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I'm a 1L at a TTTT. There is a particular T1 school I wanted to attend directly from Undergrad, but I did not make it in due to my GPA and LSAT at the time (I applied before finishing my first semester senior year). My GPA was a 2.9 and my LSAT was a 152. I worked hard my senior year and my GPA bumped to a 3.1. I took a practice exam under timed conditions and my LSAT score increased dramatically to the mid-160s - no doubt from being in law school.

Should I drop out, re-take the LSAT, and re-apply to get into this particular T1 school? Or should I keep pressing on and hope to be one of the rare transfers?

Thanks!

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a 1L at a TTTT. There is a particular T1 school I wanted to attend directly from Undergrad, but I did not make it in due to my GPA and LSAT at the time (I applied before finishing my first semester senior year). My GPA was a 2.9 and my LSAT was a 152. I worked hard my senior year and my GPA bumped to a 3.1. I took a practice exam under timed conditions and my LSAT score increased dramatically to the mid-160s - no doubt from being in law school.

Should I drop out, re-take the LSAT, and re-apply to get into this particular T1 school? Or should I keep pressing on and hope to be one of the rare transfers?

Thanks!

you probably cant transfer to a worthwihle school.

I would drop out. Any school that would let you in with those numbers can't be a fair deal.

Wait til first semester grades but probably drop out. Also law school doesn't help you do better on the LSAT ; lack of stress probably did

Will having first semester grades back hinder my chances of going through an initial application again?

Thanks,
OP

I would assume it would. I really don't know, though. Dropping out seems like TCR, though.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a 1L at a TTTT. There is a particular T1 school I wanted to attend directly from Undergrad, but I did not make it in due to my GPA and LSAT at the time (I applied before finishing my first semester senior year). My GPA was a 2.9 and my LSAT was a 152. I worked hard my senior year and my GPA bumped to a 3.1. I took a practice exam under timed conditions and my LSAT score increased dramatically to the mid-160s - no doubt from being in law school.

Should I drop out, re-take the LSAT, and re-apply to get into this particular T1 school? Or should I keep pressing on and hope to be one of the rare transfers?

Thanks!

The exam grades of your first semester will carry to your new school if you decide to reapply.

I would drop out and reapply.

Depends on how well you think you will do on exams. I was at a T4 like you with similar numbers. I worked hard, and I believe I did well because I met with all my professors to find out how they wanted exam answers structured. Each had their own style. Taking several practice exams also helps.

Anyways, it is possible to transfer from T4-T1. I was accepted to several, and some even offered me scholarships. Ended up at WashU for family reasons, but the school's name landed me interviews and a few callbacks at large firms in St Louis and Chicago. I ultimatley landed a SA position in Chicago that I am certain I would not have gotten if I stayed at my T4.

Good luck with your decision.

jmls1987 wrote:Depends on how well you think you will do on exams.

Predicting exam performance is not feasible.

EtherOne wrote:

jmls1987 wrote:Depends on how well you think you will do on exams.

Predicting exam performance is not feasible.

True....but OP should be confident going into exams after practicing old exams from his professors and discussing his answers with them. You would be surprised at the number of students who never go to office hours. Also, utilizing upper level students who did well on exams helps tremendously. They can provide you with outlines, model answers, old exams, etc.

If you find out where you can grab the most points on exams, it IS feasible to predict you will do well. Only way to find out is meeting with professors and upper level students that rocked finals.

jmls1987 wrote:

EtherOne wrote:

jmls1987 wrote:Depends on how well you think you will do on exams.

Predicting exam performance is not feasible.

True....but OP should be confident going into exams after practicing old exams from his professors and discussing his answers with them. You would be surprised at the number of students who never go to office hours. Also, utilizing upper level students who did well on exams helps tremendously. They can provide you with outlines, model answers, old exams, etc.

If you find out where you can grab the most points on exams, it IS feasible to predict you will do well. Only way to find out is meeting with professors and upper level students that rocked finals.

im going to play devil's advocate here. i didn't (and don't) think office hours were helpful or worth going to. some people virtually lived at office hours and got pwned, some people never went and were first in their class. its more about finding your own system. i second the find the upperclassman but only to extract outlines. you need to find your own way. any reliance on transfer however is foolhardy. too much variance, simply too unpredictable.

stillwater wrote: im going to play devil's advocate here. i didn't (and don't) think office hours were helpful or worth going to. some people virtually lived at office hours and got pwned, some people never went and were first in their class. its more about finding your own system. i second the find the upperclassman but only to extract outlines. you need to find your own way. any reliance on transfer however is foolhardy. too much variance, simply too unpredictable.

+1 to this. There is no way to rely on predicting your grades and relying on transferring. A few subjective points on an exam can be the difference between an A- and a B+.

I think you really have two choices.

1) You wouldn't be comfortable with graduating at your new school. Drop out, retake, reapply.

2) You roll the dice, hope for top 5% (even then, transferring into the T1 non top14 isn't going to guarantee you a good job). If not in the top 5%, you look elsewhere outside the legal field.

If you're serious about being a lawyer (admittedly I don't know enough about your situation), based on what you provided, I would drop out and retake. Its better to put yourself 2 years behind at a much better school than to spend three years at a school with no job prospects.

buckythebadger wrote:

stillwater wrote: im going to play devil's advocate here. i didn't (and don't) think office hours were helpful or worth going to. some people virtually lived at office hours and got pwned, some people never went and were first in their class. its more about finding your own system. i second the find the upperclassman but only to extract outlines. you need to find your own way. any reliance on transfer however is foolhardy. too much variance, simply too unpredictable.

+1 to this. There is no way to rely on predicting your grades and relying on transferring. A few subjective points on an exam can be the difference between an A- and a B+.

I think you really have two choices.

1) You wouldn't be comfortable with graduating at your new school. Drop out, retake, reapply.

2) You roll the dice, hope for top 5% (even then, transferring into the T1 non top14 isn't going to guarantee you a good job). If not in the top 5%, you look elsewhere outside the legal field.

If you're serious about being a lawyer (admittedly I don't know enough about your situation), based on what you provided, I would drop out and retake. Its better to put yourself 2 years behind at a much better school than to spend three years at a school with no job prospects.

I agree. If you feel you can get a really high LSAT, then go for it. If you do score high, you will have full rides to many T1 schools and save yourself a lot of money.

OP, I would just take the exams, and if your grades are somewhat average, I'd stay for the remainder of 1L year and transfer. You may not get into the T1 school of your choice, but given the shitty state of law school economics these days, you may be accepted to a higher ranked school or several schools that are similarly ranked to yours. You can then use these acceptance letters to negotiate a full or substantial scholarship for your 2L or 3L years.

Also, keep in mind that even at your dream T1 school, their employment prospects are marginally better than your current TTTT.

f174635 wrote:OP, I would just take the exams, and if your grades are somewhat average, I'd stay for the remainder of 1L year and transfer. You may not get into the T1 school of your choice, but given the shitty state of law school economics these days, you may be accepted to a higher ranked school or several schools that are similarly ranked to yours. You can then use these acceptance letters to negotiate a full or substantial scholarship for your 2L or 3L years.

Also, keep in mind that even at your dream T1 school, their employment prospects are marginally better than your current TTTT.

this isn't realistic and also doesnt make any sense.

f174635 wrote:OP, I would just take the exams, and if your grades are somewhat average, I'd stay for the remainder of 1L year and transfer. You may not get into the T1 school of your choice, but given the shitty state of law school economics these days, you may be accepted to a higher ranked school or several schools that are similarly ranked to yours. You can then use these acceptance letters to negotiate a full or substantial scholarship for your 2L or 3L years.

Also, keep in mind that even at your dream T1 school, their employment prospects are marginally better than your current TTTT.

Ignore this advice.

You shouldn't have gone in the first place.

Drop out. This shouldn't even be a question.

One last question. If I dropped out after I finished all my exams, but before grades were reported (EX: Let's say the last exam is Dec. 11 and I drop out Dec. 13), would my grades "stick" with me or would it be like I never took the exams?

Thanks again,
OP

Anonymous User wrote:One last question. If I dropped out after I finished all my exams, but before grades were reported (EX: Let's say the last exam is Dec. 11 and I drop out Dec. 13), would my grades "stick" with me or would it be like I never took the exams?

Thanks again,
OP

check w your school

I do not technically think you can drop out and re-apply after taking half a year.

It's a bold and genius move, however, if it were only possible. Imagine the pros: you get to re-take Fall semester having already mastered all the material. I highly doubt however this is possible, though, I can't say for sure. I do know during the application process on LSAC there would be a brief mention of attending a 1L school previously. It could be hard to defend the hypothesis that you didn't drop out to a lack of motivation. Law schools would be highly critical of anyone who dropped out for any reason.

However, if you're grades are sharp, no sense in not applying as a transfer. To that end, read everything you can by Arrow and apply widely. (Arrow is the legendary article of "How to do well in Law School" and also has a noteworthy Transfer guide.)

Hmm... in reviewing my comment. I'm a 2L transfer from a TTT to a T. I can't say enough positive things about the transfer bonuses. It's also a healthy target to set. Start earning softs, asking for letters, and up the game as much as possible to transfer.

Transferring is a simple thing to understand. Do well, go way up. In this environment of plummeting applications you can get into better schools than you could have in the 2010-12 era of overpopulation. My stats: top 5.5% at upper TTT. Accepted to Gtown, Texas, WUSTL. If you find yourself outside the top 20% after semester one drop out.