T1 to top 14 Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm at a T1 outside of the top 14. Strong regional school and top school in the state. I have lived in the state my whole life, so all my ties are here. Due to a scholarship, I'm also only paying around $9k in tuition a year (plus living expenses). I was never biglaw or bust, but I would certainly like to work in a big firm if the opportunity is available. My first semester grades are 3.56, around top 12%. Would it be worth transferring to somewhere in the top 14? I would obviously be paying much more in tuition if I transfer, but I'm on the fence if the job prospects would be worth it.

Any thoughts?

[alex.feuerman]

9k in tuition? 9k? WOW. Personally I'd just concentrate on getting the highest grades possible and chill. Because I have no debt. wow.

[Uncle.Joe]

I did, PM me if you want.

[shock259]

I think the most important thing to try and decide is if you want biglaw. If you do, then it might make sense to transfer. You'll incur more debt, you can pay it off very quickly with a biglaw salary. On the other hand, if you don't want biglaw or are on the fence about it, staying may be better. You'll still have a (long)shot at biglaw, but you'll keep your debt down and allow yourself to accept a lower paying position.

But the biggest question you have to answer for yourself is what do you want to do? What would you do if you didn't do biglaw?

[Anonymous User]

I think the most important thing to try and decide is if you want biglaw. If you do, then it might make sense to transfer. You'll incur more debt, you can pay it off very quickly with a biglaw salary. On the other hand, if you don't want biglaw or are on the fence about it, staying may be better. You'll still have a (long)shot at biglaw, but you'll keep your debt down and allow yourself to accept a lower paying position.

But the biggest question you have to answer for yourself is what do you want to do? What would you do if you didn't do biglaw?

Now that biglaw is an option, it is what I want to do. If I was to strike out and not land a biglaw job, I would most likely end up working at a medium sized firm in my homestate. The obvious catch is that if I strike out at my current school, I could still make a decent salary at a midsized firm with very manageable debt. If I strike out at a top14, I'm going to be in much more trouble.

[KidStuddi]

OP, your question is unanswerable without more information.

A) Without knowing where you currently go to school no one can give any meaningful advice about your current job prospects / chances at BigLaw. "T1 non-T14" is a huge range of variability; Vandy and Maryland are not interchangeable in this conversation.

B) You probably also have to be more specific about which school you're targeting. The T14 are not created equal either. It may well be worth transferring to YHS but not Cornell. Which also leads to:

C) Probably also need to know where you'd be willing to work. If, say, you're only interested in living on the West Coast, transferring to Georgetown would pretty much not ever be worth it. Conversely, if you want DC BigLaw, going to Georgetown is probably worth it while Michigan would not be, regardless of rank.

In short, if you want actual analysis you need to provide:
Your current school.
Which T14s are you talking about?
Where geographically would you work?

[Anonymous User]

OP, your question is unanswerable without more information.

A) Without knowing where you currently go to school no one can give any meaningful advice about your current job prospects / chances at BigLaw. "T1 non-T14" is a huge range of variability; Vandy and Maryland are not interchangeable in this conversation.

B) You probably also have to be more specific about which school you're targeting. The T14 are not created equal either. It may well be worth transferring to YHS but not Cornell. Which also leads to:

C) Probably also need to know where you'd be willing to work. If, say, you're only interested in living on the West Coast, transferring to Georgetown would pretty much not ever be worth it. Conversely, if you want DC BigLaw, going to Georgetown is probably worth it while Michigan would not be, regardless of rank.

In short, if you want actual analysis you need to provide:
Your current school.
Which T14s are you talking about?
Where geographically would you work?

UW-Madison
Most likely Michigan/Chicago. I would need to bump up in class rank for a decent shot at Chicago I would think.
Any larger city in the Midwest (Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St.Louis)

[KidStuddi]

I'm pretty debt adverse but I'd say the gamble is worth it in your circumstance.

BigLaw placement from your current school, even with your grades, seems like an uphill battle. It looks you're in that not-so-sweet spot where your grades might be good enough to transfer but not good enough to land BigLaw if you applied directly / from OCI. If your class rank remains the same or doesn't break into the top 5% or so, I think it's pretty clear it would be worth transferring for the increased shot at BigLaw. Even if you do break the top 5% I think it'd still be worth it, but then at least it'd be a closer call.

If you want to be more sure, I would look for a list of firms that participated in your school's OCI program last year, and see how many BigLaw/Market paying firms attended. It'll probably give you a better indicator of the kind of odds you'll face should you decide to stay.

The good news is that you're targeting a not-so-desired major market in Chicago, and you have strong midwest ties which will help you comeback there even if you go to school out east. You can probably safely add most of the big east coast schools to your list and still feel pretty good that you'd be able to target Chicago reasonably well.