Top Law Schools

Top 10% at Cardozo - transferring is joined with losing scholarship, LR, etc. This is NY school so there are still a bunch of big law employers coming to recruit. I don't care if I work at a V5 firm or a V50, that stuff isn't as important. Assuming I can transfer to Columbia or NYU, Worth transferring if accepted?

If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

You appear to be a 0L. Not that 0Ls are by default clueless as to the hiring process, but what gives you this insight?

grash wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

You appear to be a 0L. Not that 0Ls are by default clueless as to the hiring process, but what gives you this insight?

I agree - being someone in a similar position, I can say that you definitely have no idea how the career prospects will jump. At a school like Cardozo being at top 10% means getting the most interviews. Might not be with Watchell, but with many other top big law firms offering the same starting salary. So what do you base that on?

Anonymous User wrote:

grash wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

You appear to be a 0L. Not that 0Ls are by default clueless as to the hiring process, but what gives you this insight?

I agree - being someone in a similar position, I can say that you definitely have no idea how the career prospects will jump. At a school like Cardozo being at top 10% means getting the most interviews. Might not be with Watchell, but with many other top big law firms offering the same starting salary. So what do you base that on?

Generally the rule of thumb with transferring appears to be to evaluate job prospects @ median at the school you are transferring to. Median at a top 6 school is pretty much a lock for BigLaw. I think it comes down to how much money you are currently getting. Anything less than a half scholly and I would probably go.

I'd base it on NLJ250 numbers. What if OP gets one bad grade and his GPA drops? Even at median he's just as likely to get a good firm job from NYU or Columbia, definitely not from Cardozo.

It's also a future proof degree, NYU and Columbia will just open more doors, plain and simple.

stylishlaw wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

grash wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

You appear to be a 0L. Not that 0Ls are by default clueless as to the hiring process, but what gives you this insight?

I agree - being someone in a similar position, I can say that you definitely have no idea how the career prospects will jump. At a school like Cardozo being at top 10% means getting the most interviews. Might not be with Watchell, but with many other top big law firms offering the same starting salary. So what do you base that on?

Generally the rule of thumb with transferring appears to be to evaluate job prospects @ median at the school you are transferring to. Median at a top 6 school is pretty much a lock for BigLaw. I think it comes down to how much money you are currently getting. Anything less than a half scholly and I would probably go.

I second this. Obviously if you're enjoying a very large scholly from cardozo that changes things.

coldshoulder wrote:I'd base it on NLJ250 numbers. What if OP gets one bad grade and his GPA drops? Even at median he's just as likely to get a good firm job from NYU or Columbia, definitely not from Cardozo.

It's also a future proof degree, NYU and Columbia will just open more doors, plain and simple.

OP's 1L year is already over. Unless the grade is horrendous, who cares if he gets a bad grade? Look - this is going to come off as insulting, and frankly, I don't care that much. There's a ton of shit that you learn in between 0L and 2L, and most of the regulars here are probably more knowledgeable than you. It would behoove you to either preface your remarks with your 0L status, or stay on the sidelines and observe rather than participate.

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

Top 10% at Dozo won't get you into NYU or Columbia. /thread.

maf70 wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

Top 10% at Dozo won't get you into NYU or Columbia. /thread.

Probably not, but I'd say it's worth the app since Cardozo is a "local" school.

maf70 wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

Top 10% at Dozo won't get you into NYU or Columbia. /thread.

Cardozo only ranks to the top 10% OP can technically be top 5% and the transfer school would know that by knowing what the cutoff is for top 15

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

Not really. Employers that recruit at both Cardozo and NYU/CLS will view him the same whether or not he transfers. The big advantage would be getting access to employers who don't recruit, but on the flip side at Cardozo he'll probably mop-up all the preselect interview slots.

OP, any interest in clerking? Or eventually working outside the NYC area? If you have an interest in either one of those, it makes sense to transfer. Otherwise, and especially if you are more than half scholly, it makes sense to stay.

ETA - I am in a similar situation at a lower ranked T2 in the NYC area. I'm also in the top 5% and looking at LR and around 30k/year in scholly for the next two years.

OP, What do you think are your chances of landing a V100 SA position for next summer at Cardozo OCI?

Personally, I know that at my admittedly worse T2, there are only about 5-10 V100 firms that officially participate in our OCI. However, because all the firms are nearby, the OCS at my school is really pushing the idea that via "resume collection" and my own mass mailing, I could land as many as 10-15 legit interviews for SA. That's still around 50% of the potential interviews at CLS or NYU.

So if you could somehow magically divine that you WILL land a V100 SA at Cardozo, what other motivation do you have to transfer? Personally, I'm still leaning to transferring even if I had the SA locked down, because:
(1) possibility of clerkships,
(2) I want a degree that travels - no one outside NYC is familiar with Dozo or my TT,
(3) despite the "once you get a job your school doesn't matter anymore" consensus, I believe that the alumni networks DO have a significant impact on your career even 5+ years removed from law school and
(4) I genuinely want to compete/study with brighter classmates.
(5) For me, there is also to live/study in manhattan and not nearby, but this obviously doesn't apply to you.

PS - A poll w/ more specifics would be nice

maf70 wrote:

coldshoulder wrote:If you can get into NYU or Columbia definitely worth it. Your career prospects will jump enormously.

Top 10% at Dozo won't get you into NYU or Columbia. /thread.

With 80 CLS transfers I bet it will.

My apologies for the previous posts, won't happen again. Best of luck to you.