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A couple of question!

1) Assuming my grades do not change, what are my chances of transferring from a lower T-14 to each of HYSCC if I currently am in the top 5-10% (~3.8 )?

2) Will I need to ask professors for directed letters for each school I apply to, or is it just a general letter for ALL schools?

3) Is it better to have a letter from a professor in whose class you did really well in, but doesn't really know you (e.g. huge doctrinal lecture), or is it better to have a letter from a professor who really knows you but only thinks you're average (e.g. legal writing)?

Thank you!

Anonymous User wrote:A couple of question!

1) Assuming my grades do not change, what are my chances of transferring from a lower T-14 to each of HYSCC if I currently am in the top 5-10% (~3.8 )?

2) Will I need to ask professors for directed letters for each school I apply to, or is it just a general letter for ALL schools?

3) Is it better to have a letter from a professor in whose class you did really well in, but doesn't really know you (e.g. huge doctrinal lecture), or is it better to have a letter from a professor who really knows you but only thinks you're average (e.g. legal writing)?

Thank you!

1) Good. Y and S are always a reach because they accept so few.

2) General letters (except if they went there I suppose-not sure on this).

3) Neither. If you're serious about transferring, work hard to get to know your professors this semester (make sure they know you, that is) and work harder to do well in their class so you get the best of both.

sandwhich wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:A couple of question!

1) Assuming my grades do not change, what are my chances of transferring from a lower T-14 to each of HYSCC if I currently am in the top 5-10% (~3.8 )?

2) Will I need to ask professors for directed letters for each school I apply to, or is it just a general letter for ALL schools?

3) Is it better to have a letter from a professor in whose class you did really well in, but doesn't really know you (e.g. huge doctrinal lecture), or is it better to have a letter from a professor who really knows you but only thinks you're average (e.g. legal writing)?

Thank you!

1) Good. Y and S are always a reach because they accept so few.

2) General letters (except if they went there I suppose-not sure on this).

3) Neither. If you're serious about transferring, work hard to get to know your professors this semester (make sure they know you, that is) and work harder to do well in their class so you get the best of both.

Appreciate your insight. Although it's kind of silly to ask for "transfer odds," do you have a sense of what the probabilities will be for me at each of the listed schools (e.g. definitely in at one, maybe 50/50 at the other)?

Also, one issue I've come across is that people suggest that you apply early. Which seems to mean that you apply as soon as the application is available (April?). If this is valid, then that seems to mean I can only rely on my first semester professor for recommendations, and I really only have ONE solid recommender who both knows me and can attest to the quality of my work. As mentioned, I'm just average in legal writing, and for my other two doctrinals I don't really know my professors beyond email exchanges...

limited knowledge of transferring, but i do wonder: what exactly are your goals?

top 5-10% at t14 can get you pretty much anything, save, perhaps, for academia and the highly esoteric.

Anonymous User wrote:

sandwhich wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:A couple of question!

1) Assuming my grades do not change, what are my chances of transferring from a lower T-14 to each of HYSCC if I currently am in the top 5-10% (~3.8 )?

2) Will I need to ask professors for directed letters for each school I apply to, or is it just a general letter for ALL schools?

3) Is it better to have a letter from a professor in whose class you did really well in, but doesn't really know you (e.g. huge doctrinal lecture), or is it better to have a letter from a professor who really knows you but only thinks you're average (e.g. legal writing)?

Thank you!

1) Good. Y and S are always a reach because they accept so few.

2) General letters (except if they went there I suppose-not sure on this).

3) Neither. If you're serious about transferring, work hard to get to know your professors this semester (make sure they know you, that is) and work harder to do well in their class so you get the best of both.

Appreciate your insight. Although it's kind of silly to ask for "transfer odds," do you have a sense of what the probabilities will be for me at each of the listed schools (e.g. definitely in at one, maybe 50/50 at the other)?

Also, one issue I've come across is that people suggest that you apply early. Which seems to mean that you apply as soon as the application is available (April?). If this is valid, then that seems to mean I can only rely on my first semester professor for recommendations, and I really only have ONE solid recommender who both knows me and can attest to the quality of my work. As mentioned, I'm just average in legal writing, and for my other two doctrinals I don't really know my professors beyond email exchanges...

Look on the school's websites, but I'm pretty sure at least HLS isn't rolling. Credentials are going to far outweigh applying early anyway. You do want to get everything you can in asap so the last thing you have to submit is your final transcript. You can also wait for your final LoRs, but the problem with that is you have to ask your professors "yeah, could you do that for me this week?" Which obviously isn't ideal. Go talk to your profs about your exams, they might know you better than you think. Also, just because you did so-so in a class doesn't mean your prof. doesn't think you're a hard worker or doesn't have good things to say about you, but the general rule is to get them from classes you did well in which is something to keep in mind.

For odds, look up the aba disclosures. You can see what schools people transferred from and the median gpa of the transfer class.

I can provide you multiple anecdotes. PM me.

ballcaps wrote:limited knowledge of transferring, but i do wonder: what exactly are your goals?

top 5-10% at t14 can get you pretty much anything, save, perhaps, for academia and the highly esoteric.

My goals are the typical biglaw ->in-house -> who-knows. I haven't really considered the whole clerkship or academic route, but I haven't foreclosed those opportunities either.

I'm aware that the employment outcomes are basically identical for those who can transfer up from T-14s, but it would definitely be a point of personal pride if I could graduate with the HYS distinction. I'd be lying if I said that "prestige" wasn't a factor here. Since I wasn't able to get into those schools for undergrad or initially for LS, it's always been a bit of a goal of mine. On top of that, I don't feel like I'm really attached to my current LS community right now, and except for a couple of my close friends, I could really care less about being here.

A more tangible reason might be that at my current school, my target market is not overly represented. Sure, I can definitely get a very good firm by being in the top 5-10%, but the relative lack of top firms coming to interview with offices in my target market scares me a little. If the top firms only have four or five offices from your target market hiring at your school, it is easy in my mind to strike out despite having good grades. Of course, the counselors tell us not to worry, but call it an insurance policy.

Financially, I probably would only add ~40 K of debt on top of my current, fairly low debt burden. If given the opportunity to transfer up (especially HYS), I feel like I would be VERY tempted to go.

sandwhich wrote:
Look on the school's websites, but I'm pretty sure at least HLS isn't rolling. Credentials are going to far outweigh applying early anyway. You do want to get everything you can in asap so the last thing you have to submit is your final transcript. You can also wait for your final LoRs, but the problem with that is you have to ask your professors "yeah, could you do that for me this week?" Which obviously isn't ideal. Go talk to your profs about your exams, they might know you better than you think. Also, just because you did so-so in a class doesn't mean your prof. doesn't think you're a hard worker or doesn't have good things to say about you, but the general rule is to get them from classes you did well in which is something to keep in mind.

For odds, look up the aba disclosures. You can see what schools people transferred from and the median gpa of the transfer class.

Okay, I'll definitely take a look at those resources. thanks!