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I am currently a 1L at Duke/Northwestern/Georgetown/Cornell and am thinking about transferring but I havn't found much information out there on intra T14 transfers so I have a couple of questions:

1) What class ranking/GPA do you need to be viable for a transfer to another T14?

2) Is there any scholly money for transfer?

3) Does LSAT matter for transfer?

GeorgeU wrote:1) What class ranking/GPA do you need to be viable for a transfer to another T14?

Depends where you're trying to transfer. DNGC to MVPB will be different than DNGC to YSH.

GeorgeU wrote:2) Is there any scholly money for transfer?

Not outside YSH. I believe transfers to YSH get need-based aid but no merit aid.

GeorgeU wrote:3) Does LSAT matter for transfer?

No.

0L here, but unless it's HYS or you hate your current school and don't have any financial aid, why would you do it? Want to work in a different region?

The YSH transfer is typically top 10%. The other transfers are more about your reason for transferring than grades as long as you're top third or so.

I was top 10%ish. I'd think that top 10% at a T14 is enough to be considered by YSH (esp H), top 10% at CCN is probably a lock for at least one of Y or S.

S gives need-based aid (some people I know got way more money at S than they had at their old school because SLS is really generous)

LSAT doesn't matter.
I do sometimes wonder though whether being a splitter can kinda give you the benefit of the doubt when you're transferring. like if you were 3.2/170 and a few years out of undergrad or something, and then you were top 10% at your 1L school, if the admissions office would just figure that you're actually really smart and were just immature in undergrad or something, but that you've gotten it together in the meantime. Same might go for reverse splitter- 3.9/160- you're really smart and good in school, and just had a bad day on the LSAT. I've got no evidence for this, nor have I looked for any, but if I were an admissions officer, I'd maybe think that way.

So a below top 10% is unlikely to get admitted? I am specifically interested in S.

Oh come on. Everyone is technically 'unlikely' to be admitted as a Stanford at transfer, and it obviously depends what your rank is (top 11%? top 25%? you must release quite a few ranks qualify as below top 10%).

The real issue is: why would you want to give up a gpa in the latin honors range (most likely summa/magna) at a T14 to go to a different T14?

That's almost too risky of a bet to make; however, it could possibly be justified if you currently are paying sticker at your (non T-5) T14 and are transferring to HYS. But even then, you are essentially trading a big law lock (and probably fed dist. court clerkship lock) for a big law lock (and possibly not a fed dist. court clerkship).

Aberzombie1892 wrote:The real issue is: why would you want to give up a gpa in the latin honors range (most likely summa/magna) at a T14 to go to a different T14?

That's almost too risky of a bet to make; however, it could possibly be justified if you currently are paying sticker at your (non T-5) T14 and are transferring to HYS. But even then, you are essentially trading a big law lock (and probably fed dist. court clerkship lock) for a big law lock (and possibly not a fed dist. court clerkship).

Ask Ginsburg

polkij333 wrote:

Aberzombie1892 wrote:The real issue is: why would you want to give up a gpa in the latin honors range (most likely summa/magna) at a T14 to go to a different T14?

That's almost too risky of a bet to make; however, it could possibly be justified if you currently are paying sticker at your (non T-5) T14 and are transferring to HYS. But even then, you are essentially trading a big law lock (and probably fed dist. court clerkship lock) for a big law lock (and possibly not a fed dist. court clerkship).

Ask Ginsburg

She moved because her husband got a job in NYC. Things worked out pretty well for her.

Aberzombie1892 wrote:The real issue is: why would you want to give up a gpa in the latin honors range (most likely summa/magna) at a T14 to go to a different T14?

That's almost too risky of a bet to make; however, it could possibly be justified if you currently are paying sticker at your (non T-5) T14 and are transferring to HYS. But even then, you are essentially trading a big law lock (and probably fed dist. court clerkship lock) for a big law lock (and possibly not a fed dist. court clerkship).

What about using acceptance as leverage to ask your current school for more money? I was going to do that last year with my MVPD but grades suffered 1L spring and I wouldn't has been competitive. I think if you come up with good reasons for wanting to go to HYS (like: I could get need-based aid to live there), maybe your school would bite at giving you like $20k the next 2 years? I could be very wrong though. I know it happens at the T2 level (friend was top 4 in his class, before he could even consider transferring, they offered him a full-ride the rest of the way). Not sure if a T14 would do it.