Top Law Schools

Hi All,

I am a 1L at UNH (formerly Franklin Pierce) who would like to focus on IP. I am currently in the top 10% of my class and am thinking about attempting to transfer to a T14 school. My goal is to get into Duke Law but I am not sure how realistic my chances are so I was wondering if there were any other students out there who have made the leap from a T3 to a T1 school. I know that Duke and UNH are tied when it comes to IP rankings but I've also heard that ranking is complete BS and does not really hold much value. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on this topic.. thanks!

You're going to want to be at LEAST top 5% to have a shot at Duke. Even top 2% you'd probably only be 50/50.

First off, congrats on your first semester success. Top 10% is quite an accomplishment in any law school and you should be commended on that.

On transfer chances. I'm not personally familiar with transferring from a T3 to Duke. You should search the transferapps yahoo database and this forum for T3->Duke transfers if you want hard numbers. Anecdotally, I'd say you'd be in a good position to apply to Duke with a straight face with your current rank, but transfer admissions are hardly capable of concrete predictions. That said, you'll be in a much better position to transfer to Duke if you're in top 5%, top 1%, etc. than if you're in the top 10% of your class. Is top 10% sufficient? I have no idea. But it's probably close enough to the gray area to warrant an application.

On specialty rankings. I personally think they're a load of crap as far as 1L admissions goes. Nothing about transfer admissions changes my view. However, you might mention Duke's strong reputation in patent law (not the specialty rankings) in your transfer PS, and how that could advance your career aspirations. As an aside: do you have a scientific background? If not, you should realize you're facing an uphill battle in that field, even if you transfer to YHS.

I actually know of someone who transferred from my TTT to Duke a couple years ago, so it is doable. Though, I believe he was very close to the top of the class.