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Would it be worth it to throw away a great scholarship to transfer in to Fordham or do you think I should stay put?

In at least top 15% right now. If I have a better second semester I will try for Columbia and NYU, but I realize those are more long shots.

At this point u prob have a decent shot at fordham, but they dont let transfers participate in oci, so it wouldnt make sense to transfer.

to get into CLS/NYU, you would need to make it to like top 3 percent.

I was on Fordham's site and they say you can't participate in the early interview week, but you can participate in the "Fall Weeks."

Does the early interview week = OCI?

early interview week is where firms come to interview for summer associates, so if you are looking for a summer job from which you have a good chance of getting a permanent offer, you want early interview week

fall OCI will have like DA's offices, Legal Aid, maybe some smaller firms who may or may not give permanent offers, but if you miss out on early interview week, there is very little point to transferring. it is very disingenuous for fordham's website to make it sound like getting to participate in "fall weeks" is something a transfer should want. since you are top 15% at Hofstra, you would probably get some interviews at Hofstra's OCI, which will be much sparser than Fordham's, but at least you will get to talk to some people who might give you a permanent offer down-the-line. you'd need to improve your class rank to make your chances more likely that you either get into a school that allows transfer to participate in early OCI (CLS and NYU allow this) or that you will get something through Hofstra's OCI.

Fordham Fall Weeks includes resume collect for ~30 big firms and they do call back, and also ~20-30 midlaw firms many of which pay market especially the IP firms. However you actually don't miss EIW completely, your allowed to approach interviewers and grab them during breaks, lunch, and after their day is over for interviews you just don't get to bid, which in reality as a transfer will only result in 5-10 interviews total from the lottery.

If you hustle it can work out for you and from what my Hofstra buddy told me, Hofstra OCI is a real joke so you might as well take a chance. You can find out on symplicity who the interviewers for the next few days are in advance and then go ahead and research them and reach out to them before they come to the school to set up some interviews if you want.

Just wanted to point out that missing bidding on EIW at Fordham is still likely preferable to Hofstra's OCI...

Thanks everybody. If any Fordham transfers that have gone through this process have any personal stories about the process, that would be great.

I should probably also get the down and dirty scoop on what Hofstra OCI is actually like so I can make a better comparison.

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks everybody. If any Fordham transfers that have gone through this process have any personal stories about the process, that would be great.

I should probably also get the down and dirty scoop on what Hofstra OCI is actually like so I can make a better comparison.

So my buddy from Hofstra is working for the USPTO now, but he said that in his year (2 years ago), about 5 firms went to OCI and the rest were all JAG etc. He said he didn't know anyone who got a firm job without significant connections to the firms. This is all anecdotal though so I'm not sure what its like now. He did tell me that he regretted taking money from Hofstra rather than going to Fordham.

Then again, Fordham OCI is a mixed bag, lots of interviews, but unless you have something other than academics going for you, you need to be at the top of the class for big law still. Its a gamble, more debt for a better shot at more money. That's not a decision someone else can make for you. (I think only about 30% of Fordham is placing into biglaw + clerkship right now, but anyone over median has a shot. Under median and your looking at needing your dad to be a managing partner types of connections).

So take away is try to get into top 5% this semester and go to a transfer friendly T-14 or network like hell here at Hofstra.