Top Law Schools

Hello TLS! So I just got my grades back for the second semester and I am in the top 6% of my class. I go to Penn State currently (no sense in trying to hide it as you could easily find it through my older posts) and really do like it here. However, I can't help thinking that I might be selling myself short by not even trying to transfer. I know that I could get very good letters of recommendation and I have been involved during 1L (average softs at best). I do have a scholarship at my current school but I still have to take out loans. I missed grading on to law review by one spot but feel like I could probably write on without much trouble. Would I be stupid to not even consider transferring? What schools do I have a real shot at? Thanks!

Without law review, you don't have much to lose. To which law schools would you like to transfer ?

CanadianWolf wrote:Without law review, you don't have much to lose. To which law schools would you like to transfer ?

I'm pretty open to anywhere. My hometown is about 20 minutes from Cornell, but other than that I have no ties near any of the higher ranked schools. Where do I have a decent chance at admissions?

Some law schools examine undergraduate grades GPA & LSAT even for transfer students. Your 160 LSAT & 3.9 GPA are solid in this context for most law schools. Try Cornell, Duke, Georgetown & Vanderbilt if you want to attempt a major move up the rankings of the law school world. BU & BC may also be of interest to you since you applied to those schools last year. For the most part, location & reasons for wanting to transfer are important. You should get strong consideration from Cornell.

P.S. I'll bet that I've driven through your hometown several times.

CanadianWolf wrote:Some law schools examine undergraduate grades GPA & LSAT even for transfer students. Your 160 LSAT & 3.9 GPA are solid in this context for most law schools. Try Cornell, Duke, Georgetown & Vanderbilt if you want to attempt a major move up the rankings of the law school world. BU & BC may also be of interest to you since you applied to those schools last year. For the most part, location & reasons for wanting to transfer are important. You should get strong consideration from Cornell.

P.S. I'll bet that I've driven through your hometown several times.

Thanks for the advice. My real hesitation is the cost of the applications. My budget is really tight so I don't have a lot of money to throw around if I don't have a real shot at admissions. And, my home town is SUPER small, so even if you did drive through, you might not have noticed haha

Anyone else have advice/thoughts?

Cornell may offer financial aid to transfer students unlike merit money which is rarely available to transfer students.

CanadianWolf wrote:Cornell may offer financial aid to transfer students unlike merit money which is rarely available to transfer students.

Ok, I will look into Cornell for sure. Thanks!

It might help to add that I don't want to do BigLaw or anything like that. I want to work for a university.

Something else that I am considering is the fact that Penn State has the #1 program in Higher Education Admin. which I can get a masters in while also getting my J.D.

There are some lower ranked schools that offer education law specialties. Not a bad career plan, however, since education is a growth field.

CanadianWolf wrote:There are some lower ranked schools that offer education law specialties. Not a bad career plan, however, since education is a growth field.

Do you know which ones? If not I could do the research myself, just thought I would ask to see if I could save the time

jbarl1 wrote:It might help to add that I don't want to do BigLaw or anything like that. I want to work for a university.

Something else that I am considering is the fact that Penn State has the #1 program in Higher Education Admin. which I can get a masters in while also getting my J.D.

If you want Higher Ed, throw an app to Michigan. They have a really strong program in Higher Ed. Admin. (a friend of mine went there and claims they are #1, not Penn State).

jbarl1 wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Some law schools examine undergraduate grades GPA & LSAT even for transfer students. Your 160 LSAT & 3.9 GPA are solid in this context for most law schools. Try Cornell, Duke, Georgetown & Vanderbilt if you want to attempt a major move up the rankings of the law school world. BU & BC may also be of interest to you since you applied to those schools last year. For the most part, location & reasons for wanting to transfer are important. You should get strong consideration from Cornell.

P.S. I'll bet that I've driven through your hometown several times.

Thanks for the advice. My real hesitation is the cost of the applications. My budget is really tight so I don't have a lot of money to throw around if I don't have a real shot at admissions. And, my home town is SUPER small, so even if you did drive through, you might not have noticed haha

Anyone else have advice/thoughts?

Find the money for the apps, that is not a good excuse. If you spend a grand, you will cover that in about 12 hours of work post grad. Apply everywhere you have a minimal shot.

keg411 wrote:

jbarl1 wrote:It might help to add that I don't want to do BigLaw or anything like that. I want to work for a university.

Something else that I am considering is the fact that Penn State has the #1 program in Higher Education Admin. which I can get a masters in while also getting my J.D.

If you want Higher Ed, throw an app to Michigan. They have a really strong program in Higher Ed. Admin. (a friend of mine went there and claims they are #1, not Penn State).

Penn State is #1, Michigan is #2. Thanks for pointing that out, I will look into it!
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... n-rankings

ITEDreamer wrote:

jbarl1 wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Some law schools examine undergraduate grades GPA & LSAT even for transfer students. Your 160 LSAT & 3.9 GPA are solid in this context for most law schools. Try Cornell, Duke, Georgetown & Vanderbilt if you want to attempt a major move up the rankings of the law school world. BU & BC may also be of interest to you since you applied to those schools last year. For the most part, location & reasons for wanting to transfer are important. You should get strong consideration from Cornell.

P.S. I'll bet that I've driven through your hometown several times.

Thanks for the advice. My real hesitation is the cost of the applications. My budget is really tight so I don't have a lot of money to throw around if I don't have a real shot at admissions. And, my home town is SUPER small, so even if you did drive through, you might not have noticed haha

Anyone else have advice/thoughts?

Find the money for the apps, that is not a good excuse. If you spend a grand, you will cover that in about 12 hours of work post grad. Apply everywhere you have a minimal shot.

It's not a matter of "Oh I could find the money." I really can't find more than maybe $200 in time to apply. My budget is very tight and my family does not have money to spare.

jbarl1 wrote:

ITEDreamer wrote:

jbarl1 wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Some law schools examine undergraduate grades GPA & LSAT even for transfer students. Your 160 LSAT & 3.9 GPA are solid in this context for most law schools. Try Cornell, Duke, Georgetown & Vanderbilt if you want to attempt a major move up the rankings of the law school world. BU & BC may also be of interest to you since you applied to those schools last year. For the most part, location & reasons for wanting to transfer are important. You should get strong consideration from Cornell.

P.S. I'll bet that I've driven through your hometown several times.

Thanks for the advice. My real hesitation is the cost of the applications. My budget is really tight so I don't have a lot of money to throw around if I don't have a real shot at admissions. And, my home town is SUPER small, so even if you did drive through, you might not have noticed haha

Anyone else have advice/thoughts?

Find the money for the apps, that is not a good excuse. If you spend a grand, you will cover that in about 12 hours of work post grad. Apply everywhere you have a minimal shot.

It's not a matter of "Oh I could find the money." I really can't find more than maybe $200 in time to apply. My budget is very tight and my family does not have money to spare.

No credit cards? It may be too late, but can you ask for an emergency loan from your current LS? Also, send your apps in on paper and ask for a waiver or forebearance at least. Many schools will understand.