Transferring Law Schools

[stressedout]

Hey everybody!

I'm currently at a tier 4 school. My heart is really set on Southwestern in LA (now a tier 3, was a tier 4 until 08) and a long shot Loyola (top 50). I REALLY want to transfer to southwestern. What kind of grades do I need to transfer? I feel like Southwestern is almost a lateral transfer, but since it moved up a tier it might be a little more difficult. I'm always told its best to be top 10%...but i'm not trying to go Cal or UCLA here. How much of a disadvantage would i be in if i ended up top 20%? 25%? even 30%? Is it all about grades for transferring? Lets assume i'm in a transfer pool of students with scores in the top 15%, do they automatically disregard my app? Will they look at my essays etc? I also hear that in those essays, its important to include things outside academia for reasons to transfer. EX: family moved to LA, spouse works in LA, better opportunities than this podunk town im in?

please advise me. i'm struggling thru 1L and i can see my dream of moving to LA fading away.

thanks

[kings84_wr]

you may be able to find some information here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transferapps/

[Tehpokerstar]

Which tier 4? SW should be relatively easy to get into. Try and get an interview, thats what I did when I applied (and got in). Then again, I applied for the SCALE prgoram.

[acecrusher06]

what are the chances of transferring from ivy to ivy?

like say from cornell or penn to yale/harvard?

[adamlippes]

what are the chances of transferring from ivy to ivy?

like say from cornell or penn to yale/harvard?

Yale: top 5%.
Harvard: Top 10%. Top 15% is pushing it.

[ihatelaw]

in gpa terms that probably means you need a 3.7+ from a t14 school to be considered for harvard or stanford. 3.8+ for yale.

[acecrusher06]

what are the chances of transferring from ivy to ivy?

like say from cornell or penn to yale/harvard?

Yale: top 5%.
Harvard: Top 10%. Top 15% is pushing it.

do they take into consideration the relative rank of the school or is it simply just grades?

what meant is....does it give you a leg up that you're already in an ivy league (cornell) but want to move higher up to say yale for career purposes (academia)..

Thanks!

[ihatelaw]

they take into account your school rank but its not a matter of ivy to ivy. from berkeley to yale is easier than from cornell to yale. nonethless, youll need to be in the top tier of your class.

[98234872348]

Holy ancient thread.

[thucydides]

Does anyone know how well a student from a school ranked in the 40s would have to do transfer to UT? I'm a Texas resident.

[UandIaresplittsville]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

PKsebben has clearly given the best advice on this forum re: transferring. Did that guy who was #1 at UCLA transfer? Let's keep this going.

[kings84_wr]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

PKsebben has clearly given the best advice on this forum re: transferring. Did that guy who was #1 at UCLA transfer? Let's keep this going.

He went to Stanford but was accepted at H and Y as well

[UandIaresplittsville]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

PKsebben has clearly given the best advice on this forum re: transferring. Did that guy who was #1 at UCLA transfer? Let's keep this going.

He went to Stanford but was accepted at H and Y as well

Word, I knew he got in everywhere, just didn't know his decision. I really hope he sees this and tells us how it's going. Someone PM him...(I am too lazy and bad at message boards to do so, but if no one else does I'm sure I'll get around to it )

[kings84_wr]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

PKsebben has clearly given the best advice on this forum re: transferring. Did that guy who was #1 at UCLA transfer? Let's keep this going.

He went to Stanford but was accepted at H and Y as well

Word, I knew he got in everywhere, just didn't know his decision. I really hope he sees this and tells us how it's going. Someone PM him...(I am too lazy and bad at message boards to do so, but if no one else does I'm sure I'll get around to it )

If I recall correctly he had an offer at Cravath (Im pretty sure at least) and some other very good firms, I feel like a stalker for remembering all this haha, but his thread had some great advice.

[06072010]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

PKsebben has clearly given the best advice on this forum re: transferring. Did that guy who was #1 at UCLA transfer? Let's keep this going.

Thanks -- we're working on getting a similar database up and running. Don't poo-poo the transferapp database though -- there's a ton of info there. Also, Arrow has a ton of great information in a thread somewhere, too.

[vvoc]

what are the odds of transferring from tier 3 school (such as SW) to t-30? basically southwestern -> UCLA. Do they accept transfer apps from lower tiered school often?

[98234872348]

what are the odds of transferring from tier 3 school (such as SW) to t-30? basically southwestern -> UCLA. Do they accept transfer apps from lower tiered school often?

Concisely: it is possible, albeit, very unlikely due to the arbitrariness of LS grading procedures and the difficulty of LS in general.

[ToTransferOrNot]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

Er... huh? Not... really.

T6 law schools are seem largely as a golden ticket BECAUSE most people can rely on OCI to get biglaw jobs, not because they are a golden ticket if you strike out at OCI. Transferring generally involves taking on a significantly larger amount of debt.

If I had struck out at OCI (and I was horrifyingly close to doing so,) transferring would have proved to be one of the most devastating financial decisions of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I think that, as a general rule, if you are able to transfer in to a T6 from a school outside of the T14, I think you do it, in most situations. I'm not sure I see the logic in transferring out of a lower T14 when you're in the top 10% already unless you get in to HYS, and even then, I question whether it is a slam-dunk. I absolutely don't understand the logic of transferring out of a T6 for any reason aside from personal/location issues. That said, if you do end up striking out at OCI and you aren't able to line anything up from secondary interviewing, looking at that T6 degree as a golden ticket just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[UandIaresplittsville]

I'm glad this thread is moving. Tired of TLS linking to yahoo groups, as if we can't compile good info here. I'm a 1L and was just having a conversation yesterday about transferring with classmates. I'm at a 10-20 and might transfer if I do well for geographic and academia reasons. The main question in my mind is whether it's gonna help out with clerkships and stuff based on the fact that it seems like a long shot to get on law review at the new school. If my grades turn out as I hope I'd probably have a way better shot at LR at the current school. Still, a higher ranked school seems like a good insurance policy. Even if OCI goes poorly a T6 is kind of a golden ticket...

Er... huh? Not... really.

T6 law schools are seem largely as a golden ticket BECAUSE most people can rely on OCI to get biglaw jobs, not because they are a golden ticket if you strike out at OCI. Transferring generally involves taking on a significantly larger amount of debt.

If I had struck out at OCI (and I was horrifyingly close to doing so,) transferring would have proved to be one of the most devastating financial decisions of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I think that, as a general rule, if you are able to transfer in to a T6 from a school outside of the T14, I think you do it, in most situations. I'm not sure I see the logic in transferring out of a lower T14 when you're in the top 10% already unless you get in to HYS, and even then, I question whether it is a slam-dunk. I absolutely don't understand the logic of transferring out of a T6 for any reason aside from personal/location issues. That said, if you do end up striking out at OCI and you aren't able to line anything up from secondary interviewing, looking at that T6 degree as a golden ticket just doesn't make a lot of sense.

I guess golden ticket may be the wrong term. The way I'm looking at it, if I do well enough to transfer, I'm probably pretty well-situated at OCI (because I'm already at a top 20 school.) But bad things can always happen, both bad luck with jobs as well as personal problems that can upset your life path. In that case, it's nice to be able to hit the admittedly unforgiving post-OCI job market with a diploma from the highest ranked school that will give you one. And as for money, I wanna work at a firm, so 10K for a 10% increase in my chances of getting a firm job is a fine bargain to me. So my point is, in the 2L/3L meltdown scenario, the higher ranked school is better. In the everything-goes-swimmingly-at-OCI scenario, it doesn't much matter except that I might be able to clerk for a fancy judge, which I want to do, and it might help me later in life if I wanna teach, etc. Let me know if you think any of this is wrong-headed, this is something I'm currently thinking through (perhaps prematurely, because if I get B's it'll all be moot.)

[onel]

When do you typically apply for transfer? If you're trying to enter fall of 2L, won't you need to apply by winter of 1L, meaning you only have one semester of grades? Is that how it works?

[savesthedayajb]

When do you typically apply for transfer? If you're trying to enter fall of 2L, won't you need to apply by winter of 1L, meaning you only have one semester of grades? Is that how it works?

Transfer apps aren't due till after 1L grades have been given, I think most are due sometime in June.

[drew]

I've heard that if you slam-dunk first semester grades, you can file your apps and be accepted solely based on those. Is there any merit in that statement?

[06072010]

At like 3 schools, and they're REALLY selective on EA admissions.

[hey there guy]

I've heard that if you slam-dunk first semester grades, you can file your apps and be accepted solely based on those. Is there any merit in that statement?

u chicago, wash u, and gulc. oh and i think BC has this but they take very few transfers as it is.

[ToTransferOrNot]

As a note: The early decision transfer is binding at Chicago; however, they reserve the right to revoke an offer if you don't maintain "consistent performance". I don't think anyone got nailed with that, this year (and this was the first year Chicago did ED for transfers,) but it was still incredibly stressful.

What that means: You'll have to withdraw from GULC EA before you have a 100% certainty of UChicago. You'll have to pay the first deposit on the EA seat, though; it is due before Chicago gets decisions out.

Honestly, Chicago ED isn't a good choice for *most* people, because people who can get in to Chicago via ED probably have at least a chance at Harvard. I am happy that I did it, but I am really bound to the Midwest--while I would have gone to Harvard if I had gotten in, I was always going to end up back in Chicago. The Chicago ED gave me more planning time, and made my life enjoyable for the summer, though I walked away from a good shot at Harvard in the process.

The extra planning time allowed me to 1.) Not bother with my original school's LR write-on; 2.) Devote significant time to Chicago's LR write-on (which you have to do with the everyone else.) If not for the ED Chicago admit, I would have had to do at least four LR write-ons this summer (Wisconsin (I hadn't made up my mind re: whether transferring to GULC was worth it,) GULC, Harvard, Chicago.)

If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask.