Transfer to Ohio State? Forum

[watford4thewin]

So I was just accepted into Ohio State, which came as a surprise. I'm top 20% at Cleveland-Marshall. I have no scholarship money, but I live with my parents (hold the laughter) and have almost no living expenses. Also I have not yet found out if I wrote on to law review here, and don't really have a feel for what my odds are.

If I stay at Marshall I will have at least 40k less debt (assuming two years living expenses + the little extra tuition at OSU), and I am 100% OK with working in Cleveland. I am also OK with Columbus. I have family/ties in both cities. Really the only thing holding me back is the extra debt. Worth it to go to a 1T with the extra debt?

[AVBucks4239]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KbNmJQllmg

[AVBucks4239]

Interesting poll results so far. I go to the same school as OP and posted the exact same question in January: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=176682

The only difference is that I have a scholarship and OP doesn't. Yet, he lives at home and I don't. Thus, it actually evens out how much debt we'd incur if either of us transferred (somewhere in the ballpark of $40k). I'm actually good friends with him and sent him this email when he asked for my opinion. If anybody disagrees please let me know:

Two main reasons held me back from transferring: scholarship money and my setup for next year (lease already signed, committed to 2L job during school year). You don't have those things, so your situation is different.

The first question you have to ask yourself is whether you want a career in Cleveland or Columbus. If the answer is Cleveland, stay at Marshall; if it's Columbus, Moritz becomes more of an option. If it's either/or, then keep reading.

The main advantage of transferring is that there will be more firms at OCI. Marshall has 30-something firms, I'm sure Ohio State will have 50-something. Thus, there are just more firms to pick from and it is, in theory, easier to get a job out of OCI. On top of that, if you wanted a government job, the state capital is the place to be.

That said, there are so huge downsides to transferring. The only schools worth transferring to IMO, mainly because just going there usually lands a job at OCI, are the top-14 (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Penn, Michigan, etc.). OSU isn't in that group, so getting an OCI-firm job isn't even close a lock.

Furthermore, getting an OCI job is perhaps even more difficult at OSU compared to Marshall because you have to remember that you lose everything when you transfer. You're not top 25% or whatever anymore, you're not on any journals, you're not in any clubs, etc. Literally, you're only credentials are the fact that you go to the new school (you might be able to list last year's GPA, I don't know). And this is why I said T-14 are the only ones worth going to. "Boom, my JD is going to be from Yale, do you want me to rest my balls on your chin or your nose?" That's how it works when you transfer.

Third, and I think most importantly, you have to realize how smart everybody at OSU is. The dumbest people there are as smart as everybody in our top 10-20%. There are no Loser Person 1, Loser Person 2, Loser Person 3 (all from our section). Everybody there is a Gunner 1, Gunner 2, Gunner 3 (all from our section). My roommate from OSU went there, is smart as fucking fuck (graduated with 3.96 in honors accounting or some ridiculous shit), and I think he's only about top 25%. I'm pretty sure that if I went there, I'd finish somewhere around median.

So, when you add that all up, you have more debt, only slightly better job prospects, nothing on your resume except "Moritz," and you will probably finish top third (maybe top quarter) at best if you do well.

Just my two cents.

[rbomb]

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[Watermelon Man]

Not worth transferring:

First, Cleveland owns Cbus. if you transfer, you risk alienating the Cleveland firms. They want to hire someone committed to Cleveland, someone who loves Cleveland, grew up there, etc. It's hard to sell that story if you transfer to Cbus.

Second, I doubt Columbus firms care that much whether you attend case/csu/osu, except on a personal basis (if they're alumni). Those are all considered great schools in Ohio. You don't gain much by transferring. If you did well at CSU, you have a shot at Columbus firms without transferring.

But third, and most of all, my impression of people from moritz is that they gun extra hard and are very mean-spirited. What I mean is, they obsess (and talk shit) about who made what journal; who didn't make a journal at all; who got what grades; who booked what class. They'll probably think less of you for starting at CSU (which is ironic). Obviously i base this off of my experience with a select few. I hope not everyone at moritz is like this.

The goods news is, if you choose moritz, don't worry about people outsmarting you. At least, not anymore than you would at CSU, t50, t14, etc. People are people. OSU students aren't uniquely smart.

edit - hth someone next year!