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Just exactly how hard is it socially for a transfer student to adapt / assimilate into the native 2L population?

Are transfers really looked down on that much?

Would you look down on people just because they transferred to your school?

At CCN the transfers integrate seamlessly. At least at C+N, the class sizes are so large that no one even notices because there are many known classmates from other sections. And when employment prospects are positive for everyone, no one cares that there are transfer students. Finally, journal membership (or other extracurriculars) is great for forming new, close friends at law school after 1L year. Good luck!

I am going to bump this. Considering making the move myself.

Anyone have any insight at schools that aren't CCN? My worst fear is being like Lindsay Lohan in mean girls at the beginning when she can't sit with anyone haha

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Most transfers I didn't even realize were transfers; I just thought they'd been in a different 1L section than me.

The fucking gunner transfers, I wanted to push in front of a bus. GOOD FOR YOU, YOU ESCAPED YOUR SHITTY SCHOOL. TIME TO STOP TALKING NOW.

Anonymous User wrote:Just exactly how hard is it socially for a transfer student to adapt / assimilate into the native 2L population?

Are transfers really looked down on that much?

b/c you think this way, you likely will be looked down upon

At small schools, I think there is a real social divide between the transfers and main student body--as in the transfers hang out a lot more with each other than with the non-transfers, at least during 2L--but I've never met anyone who "looks down" on transfers.

For the most part the people in my transfer class stuck together, although some people branched out quite a bit socially. Regardless, who gives a shit whether anyone looks down upon you. Your social acceptance at your new school should play exactly zero role in your decision whether to transfer. The vast bulk of the people in my transfer class who wanted BigLaw got it, and most of us outperformed the natives gradewise. That's all that matters.

eastcoast_iub wrote:Your social acceptance at your new school should play exactly zero role in your decision whether to transfer.

This.

sandwhich wrote:

eastcoast_iub wrote:Your social acceptance at your new school should play exactly zero role in your decision whether to transfer.

This.

Why? It should be a marginal piece of the puzzle I agree, but a lot of transfers are transferring for pretty marginal improvements in employment outcomes. If you're going from somewhere that rarely places in NYC biglaw to a non-GTown T14, then yeah, you're gaining a lot. But there've been a bunch of threads recently where people who are like top 5% at T14s wondering if they should transfer to HYS because they want to clerk. In that case, I think it's perfectly rational to think about how disruptive it'll be to your life to transfer.

Elston Gunn wrote:

sandwhich wrote:

eastcoast_iub wrote:Your social acceptance at your new school should play exactly zero role in your decision whether to transfer.

This.

Why? It should be a marginal piece of the puzzle I agree, but a lot of transfers are transferring for pretty marginal improvements in employment outcomes. If you're going from somewhere that rarely places in NYC biglaw to a non-GTown T14, then yeah, you're gaining a lot. But there've been a bunch of threads recently where people who are like top 5% at T14s wondering if they should transfer to HYS because they want to clerk. In that case, I think it's perfectly rational to think about how disruptive it'll be to your life to transfer.

I agree with you to an extent, but I think the people gaining only marginal improvement should based their decision off of things like cost-benefit analysis or possibility of a more desireable geographic outcome than whether or not people will like them. Besides, every law school class is going to be made up of different people so one can only speculate as to whether there will be any "transfer stigma" at their new school.

How much should geographical concerns (i.e. moving to the area you want to practice in) be a concern if the move is not a significant jump in prestige?