Top Law Schools

I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

You're top 5% at a t20 and haven't gotten accepted into Harvard yet? That's surprising. It seems like quite a few people who were top 10% were accepted into H already. Did all your information not get in until late in the process?

I hope this doesn't come across as insensitive. I also haven't received a decision from H. I'm just surprised that you haven't received one with your numbers.

I think the answer to this question depends a bit on your school and how much additional money it will cost you. It'll also depend on your future goals. You say you don't necessarily want to work biglaw in New York, where do you want to work?

lawman84 wrote:You're top 5% at a t20 and haven't gotten accepted into Harvard yet? That's surprising. It seems like quite a few people who were top 10% were accepted into H already. Did all your information not get in until late in the process?

I hope this doesn't come across as insensitive. I also haven't received a decision from H. I'm just surprised that you haven't received one with your numbers.

I think the answer to this question depends a bit on your school and how much additional money it will cost you. It'll also depend on your future goals. You say you don't necessarily want to work biglaw in New York, where do you want to work?

I was also a bit surprised not to hear back from Harvard yet. My application has been ready for review since June 15.

In terms of where I want to work, I think I could see myself in the Chicago, D.C., or Philly markets. I think I want to work in corporate law, but gave not yet crossed off litigation.

Someone told me that I would do better at OCI in my current school because transfers are not looked upon favorably by employees. Thoughts?

Anonymous User wrote:I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

If prestige is what you're after, and you've got all of these things going for you at your current school, I'd stay put unless an offer from HYS materializes. If it does, I guess the question then becomes how much YOU'RE willing to pay for it. I personally would stay put. You're in line to get whatever job you want through OCI, assuming you kill your interviews.

Jmart082 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

If prestige is what you're after, and you've got all of these things going for you at your current school, I'd stay put unless an offer from HYS materializes. If it does, I guess the question then becomes how much YOU'RE willing to pay for it. I personally would stay put. You're in line to get whatever job you want through OCI, assuming you kill your interviews.

Thanks!

Is prestige the only reason to transfer to any of these schools. With my current situation, do you think I would be doing more harm than good by transferring to any school other than Harvard?

If I wanted to work in Philly or Chicago, would it not make sense to transfer to Chicago or Penn if an offer from either school materializes?

Got30 wrote:

Jmart082 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

If prestige is what you're after, and you've got all of these things going for you at your current school, I'd stay put unless an offer from HYS materializes. If it does, I guess the question then becomes how much YOU'RE willing to pay for it. I personally would stay put. You're in line to get whatever job you want through OCI, assuming you kill your interviews.

Thanks!

Is prestige the only reason to transfer to any of these schools. With my current situation, do you think I would be doing more harm than good by transferring to any school other than Harvard?

If I wanted to work in Philly or Chicago, would it not make sense to transfer to Chicago or Penn if an offer from either school materializes?

Chicago is a really tough market to crack, from what I've been told, but even still, I think that with your credentials, you should at least be competitive for positions there. That being said, of course UChi/Penn will give you a bump in either market, I just don't know if it's the sort of bump that'd be worth foregoing law review/substantial scholarship considerations to get. I think that before you make any kind of decision, I'd try to do some research on the sort of outcomes that transfers to each of the schools are getting through OCI. They don't tend to do as well at some schools as opposed to others. That would be good to know before taking that sort of a plunge. I think that being positioned so highly in your class makes your situation such that the only thing you'd get out of tranferring is a prestige bump, and best case scenario, more interviews, assuming that transfers fare well in your new school.

Jmart082 wrote:

Got30 wrote:

Jmart082 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

If prestige is what you're after, and you've got all of these things going for you at your current school, I'd stay put unless an offer from HYS materializes. If it does, I guess the question then becomes how much YOU'RE willing to pay for it. I personally would stay put. You're in line to get whatever job you want through OCI, assuming you kill your interviews.

Thanks!

Is prestige the only reason to transfer to any of these schools. With my current situation, do you think I would be doing more harm than good by transferring to any school other than Harvard?

If I wanted to work in Philly or Chicago, would it not make sense to transfer to Chicago or Penn if an offer from either school materializes?

Chicago is a really tough market to crack, from what I've been told, but even still, I think that with your credentials, you should at least be competitive for positions there. That being said, of course UChi/Penn will give you a bump in either market, I just don't know if it's the sort of bump that'd be worth foregoing law review/substantial scholarship considerations to get. I think that before you make any kind of decision, I'd try to do some research on the sort of outcomes that transfers to each of the schools are getting through OCI. They don't tend to do as well at some schools as opposed to others. That would be good to know before taking that sort of a plunge.

Thanks! Does anyone out there know how transfer students do at these schools?

Got30 wrote:

Jmart082 wrote:

Got30 wrote:

Jmart082 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I am currently top 5% in my class at a school ranked around 20. I made law review and currently have a decent scholarship.

So far, I have gotten into NYU. I am waiting to hear back from Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, and Penn.

I do not necessarily need to work in a big law firm in New York. Is there any reason to transfer to NYU?

How much is prestige worth and do I get that from NYU and Penn or only from an HYS type of school?

If prestige is what you're after, and you've got all of these things going for you at your current school, I'd stay put unless an offer from HYS materializes. If it does, I guess the question then becomes how much YOU'RE willing to pay for it. I personally would stay put. You're in line to get whatever job you want through OCI, assuming you kill your interviews.

Thanks!

Is prestige the only reason to transfer to any of these schools. With my current situation, do you think I would be doing more harm than good by transferring to any school other than Harvard?

If I wanted to work in Philly or Chicago, would it not make sense to transfer to Chicago or Penn if an offer from either school materializes?

Chicago is a really tough market to crack, from what I've been told, but even still, I think that with your credentials, you should at least be competitive for positions there. That being said, of course UChi/Penn will give you a bump in either market, I just don't know if it's the sort of bump that'd be worth foregoing law review/substantial scholarship considerations to get. I think that before you make any kind of decision, I'd try to do some research on the sort of outcomes that transfers to each of the schools are getting through OCI. They don't tend to do as well at some schools as opposed to others. That would be good to know before taking that sort of a plunge.

Thanks! Does anyone out there know how transfer students do at these schools?

There's data on this specific point buried somewhere in these forums. I'm not sure, but if you ask or run a search, I think you'll find it.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=132670
This is old, and from a time where the market was more stagnant, but I think it's useful as a guide.

If you really want Philly it obviously makes sense to transfer to Penn, but you'd still want ties.

Probably would help if you identified your current law school (ranked around #20). Also, what is a "decent scholarship " ?

CanadianWolf wrote:Probably would help if you identified your current law school (ranked around #20). Also, what is a "decent scholarship " ?

GW and around 23k a year.

Top 5% & law review at GWU with a very decent scholarship is not worth transferring to NYU--especially since you're not targeting NYC biglaw. Top 5% & law review at GWU is a substantial achievement that should result in lots of choice interviews. Harvard & Yale should remain in the picture if you can get some decent financial aid. But, in your current position, you should have plenty of career options & a chance to graduate in the top 5% (which may come into play during your first several years after law school).

CanadianWolf wrote:Top 5% & law review at GWU with a very decent scholarship is not worth transferring to NYU--especially since you're not targeting NYC biglaw. Top 5% & law review at GWU is a substantial achievement that should result in lots of choice interviews. Harvard & Yale should remain in the picture if you can get some decent financial aid. But, in your current position, you should have plenty of career options & a chance to graduate in the top 5% (which may come into play during your first several years after law school).

Thanks!

CanadianWolf wrote:Top 5% & law review at GWU with a very decent scholarship is not worth transferring to NYU--especially since you're not targeting NYC biglaw. Top 5% & law review at GWU is a substantial achievement that should result in lots of choice interviews. Harvard & Yale should remain in the picture if you can get some decent financial aid. But, in your current position, you should have plenty of career options & a chance to graduate in the top 5% (which may come into play during your first several years after law school).

THIS