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I'm at a T25 in a major east coast market. I finished the year with a 4.0. i am ranked either 1 or 2. I am NYC or bust and am not in NYC right now. I graded onto LR at my current school. i have applied to upenn and up. i absolutely want to ensure, to the best degree possible, that I work at a biglaw firm in NYC next summer. what's the best move? should i stay? should i go? is there a certain school i should cut off my exploration at?

V10ish firms in NYC routinely make offers to students with credentials like those as well as students with credentials like those who then transfer. You're in a good position either way - you'll have to do more legwork if you don't transfer (smaller OCI) but have the advantage of not needing to move.

If you cannot land NYC BigLaw with a 4.0 from a T25, you can rest assured that you have a horrible personality and it has nothing to do with your school. Just start direct mailing NYC firms now if your school's OCI is truly that pathetic. You'll get something. Probably enough responses to have some pretty decent choices.

KidStuddi wrote:If you cannot land NYC BigLaw with a 4.0 from a T25, you can rest assured that you have a horrible personality and it has nothing to do with your school. Just start direct mailing NYC firms now if your school's OCI is truly that pathetic. You'll get something. Probably enough responses to have some pretty decent choices.

OP here. My concern isn't a lack of interview skills. I think I am at the very least average at it to better than average. I just want to ensure I have access to the most opportunities possible.

what's you're current scholarship and expected HYS aid?

JamMasterJ wrote:what's you're current scholarship and expected HYS aid?

my current scholarship is not substantial. ~18k a year. i dunno, i havent calculated the latter. i should probably get on that. is there an easy way to do that?

bump. any advice?

Have you read the transfer essay by arrow? Would you mind telling us what your study method was? Did you spend more time on cases or supplementals ? Did you brief? etc..

Make sure you speak with the LR kids from last year to see what their experience was. Find out how the top few students did. Like I said, most LR people from the T25 I was at got good jobs lined up, including a number of NY kids, all at big firm. There were a few exceptions, but I'd imagine they are a bit rare.

I gave up a bigger scholarship than you did to transfer, but if you live frugally in the new place, you can chip away at the difference. But it all comes down to how much value the expanded options. With a 4.0 at a city East Coast T25, you are close to guaranteed a big firm position. For someone with as high grades as you, its really just a Q of what tier you are looking at. At a T25, they may not really take students from your current school, aside from maybe 1 or 2. But heck, since you will be probably the top of the class, that 1 or 2 may very well be you. Whereas, at the CCN schools, and at H, the top tier firms take many more students, so you get a bit more opportunity at that echelon.

Unlike you, I was just around top 10%. Good but not elite like your GPA. While I would have likely found a good job at OCI, I felt like transferring up would give me a serious boost in prospects. But for the top person in the class, I'm not so sure the difference is all that great. Second, I really wanted law review and would have stayed if I had gotten on, but I didn't, so that was a knock on my resume that could be compensated for with a better school. You will have neither of these issues since you will be at the very top and almost certainly grade directly onto law review. So, for you, it really just comes down to how much you are willing to pay for the additional safety net.