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I'm currently top 3% and LR at a midwest TT. I have started 2L year and, as of right now, OCI is not looking pretty. I am thinking about withdrawing from classes, working for a year in the county attorney's office, and transferring. The withdraws would not appear on my transcript; it would be like the classes I've been taking never happened.

A few questions:
Any anecdotal evidence of someone doing this successfully?
How will this be assessed/treated at new school's OCI?
In theory, is this a good idea?

I want biglaw, at least for c. 5 years to pay off debt. I want to stay in the midwest and would therefore target NW or Chi.

Other info: full ride to TT, just paying cost of living. Therefore, difference in debt between TT and NW/Chi over the next few years is about 100k.

I don't think.

Is it even possible to take a year off and then transfer? If so, I have no idea how employers would view that, sorry.

My experience transferring from a TTT to a T14 has been wonderful thus far and I would absolutely recommend it if feasible.

That said, I'd call the school offices at schools where you're considering transferring. If taking a year off will hurt your chances at getting in, then it's probably a bad choice. I'd also recommend only transferring to schools with smaller transfer class sizes. I've heard schools w/ bigger transfer class sizes have less successful OCIs for their transfers, and while some transfers I know at my school are doing well, others aren't - smart others, who have prettymuch the exact same grades from the same schools as people I know who did well. And we have a smaller transfer class. If transfers don't typically all do well at the school you'd be going to in the future, having the 1-year gap may put you in an even worse situation.

You should also figure out whether you can withdraw for this year and come back to your TT w/ your full scholly next year if transfer is unsuccessful. If that's not an option, tbh, I'd stay at your new school. The year off could hurt your transfer chances, and then you'd be completely screwed.

RaleighStClair wrote:Is it even possible to take a year off and then transfer? If so, I have no idea how employers would view that, sorry.

OP here.

I'm pretty sure you can take a year off/take a leave of absence and then transfer. I don't see why not.

sap wrote:My experience transferring from a TTT to a T14 has been wonderful thus far and I would absolutely recommend it if feasible.

That said, I'd call the school offices at schools where you're considering transferring. If taking a year off will hurt your chances at getting in, then it's probably a bad choice. I'd also recommend only transferring to schools with smaller transfer class sizes - I've heard schools w/ bigger transfer class sizes have less successful OCIs for their transfers, and while the transfers I know at my school are generally doing quite well, there are a few that aren't here, either (and we have a smaller transfer class). If transfers don't typically all do well at the school you'd be going to in the future, having the 1-year gap may put you in an even worse situation.

You should also figure out whether you can withdraw for this year and come back to your TT w/ your full scholly next year if transfer is unsuccessful. If that's not an option, tbh, I'd stay at your new school. The year off could hurt your transfer chances, and then you'd be completely screwed.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely contact the schools I am interested in.

Generally: transferring is probably the single best thing you can do (not counting re-take, which is always the correct answer, but it is too late at this stage).

Except: (1) you are already at a top regional school in your target market; or (2) you are extremely debt averse due to some personal reason.

Regarding debt, let me put it this way: Yes you will most likely be paying full tuition at the new school. But since you are only paying two years of full tuition, you essentially have a 1/3 scholly. That is not terrible for NU or Chi in my humble opinion.