Top Law Schools

I'm at a school sitting in the 50s on the west coast. I'm from Chicago though, and know that I want to be back and eventually practice there. My grades coming off of last semester place me at either the top 25% or 33% (based on past years rankings).

What are schools I should apply to? My ideal would be U of I, but I don't know how likely that is. Another school I'm very interested in is Kent.

Are there any others I should add to the list? Do I have shots at either U of I or Kent?

Maybe Loyola Chicago? I don't know anything about the school, but it's made some decent upward movement in the USNWR rankings.

Would not suggest transferring down the rankings unless you have a reason why you need to be back in Chicago. Hard to explain that one to potential employers. I'm not sure about your chances at UofI, but I would also consider Iowa, Minn, IU-B, ND, and maybe WUSTL or Wisco.

Transfer applications are entirely unpredictable. I personally know someone who was at the median at my T2 who was able to transfer to a T1 simply to be near his/her SO. I'd at least send apps out to the schools above and see what sticks, as a solid GPA at most of them would improve on your career prospects, IMO.

hawks2010 wrote:I'm at a school sitting in the 50s on the west coast. I'm from Chicago though, and know that I want to be back and eventually practice there. My grades coming off of last semester place me at either the top 25% or 33% (based on past years rankings).

What are schools I should apply to? My ideal would be U of I, but I don't know how likely that is. Another school I'm very interested in is Kent.

Are there any others I should add to the list? Do I have shots at either U of I or Kent?

Yes to U or I and Kent. When I was looking to transfer 2 years ago, Dean Pless told me that top 1/3 from my t3 would do it. Based on that fact, I would say top 1/4-1/3 at a t50 should give you a shot at transferring to U of I. (Although, I do think Dean Pless’s top 1/3 number in my case was a very optimistic one – probably assumed that there are other factors going for me to get in).

If I were you, I would also apply to Depaul and Loyola, assuming you are only wanting Chicago. I would actually take Depaul or Loyola over other schools in the area (e.g. UIowa or UWisconsin) simply because of how competitive Chicago’s job market is right now. Point being, you aren’t going to get biglaw through OCI from transferring to a school like UIowa, and it will be incredibly difficult for you to break into the Chicago job market. You will also strike out at OCI (assuming you even get any interviews) at Depaul or Loyola; however, the advantage of attending a school in the city is that you can try to network your way into some paying legal job by the time you graduate from there. In any event, it’s going to a rough move because you are going to pay a fortune for the last 2 years of law school (so lots of student debt), and will likely face a lot of difficulty repaying it, even assuming you find a job in Chicago somewhere like a small firm that pays $45k /year.

EDIT- Obviously transferring to Depaul, Loyola, or Kent doesn’t make a ton of sense if you are on a sizeable scholarship at your current school and are willing to work there for a few years after graduation. But if you must be in Chicago at all costs after graduation and/or are paying full tuition (or a sizeable amount of it), then transferring might make more sense.

My question is, why would you want to move from Malibu or LA to Chicago? Have you forgotten what the weather is like in Chi Town? Are you sick and tired of all the beautiful females and the ocean views? I...I....I just don't get it, but to each his own.

off chance i end up with A+'s (very off chance)... what would be needed to transfer to NW or U of C?

hawks2010 wrote:off chance i end up with A+'s (very off chance)... what would be needed to transfer to NW or U of C?

Regardless of the grades you get this semester (unless you do something unlikely, such as booking every single class), you will need top 5% or better grades to transfer into UChi.

For NW, you'll need work experience and top grades, probably around the 10% range, but closer to 5% than 10%. (Read: it's almost as tough as UChi to transfer to NW, especially if you have no work experience.)

patrickd139 wrote:

hawks2010 wrote:off chance i end up with A+'s (very off chance)... what would be needed to transfer to NW or U of C?

Regardless of the grades you get this semester (unless you do something unlikely, such as booking every single class), you will need top 5% or better grades to transfer into UChi.

For NW, you'll need work experience and top grades, probably around the 10% range, but closer to 5% than 10%. (Read: it's almost as tough as UChi to transfer to NW, especially if you have no work experience.)

i may be at a disadvantage here... i'm pretty young for my grade.. by a couple of years. i've always held internships throughout college, and booked a summer associate position that i started in march. would NW consider any of this work experience, or still not the 9-5 real life experience they're looking for?

It seems from the tenor of the NW students that your age will be a disadvantage at NW. My understanding is that their transfer students are gauged by the same standards. Generally, it's post-undergrad work experience that counts, not internships.

For more specifics, do a forum search. There are lots of threads like this one covering what counts as w/e for NW.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5&t=153062