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In your cover letter for oci should you explain why u transferred in a sentence or two or just state I went to school x for first year and am a transfer student at school y? Or just state that you are a 2l at your new school?

It depends somewhat on whether you have a good reason for transferring aside from rank, but yes, generally speaking, you should explain that you transferred and why in your cover letter. You will be asked by every interviewer (seriously, I did ~40 and was asked in every single one), so you should practice justifying your transfer now anyway.

why else do people transfer other than rank (in reality)?

Seems that is the only reason people post questions on their odds of people able to pull it off.

Yeah the OP is post transfer, but still........

Also, what is school x? Why not just say what it was?

Obviously rank plays a role in non-lateral transfers, but there are a number of other contributing factors that shape a person's decision: ties to transferee market, academic programs specific to the new school, clerkship opportunities, etc.

bceagles182 wrote:Obviously rank plays a role in non-lateral transfers, but there are a number of other contributing factors that shape a person's decision: ties to transferee market, academic programs specific to the new school, clerkship opportunities, etc.

can you think of anyone that has actually done it for those reasons who you have met.....ever?

The best answer to the question is almost always going to be: "because I knew that I wanted to work in [market y] and [school y] has a much stronger presence here." And then you explain why you are interested in the market. I also explained that I had grown to dislike my prior school's market [Philly], although I had to be careful that the interviewer wasn't from Philly.

I, for one, transferred in part for rank and in part for location.

jurisx wrote:

bceagles182 wrote:Obviously rank plays a role in non-lateral transfers, but there are a number of other contributing factors that shape a person's decision: ties to transferee market, academic programs specific to the new school, clerkship opportunities, etc.

can you think of anyone that has actually done it for those reasons who you have met.....ever?

I guess you haven't met me in person, but I transferred, in part, for those reasons. The opportunity to go to a better school was part of what led me to transfer, but I applied to schools in a particular area for personal reasons, and only to particular schools because of interests in academia, clerkships, and the programs offered at the schools to which I applied.

jurisx wrote:

bceagles182 wrote:Obviously rank plays a role in non-lateral transfers, but there are a number of other contributing factors that shape a person's decision: ties to transferee market, academic programs specific to the new school, clerkship opportunities, etc.

can you think of anyone that has actually done it for those reasons who you have met.....ever?

Did it for family reasons and wanted to go back to my hometown

And regardless of whether or not that's your actual reason for transferring, OCI is a game. Half of your answers are going to be BS anyway. Why do people really choose biglaw? Because competent interviewees don't respond that they're in it for the money, even though they almost universally are.

bceagles182 wrote:And regardless of whether or not that's your actual reason for transferring, OCI is a game. Half of your answers are going to be BS anyway. Why do people really choose biglaw? Because competent interviewees don't respond that they're in it for the money, even though they almost universally are.

So what is the best lie to tell?

.

I hope they ask me why I transferred. This seems like the kind of question that is a perfect opportunity for a little "humble ambition" showcasing.