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I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school? Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

You obviously have a very good chance of transferring up to a T1 school. Depends WHICH school you actually go to. If you're top 2-3 % at say Michigan State then staying would be a feasible option to study for free and have pretty good career options (though I probably still would transfer).

Don't know how comfortable you are with the idea but the name of the school would help a bit. Float the transfer apps out regardless though. You'll def get in places and will be faced with a GREAT dilemma.

maf70 wrote:I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school? Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

gotta be more specific for real advice. Lots of folks have "scholarships." Lots of them still graduate with a lot of debt. Is your school, a local school that feeds a local market or is it a TTT in a city trying to keep its head above water against the giants?

school is in ohio. dont' really want to say much more than that. if i stay chances are i would graduate with only about 20k in debt.

if you are top 2-3%, then I say scatter T14; you are bound to get a few hits

hokie wrote:if you are top 2-3%, then I say scatter T14; you are bound to get a few hits

Agreed. Apply to T14s and any T30s in your region. Most T20-30 schools should be relative "locks." You probably will get into a few of the T14s. All of this is assuming you maintain your GPA.

thanks. any thoughts on ED at Chicago or is that probably a huge reach?

maf70 wrote:thanks. any thoughts on ED at Chicago or is that probably a huge reach?

Worth an app no doubt.

I would say definitely apply to say the least so you have options to explore. However if you have a good scholarship and are confident in your ability to stay ranked that high you could probably get just as good job opportunities especially in the Ohio region, if that is where you would like to stay upon graduation. Once again you never know if those grades will stay that high so it may be smart to move up to a T 14 if/when you have the opportunity.

megaTTTron wrote:

maf70 wrote:thanks. any thoughts on ED at Chicago or is that probably a huge reach?

Worth an app no doubt.

GULC Early Action is an option as well. Based on other posts on the board it sounds like it might be more feasible than ED at Chicago. However, it never hurts to send an app to Chicago just in case.

does anyone know if GULC or the other top 14's provide need-based financial aid to transfers? parents together make about 65k a year and it looks like one is about to lose their job. i havent and will not receive any assistance from family as far as school goes.

maf70 wrote:does anyone know if GULC or the other top 14's provide need-based financial aid to transfers? parents together make about 65k a year and it looks like one is about to lose their job. i havent and will not receive any assistance from family as far as school goes.

I don't know about for transfers but my parents made a bit less than that and I got 1/3 of tuition for three years at Columbia. I also think CLS is fairly transfer-friendly based upon how many transfers they accepted into the 2L class.

maf70 wrote:I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school?

Assuming your t3 places halfway decently in the part of ohio it is located (and that's where you want to be), then it isn't worth it assuming you want to work at a firm. Being jobless with $20K in debt sure beats being jobless with $160K in debt. Same is true regarding being employed at a small firm at a low salary with $20K in debt versuses $160k in debt (and the odds of getting biglaw as a t1 transfer aren't particularly great right now).

maf70 wrote:Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

Yes. For now, you might as well just send out apps to both GULC and UChi for ED and see what happens. After you get grades back second semester, you'll be in a better position to try and figure out where else you want to apply and where you want to go (assuming you don't get in ED at UChi, which you probably won't -- but they won't outright reject you either).

XxSpyKEx wrote:

maf70 wrote:I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school?

Assuming your t3 places halfway decently in the part of ohio it is located (and that's where you want to be), then it isn't worth it assuming you want to work at a firm. Being jobless with $20K in debt sure beats being jobless with $160K in debt. Same is true regarding being employed at a small firm at a low salary with $20K in debt versuses $160k in debt (and the odds of getting biglaw as a t1 transfer aren't particularly great right now).

maf70 wrote:Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

Yes. For now, you might as well just send out apps to both GULC and UChi for ED and see what happens. After you get grades back second semester, you'll be in a better position to try and figure out where else you want to apply and where you want to go (assuming you don't get in ED at UChi, which you probably won't -- but they won't outright reject you either).

this.

XxSpyKEx wrote:

maf70 wrote:I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school?

Assuming your t3 places halfway decently in the part of ohio it is located (and that's where you want to be), then it isn't worth it assuming you want to work at a firm. Being jobless with $20K in debt sure beats being jobless with $160K in debt. Same is true regarding being employed at a small firm at a low salary with $20K in debt versuses $160k in debt (and the odds of getting biglaw as a t1 transfer aren't particularly great right now).

maf70 wrote:Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

Yes. For now, you might as well just send out apps to both GULC and UChi for ED and see what happens. After you get grades back second semester, you'll be in a better position to try and figure out where else you want to apply and where you want to go (assuming you don't get in ED at UChi, which you probably won't -- but they won't outright reject you either).

Not TCR. DO NOT WAIT for 2nd semester grades. Coming from a t3/4 you are already seriously disadvantaged in this process and need to use the one thing under your control to your advantage: TIME. Apply the very first day the apps are available (esp. Berkeley) and send in your 2nd semester grades later. By e-mail right when you get them and then the standard hard copy. I got into Berkeley 2 weeks before they got the "official" copy of my grades.

Lawl Shcool wrote:

XxSpyKEx wrote:

maf70 wrote:I go to a third tier school in the midwest with a full scholarship. First semester GPA is a 3.8, which historically would place me in the top 2-3%. At what point would it be worth it to give up my scholarship and pay sticker at a T1 school?

Assuming your t3 places halfway decently in the part of ohio it is located (and that's where you want to be), then it isn't worth it assuming you want to work at a firm. Being jobless with $20K in debt sure beats being jobless with $160K in debt. Same is true regarding being employed at a small firm at a low salary with $20K in debt versuses $160k in debt (and the odds of getting biglaw as a t1 transfer aren't particularly great right now).

maf70 wrote:Do I have a realistic chance at breaking the T14?

Yes. For now, you might as well just send out apps to both GULC and UChi for ED and see what happens. After you get grades back second semester, you'll be in a better position to try and figure out where else you want to apply and where you want to go (assuming you don't get in ED at UChi, which you probably won't -- but they won't outright reject you either).

Not TCR. DO NOT WAIT for 2nd semester grades. Coming from a t3/4 you are already seriously disadvantaged in this process and need to use the one thing under your control to your advantage: TIME. Apply the very first day the apps are available (esp. Berkeley) and send in your 2nd semester grades later. By e-mail right when you get them and then the standard hard copy. I got into Berkeley 2 weeks before they got the "official" copy of my grades.

Gonna have to agree with Lawl here, with one exception: if you think filling out apps is going to seriously detract from your ability to prep for finals, take your time and fill out apps on the first day after finals.

Lawl Shcool wrote: Not TCR. DO NOT WAIT for 2nd semester grades. Coming from a t3/4 you are already seriously disadvantaged in this process and need to use the one thing under your control to your advantage: TIME. Apply the very first day the apps are available (esp. Berkeley) and send in your 2nd semester grades later. By e-mail right when you get them and then the standard hard copy. I got into Berkeley 2 weeks before they got the "official" copy of my grades.

Hmm.. yeah, that's right I forgot some schools to rolling admissions for transfers, which is incredibly weird since the application/acceptance cycle is so short. The one thing that's tough about applying before getting grades is that you really have no idea of where you have a realistic shot at. Your grades can go up or down, and when you are at a t3/4 every little bit makes a huge difference since you need to be at the tippity top to transfer into the t14 (i.e. if you wind up with couple A-s, that might be enough to knock you out of the top 5%, making any acceptances in the t14 a really far long shot). Anyways, I didn't do this, but it definetely makes sense to apply before your grades come out if you are serious about transferring.

maf70 wrote:school is in ohio. dont' really want to say much more than that. if i stay chances are i would graduate with only about 20k in debt.

Oh, so you go to Toledo?

If so, then there are a few Toledo -> Michigan transfers on this site. Me and another guy transferred last year. I think 2 others transferred to Mich the year before. As far as I know, all transfers to UMich had >3.9 GPA. I know some 3.8's who got dinged.

Lower T14's (Gtown) are probably in reach?

Anyway, if you do go to Toledo, then you can shoot me a pm with any questions and I'll gladly attempt to answer.

Last year every 3.8 student from MSU tried to EA GULC and Chicago and failed in the first rounds. 4.00 was good enough though. Lots of 3.8s and 3.7 students went to schools like WUSTL though.

Chi doesn't tend to accept transfers from outside of T1. I think you'd be better off doing GULC EA, although one never knows.

Ya I am external optimist and I think coming from a t3 or t4 it might not be worth the app fee for Chicago ED. Last year I applied ED as #1 at a t4 and was the only person on this board that was outright rejected ED rather than deferred like everyone else.

I am also an Ohio native and initially thought I would transfer to OSU but got lucky with a t10 acceptance. IMO OSU is an ideal transfer location if you don't get into Michigan/NW/Penn/GULC due to its hella cheap in-state tuition. Cincinnati to a lesser extent as well (I would never goto Cincinnati but purely out of spite for the city and their sports fans however but they do have a good law school).

Thanks for all the responses. If I transfer I would want to get out of Ohio. Im not originally from here (they drew me in with the scholly). I figured Chicago would be a huge reach. Thanks for the heads up. Anyone have any knowledge about Cornell or Duke transfers? I have ties to both areas. Also, outside of the T14, assuming Im top 2-3%, do I have a good shot at most of the T30s?

t3 top 3% --> t10 is def possible. Duke and Cornell have small transfer classes relative to other schools in the t14 but if you have ties to the area you might be the type of candidate they are looking for.

One quirky thing about this is that schools tend to prefer "local" low-tiered schools as they have probably taken students from there in the past. Just something to keep in mind as you put together a school list.

maf70 wrote:do I have a good shot at most of the T30s?

Yes.

maf70 wrote:Also, outside of the T14, assuming Im top 2-3%, do I have a good shot at most of the T30s?

Just as a point of reference, the other year Dean Pless told me top 1/3 would be sufficient to transfer from my t3 to UIUC. My guess is that meant top 1/3 is the lowest GPA you could realistically get in with, but (based on that point of reference) top 2-3% should pretty much be a guaranteed acceptance.

maf70 wrote:Thanks for all the responses. If I transfer I would want to get out of Ohio. Im not originally from here (they drew me in with the scholly). I figured Chicago would be a huge reach. Thanks for the heads up. Anyone have any knowledge about Cornell or Duke transfers? I have ties to both areas. Also, outside of the T14, assuming Im top 2-3%, do I have a good shot at most of the T30s?

If you can do GULC EA concurrently with Chicago ED, I see no harm in trying. Just keep your expectations low.

Anecdotally, a reliable Michigan poster posted sometime back that his school accepted an Ave Maria transfer. I imagine that that doesn't happen too often, but it would seem to indicate that Michigan at least is worth a shot.

Additionally, do not waste much time on UVA. UVA transfer class consists of 12 seats and is commonly utilized to reach the 35 percent in-state quota.

I could not speak to Penn or Berkeley.