Why should I transfer? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all -- I'm a 1L at a school ranked 40-60 in a large, secondary market. First semester got a 4.0 GPA (#1 in class) so am considering transferring. I have solid relationships with prof's so getting letters of rec. wouldn't be a problem. I currently have a full scholly, so facing the prospect of going $100k+ into debt my question is:

What benefits would transferring have for someone in my situation?

Goals are A3 clerkship and BigLaw. The partners I've spoken with at BigLaw firms say that if I can keep grades up, I can work at any firm in this city. And several folks from my school get A3 clerkships every year, so with professors who've said they would get behind me for a clerkship w/ letters of rec, etc. I predict having a real shot at a clerkship too.

Would love to hear from people who have transferred (or decided not to) in similar situations, thank you!

[lavarman84]

The benefits of transferring are that there's less pressure on you to stay at the tippy top of your class to get the great outcomes you seek. There are also greater resources and potentially better connections at top schools for clerkships. And getting biglaw becomes a lot easier. You also have more geographic flexibility.

Of course, the costs of transferring are losing the connections you've made which likely pushes back your clerkship application schedule to your 2L spring semester at minimum.(because many professors won't write clerkship LORs for students that transferred) You also take on a lot of debt. And you have to start over socially.

From your post, it seems like you've talked to professors about clerkships. I'd keep doing that this semester. See if there's a clerkship committee or chair at your school. And make it clear to the professors you're close with that you'd like to do a clerkship and would like to take full advantage of the resources your school has. The great thing about lower ranked schools is that they will often throw the full support of the faculty behind the top students. If you have multiple professors willing to make calls, LORs ready to send out by the summer or start of the fall, and professors looking out for positions they have connections to, it'll definitely help your clerkship chances.

[Goldie]

I was in a similar position. #1 in my class in a mid-30s school. Wanting BigLaw and an appellate clerkship, both of which seemed very possible. I was on track to graduate debt-free and was very hesitant to change that. But I ended up transferring and it was absolutely the right decision for me.

I sent out clerkship applications based on my 1L grades and with recommendations from my 1L professors, without any interviews. After receiving my first set of grades at my new school, things really picked up, and I have 4 appellate clerkship interviews scheduled this week. Now I'm more worried about potentially having to turn down a judge or two than I am about actually getting a clerkship.

I can think of two things that might have made this the wrong decision. #1) If my 1L professors wouldn't have been willing to write letters of recommendation for a transfer student, then transferring might have been a bad move. If I had to build up 3 strong recommenders at my new school, that might have pushed me back a cycle or two. #2) If I hadn't done well at my new school, it might not have been as good of a decision. Obviously you can't predict with 100% certainty how well you'll do at your new school, but you can at least find out the answer for #1. If you have a professor you trust, ask them about transferring and whether they'd be willing to write a letter of recommendation for you even if you transfer.

Also, lawman84's post is spot on. You don't have to be nearly as special at a top school to have similar (if not better) opportunities as you have now. But if you do well in your new school, the range of opportunities becomes even broader (top appellate clerkships and even Supreme Court clerkships, more selective firms, etc). But there are the negatives: debt, a potentially rough transition, etc. At the end of the day, it's a pretty personal decision, but for me, I'm really glad I took a chance and transferred.

[specterdraperaxe]

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[Goldie]

Goldie, how far up did you transfer?

To Harvard, so 30ish spots.

Edit to add: The fact that I transferred to Havard definitely helped, but my assumption is that someone who is #1 at a good school will have t14 options (if not HYS options) and those probably represent a similar increase in opportunities.