Top Law Schools

hi guys. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am currently a 1L at a T4 and my goal is to transfer to a better ranked school. My grades from first semester were A B+ B B B (the school is on a C curve). My GPA is a roughly 3.4 and my ranking should definitely be in the top 20%.
I also feel like I can raise my GPA and rank by the end of spring semester.

What are my chances of getting into Fordham which is T1?
or Brooklyn LS or Yeshiva University (Cardozo) School of Law which are T2?


Thanks!

Hey there MC. Good luck with your transfer, in my opinion you should really consider transferring.
You can loose scholarship money, but ether way good luck and i think a T2 school is more realistic.

thanks!

mc1993 wrote:you recommend it if my good old friend is coming to my school next year? @cbarkovic93

wut

what do you think are my chances?

Are you on a scholarship?

2 years of sticker tuition at Fordham isn't a great idea.

Yeah I have a full ride. It's a well known school in it's area but I feel that going to a higher ranked school will open more opportunities for me even if I do have to pay sticker price. Also, I have other reasons why I would like to move to the city.

Thanks!

mc1993 wrote:hi guys. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am currently a 1L at a T4 and my goal is to transfer to a better ranked school. My grades from first semester were A B+ B B B (the school is on a C curve). My GPA is a roughly 3.4 and my ranking should definitely be in the top 20%.
I also feel like I can raise my GPA and rank by the end of spring semester.

What are my chances of getting into Fordham which is T1?
or Brooklyn LS or Yeshiva University (Cardozo) School of Law which are T2?


Thanks!

It's very do-able - I did exactly this. I would offer one piece of advice and that is to try and pretend like you won't be transferring so that you absolutely do the best you can second semester. I was in the top5% after first semester and dropped a little because I was too focused on the next step. Many students will learn from their mistakes and improve going into the second semester, so make sure you are one of those people and just focus on that ...everything else will fall into place. Good luck.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/

I wouldn't suggest transferring anywhere unless it matches your career goals and is affordable. If you're at Pace/Touro/CUNY/St. Johns and you're trying to go to Cardozo/Brooklyn it's not going to be worth giving up your scholarship. Fordham maybe but probably not if it means giving up a full scholarship and you're not going for their 35% placement into big law. Unfortunately top 20% isn't likely to get you into a NYC T14 but you should try anyway - application numbers are down and it's good news for transfers.

Thanks for the responses,

Im actually in Miami right now and my goal is to practice in New York so I feel like I need to go to a school there even if it means losing my scholarship

People will tell you it isn't possible, but it totally is. I went from a T4 to T20 school this year. Some schools are more transfer friendly than others. I will say that there is an obvious difference between the level of students I competed with at my T4 school, and the school I am presently at. I would highly recommend transferring if you attend a T4.

My friend transferred from a T4 to Wash U so it's very possible. I was shocked but it happened. You won't know unless you try. Good luck!!

Top 5% at T4 can transfer to Georgetown.

top 5% for GULC. top 25-33% for Brooklyn. top ~50% for American - all from T4.

thechinaman12 wrote:top 5% for GULC. top 25-33% for Brooklyn. top ~50% for American - all from T4.

NO.

pancakes3 wrote:

thechinaman12 wrote:top 5% for GULC. top 25-33% for Brooklyn. top ~50% for American - all from T4.

NO.

Please share why not?

thanks....

He meant to say that transferring to American is a godawfully horrible decision.

maybe i'm not correctly understanding which schools fall under T4, but there are students from very lowly ranked schools transferring to T14 every year...even HSCCN (probably not Yale..). I don't think there's necessarily a ceiling on the schools that OP can transfer to if his rank improves sufficiently.

As far as Brooklyn, 'Dozo, and Fordham...i think they'd increase your odds of NYC employment just by virtue of being NYC schools but not to the point where transferring is a clear choice assuming OP is on a large and secure scholarship at his current school and that we're talking about BigLaw. But yes i do think OP could get into those three schools despite coming from T4

I looked through the ABA 509s for the T14. I only saw GULC take T4. What other schools did?

CounselorNebby wrote:I looked through the ABA 509s for the T14. I only saw GULC take T4. What other schools did?

oh okay lol, yeah i guess i don't really understand what T4 is...what would Chicago-Kent or like Loyola be?

cusenation wrote:

CounselorNebby wrote:I looked through the ABA 509s for the T14. I only saw GULC take T4. What other schools did?

oh okay lol, yeah i guess i don't really understand what T4 is...what would Chicago-Kent or like Loyola be?

T2. T4 are schools ranked 151+

mc1993 wrote:hi guys. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am currently a 1L at a T4 and my goal is to transfer to a better ranked school. My grades from first semester were A B+ B B B (the school is on a C curve). My GPA is a roughly 3.4 and my ranking should definitely be in the top 20%.
I also feel like I can raise my GPA and rank by the end of spring semester.

What are my chances of getting into Fordham which is T1?
or Brooklyn LS or Yeshiva University (Cardozo) School of Law which are T2?


Thanks!

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm assuming this is Touro. If it is then I don't think your chances are very good. I'm speaking based on people I know. Your chances are pretty good of getting a T-1, but less so than getting into any of these. I think a lot of people go to TTT's out of state hoping to transfer into the over saturated NY market. Your best bet is to double down on the studying and go for Georgetown. Go for #1. You've done well, but you have to do superbly well to not be boned from the school you're at.

CounselorNebby wrote:I looked through the ABA 509s for the T14. I only saw GULC take T4. What other schools did?

Michigan took 1 from Cooley and 2 from Toledo (barely TTT, almost TTTT). Berkeley took 1 from Golden Gate. Berkeley also took one from Chapman, which is barely TTT and almost TTTT. Northwestern took 1 from John Marshall Chicago.

So basically, it looks like from the very limited data that if a school is going to accept a transfer applicant from a TTTT, it is going to be from a local/regional TTTT located in the same/a nearby market.

Legacy Rabbit wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:

thechinaman12 wrote:top 5% for GULC. top 25-33% for Brooklyn. top ~50% for American - all from T4.

NO.

Please share why not?

thanks....

I personally know people who transferred from T4 to these school and had these grades.

Wash U is extremely transfer friendly. I transferred and got scholarship money, law review, and now I am on moot court as well. The academic rigor and expectations are much higher than T4 so be prepared for that. My classmates are all very intelligent and represent the school with pride. Wish I could say the same about the T4 school I transferred from. Message me if you have any questions. A lot of schools will let you transfer but wont give you a dime. They also wont allow you to write-on or be a member of moot court. I would highly recommend Wash U. It has opened many doors for me. Try to apply early so you don't miss the early OCI that has like 70+ firms.