Transfer to Michigan or Stay at Iowa? Forum

[traehekat]

I was admitted to Michigan a few days ago. I'm barely 10% at Iowa right now and I haven't heard back from LR (don't feel great about it, but who does?). The big thing is that I a full scholarship right now (although it is contingent on obtaining an RA position for next semester, which I have yet to do as of now). I am aiming for Chicago big law (which is where I am from and basically the only market I have significant ties to), but Iowa has only 4 firms from Chicago coming to OCI. Michigan obviously has many more Chicago firms coming, including all the big ones. I would also really like to clerk, and I know my chances would be higher at Michigan, however I don't know how realistic that it is for either transfer students are students in my current position.

Thoughts? I'm leaning towards transferring, but it's tough. I love the people here at Iowa and I'm pretty comfortable here, but I definitely think my career goals would be better served at Michigan. The big question is really just whether it is worth giving up the scholarship.

[Danteshek]

I think you should stay at Iowa because of the scholarship. If you are hell bent on working in Chicago, you will move there after you graduate and find something.

[CanadianWolf]

Transfer. That's the only way to know whether or not it was the right move.

[tfer2222]

Tagged for future reference. I'm also having a terrible time deciding on whether or not to transfer.

[IrwinM.Fletcher]

It seems like you should be able to hustle your ass off and land Chicago biglaw without transferring if you really try. Granted, you won't have nearly as many options as you would if you transfer, but...an extra 90k will be a real bitch to pay back if you go. That's an extra thousand bucks a month, every month, for ten years over what you'd owe if you stay put.

I think a lot of people on this site underestimate the burden of repaying debt because they've never had to pay off significant debt before. It blows. Bigtime. I think spending the next two months working your butt off and getting a market paying gig in the city is worth saving the money, but that's just my opinion.

FWIW, I also have close to a full scholly at my school, am top 5%, and decided to take my own advice and stay.

[Verity]

Class of 2014 including transfers are eligible for LRAP at Michigan. Yo won't be eligible. But I say transfer.

[starchinkilt]

Class of 2014 including transfers are eligible for LRAP at Michigan. Yo won't be eligible. But I say transfer.

How would he not be eligible?

Edit: Sorry if my post in the other thread was confusing. The new LRAP was made for the class of 2014, but transfers this year are grouped with them for LRAP purposes because we all entered in the Fall of 2011.

[Helmholtz]

I think you should stay at Iowa because of the scholarship. If you are hell bent on working in Chicago, you will move there after you graduate and find something.

He might find something, but I'm not sure he's going to be happy with something.

OP, I think if you want biglaw, you're going to have to make the move to Michigan, although it should be noted (and I'm sure you're fully aware) that even biglaw from Mich is uncertain—especially if you're aiming for Chicago. Iowa Law is far from a biglaw powerhouse anyway and your chances of landing something in Chicago through OCI with only four firms coming are bleak, to say the least. This might be a tougher decisions if Law Review is on the plate, but even then, I might still side with Michigan here. I bet that you would have a great time studying at Michigan if you transfer. You'll have access to greater resources while in school (professors, journals, the gorgeous reading room, spacious underground library with plenty of natural light on all levels, etc., etc.) and once you leave (trust me, Michigan has one hell of an alumni network). Transfer students typically don't have any trouble fitting in and end up loving it. Good luck on whatever you decide.

[Danteshek]

Despite OP's purported desire to do big law, I doubt she will be happy doing that. If OP is confident enough to do a thorough job search from Iowa, I think she will be happier with the result. It isn't like she has to accept the first job offer. With no debt, she will have plenty of flexibility to look for an find a job that suits her interests.

[YourCaptain]

I would say transfer to Michigan; the opportunities there are simply greater. Especially if you keeping doing well, you can try and gun for a clerkship, which I would believe is much more likely from Mich than from Iowa.

[JOThompson]

I think you should view the decision as a half-ride at Iowa vs. sticker at Michigan. That full scholarship at Iowa may disappear if you can't find an R.A. job. I'm in a similar position and I'm not hopeful. This late in the summer, the odds of finding one are getting slim, especially when there's only one active R.A. listing for hundreds of students to compete for. In light of the difficulty of getting Iowa instate tuition, Michigan should be more attractive. Michigan puts you in a much stronger position for Chicago biglaw although obviously the market is still tough. On the other hand, big firms have been cutting schools like Iowa first from their hiring list. I know of only one Iowa 3L with a Chicago big firm job now (yeah, anecdotal). It's not going to cost you that much more for Michigan, so transfer there IMO.

[traehekat]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Obviously it's a close call, as I expected. Nothing is a given, but from what I have heard transfers do very well at Michigan and so I'm not TOO worried about taking on the debt and ending up with absolutely nothing to show for it employment-wise. The bigger issue is whether transferring is really necessary. There's no doubt transferring to Michigan will increase 2L Chicago SA chances to some degree, but I'm still not sure if the bump is significant enough to be worth giving up money at Iowa (although it is worth noting again that there is a decent chance I end up having to pay for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition here at Iowa since there are so few RA positions available). I have a feeling that if I don't make LR at Iowa I will likely transfer, with the thought process being that it is a close call and not making LR will barely push it in favor of transferring. If I do make LR, I'll have to give it some more thought.

FWIW, I'm confident I would at least be "happy" at Michigan. The best part about Iowa are the students here, and from my understanding Michigan has a similar student body (very smart but still laid back and down to earth), and so I'm sure I would fit in. It's also tough to ignore the "transferring was the best decision of my life" statements from some of the current UM transfer students.

Oh, and...

Despite OP's purported desire to do big law, I doubt she will be happy doing that. If OP is confident enough to do a thorough job search from Iowa, I think she will be happier with the result. It isn't like she has to accept the first job offer. With no debt, she will have plenty of flexibility to look for an find a job that suits her interests.

I'm a dude.