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Just got grades and class rank back after a grind of a first semester. Finished with a 3.5 gpa top 15% of class at a school ranked between 100 and 120. Applying early decision to Notre Dame, GWU, Emory, and BC, but wanted to know whether I have a shot at GULC or Vandy? My perfect world goal is to shoot for DC Big Law, so feel free to provide some tough love!

Feel free to comment my chances or your experience in transferring from a TTT.

JurisDude7 wrote:My perfect world goal is to shoot for DC Big Law, so feel free to provide some tough love!

Since you asked: I wouldn't count on DC biglaw happening, regardless of whether your transfer apps are successful. Big firms in DC are extremely competitive, both in terms of school pedigree and grade requirements.

cavalier1138 wrote:

JurisDude7 wrote:My perfect world goal is to shoot for DC Big Law, so feel free to provide some tough love!

Since you asked: I wouldn't count on DC biglaw happening, regardless of whether your transfer apps are successful. Big firms in DC are extremely competitive, both in terms of school pedigree and grade requirements.

That’s fair enough but I should (hopefully) be able to bid some less selective firms in NYC, correct? I am slightly concerned about heading into 2L OCI as a transfer, especially when our curve falls low enough to where a 3.5 is top 15%. Any advice on BL opportunities as a transfer to any of the above mentioned schools would be welcomed.

JurisDude7 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

JurisDude7 wrote:My perfect world goal is to shoot for DC Big Law, so feel free to provide some tough love!

Since you asked: I wouldn't count on DC biglaw happening, regardless of whether your transfer apps are successful. Big firms in DC are extremely competitive, both in terms of school pedigree and grade requirements.

That’s fair enough but I should (hopefully) be able to bid some less selective firms in NYC, correct? I am slightly concerned about heading into 2L OCI as a transfer, especially when our curve falls low enough to where a 3.5 is top 15%. Any advice on BL opportunities as a transfer to any of the above mentioned schools would be welcomed.

Bidding on less selective firms, probably, but big law is far from guaranteed to get even from the schools you are applying to. And ND, Emory, BC, and GW don't place that well in NY to begin with. If you really want big law, then apply to t13 schools. Don't know if you'd get in, but if you do, then you'll have a good shot at big law.

Two questions here: transfer chances and DC biglaw chances. First, you have a nonzero but less than 50/50 shot at GULC's EA transfer app and probably a better than even shot at GW (both with a slight bump if you're at AU-WCL currently). Second, even if you got into one of those schools, you'd still be applying, in effect, as someone enrolled in your old school. Really only GULC would give you a bump at OCI b/c (1) it's the only school that has a lottery system that forces firms to grant screener interviews at random and (2) b/c a GW 1L w/ a 3.5 at OCI would probably strike out of DC biglaw in the first place.

You can toss an EA app at GULC if you wanted to, but I would focus on killing it second semester and then reassessing.