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1L, top 5-10% at American, wondering if I should transfer up. I have to stay in DC, so I would either transfer to Gtown (hopefully) or GW. I definitely want to go into private practice, trying for Biglaw but not putting all my eggs in that basket. I know I haven't been accepted to either one, so it's not a for-sure thing, but I wanted some opinions bc I think my chances are good, at least at GW. Also, no matter where I go, I'll graduate w/out debt (generous parents), so that's not a factor.

So I guess my question is: Am I better off being at the top of my class here, or transferring into Gtown and, gulp, doing OCI without a GPA? I figure being top 10% here I could interview w/ any firm who comes to OCI (as in, I wouldn't be barred by any GPA cutoffs), and probably a good shot at LR, but just looking at the percentages of the class that gets Biglaw, does it make more sense to try my luck at Gtown? How about GW? Thanks for your feedback!

Kudos on the good work first semester. You are in a relatively unique position because you are one of the fortunate few who will not be burdened by debt upon graduation. Still, transferring comes with some drawbacks, and I do not really recommend losing your ties to American (namely prof relationships for letters of rec) just for a jump in the ranking. GW transfers do not do well at OCI from what I have gathered, and you are probably best served maintaining ties at American and gunning from there. With that said, you have a very good shot at G-town transfer. I don't recommend transferring to G-town for most people because it accepts so many transfers and its pretty difficult to land something out of OCI. However, considering debt is not an issue for you, I think the residual value of having G-town on your resume forever trumps the value of professor ties you would get for staying at American.

Just my thoughts. Good luck this semester.

Agree with the above. GW would be not be worth it, IMO. Gtown could go either way and I don't know enough about how Gtown transfers fare at OCI to say one way or another. If you keep your GPA up next semester, maybe try and have their CSO put you in contact with transfers from the prior year. They hopefully can give you a no non-nonsense analysis.

If your not paying for it I think even Gw would be worth it because of the higher quality of OCI. That being said your a near lock for Georgetown.