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I'm hoping to get some advice on a transfer decision I've been weighing for a while now. I did very well my 1L year at UIUC but always had the dream to go to Northwestern of UChicago for law school. Needless to say I didn't get into either one the first time around or else I'd be there. I've now applied to transfer to both Northwestern and UChicago and wanted advice about whether I should take the offers if I get them. I'm currently in the top three of my class at UIUC so I'm thinking I have a decent chance at either one.

I want to practice big law in Chicago after graduating and then possibly move into some type of BigFed job down the road. I know that either Northwestern or Chicago would give me a great chance of that. But I also think UIUC, given my ranking, would give me a pretty decent shot too (I don't know about law review yet and moot court offers only go to the top 12 or so students in an advanced writing class after Fall of 2L). I currently have a near full scholarship to UIUC and probably wouldn't have any type of scholarship if I got an offer to transfer, which is making this decision hard. I really like UIUC so far but I just feel like I'd be able to network more if I was going to school in Chicago these next two years and that having either school on my resume long-term could open up doors. I'm not really afraid of the debt I'd accrue if I transferred or the higher cost of living in Chicago, because I'd feel pretty confident that Big Law would help me take care of that.

Please tell me what you think.

if you're in the top 3 in your class at UIUC, and you want chicago, think about staying. you're very likely to get chicago biglaw out of it. apply to HYS and then if you get in maybe go if you can get need based aid and/or you want to explore other markets that you can't get from UIUC

im no expert in how firms hire, but transferring to U of C may kind hurt you. if you stay at illinois, you are at the top and if any one is going to get a biglaw offer, its going to be you and the two people ahead of you (assuming you interview ok). if you go to chicago or NU, you are basically thrown in with a bunch of other people, and your screener interviewers aren't looking for the best Illinois students, they are looking for the best non-transfer students. So, where you will stand out and be on everyone's radar at Illinois's OCI, you will just be another student at NU or Chicago. Its also a good rule, as far as i understand it, that transferring makes sense to get you to a school where there is a better OCI. like, if you wanted to go to NYC, then NU or Chicago would make sense. But i don't know how much worse illinois' OCI is, especially considering that all the best chicago firms already go to UIUC.

if you can get the same firm from Illinois that you woulda gotten at UC/NU, then you saved like 150 grand. thats huge.

also, send your resume to NYC and DC firms now and see if you can get a pre-OCI offer that will make this an easier decision.

i don't know about bigfed. i don't know if having UC/NU on your resume will matter, when getting those jobs is going to come down to work experience and clerkships and stuff like that.

good luck

So do you think I could really have a chance of transferring to HYS? Thank you for the advice by the way. I still think it'd be really cool to go to Chicago though

chitownclown wrote:So do you think I could really have a chance of transferring to HYS? Thank you for the advice by the way. I still think it'd be really cool to go to Chicago though

yeah i think you have a shot, especially Harvard. No reason not to apply at the least. I understand the pull of going to a more prestigious school, but also understand how much that debt might burden you. Might keep you from making career moves in order to stay in big law. I'd reach out to some folks from UIUC who are in positions you want to be in one day and ask about their path and whether being a top illinois grad was worth more than being something like a Chicago transfer student.

Deadlines have passed if u didn’t tho