Top Law Schools

..............

Why would Loyola let a student transferring out participate in OCI? If you're transferring, you should be participating in OCI at your new school.

I didn't go to Loyola but the best advice I can give you is NOT to go to a law school with the intention of transferring. Because the top 10% is literally the top 10%.(I know, stating the obvious) And there's no guarantee you'll do that well.(in fact, it's about as far from a guarantee as possible)

lawman84 wrote:Why would Loyola let a student transferring out participate in OCI? If you're transferring, you should be participating in OCI at your new school.

I didn't go to Loyola but the best advice I can give you is NOT to go to a law school with the intention of transferring. Because the top 10% is literally the top 10%.(I know, stating the obvious) And there's no guarantee you'll do that well.(in fact, it's about as far from a guarantee as possible)

Yes ... I understand that the ability to transfer is not set in stone.

Bilka wrote:

lawman84 wrote:Why would Loyola let a student transferring out participate in OCI? If you're transferring, you should be participating in OCI at your new school.

I didn't go to Loyola but the best advice I can give you is NOT to go to a law school with the intention of transferring. Because the top 10% is literally the top 10%.(I know, stating the obvious) And there's no guarantee you'll do that well.(in fact, it's about as far from a guarantee as possible)

Yes ... I understand that the ability to transfer is not set in stone.

Well, then I wish you the best of luck.

lawman84 wrote:

Bilka wrote:

lawman84 wrote:Why would Loyola let a student transferring out participate in OCI? If you're transferring, you should be participating in OCI at your new school.

I didn't go to Loyola but the best advice I can give you is NOT to go to a law school with the intention of transferring. Because the top 10% is literally the top 10%.(I know, stating the obvious) And there's no guarantee you'll do that well.(in fact, it's about as far from a guarantee as possible)

Yes ... I understand that the ability to transfer is not set in stone.

Well, then I wish you the best of luck.

I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!

Honestly, I'm not so sure it's that out there of an idea to go to a law school with the intent of transferring out if you have legitimate reasons to believe it's possible. That's what I did. My LSAT, etc. were well above the school's median and I completely busted my butt and ended up at the top, which I ultimately knew I could do. I chose my 1L school based on convenience (where I was living before LS) and money given that I didn't get in to my target school, despite having options in between. And, now, I've been accepted as a transfer at my target school.

However, if you have a median LSAT, etc., I think it's naive. Also, I had to completely bust my butt as I said, and my target school is/was very transfer-friendly.

Just because some people win the lottery doesn't make relying on winning the lottery anything other than a terrible financial plan.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Just because some people win the lottery doesn't make relying on winning the lottery anything other than a terrible financial plan.

I'm not so sure. My LSAT was in the 160s and median at my school is low to mid 150s. Also, my undergraduate GPA hurt me - it was low in large part because I just didn't care at first and simply grew up and started taking school seriously. I did nearly perfectly towards the end but was hammered by earlier grades bad enough for academic probation.

My point is simply that, while there's no direct correlation, there is some correlation between your numbers and your LS performance if you're willing to put in the work.

I should also point out that graduating from the school I chose was not some nightmare scenario for me and, in fact, I'm considering staying despite achieving my goal. I also don't want big law.

randomguy89 wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Just because some people win the lottery doesn't make relying on winning the lottery anything other than a terrible financial plan.

I'm not so sure. My LSAT was in the 160s and median at my school is low to mid 150s. Also, my undergraduate GPA hurt me - it was low in large part because I just didn't care at first and simply grew up and started taking school seriously. I did nearly perfectly towards the end but was hammered by earlier grades bad enough for academic probation.

My point is simply that, while there's no direct correlation, there is some correlation between your numbers and your LS performance if you're willing to put in the work.

I should also point out that graduating from the school I chose was not some nightmare scenario for me and, in fact, I'm considering staying despite achieving my goal. I also don't want big law.

Again, I don't think because it worked for you, it's necessarily something anyone can plan on. Plenty of people who make it high enough up in the class to transfer had GPAs/LSATs that were normal for that school; plenty of splitters don't end up in the top of their class. And everyone thinks they're willing to put in the work.

But I agree that there's no harm in trying, as long as you're happy graduating from the school you matriculate at. I just think for lots of people, going in "planning" to transfer means they wouldn't be happy doing that.

as someone who picked a school with a moderate intent to transfer in the back of my mind, i have some advice--

1. do not do this unless you are 100% happy graduating from your 1L school
2. do not do this if it's a stupid financial decision (e.g. you're not on a full-ride and/or you are debt-financing living expenses and tuition)
3. do not think your above-75th LSAT score means you have any sort of advantage when it comes to taking a law school exam. law school is an ego killer. many, if not most, of your classmates will be acutely aware of the employment situation and will be busting their ass just as much as you will be
4. make sure you realize exactly how much you are gambling, and make sure you know how well your 1L school places students into your desired area

and finally,

PourMeTea wrote:as someone who picked a school with a moderate intent to transfer in the back of my mind, i have some advice--

1. do not do this unless you are 100% happy graduating from your 1L school
2. do not do this if it's a stupid financial decision (e.g. you're not on a full-ride and/or you are debt-financing living expenses and tuition)
3. do not think your above-75th LSAT score means you have any sort of advantage when it comes to taking a law school exam. law school is an ego killer. many, if not most, of your classmates will be acutely aware of the employment situation and will be busting their ass just as much as you will be

I should point out I was not 100% happy graduating from my 1L school when I chose it, but it grew on me. I didn't view staying as a dire scenario, but I was getting out no matter what. I did have, essentially, both a full ride and no living expenses.

As to #3, I respectfully disagree. Obviously this will vary depending on exactly how high/low your 1L school is ranked, but I was consistently amazed by the incompetence of a large number of my peers. And, while some had far too active social lives and the like, many worked very hard and just couldn't hack it.

randomguy89 wrote:

PourMeTea wrote:as someone who picked a school with a moderate intent to transfer in the back of my mind, i have some advice--

1. do not do this unless you are 100% happy graduating from your 1L school
2. do not do this if it's a stupid financial decision (e.g. you're not on a full-ride and/or you are debt-financing living expenses and tuition)
3. do not think your above-75th LSAT score means you have any sort of advantage when it comes to taking a law school exam. law school is an ego killer. many, if not most, of your classmates will be acutely aware of the employment situation and will be busting their ass just as much as you will be

I should point out I was not 100% happy graduating from my 1L school when I chose it, but it grew on me. I didn't view staying as a dire scenario, but I was getting out no matter what. I did have, essentially, both a full ride and no living expenses.

As to #3, I respectfully disagree. Obviously this will vary depending on exactly how high/low your 1L school is ranked, but I was consistently amazed by the incompetence of a large number of my peers. And, while some had far too active social lives and the like, many worked very hard and just couldn't hack it.

Problem is that you have no idea how many of your incompetent peers scored similarly to you or even higher on the LSAT.

going to agree with lawman here and also mention that your anecdotal and highly personalized evidence is not useful to OP

I would also check the policies of the schools you would hope to transfer to (usc, ucla, etc) on transfer participation in OCI. I know individuals who were accepted into schools that don't allow transfers to participate so they wound up having no OCI.