Top Law Schools

I did very well my first semester, and I am planning to transfer. But I think my list of schools is too long (12 schools). On my list, the schools I'd like to know more about are UMichigan, Cornell (removed), Duke, USC, and UCLA. Could anyone provide some insight on student life in general in these specific schools? If you've been a student at one of these schools, how was your overall experience? What did you think about the location? If you were a transfer student at one of these schools, did you feel like you had the same opportunities as non-transfer students? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I'm just inquiring about student life and opportunities as a transfer student at these schools, not my transfer chances. I've already looked at the ABA 509 reports. Right now, I'm looking for reasons to remove a school from my list. I'm interested in BigLaw. Thanks!

Anonymous User wrote:I did very well my first semester, and I am planning to transfer. But I think my list of schools is too long (12 schools). On my list, the schools I'd like to know more about are UMichigan, Cornell, Duke, USC, and UCLA. Could anyone provide some insight on student life in general in these specific schools? If you've been a student at one of these schools, how was your overall experience? What did you think about the location? If you were a transfer student at one of these schools, did you feel like you had the same opportunities as non-transfer students? Thanks in advance.

I didn’t transfer but think you should know that Cornell doesn’t let transfers do OCI. Also think you should shoot for T13 if you want biglaw since T13 schools will give you better outcomes as a transfer.

OP here. Good to know that Cornell doesn't allow transfers to do OCI. I'll take them off the list. The rest of the schools on my list are T13 schools. I have UCLA and USC on there because I want to work in LA after graduation. UC Berkeley is also on my list.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Good to know that Cornell doesn't allow transfers to do OCI. I'll take them off the list. The rest of the schools on my list are T13 schools. I have UCLA and USC on there because I want to work in LA after graduation. UC Berkeley is also on my list.

Why isn’t Georgetown on there? They place well in LA.

SmokeytheBear wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Good to know that Cornell doesn't allow transfers to do OCI. I'll take them off the list. The rest of the schools on my list are T13 schools. I have UCLA and USC on there because I want to work in LA after graduation. UC Berkeley is also on my list.

Why isn’t Georgetown on there? They place well in LA.

Sorry, I should've been more clear. Here is my actual list:

1. Columbia
2. UChicago
3. NYU
4.UC Berkeley
5. USC (early action) (backup school for LA)
6. UCLA (Backup school for LA)
7. Georgetown (early action)
8. Duke (considering removing from list)
9. UMichigan (considering removing from list)
10. Harvard (if I can maintain my rank this semester)
11. Stanford (if I can get straight A's this semester)

look at the 509 reports. some schools are more accepting of transfers than others. UVa's not on your list but i know that UVa's notoriously stingy for transfers - like 1 or 2 a year. usually valedictorians of local schools with Virginia ties.

Georgetown Transfer Student Here! I'll just give some brief info on the diffs't aspects: STUDENT LIFE: GULC's student pop is very large and the Transfer Student Group recently became more active and involved in transfer student transitioning and EIW/OCI. The transfer students are a large group but not cliquish or distinguishable from any other GULC student. If anything, other OG's (original georgetown students) are also warmer to transitioning transfers than I expected. CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: As far as grading and classroom style goes (coming from one of the lower ranked schools in the US) the curve, lecture styles, and few exams during the semester has been a welcome change. My previous school engaged in the "death by a thousand paper cuts" style of constant formative assessments, tests, and academic bludgeoning on a C+-curve. PROFESSORS: Most professors also don't care whether or not you're a transfer student and you don't need to tell them if you don't want to. There are also transfer-specific sections and those professors are AWESOME and understanding-especially since transfers tend to be gunners. EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: surprisingly much easier to get an externship (especially judicial) every semester if you wanted to-this is where transfers and their grit can really shine. Also keep in mind that the transfer students that I've seen who really stood out in EIW/OCI were developing an extensive legal resume and already had stuff set-up for the future. There were transfers who didn't even start until the Fall and had externships with well known non-profits, the Hill, and in fed. agencies set up once they had access to the school's Simplicity. GRADING: grades just came back for some classes and I'm glad to say that our group did pretty well overall. EWI/OCI SUCCESS RATE: There's definitely a strategy to it. The NY/DC markets are definitely a strong possibility-especially if you apply early action. Transfer students who apply early action have the advantage of being in the GULC email system before summer starts and can attend the BL networking receptions and events before even stepping foot on campus. As far as they know anyone in the room is wearing the Hoya brand. 3L transfers who got Big Law offers were also very helpful by pushing our resumes through the recruiting office of their firms, introducing us in hospitality suites to recruiters, and setting up conversation/coffee meetings with associates-and we didn't even meet the 3Ls until the week before EIW started. The 3Ls also held an informal transfer EIW q&a for us to prep before EIW PERSONAL TAKE Positives- Community, Opportunity for Involvement, Less Stigma, Unique DC Student Opportunities, VERY COORDINATED AND PROACTIVE ADMINISTRATION; Negatives-large class size, expensive area, EIW BL DC/NY not 100% guarantee but possible if you stay on top of things and stand out, far from home. If you REALLY want to know about the DC/NY rate for transfers or anything else you can pm me-I'd be more than happy to answer. I don't want to give numbers or get too specific w/o anon. Hope this helps!

Caribgyal wrote:Georgetown Transfer Student Here! I'll just give some brief info on the diffs't aspects: STUDENT LIFE: GULC's student pop is very large and the Transfer Student Group recently became more active and involved in transfer student transitioning and EIW/OCI. The transfer students are a large group but not cliquish or distinguishable from any other GULC student. If anything, other OG's (original georgetown students) are also warmer to transitioning transfers than I expected. CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: As far as grading and classroom style goes (coming from one of the lower ranked schools in the US) the curve, lecture styles, and few exams during the semester has been a welcome change. My previous school engaged in the "death by a thousand paper cuts" style of constant formative assessments, tests, and academic bludgeoning on a C+-curve. PROFESSORS: Most professors also don't care whether or not you're a transfer student and you don't need to tell them if you don't want to. There are also transfer-specific sections and those professors are AWESOME and understanding-especially since transfers tend to be gunners. EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: surprisingly much easier to get an externship (especially judicial) every semester if you wanted to-this is where transfers and their grit can really shine. Also keep in mind that the transfer students that I've seen who really stood out in EIW/OCI were developing an extensive legal resume and already had stuff set-up for the future. There were transfers who didn't even start until the Fall and had externships with well known non-profits, the Hill, and in fed. agencies set up once they had access to the school's Simplicity. GRADING: grades just came back for some classes and I'm glad to say that our group did pretty well overall. EWI/OCI SUCCESS RATE: There's definitely a strategy to it. The NY/DC markets are definitely a strong possibility-especially if you apply early action. Transfer students who apply early action have the advantage of being in the GULC email system before summer starts and can attend the BL networking receptions and events before even stepping foot on campus. As far as they know anyone in the room is wearing the Hoya brand. 3L transfers who got Big Law offers were also very helpful by pushing our resumes through the recruiting office of their firms, introducing us in hospitality suites to recruiters, and setting up conversation/coffee meetings with associates-and we didn't even meet the 3Ls until the week before EIW started. The 3Ls also held an informal transfer EIW q&a for us to prep before EIW PERSONAL TAKE Positives- Community, Opportunity for Involvement, Less Stigma, Unique DC Student Opportunities, VERY COORDINATED AND PROACTIVE ADMINISTRATION; Negatives-large class size, expensive area, EIW BL DC/NY not 100% guarantee but possible if you stay on top of things and stand out, far from home. If you REALLY want to know about the DC/NY rate for transfers or anything else you can pm me-I'd be more than happy to answer. I don't want to give numbers or get too specific w/o anon. Hope this helps!

Not commenting on the substance of your post, but in the future, make your posts more digestible. Walls of text, even with bolded titles in that wall aren't great.

UVA2B wrote:

Caribgyal wrote:Georgetown Transfer Student Here! I'll just give some brief info on the diffs't aspects: STUDENT LIFE: GULC's student pop is very large and the Transfer Student Group recently became more active and involved in transfer student transitioning and EIW/OCI. The transfer students are a large group but not cliquish or distinguishable from any other GULC student. If anything, other OG's (original georgetown students) are also warmer to transitioning transfers than I expected. CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: As far as grading and classroom style goes (coming from one of the lower ranked schools in the US) the curve, lecture styles, and few exams during the semester has been a welcome change. My previous school engaged in the "death by a thousand paper cuts" style of constant formative assessments, tests, and academic bludgeoning on a C+-curve. PROFESSORS: Most professors also don't care whether or not you're a transfer student and you don't need to tell them if you don't want to. There are also transfer-specific sections and those professors are AWESOME and understanding-especially since transfers tend to be gunners. EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: surprisingly much easier to get an externship (especially judicial) every semester if you wanted to-this is where transfers and their grit can really shine. Also keep in mind that the transfer students that I've seen who really stood out in EIW/OCI were developing an extensive legal resume and already had stuff set-up for the future. There were transfers who didn't even start until the Fall and had externships with well known non-profits, the Hill, and in fed. agencies set up once they had access to the school's Simplicity. GRADING: grades just came back for some classes and I'm glad to say that our group did pretty well overall. EWI/OCI SUCCESS RATE: There's definitely a strategy to it. The NY/DC markets are definitely a strong possibility-especially if you apply early action. Transfer students who apply early action have the advantage of being in the GULC email system before summer starts and can attend the BL networking receptions and events before even stepping foot on campus. As far as they know anyone in the room is wearing the Hoya brand. 3L transfers who got Big Law offers were also very helpful by pushing our resumes through the recruiting office of their firms, introducing us in hospitality suites to recruiters, and setting up conversation/coffee meetings with associates-and we didn't even meet the 3Ls until the week before EIW started. The 3Ls also held an informal transfer EIW q&a for us to prep before EIW PERSONAL TAKE Positives- Community, Opportunity for Involvement, Less Stigma, Unique DC Student Opportunities, VERY COORDINATED AND PROACTIVE ADMINISTRATION; Negatives-large class size, expensive area, EIW BL DC/NY not 100% guarantee but possible if you stay on top of things and stand out, far from home. If you REALLY want to know about the DC/NY rate for transfers or anything else you can pm me-I'd be more than happy to answer. I don't want to give numbers or get too specific w/o anon. Hope this helps!

Not commenting on the substance of your post, but in the future, make your posts more digestible. Walls of text, even with bolded titles in that wall aren't great.

Agreed. I'm not savvy with TLS but I'll keep that in mind should I ever start posting more frequently.

Anonymous User wrote:I did very well my first semester, and I am planning to transfer. But I think my list of schools is too long (12 schools). On my list, the schools I'd like to know more about are UMichigan, Cornell (removed), Duke, USC, and UCLA. Could anyone provide some insight on student life in general in these specific schools? If you've been a student at one of these schools, how was your overall experience? What did you think about the location? If you were a transfer student at one of these schools, did you feel like you had the same opportunities as non-transfer students? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I'm just inquiring about student life and opportunities as a transfer student at these schools, not my transfer chances. I've already looked at the ABA 509 reports. Right now, I'm looking for reasons to remove a school from my list. Thanks.

Transferred to Columbia. If location/student culture matters to you then you may wanna put NYU above it. For one, it certainly has the better location (way closer to really anything you want to do in NYC). As for student culture, CLS is very cooperative which I like. >80% of students will already have upcoming SA offers or a full time offer when you begin 2L so people will share notes/outlines but the culture is nonetheless a bit more professional than what I thought it would be. Just by hanging in the building you'll notice right away that students tend to talk a lot about school, practice areas, and law firms. I don't know if NYU is much different in that regard, but other TLS posters have led me to conclude the culture is a bit more relaxed.

Caribgyal wrote:Georgetown Transfer Student Here! I'll just give some brief info on the diffs't aspects: STUDENT LIFE: GULC's student pop is very large and the Transfer Student Group recently became more active and involved in transfer student transitioning and EIW/OCI. The transfer students are a large group but not cliquish or distinguishable from any other GULC student. If anything, other OG's (original georgetown students) are also warmer to transitioning transfers than I expected. CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: As far as grading and classroom style goes (coming from one of the lower ranked schools in the US) the curve, lecture styles, and few exams during the semester has been a welcome change. My previous school engaged in the "death by a thousand paper cuts" style of constant formative assessments, tests, and academic bludgeoning on a C+-curve. PROFESSORS: Most professors also don't care whether or not you're a transfer student and you don't need to tell them if you don't want to. There are also transfer-specific sections and those professors are AWESOME and understanding-especially since transfers tend to be gunners. EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: surprisingly much easier to get an externship (especially judicial) every semester if you wanted to-this is where transfers and their grit can really shine. Also keep in mind that the transfer students that I've seen who really stood out in EIW/OCI were developing an extensive legal resume and already had stuff set-up for the future. There were transfers who didn't even start until the Fall and had externships with well known non-profits, the Hill, and in fed. agencies set up once they had access to the school's Simplicity. GRADING: grades just came back for some classes and I'm glad to say that our group did pretty well overall. EWI/OCI SUCCESS RATE: There's definitely a strategy to it. The NY/DC markets are definitely a strong possibility-especially if you apply early action. Transfer students who apply early action have the advantage of being in the GULC email system before summer starts and can attend the BL networking receptions and events before even stepping foot on campus. As far as they know anyone in the room is wearing the Hoya brand. 3L transfers who got Big Law offers were also very helpful by pushing our resumes through the recruiting office of their firms, introducing us in hospitality suites to recruiters, and setting up conversation/coffee meetings with associates-and we didn't even meet the 3Ls until the week before EIW started. The 3Ls also held an informal transfer EIW q&a for us to prep before EIW PERSONAL TAKE Positives- Community, Opportunity for Involvement, Less Stigma, Unique DC Student Opportunities, VERY COORDINATED AND PROACTIVE ADMINISTRATION; Negatives-large class size, expensive area, EIW BL DC/NY not 100% guarantee but possible if you stay on top of things and stand out, far from home. If you REALLY want to know about the DC/NY rate for transfers or anything else you can pm me-I'd be more than happy to answer. I don't want to give numbers or get too specific w/o anon. Hope this helps!

Thanks so much! This is very informative

KijiStewart wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I did very well my first semester, and I am planning to transfer. But I think my list of schools is too long (12 schools). On my list, the schools I'd like to know more about are UMichigan, Cornell (removed), Duke, USC, and UCLA. Could anyone provide some insight on student life in general in these specific schools? If you've been a student at one of these schools, how was your overall experience? What did you think about the location? If you were a transfer student at one of these schools, did you feel like you had the same opportunities as non-transfer students? Thanks in advance.

Edit: I'm just inquiring about student life and opportunities as a transfer student at these schools, not my transfer chances. I've already looked at the ABA 509 reports. Right now, I'm looking for reasons to remove a school from my list. Thanks.

Transferred to Columbia. If location/student culture matters to you then you may wanna put NYU above it. For one, it certainly has the better location (way closer to really anything you want to do in NYC). As for student culture, CLS is very cooperative which I like. >80% of students will already have upcoming SA offers or a full time offer when you begin 2L so people will share notes/outlines but the culture is nonetheless a bit more professional than what I thought it would be. Just by hanging in the building you'll notice right away that students tend to talk a lot about school, practice areas, and law firms. I don't know if NYU is much different in that regard, but other TLS posters have led me to conclude the culture is a bit more relaxed.

I obviously have nothing to compare it to, but CLS pretty chill after 1L. I don't think I've noticed people obsessing over practice areas in the hallways.

The two things that grind my gears about CLS are the multiple writing requirements and pro bono requirement. The student culture is fine.

Can't really argue with you on the location point. We are basically in the outer boroughs up here.

dabigchina wrote:The two things that grind my gears about CLS are the multiple writing requirements and pro bono requirement.

Given that this school is located in a state that has a pro bono requirement for the bar, this one kind of makes sense...

floatie wrote:

dabigchina wrote:The two things that grind my gears about CLS are the multiple writing requirements and pro bono requirement.

Given that this school is located in a state that has a pro bono requirement for the bar, this one kind of makes sense...

Shhh

floatie wrote:

dabigchina wrote:The two things that grind my gears about CLS are the multiple writing requirements and pro bono requirement.

Given that this school is located in a state that has a pro bono requirement for the bar, this one kind of makes sense...

And yet, NYU doesn't have a Pro Bono requirement. I must have missed it when the village declared allegance for New Jersey.

Edit: not to mention cls's rules are stricter than New York state's. I know a couple of people who fulfilled the requirement for New York state but don't fulfill the requirement to graduate from Columbia.