What Was Your Transfer Experience Like? Forum

[pj8335]

This thread is for those who have transferred to other schools. What was your transfer experience like? Good? Bad? Worth it? What was your motivation? What kind of law do you want to practice?

Hopefully your input will help out those who are considering transferring (including myself )

[concurrent fork]

T30 --> HLS. My old school refused to negotiate on scholarship money so it was an easy decision. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My two cents: There are a lot of transfer success stories posted here, but keep in mind that TLS is not necessarily a representative sample. Transferring is a poor decision for some students. There are diminishing returns as you move down the rankings, especially if you are looking outside of the top ten or so schools. Forget about the name or perceived prestige of the school when weighing your options. All you should be worried about is (1) whether you will have a better chance of landing the job you want as a median student at the new school; and (2) whether that increased chance is worth the difference in cost.

[luckyduck]

T100-->T20. Was in top 10% at old school. Also top 10% at new school. Didn't get a job thru OCI. I'm still hustling for employment. But I'd do it again. I have access to a world of professionals I didn't have at my old school. We have speakers, programs and networking events at the new school that are opportunities I'd never have at the old school.

Overall the transferring was a positive experience. New school administrators were extremely helpful. The school held several events for the transfer students at the beginning of the year so I made friends fast. The student body was welcoming.

I didn't have to move -- new school is in same town. That was a HUGE plus for me because I have a husband and kids.

[Transferthrowaway]

T35 --> CC. Despite some reservations, I would also make the same decision.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend transferring to someone unless its to HYSCC.

[keg411]

This thread is for those who have transferred to other schools. What was your transfer experience like? Good? Bad? Worth it? What was your motivation? What kind of law do you want to practice?

Hopefully your input will help out those who are considering transferring (including myself )

T2 --> MVP (although pretty much everyone knows where I go

Overall: I think actually transferring isn't as cut-and-dry "DO IT" as Arrow's transfer post makes it seem. The adjustment to a totally new place and going through OCI at the same time can be incredibly difficult. Also, if you are transferring away from the market where you want to work, the OCI travel can also be killer. I do think if you are transferring locally (i.e. the same place where your school was) or back "home" or where you did undergrad, a lot of these problems are minimized. I went from a place I've lived pretty much my entire life and was comfortable to a place where I had never visited until I transferred.

1. Okay so far. I miss my friends and the location of my old school; however, I also got a job here that I probably would not have gotten at my old school. I also miss not having debt. I think there are definite "cons" beyond just job and ranking. I also miss my pretty grades, as the only grade I have so far at my new school is crappy. My friends at my new school are all fellow transfers -- though, to be fair, a lot of the other transfers have done a much better job integrating themselves in the class as a whole then I have.

2. Motivation: My sister went to a T13 law school and I wanted to show that I could go to one as well, even if I ended up "back door"-ing my way in. Also, prestige whoring and buying into the JDU ideas of TTT-taint for your entire career (though my old school was a T2). I also did not make LR at my old school and would have been more likely to stay if I had.

3. I wanted BigLaw and felt transferring was the best way to get it. In retrospect, I have no idea if I would have "struck out" or not from my old school but I doubt I would have gotten an interview with the firm that I will be working at this summer. However, when I thought I "struck out" at OCI do to my horrible interview skills, I deeply regretted transferring... because if I was unemployed at my old school at least my debt levels would have been super-low.

[joban224]

This thread is for those who have transferred to other schools. What was your transfer experience like? Good? Bad? Worth it? What was your motivation? What kind of law do you want to practice?

Hopefully your input will help out those who are considering transferring (including myself )

T2 --> MVP (although pretty much everyone knows where I go

Overall: I think actually transferring isn't as cut-and-dry "DO IT" as Arrow's transfer post makes it seem. The adjustment to a totally new place and going through OCI at the same time can be incredibly difficult. Also, if you are transferring away from the market where you want to work, the OCI travel can also be killer. I do think if you are transferring locally (i.e. the same place where your school was) or back "home" or where you did undergrad, a lot of these problems are minimized. I went from a place I've lived pretty much my entire life and was comfortable to a place where I had never visited until I transferred.

1. Okay so far. I miss my friends and the location of my old school; however, I also got a job here that I probably would not have gotten at my old school. I also miss not having debt. I think there are definite "cons" beyond just job and ranking. I also miss my pretty grades, as the only grade I have so far at my new school is crappy. My friends at my new school are all fellow transfers -- though, to be fair, a lot of the other transfers have done a much better job integrating themselves in the class as a whole then I have.

2. Motivation: My sister went to a T13 law school and I wanted to show that I could go to one as well, even if I ended up "back door"-ing my way in. Also, prestige whoring and buying into the JDU ideas of TTT-taint for your entire career (though my old school was a T2). I also did not make LR at my old school and would have been more likely to stay if I had.

3. I wanted BigLaw and felt transferring was the best way to get it. In retrospect, I have no idea if I would have "struck out" or not from my old school but I doubt I would have gotten an interview with the firm that I will be working at this summer. However, when I thought I "struck out" at OCI do to my horrible interview skills, I deeply regretted transferring... because if I was unemployed at my old school at least my debt levels would have been super-low.

T4--->Top 40

I would largely echo this. First semester was really tough with OCI and trying to learn a new academic system as well assess the competition. I also missed my friends a lot. However, this spring semester has gotten off to a much better start and i'm starting to assimilate a lot more. All in all I would not received any of the opportunities that I have here, so i'm very glad i transferred.

My T4 stung me during fall recruiting, especially since my school is in a big market. Got a ton of screeners and a couple callbacks but no biglaw offers. In any case, I landed with a specialized boutique for the summer (they're hiring more lawyers because they're expanding) and they have indicated that I am in position to become an associate if I do well. However, I expect to go through OCI again/clerkship recruiting even with a forthcoming offer from this summer.

I'm in a much better position than I would have been if I had stayed at T4 on scholarship. The grass is generally greener both short-term and long-term.

[20130312]

T35 --> CC. Despite some reservations, I would also make the same decision.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend transferring to someone unless its to HYSCC.

Blatant anti-NYU trolling

[Transferthrowaway]

T35 --> CC. Despite some reservations, I would also make the same decision.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend transferring to someone unless its to HYSCC.

Blatant anti-NYU trolling

I should clarify that transferring NYU is fine if you want NYC biglaw/PI. Otherwise, you're hamstringing yourself by being part of a 50+ person transfer class at a school that doesn't have nearly the prestige or placing power of HYSCC.

[mrloblaw]

T35 --> CC. Despite some reservations, I would also make the same decision.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend transferring to someone unless its to HYSCC.

Blatant anti-NYU trolling

I should clarify that transferring NYU is fine if you want NYC biglaw/PI. Otherwise, you're hamstringing yourself by being part of a 50+ person transfer class at a school that doesn't have nearly the prestige or placing power of HYSCC.

While I don't necessarily agree with the discrepancy in placement (unless you're talking academia, where we still have catching up to do), our transfer class is absurdly large. Some of my OCI interviewers indicated as much.

[keg411]

Meh, Mich went up to 40 this year (probably in part due to CLS chopping its own transfer class in half) and not one of my interviewers said anything at OCI about it.

[Coolgrnmen]

NYLS --> BostonU

I'm happy about my decision. BU was extremely transfer friendly and the people that go here are amazing. I get grades tomorrow, so my tone might be different then...but for now it is > than NYLS on every level.

Note: I struck out at OCI, though I did have 6 pre-selects and 2 call-backs with NYC firms...One firm blatantly told me they would have taken me if I had done my call back a week earlier, but they had filled their spots...

Note on my Note: Though I struck out at OCI, I do have employment for the summer...paid employment. yippee!