Top Law Schools

Hello,

I just finished my 1st year at USC/WUSTL/GW, and I hope to be in the top 15-25% of the class after second semester grades come out. Do I have a shot at transferring into any T14 schools? Particularly Columbia, NYU, Penn, Cornell, or Georgetown?

Also, should I wait until my second semester grades come out before I ask professors for LOR's?

Thanks for your help!

0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

MusicNutMeggie wrote:0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

This is close to true, but I think top 15-20 from a T20 would be good enough to have a shot at T14, from what I've seen.

OP, my question to you would be: Why do you want to transfer? What benefits do you see from giving up really good grades at a reputable school to go to a school like Cornell or Georgetown and go through OCI as a "median" student?

romothesavior wrote:

MusicNutMeggie wrote:0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

This is close to true, but I think top 15-20 from a T20 would be good enough to have a shot at T14, from what I've seen.

OP, my question to you would be: Why do you want to transfer? What benefits do you see from giving up really good grades at a reputable school to go to a school like Cornell or Georgetown and go through OCI as a "median" student?

oh my god +1. It's not even worth it unless you're transferring much higher, like t6. WUTSL/USC are amazing. GW, not-so-much. Regardless. I agree with romo.

romothesavior wrote:

MusicNutMeggie wrote:0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

This is close to true, but I think top 15-20 from a T20 would be good enough to have a shot at T14, from what I've seen.

OP, my question to you would be: Why do you want to transfer? What benefits do you see from giving up really good grades at a reputable school to go to a school like Cornell or Georgetown and go through OCI as a "median" student?

Normally, I'd agree, but check out some of the transfer posters on here, as well as on the yahoo group. Just as 1L admissions have gotten tougher in the last two years, so have transfer admissions. Transferring is also just becoming more popular, as the advent of a whole industry of law school transfer app workshops, books, etc. will testify. I'm not saying it's impossible, but given the schools to which OP referred, I still say his/her best shot is at GULC.

I completely agree with romo's comments, by the way-- think very carefully about what you're giving up. If you're at USC, for instance, and doing OCI with the intent to stay in CA, you're golden. Do you really want to have to haul yourself up by your bootstraps all over again? Cost/benefit analysis, my friend.

.

SlipperyPete wrote:

megaTTTron wrote:

romothesavior wrote:

MusicNutMeggie wrote:0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

This is close to true, but I think top 15-20 from a T20 would be good enough to have a shot at T14, from what I've seen.

OP, my question to you would be: Why do you want to transfer? What benefits do you see from giving up really good grades at a reputable school to go to a school like Cornell or Georgetown and go through OCI as a "median" student?

oh my god +1. It's not even worth it unless you're transferring much higher, like t6. WUTSL/USC are amazing. GW, not-so-much. Regardless. I agree with romo.

Yeah but OP is obviously from GW. If he were at USC, he'd say he was from Vandy/UT/USC/UCLA. If he were at WUSTL, he'd say he was from UT/UCLA/USC/WUSTL.

Other than that I have no productive advice, but I'm hoping other people do. I'm in a somewhat similar situation, except I'm currently at USC/WUSTL/ND

I don't know what I'm talking about. I just have this conception of GW being in a lower class that WUTSL and USC. That's not based on anything real (someone can chime in if they want). If it were me, I'd transfer from GW in a heartbeat, but I'd think twice about doing so at WUTSL or USC. That's just me. And I'm crazy.

SlipperyPete wrote:

megaTTTron wrote:

romothesavior wrote:

MusicNutMeggie wrote:0L Disclaimer-- I only know anything from my own research on transferring. Conventional wisdom on TLS says that you need to be at least top 10% at a T1 school to break into the T14. That said, GULC has a transfer class of 100 each year-- worth a shot. Cornell, while similarly ranked, has a teeny-weeny class in the first place and doesn't take many transfers. Good luck!

This is close to true, but I think top 15-20 from a T20 would be good enough to have a shot at T14, from what I've seen.

OP, my question to you would be: Why do you want to transfer? What benefits do you see from giving up really good grades at a reputable school to go to a school like Cornell or Georgetown and go through OCI as a "median" student?

oh my god +1. It's not even worth it unless you're transferring much higher, like t6. WUTSL/USC are amazing. GW, not-so-much. Regardless. I agree with romo.

Yeah but OP is obviously from GW. If he were at USC, he'd say he was from Vandy/UT/USC/UCLA. If he were at WUSTL, he'd say he was from UT/UCLA/USC/WUSTL.

Other than that I have no productive advice, but I'm hoping other people do. I'm in a somewhat similar situation, except I'm currently at USC/WUSTL/ND

Perhaps he's from GW, but we don't give out top 25% rankings. It's top 15% (GW Scholar) or top 33% (Thurgood Marshall Scholar). The way he mentioned his class ranking made me think he was from WUTSL or USC rather than GW.

Or perhaps I'm overthinking it.

My gut says your best bet is GULC from the size of their transfer class. I agree, though, that unless you're going T6 I'm not sure transferring is worth the hassle. YMMV.

He's a Yalie trolling us all hard.

A quick perusal of his posting history indicates he is at WUSTL. IMO, he isn't getting into any of those except maybe GULC. And there is no reason to transfer to GULC unless he wants D.C. really badly. Top 15-25% at WUSTL should be fine, and I don't think sacrificing those grades to be median in GULCs massive class sounds like a good bet in this situation. Especially since doing so would require OP to sacrifice a big scholarship to pay sticker and trade cheap STL COL for D.C. COL.

TheOpossum wrote:He's a Yalie trolling us all hard.

How did I miss that one?