Top Law Schools

Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.84
Rank: ~Top 5%
Current School: GWU
Goals: I'm keeping my options open but I know I want to do a federal clerkship.
Potential Schools: Any of the top 10 schools
Scholarship: none (and already confirmed they won't renegotiate)
1L Summer Job: Summer Associate at top-tier firm
Reasons for staying: keeping my rank, staying in DC, have an externship set for next semester with federal district court judge, and have many professors willing to reach out for me during the clerkship process, law review
Reasons for going: employment prospects, better prestige

Is it worth it to transfer? And what are my chances of getting into a top 3 school?

Thank you for any advice!!

Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

If GW isn't going to give you a huge amount of money to stay (which they won't - they only care about LSAT scores for US News, not actual academic quality), you absolutely should bolt for whatever T5 school takes you.

How did you confirm they won't negotiate? Schools will say that until you've been admitted somewhere.

seespotrun wrote:How did you confirm they won't negotiate? Schools will say that until you've been admitted somewhere.

Even NU threw out money my year to keep people (and T14s historically haven't).

OP what are your goals? What if you strike out from DC biglaw?

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Scholarships for transfer students? Pretty sure those don't exist (leaving aside need based aid from HY and maybe S).

seespotrun wrote:How did you confirm they won't negotiate? Schools will say that until you've been admitted somewhere.

apparently it's some unwritten policy here. admissions/fin aid people confirmed that they're more concerned with throwing money at an incoming class than giving money to keep some of their better students.

DELG wrote:

seespotrun wrote:How did you confirm they won't negotiate? Schools will say that until you've been admitted somewhere.

Even NU threw out money my year to keep people (and T14s historically haven't).

OP what are your goals? What if you strike out from DC biglaw?

I really want to do a circuit level clerkship (goal 1). After that I'm thinking to go big law and then lateral into government (or vice versa). If I strike out from DC big law, I'll do NYC big law.

Anonymous User wrote:

seespotrun wrote:How did you confirm they won't negotiate? Schools will say that until you've been admitted somewhere.

apparently it's some unwritten policy here. admissions/fin aid people confirmed that they're more concerned with throwing money at an incoming class than giving money to keep some of their better students.

I'd be sure to double back once you have an acceptance letter in hand. The worst they can do is say no one more time.

Idk I would leave DC to come back to DC. Top 5% doesn't guarantee you DC, from what I've seen.

seespotrun wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Scholarships for transfer students? Pretty sure those don't exist (leaving aside need based aid from HY and maybe S).

Transfer students to T-14s do get discounts off sticker, occasionally without even asking first. The OP should treat this as if he/she were applying to law school in the first instance: blanket the T-14, then negotiate from initial offers. (If GWU actually has a policy against offering discounts to rising 2Ls at the top of the class who are considering transferring, that is a really dumb policy. That guarantees that the school loses 100% of the revenue from those students, instead of just some of it, while worse yet losing some of their students who are most likely to get good jobs).

I don't have any great advice about transferring, since I opted not to, but I did go to GW and go the clerkship route. Obviously, I don't think transferring is necessary for clerkship purposes, based on your current rank. If another school would be less expensive, though, that might be worth considering. Downside to transferring - getting the professors to go to bat for you when you apply to clerkships, since you'll have been at the new school less than a year.

Don't you hurt your clerkship chances by moving? You have to start grades all over, and you merely do well at the T14, won't you fuck your COA chances? A single B fall 2L could sink you right?

seespotrun wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Scholarships for transfer students? Pretty sure those don't exist (leaving aside need based aid from HY and maybe S).

This is just simply untrue. I have a friend who moved from a TTT to a lower T14 and got money coming in, and then even had it increased when she did well 2L year

seespotrun wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Scholarships for transfer students? Pretty sure those don't exist (leaving aside need based aid from HY and maybe S).

I got a half-tuition grant (25k per year) in need-based aid from GULC. But yes, transfers get no scholarships except for need based aid, mostly because the majority of the scholarship deadlines for students pass before acceptance, and because transfers are not sought after. The mere act of applying to transfer means they know you'll likely attend even if you get zero money, barring you transfer to another school.

CounselorNebby wrote:

seespotrun wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:Basicallly you're asking if you should attend an elite school at sticker or GWU sticker.

If staying in DC is a huge priority for you, ask GULC for a big scholarship (they'll take you as a transfer even if you scrawl your application in crayon on the back of a napkin, so I'd be surprised if they don't throw some serious money your way if you press them on it).

You won't get into Yale, but you have some shot at H and S, and you'll probably get into almost all of the rest of the top schools -- certainly at least one or two of CCN, which you would be crazy not to go to if GWU isn't giving you any money.

Scholarships for transfer students? Pretty sure those don't exist (leaving aside need based aid from HY and maybe S).

I got a half-tuition grant (25k per year) in need-based aid from GULC. But yes, transfers get no scholarships except for need based aid, mostly because the majority of the scholarship deadlines for students pass before acceptance, and because transfers are not sought after. The mere act of applying to transfer means they know you'll likely attend even if you get zero money, barring you transfer to another school.

You don't know what you're talking about. Do you actually think that GULC labeling the 50% discount they gave you on sticker "need-based" is meaningful? Two-thirds of GULC students pay sticker -- do you think two thirds of the students at GULC would get zero need-based aid if they went to one of the three law schools that actually do distribute tuition cuts on a need-based basis?

As for transfers not being "sought after," 122 transfers matriculated at GULC last year, which means the school admitted a much larger number. Tuition from transfers makes up a significant part of GULC's operating budget, which is why they make sure they do what they need to do to get 100+ just about every year.

Why not apply everywhere and see what you get? Your current school only cares about your tuition money, and nothing else. I would transfer out to a better school even if I didn't save money. Plenty of people transfer up.

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