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Current School: Suffolk Law
Possible Transfer: BU

Current Rank: ~6% (GPA is well within the range of accepted past transfers)
Current Graduation Debt: $18-20K

BU Graduation Debt: ~$100K

I want to stay in Boston for the next 5-10 years because my wife is finishing up her PhD here. Then we would want to move out of the Northeast.

I'm not positive what I'd like to do but probably not* public service type work.

I'm an URM for what's that worth.

Only other factor I can think of at the moment is that my current school really seems to be looking out for me, but that only goes so far.

Anon,

I went through a similar decision-making process a year ago. It can be agonizing, I know. I was top 2% at a T3 school, but I already had accepted a JAG offer (I was on a program for active duty officers) so I was in a little bit different position. But one of my main concerns--what's the school's reach after my first job--was similar to yours.

First, the debt. Shelling out an extra $80k is a lot. If you were going public interest, it probably wouldn't matter (PLSF), but that's not what you want to do. Do the monthly payment calculation gymnastics. Its helpful. You may end up with your hands empty regardless of where you graduate.

Second, you obviously are in an environment where you thrive. Don't overlook that.

Third, BU will travel better, but every attorney and career service person I've spoken with say that the school you transferred from will still be expected to be listed on your resume. That said, Its easy to explain to a hiring partner why you transferred ("I wanted to attend a school with a higher caliber of students and faculty because that's what I believed a Firm like Firm X would expect of its potential associates"). Just make sure you know the backgrounds of the interviewers so you don't insult them.

Fourth, from what I've witnessed from my internships (which, in full disclosure, have been government agencies), a lot of the law school prestige stuff goes out the window once you start practicing and producing (or failing to produce) results. You do have to be in a position to produce or not produce though, which means you have to get a job (and I think that's the concern here).

Fifth, it doesn't sound like you would have to move, which is a big plus

It sounds like the debt is the biggest factor for you. Every year lower-ranked schools try to retain their top students with scholarship money and every year students will transfer, hoping that substituting a name on their resume will catapult them to a good job. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

At the end of the day, I didn't transfer because I was in an environment that I seemed to do well in, I already had a job lined up, transferring would have required uprooting my family and moving a couple hours away, and there wasn't much of a difference in the job rate between the schools, notwithstanding the difference in ranking (I considered this to the extent that I thought it might be indicative for a post-JAG job). However, I could have transferred and only dropped another $20k, which is way lower than the 80K you are looking at. $80k is a lot of money. If I were you, I think the only reason I would transfer would be if I were absolutely sure I wanted to go BigLaw and do that grind for at least a few years. I know that's what a lot of people on this forum shoot for, there's no way I would be happy with BigLaw. I have a family and need some balance...I think the best starting point for you is to figure out what you want to do with your law degree. It's much easier to backplan from there and figure out if the $80k and different school name are justified because they significantly increase your chances of reaching those goals, whatever they end up being. Good luck!