BC/BU to Columbia? Forum

[toughchoice13]

Top 5% at BC/BU, over half scholarship, law review. Career goals: clerk then BigFed. Open to BigLaw, but not a primary goal.

I got into Columbia last week. Should I transfer or stay?

For what it's worth, I enjoy my current school, have solid connections with professors, and I only want to leave if the bump from a Columbia degree helps me in the short/long-term. I'm leaning toward staying, but am genuinely undecided.

[mylifeis24]

Top 5% at BC/BU, over half scholarship, law review. Career goals: clerk then BigFed. Open to BigLaw, but not a primary goal.

I got into Columbia last week. Should I transfer or stay?

For what it's worth, I enjoy my current school, have solid connections with professors, and I only want to leave if the bump from a Columbia degree helps me in the short/long-term. I'm leaning toward staying, but am genuinely undecided.

CLS rising 2L here. Any money from CLS? We definitely place more in clerkships than BC/BU, but clerkships are a crapshoot. If you value the prestige and you think that the name brand would be helpful in getting gov jobs, then I would make the switch. We also have a great PI office (we call it social justice initiatives). Since most of CLS is biglaw focused, they are able to give out more individualized attention to those people that seek them out. If you do want to try your hand at Biglaw/EIP, then CLS is the obvious choice. Good luck!

[Clemenceau]

BC actually beat cls in fed clerk % last year lol

Yeah yeah self selection whatever

[CanadianWolf]

No reason to leave BC or BU with a top 5% rank & law review with a substantial scholarship.

[TTtop13pct]

top 5% is/was prob good for H. Too late now, I guess. Stay.

[iamgeorgebush]

Where do you want to ultimately practice? If Boston, staying at BC/BU is probably credited. If New York, I'd say go with Columbia. In fact, if it's any market other than Boston, I'd say go with Columbia.

Also, would your school make you pay back your first year's scholarship if you left?

[NoDayButToday]

.

[fratstar1]

Also, would your school make you pay back your first year's scholarship if you left?

Is that a thing?

Can't be.

[CanadianWolf]

TLS posts within the past couple of years discussed this practice at some very low ranked no-name law schools.

[ndirish2010]

I would stay.

[ManoftheHour]

Did you try using the Columbia acceptance for more $$$ at your school?

[trebekismyhero]

Stay, but ask for more money first

[trey ohh five]

Also, would your school make you pay back your first year's scholarship if you left?

Is that a thing?

At some schools it is.

[jbagelboy]

I would probably stay. Columbia is a great school but you have a lot going for you in your current position. Your options won't be that much better to justify the added debt.

If you didn't have a scholarship at your current school, I would have advised transferring though.

[ManoftheHour]

Also, would your school make you pay back your first year's scholarship if you left?

Is that a thing?

At some schools it is.

That's TTT as f$&@.

[kaiser]

I was at BC/BU as a 1L and had done well on exams. I told myself that, if I made LR, I would just stay. I didn't make LR (plus my scholarship wasn't that big anyway), so I decided to transfer. But since you are in top 5%, and on LR (I was just outside top 10% and not on LR), I would have stayed.