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Hey,

I recently finished 1L year and ranked 28 out of 193 (T15%)
I made it on to Law Review and the Trial team (was 2nd in competition at my school out of roughly 100 students). Also, I have no scholarship so tuition is roughly 40k and my school claims to have very little to give in scholarships. My friend is #13 and was only given 10k. I applied as a transfer only to BU, BC, Tulane, and UM. I got into both Tulane and UM but not BC or BU. At UM I would graduate with no rank.
Tulane on the other hand ranks you with the (now rising 2L) class after 3 semesters, so really the semester before you graduate. I would be able to compete to write on to Law Review at both schools.

I want to get into Labor & Employment Law (ERISA) maybe gain a bit of a Tax base and definitely want to better my employment chances for graduation.

Would a transfer to Tulane be worth the move? Any advice you have would be much appreciated!

Where do you want to practice?

Also, you want to do ERISA? Do you have prior experience with it? That's just surprising. That's one area of the law that I know most people loathe.

yes, but ofcourse that's from the little exposure I've received thus far. I applied for internships with the IRS and the Department of Labor. I'm hoping that may help me figure out how ready I am to really do that for the rest of my life.
I was considering coming back to Florida to practice but It's not a certainty. The idea of graduating with a degree that (for at least my early years practicing) may not hold much weight outside of south Florida worries me. But Tulane doesn't seem to be highly favored either from the little I've read on a few of these threads and the salary/employment prospect data I found online seems to be a bit all over the place.

Posstransfer wrote:yes, but ofcourse that's from the little exposure I've received thus far. I applied for internships with the IRS and the Department of Labor. I'm hoping that may help me figure out how ready I am to really do that for the rest of my life.
I was considering coming back to Florida to practice but It's not a certainty. The idea of graduating with a degree that (for at least my early years practicing) may not hold much weight outside of south Florida worries me. But Tulane doesn't seem to be highly favored either from the little I've read on a few of these threads and the salary/employment prospect data I found online seems to be a bit all over the place.

I'm a bit confused as to why you applied to the schools you did if you're leaning towards practicing in Florida. I think it would have made more sense to apply to FSU and UF. Even without scholarships, they'd be a lot cheaper than your current school because you'd presumably qualify for in-state tuition. However, that ship has sailed (I'm assuming; I don't know when the application deadlines are).

Based on your options, I'd choose the cheaper option if you're okay with practicing in Louisiana. If you want to stay in Florida, stay where you are and negotiate for a scholarship increase. Tulane has a better reputation than your current school, but it isn't a national brand. It's not going to hold much weight outside of Louisiana and maybe Texas. It'll have a better brand nationally than where you are, but you can't count on that to make a massive difference.

If the costs are about equal and you don't have a strong preference on location, I'd lean towards transferring.