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This will out me but I don't care.

Rising 2L at Villanova in Top 7% w/law review + 10,000/yr scholly (might be able to get this bumped up)
I've been admitted to BU & BC as a transfer student.
Doesn't look like I'm going to get in elsewhere.

1. I want biglaw.
2. I also want to be able to pay off the crazy loans that I'm accruing (see #1).
3. I'm pretty sure I could get a biglaw job in Philly based on my rank at Nova
4. I have heard some not so good things about transfers at BC/BU

BUT

5. Boston>New York>DC>Philadelphia; Family is in Boston, have connections (lived in) both NY & DC. No connections to Philly.

This would be much easier if I had just gotten in off the waitlist at either BC or BU the first time. When I first came to Philly, I didn't mind it so much but I've grown to strongly dislike that city.

additional thoughts appreciated... also, how much money would you need to stay at nova?

can you stay with your family in boston and commute to BC/BU? 10k might not make too much of a dent in debt if you can save on COA...

Makes sense but that's unlikely. I've been out of the house for 4 years of college plus 3 years since. I think I would /self if I lived with either parent, and they're both >30mins away. I have friends in alston I can live with though.

Assuming Nova doesn't bump up the scholly, 20k difference is really nothing when you consider Nova's recent issues and BC/BU being what they are. With no connections in Philly, I wouldn't get your hopes up for biglaw out of Nova even if you're top 7% and LR.

ran12 wrote:Assuming Nova doesn't bump up the scholly, 20k difference is really nothing when you consider Nova's recent issues and BC/BU being what they are. With no connections in Philly, I wouldn't get your hopes up for biglaw out of Nova even if you're top 7% and LR.

lol at not knowing anything about Philly. Another Villanova student I don't know, but you're a lock for SOME biglaw job in Philly if you're not an aspie. If you REALLY don't want Philly then I'd leave. You obviously already know this, but our NLJ250 stats are basically all from Philadelphia/Wilmington firms.

Edit: the poster above is a 0L, now it makes sense.

beach_terror wrote: you're a lock for SOME biglaw job in Philly if you're not an aspie.

Are you referring to who I think you are?

Yeah the OCI schedule this year has literally every big firm in philly & wilmington and almost nothing else.

Also, by no connections, I mean that I have no family or friends here outside of law school. I do have business connections.

I'm virtually certain I could get biglaw in philly if I stayed.

x

I have rising 2L friends at both BU & BC, so I've borrowed their login info and I'm going to run a comparison of the 3 OCI schedules.

.

For the record, anyone in my section could easily ID me from the info I've disclosed above, so I want to make it clear that I'm not criticizing anyone in this very public forum.



For the BC v. BU thing, are people just blindly pumping BU b/c it is more highly ranked or is there something else relevant here?

If you absolutely hate Philly and want to be in Boston, then you should transfer. I mean, you have a great chance with the firms that come to OCI, but they aren't going to be in your desired location.

I think being on law review at Villanova is better than just being at BU/BC.

But you deserve more $.

flexityflex86 wrote:I think being on law review at Villanova is better than just being at BU/BC.

But you deserve more $.

While this is true, he's not going to have any access to Boston firms from Villanova. We barely even have a presence in NY.

The money thing is looking grim, just FYI. As someone who also did really well and currently has 0$, it's looking unlikely that I'll even get anything (and they said they're going to award the money by referencing to current aid levels - so presumably, I'm at the top of the list).

bceagles182 wrote:For the record, anyone in my section could easily ID me from the info I've disclosed above, so I want to make it clear that I'm not criticizing anyone in this very public forum.

Truth

If you are set on Boston and NYC then might be worth the move. You have LR and rank here but you have the connections up there so its hard to say if losing the rank/LR will affect you much. I would also take into account if BC/BU give you any scholarships (don't remember you telling me if they did or not) and comparative debt at the end of the day. Also I don't know for sure, but from what I've heard, Boston / NYC are over-saturated and might be tough to get a job even with connections. Keep in mind it wouldn't be impossible for you to go to a firm in Philly then transfer to a office in a different city a year or two in.

I love how this turned into a VLS gathering of sorts. What's up everyone? Got waitlisted at Georgetown; still waiting on Penn/Columbia/NYU but obviously not optimistic.

bceagles182 wrote:I love how this turned into a VLS gathering of sorts. What's up everyone? Got waitlisted at Georgetown; still waiting on Penn/Columbia/NYU but obviously not optimistic.

Was going to send out an xfer app to GW, but I decided against it. If Villanova decides to not give me money, then I'm going to take a leave of absence and reapply next transfer cycle - and ED to Gtown. I'm in no rush to give them full tuition again

The problem with getting money is that Villanova elected to remove the scholarship stipulations for students who received them last year, so they won't have extra money this year.

I understand why they did it, but it really makes no sense to give 2L scholarships to people who had the highest admissions numbers rather than to the people who are at the top of your class. Of course people would be complaining the other way as well, but those would be people who failed to meet the stipulations, so I don't understand why they'd care.

bceagles182 wrote:The problem with getting money is that Villanova elected to remove the scholarship stipulations for students who received them last year, so they won't have extra money this year.

I understand why they did it, but it really makes no sense to give 2L scholarships to people who had the highest admissions numbers rather than to the people who are at the top of your class. Of course people would be complaining the other way as well, but those would be people who failed to meet the stipulations, so I don't understand why they'd care.

For sure, our administration has been on something all year. I'm not happy with the way they've handled my requests so far, so if they'd rather keep a bunch of kids below median on half scholarships instead of giving me something I'm just going to take a leave of absence and transfer out. I understand what they're trying to do by removing the stips, but I'm not taking the hit for them. Given all the drama this year, it's not like it'd be tough to explain to another school or to a future employer. FTR, I really like the school and my teachers - I just can't say the same for the administration.

If you strongly dislike Philadelphia and you have friends & family in Boston, then the answer seems obvious. Now is the time to make the move because it should be much easier to establish yourself professionally in Boston if graduating from either BU or BC, than graduating from Villanova, working in Philly for a few years & then trying to move north.

On the other hand, if you get your note published, make law review editor & maintain your class rank, then you should get some interviews in Boston if you market yourself well.

It may be too difficult to start in biglaw in Philadelphia with the intention of moving to Boston. Life is likely to get in the way of that plan.

P.S. Try asking in the "Law firm recruiter taking questions for a bit" thread regarding your desire to work in Boston but graduating from Villanova. The OP should be able to offer some insight from a large law firm perspective.