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Hi! What are my chances of transferring into T14? I'm in top 15% of my class.

Barring some debilitating C&F issue, I would say you're a near lock to get in somewhere.

Edit: Just out of curiosity, not entirely related to the question at hand, does your school have a 4.3 scale? It's so interesting to me that 3.89 would only put you in the top 15%.

Probably a shoo-in for Georgetown, good shot at Michigan, Penn, Berkeley & Northwestern. UVA and Duke accept few transfers so only worth an app if you have ties to the area. Cornell doesn't let RD transfers do OCI so doesn't seem worth an app at this point.

Outside shot at CCN. Maybe throw an app at H.

I would throw in an application to CLS and NYU. Chicago's probably a waste but if you really wanna go there then sure why not take the chance

Edit: If you are admitted to GULC, seriously scrutinize whether it is in your interests to make the transfer. There are other threads which discuss this.

Thanks for your advice! My school has a 4.00 scale.
I don't really know my class rank yet, so I'm not sure whether I'm gonna be in top 10% or top 15% after this semester.

I'm also not sure whether the transfer would be worth it considering I've got a full ride at my current school and I've had a great time here so far... If you have any thought on this or a similar experience, please do share them with me.

Wednesday wrote:Thanks for your advice! My school has a 4.00 scale.
I don't really know my class rank yet, so I'm not sure whether I'm gonna be in top 10% or top 15% after this semester.

I'm also not sure whether the transfer would be worth it considering I've got a full ride at my current school and I've had a great time here so far... If you have any thought on this or a similar experience, please do share them with me.

You went to law school to get a job not to make new friends (I hope) so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on culture in your decision making process unless you are considering peer schools

From a social perspective, my 1L school was light years better than CCN, but that wasn't my priority. I found the culture at my CCN to be competitive, and the students to be unapproachable but generally helpful when I needed them for anything school or professional-related and good enough to the extent I felt I could still enjoy my classes. My friends who went to other T14s generally spoke similarly about their own schools.

Also, be very mindful throughout this process of which markets you want to work in. Barring some amazing soft, HYS is out the window and the other T14s don't place very well outside their own regions, markets your have legitimate ties to and NYC (getting DC I suppose is possible but even difficult for students who began 1L at a T14).

CommonLawTort wrote:

Wednesday wrote:Thanks for your advice! My school has a 4.00 scale.
I don't really know my class rank yet, so I'm not sure whether I'm gonna be in top 10% or top 15% after this semester.

I'm also not sure whether the transfer would be worth it considering I've got a full ride at my current school and I've had a great time here so far... If you have any thought on this or a similar experience, please do share them with me.

You went to law school to get a job not to make new friends (I hope) so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on culture in your decision making process unless you are considering peer schools

From a social perspective, my 1L school was light years better than CCN, but that wasn't my priority. I found the culture at my CCN to be competitive, and the students to be unapproachable but generally helpful when I needed them for anything school or professional-related and good enough to the extent I felt I could still enjoy my classes. My friends who went to other T14s generally spoke similarly about their own schools.

Also, be very mindful throughout this process of which markets you want to work in. Barring some amazing soft, HYS is out the window and the other T14s don't place very well outside their own regions, markets your have legitimate ties to and NYC (getting DC I suppose is possible but even difficult for students who began 1L at a T14).

By "having a great time" I most meant making connections, participating in some competitions, and studying as much as I need without too much distractions (I know, a strange understanding of what having a great time means ). Certainly didn't go to law school to find friends, although it is a nice bonus and can be useful down the road.

Would you mind speaking to your comment about transfering to Georgetown, please? Sounded like a warning.

Wednesday wrote:

CommonLawTort wrote:

Wednesday wrote:Thanks for your advice! My school has a 4.00 scale.
I don't really know my class rank yet, so I'm not sure whether I'm gonna be in top 10% or top 15% after this semester.

I'm also not sure whether the transfer would be worth it considering I've got a full ride at my current school and I've had a great time here so far... If you have any thought on this or a similar experience, please do share them with me.

You went to law school to get a job not to make new friends (I hope) so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on culture in your decision making process unless you are considering peer schools

From a social perspective, my 1L school was light years better than CCN, but that wasn't my priority. I found the culture at my CCN to be competitive, and the students to be unapproachable but generally helpful when I needed them for anything school or professional-related and good enough to the extent I felt I could still enjoy my classes. My friends who went to other T14s generally spoke similarly about their own schools.

Also, be very mindful throughout this process of which markets you want to work in. Barring some amazing soft, HYS is out the window and the other T14s don't place very well outside their own regions, markets your have legitimate ties to and NYC (getting DC I suppose is possible but even difficult for students who began 1L at a T14).

By "having a great time" I most meant making connections, participating in some competitions, and studying as much as I need without too much distractions (I know, a strange understanding of what having a great time means ). Certainly didn't go to law school to find friends, although it is a nice bonus and can be useful down the road.

Would you mind speaking to your comment about transfering to Georgetown, please? Sounded like a warning.

From personal experience, the one person I know who transferred there did not get a job that I consider to be more impressive than students of his class rank who stayed in his 1L school.

I feel as though you would get superior advice if you disclosed your ultimate class rank, scholarship (if any) at 1L school, career goals, maybe even more information about your 1L school besides 'top 50'. For instance, transferring from Fordham to GULC would seem kinda crazy to me.

CommonLawTort wrote:

Wednesday wrote:

CommonLawTort wrote:

Wednesday wrote:Thanks for your advice! My school has a 4.00 scale.
I don't really know my class rank yet, so I'm not sure whether I'm gonna be in top 10% or top 15% after this semester.

I'm also not sure whether the transfer would be worth it considering I've got a full ride at my current school and I've had a great time here so far... If you have any thought on this or a similar experience, please do share them with me.

You went to law school to get a job not to make new friends (I hope) so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on culture in your decision making process unless you are considering peer schools

From a social perspective, my 1L school was light years better than CCN, but that wasn't my priority. I found the culture at my CCN to be competitive, and the students to be unapproachable but generally helpful when I needed them for anything school or professional-related and good enough to the extent I felt I could still enjoy my classes. My friends who went to other T14s generally spoke similarly about their own schools.

Also, be very mindful throughout this process of which markets you want to work in. Barring some amazing soft, HYS is out the window and the other T14s don't place very well outside their own regions, markets your have legitimate ties to and NYC (getting DC I suppose is possible but even difficult for students who began 1L at a T14).

By "having a great time" I most meant making connections, participating in some competitions, and studying as much as I need without too much distractions (I know, a strange understanding of what having a great time means ). Certainly didn't go to law school to find friends, although it is a nice bonus and can be useful down the road.

Would you mind speaking to your comment about transfering to Georgetown, please? Sounded like a warning.

From personal experience, the one person I know who transferred there did not get a job that I consider to be more impressive than students of his class rank who stayed in his 1L school.

I feel as though you would get superior advice if you disclosed your ultimate class rank, scholarship (if any) at 1L school, career goals, maybe even more information about your 1L school besides 'top 50'. For instance, transferring from Fordham to GULC would seem kinda crazy to me.

That makes sense. Well, my law school is not in the top 45, I have a full ride scholarship, I want to do corporate law, and I dont have my class rank yet. People who graduate close to the top of their class usually do well getting big law jobs in the region. Many get state clerkships, a decent number of students get federal clerkships at the district court level. It's a regional school (I'm sure you figured that:) and originally I'm not from this region. I don't mind staying here, but sometimes I feel like locals get preferential treatment (just my subjective perspective) in this area.

We’re not in terribly different places, with the pretty large exception of your full-ride. But, to be honest, I kinda think that’s a game changer—especially if your terminal ambitions are just biglaw and you don’t mind living in the region your school places decently within.

If, however, you decide you really don’t like that region or you have larger ambitions—academia, politics, BigFed, etc—then transferring might make sense. There’s nothing wrong with doing your due diligence and applying though, you may regret not having explored the option later in life. All the same, increasing your debt by $200k to only marginally increase already good chances of getting biglaw is probably not a wise move.

Also: have you guys received class ranks yet? I’m still so perplexed by a 3.89 on a 4.0 scale only putting you in the T15%. Unless you guys curve at 3.65 or something that’s such an irregular distribution.