afford to. Like every other law school in the country, there's a sliding scale: the better the 1L school, the less stringent the GPA required.

There just isn't any evidence that Harvard actually uses LSAT or uGPA, much less an evaluation of whether or not somebody was explicitly competitive as a 1L. I think that info is on their website to discourage T4 students from applying.

[yo!]

I absolutely love my chosen law school, but it would be a lie if I said that I wasn't already thinking about the possibility of transferring. Would a T30 student with top 10% grades have any shot at T10? Top 5% for HYS? I might be struggling below median in a few months, but I can't stop myself from thinking about these things right now

[Kobe_Teeth]

Assumptions aside, his point is still made.

lol. Have fun in law school. I hope I get to make ridiculous claims and my professor says "well,the assumptions of your argument were completely off base and therefore destroy your argument and your credibility, but hey, here's an A. I mean, they gave 'em out like candy in your liberal arts undergrad, and like your mother always said, you're a delicate flower. So go enjoy your beautiful life in your beautiful world where you can say whatever you want and everyone around you will act like you aren't an idiot. Because, after all, your point is still made."

/rant

The LSAT tests for a specific skill-set that overlaps to a degree with a person's intelligence. I understood his point though he did not make it clearly.

Bitch at him, not at me.

...or...OR....

Don't get so worked up over shit you read on the internets.

[yo!]

Does your LSAT score affect your ability to transfer, or not really?

At some schools it does. I took a look at Harvard's transfer policy and it basically said that they accept students that would have gotten in anyway. So if you were rejected, don't hold your breath, if you were waitlisted maybe there is a chance in hell. Other schools are less direct.

If this statement were actually true, there wouldn't be any Harvard transfers. After all, why would people need to transfer if they could have been admitted in the first place? Maybe a few WL'ers? This makes absolutely no sense.

[vanwinkle]

I took a look at Harvard's transfer policy and it basically said that they accept students that would have gotten in anyway. So if you were rejected, don't hold your breath, if you were waitlisted maybe there is a chance in hell.

It doesn't say anything remotely resembling this. People who had no chance as 0Ls get accepted as transfers every year.

From Harvard's website...

Competition for Transfer Admission
The competition for transfer admission is high. Many successful transfer candidates typically place very near the top of their first-year law class and would have also been admitted or wait-listed as first-year students on the basis of their pre-law-school credentials. Given the small number of transfer spaces available and a comparatively large and accomplished transfer applicant pool, some applicants who meet these characterizations cannot be offered admission. We cannot make estimates of an individual's chances for admission.


Now there are a couple of qualifiers in there (typically, some) but I think you can catch their drift

bvw812 is right. The thing you quoted yourself doesn't say what you said above.

"Many successful candidates would have been admitted as first-year students" ≠ "We only accept transfers who would have been admitted as first year students". They're entirely different statements, and that's not even counting the qualifiers put around it that soften it even more.

Massive, massive RC fail on your part.