Is Transferring Worth It? Forum

A forum for those current students who are or may be transferring from one school to another. Post any questions, advice, or other transfer related comments here.
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goodgradesgreg

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Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by goodgradesgreg » Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:31 pm

I'm mostly looking for anecdotes/feedback from people that have been in this situation.

I'm a 1L at a T30 school (think Emory/GW/UCI/Fordham). I got my fall grades back recently and somehow managed to hit a 4.2 GPA (highest/second highest grade in multiple classes netted me a few A+). I spoke with a mentor and she said this probably puts me near the top of the class, if not at the top. She mentioned that if if I can pull good grades again this semester I'd be competitive to transfer to HLS or a comparable school, if that's something I'm interested in. Honestly, I don't know if it is; transferring was never something that crossed my mind coming into law school, but now that it's a viable option I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Could anyone who's been in a similar situation and did/did not transfer chime in with their thoughts? I'm really just using TLS as a sounding board to get some disinterested opinions. FWIW, I'm on a half scholarship at my current school, current goals are a federal clerkship > biglaw/bigfed litigation. Location wise, I would be happy practicing around where my current school is located, but I'm also open to starting a new chapter elsewhere (I've never left my home state where my school is located). Last consideration: I am a little bit of an older student, so taking on a ton of extra debt does scare me a bit because I likely won't have it all paid off until I'm well into my 30s.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who contributes.

Law2019

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by Law2019 » Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:30 pm

goodgradesgreg wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:31 pm
I'm mostly looking for anecdotes/feedback from people that have been in this situation.

I'm a 1L at a T30 school (think Emory/GW/UCI/Fordham). I got my fall grades back recently and somehow managed to hit a 4.2 GPA (highest/second highest grade in multiple classes netted me a few A+). I spoke with a mentor and she said this probably puts me near the top of the class, if not at the top. She mentioned that if if I can pull good grades again this semester I'd be competitive to transfer to HLS or a comparable school, if that's something I'm interested in. Honestly, I don't know if it is; transferring was never something that crossed my mind coming into law school, but now that it's a viable option I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Could anyone who's been in a similar situation and did/did not transfer chime in with their thoughts? I'm really just using TLS as a sounding board to get some disinterested opinions. FWIW, I'm on a half scholarship at my current school, current goals are a federal clerkship > biglaw/bigfed litigation. Location wise, I would be happy practicing around where my current school is located, but I'm also open to starting a new chapter elsewhere (I've never left my home state where my school is located). Last consideration: I am a little bit of an older student, so taking on a ton of extra debt does scare me a bit because I likely won't have it all paid off until I'm well into my 30s.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who contributes.
I was in a similar situation as you were—I was about top 5% at one of the schools you mentioned, with an approximately 80% scholarship, and was interested in litigation. I chose to not try to transfer. With your grades at the type of school you are at, it would be a surprise if you do not get biglaw offers. Prestige does matter in some circumstances, but you will be competitive for a clerkship in your current situation (assuming you remain near the top of your class). The way I thought about it was that it was very likely that I was going to get biglaw offers given my school and grades, so why give up my scholarship for a more prestigious degree. And now I have little debt and am not tied to biglaw.

goodgradesgreg

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by goodgradesgreg » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:33 pm

Law2019 wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:30 pm
goodgradesgreg wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:31 pm
I'm mostly looking for anecdotes/feedback from people that have been in this situation.

I'm a 1L at a T30 school (think Emory/GW/UCI/Fordham). I got my fall grades back recently and somehow managed to hit a 4.2 GPA (highest/second highest grade in multiple classes netted me a few A+). I spoke with a mentor and she said this probably puts me near the top of the class, if not at the top. She mentioned that if if I can pull good grades again this semester I'd be competitive to transfer to HLS or a comparable school, if that's something I'm interested in. Honestly, I don't know if it is; transferring was never something that crossed my mind coming into law school, but now that it's a viable option I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Could anyone who's been in a similar situation and did/did not transfer chime in with their thoughts? I'm really just using TLS as a sounding board to get some disinterested opinions. FWIW, I'm on a half scholarship at my current school, current goals are a federal clerkship > biglaw/bigfed litigation. Location wise, I would be happy practicing around where my current school is located, but I'm also open to starting a new chapter elsewhere (I've never left my home state where my school is located). Last consideration: I am a little bit of an older student, so taking on a ton of extra debt does scare me a bit because I likely won't have it all paid off until I'm well into my 30s.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who contributes.
I was in a similar situation as you were—I was about top 5% at one of the schools you mentioned, with an approximately 80% scholarship, and was interested in litigation. I chose to not try to transfer. With your grades at the type of school you are at, it would be a surprise if you do not get biglaw offers. Prestige does matter in some circumstances, but you will be competitive for a clerkship in your current situation (assuming you remain near the top of your class). The way I thought about it was that it was very likely that I was going to get biglaw offers given my school and grades, so why give up my scholarship for a more prestigious degree. And now I have little debt and am not tied to biglaw.
Thank you for your input! It's definitely a fortunate position to be in: less debt and great job prospects, or more debt and elite job prospects. Either way I'm sure I'll land on my feet. I found a couple of other students from my 1L school who transferred to HLS who I'll be reaching out to, I'll report back here with their thoughts sometime in the next couple months for posterity.

Goldie

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by Goldie » Wed Jan 13, 2021 1:29 am

I was #1 in my class at a ~T30 school at the end of 1L several years ago and made the decision to transfer to HLS. I also was in my home state and was open to staying there forever; I also had a half scholarship; I also was debt conscious. It wasn't an easy decision, but in retrospect I'm glad I transferred.

HLS was more challenging, but I still did quite well there. I've since done two federal appellate clerkships and a year of appellate litigation in a state government agency, and now do appellate litigation at a top DC firm. I also interviewed with the most competitive components through DOJ honors, although I did not ultimately land an offer. Some of this likely would have been possible coming from my 1L school, but my sense is that the doors for the most elite jobs open much more easily once you have HLS on your resume (and especially if you do well there, as do seemingly most transfers who try).

Bottom line, you're lucky to have that choice. A friend of mine at a slightly better school than mine was in a similar position and declined offers from YLS and HLS, and as far as I know he's happy to have stayed. He also did two appellate clerkships, including with a feeder, and ended up in a top career gig at DOJ. So I'm not sure you can go wrong either way.

KPUSN07

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by KPUSN07 » Wed Mar 17, 2021 12:42 pm

goodgradesgreg wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:31 pm
I'm mostly looking for anecdotes/feedback from people that have been in this situation.

I'm a 1L at a T30 school (think Emory/GW/UCI/Fordham). I got my fall grades back recently and somehow managed to hit a 4.2 GPA (highest/second highest grade in multiple classes netted me a few A+). I spoke with a mentor and she said this probably puts me near the top of the class, if not at the top. She mentioned that if if I can pull good grades again this semester I'd be competitive to transfer to HLS or a comparable school, if that's something I'm interested in. Honestly, I don't know if it is; transferring was never something that crossed my mind coming into law school, but now that it's a viable option I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Could anyone who's been in a similar situation and did/did not transfer chime in with their thoughts? I'm really just using TLS as a sounding board to get some disinterested opinions. FWIW, I'm on a half scholarship at my current school, current goals are a federal clerkship > biglaw/bigfed litigation. Location wise, I would be happy practicing around where my current school is located, but I'm also open to starting a new chapter elsewhere (I've never left my home state where my school is located). Last consideration: I am a little bit of an older student, so taking on a ton of extra debt does scare me a bit because I likely won't have it all paid off until I'm well into my 30s.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who contributes.
There was a poster here that had a similar situation (not as high GPA, but damn high) and he negotiated a full scholarship (from a half) at original school and then landed big law in NYC - think T90 type school. He'll graduate debt free and with big law - almost the golden ticket.

Honestly - it's up to you; I'm very debt conscious and with a pristine GPA from T30, you'll have great opportunities.

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Jchance

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by Jchance » Wed Mar 17, 2021 6:28 pm

HYS may open more doors than, say, summa grad from T30, but it depends on whether you even care to walk through those extra doors. If you're content with a fed. district court clerkship, then no transfer. If you want to gun for circuit/SCOTUS clerkship, then yes, transfer. summa grad from T30 gets biglaw/bigfed.

purplegoldtornado

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by purplegoldtornado » Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:03 pm

KPUSN07 wrote:
Wed Mar 17, 2021 12:42 pm
goodgradesgreg wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:31 pm
I'm mostly looking for anecdotes/feedback from people that have been in this situation.

I'm a 1L at a T30 school (think Emory/GW/UCI/Fordham). I got my fall grades back recently and somehow managed to hit a 4.2 GPA (highest/second highest grade in multiple classes netted me a few A+). I spoke with a mentor and she said this probably puts me near the top of the class, if not at the top. She mentioned that if if I can pull good grades again this semester I'd be competitive to transfer to HLS or a comparable school, if that's something I'm interested in. Honestly, I don't know if it is; transferring was never something that crossed my mind coming into law school, but now that it's a viable option I find myself thinking about it a lot.

Could anyone who's been in a similar situation and did/did not transfer chime in with their thoughts? I'm really just using TLS as a sounding board to get some disinterested opinions. FWIW, I'm on a half scholarship at my current school, current goals are a federal clerkship > biglaw/bigfed litigation. Location wise, I would be happy practicing around where my current school is located, but I'm also open to starting a new chapter elsewhere (I've never left my home state where my school is located). Last consideration: I am a little bit of an older student, so taking on a ton of extra debt does scare me a bit because I likely won't have it all paid off until I'm well into my 30s.

Thanks ahead of time to anyone who contributes.
There was a poster here that had a similar situation (not as high GPA, but damn high) and he negotiated a full scholarship (from a half) at original school and then landed big law in NYC - think T90 type school. He'll graduate debt free and with big law - almost the golden ticket.

Honestly - it's up to you; I'm very debt conscious and with a pristine GPA from T30, you'll have great opportunities.
Thanks KPSUN for the kind words. (We talked a lot together about this decision and know each other IRL.) I would like to add the caveat that I still regret not transferring (I had an offer from MVP. Yes, I am in an ostensibly unbeatable place. Nevertheless, I think literally every day about what I gave up. No disrespect to my current school, but this decision has taken a toll on me.

I am glad, however, that many different people are providing differing opinions. This decision is super personal. I'm not saying that it is objectively wrong to do what I did, but looking back, it wasn't the right decision for me. Good luck. If you need any help along the way, feel free to DM.

bcwbcwbcw

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by bcwbcwbcw » Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:54 am

OP, I transferred from one of the schools you mentioned to a T6. I had/have fairly conventional biglaw goals. And I agonized over the decision too (n.b. as a process note, it's better to put off the agonizing until you have the transfer acceptances in hand). Overall, I'm happy with the decision I made. Here are some factors:

OCI: I was in a good position at my old school, but I believe I outperformed at my new school. This is all anecdotal, but I ended choosing among 5-10 top firms that were aligned with my practice area interests while top-of-class friends at old school had 1 or 2 such options. There's a couple of related points to unpack. First, there's a few structural advantages to OCI at my new school vs. old. Certain firms recruit at my new school that don't even show up to my old school. My new school's OCI happens weeks before OCI at my old school. And of course there's the sheer disparity in offers made -- I'd guess that new school receives 5x-10x the number of offers vs. old school. Second, the basic employment numbers mask difference in quality of firm. I'm definitely not a TLS "preftige" chaser but I do care about landing at a firm that excels in my practice area and will set me up with good exit options. My new school offers a much better crack at this tier of firm. Third, the law of large numbers. When it comes to employment outcomes / biglaw recruiting, there's some statistical peace of mind that comes from knowing that XYZ firm makes 25-40 offers at your school vs. 1-5 offers. Numbers at the lower end make the process a lot more unpredictable.

Portability/flexibility: My old school was a strong regional, which suited me fine, but it's nice knowing that my new degree is more national. If I have to move for some reason -- S.O. gets a job in another market -- I can do that. Even apart from geography, I think the new degree just has higher option value if I decide I hate law and want to move into something adjacent (consulting, government, etc.).

Regret minimization: This isn't a super substantive one, but it's nice not to have the "what if?" question hanging over you (see the previous poster).

janereacher

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by janereacher » Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:33 am

I transferred from a T30/T40-ish school to HYS. As a graduating 3L, I don't think I have full clarity about whether or not it will turn out to be sufficiently impactful on my long term career outcomes to justify the decision. However, that's mostly because I've become uncertain about my goals.

My OCI experience was similar to bcwbcwbcw's. In addition to being placed in front of firms I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to interview with, I received far more offers in competitive major markets than I would have received otherwise. In fact, I am pretty sure I would have only gotten one major D.C. firm offer (at best) if I had not transferred. And, in that case, it was only because I was very aggressive in applying for 1L summer associate jobs and I made a good connection even after not getting the SA position at that particular firm. So, while I think I would have gotten a big law job in a major market if I had not transferred, I might have been out of luck in DC/SF or I might have had only one offer instead of having many to choose from. That said, if all I end up doing is going from big law to an in-house job, I don't know that having those additional options will end up mattering much.

As far as clerking, I have not applied yet but generally I think transferring can delay the clerkship cycle in which you are applying because of the need to develop relationships at your new school. It's certainly not impossible to successfully apply at the end of 2L but I think it somewhat depends on the strength of the connections you have before transferring and the prestige level of the clerkship you are seeking out. I didn't feel confident applying as a transfer 2L. As a 3L, I now have several professors I can count on for recommendations. Another consideration in delaying my clerkship application cycle was feeling that the caliber of a potential clerkship needed to justify the decision to transfer. I could have gotten a good clerkship without transferring so, for me, the transfer advantage is in being able to get my application in front of judges I would not otherwise be able to.

I suspect that, in the long run, my career won't end up going in a direction that will justify the decision to transfer. However, I do feel that I've benefited from feeling more secure about the future given the pandemic and any potential economic downturns heading our way.

There are also non-career related implications. I didn't expect losing my 1L friends/network to impact me as much as it did. It was a major loss and I think my mental health suffered significantly because of the transition. Law school is a grind and anything that contributes to having/keeping a positive and healthy environment can't be underestimated. Finally, I find that I am not comfortable with the difference in how people treat me. Not people I knew before but new people I meet. With people in the legal field, it's not an issue so much because the assessments are generally about what they think I'm capable of because of the school I go to. It's with laypeople that it's really noticeable and discomfiting.

goodgradesgreg

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Re: Is Transferring Worth It?

Post by goodgradesgreg » Sat Jun 05, 2021 2:18 pm

Hey all, thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread, there's a lot of good info here and it certainly gave me a lot to think about. I just got my spring grades back, and while they're not as stellar as fall semester's, they're still good. My cumulative GPA for 1L is 3.95, which I assume puts me around the top 5% of my class, though my school doesn't publish class rank so I can't know for sure.

After reading this thread, and talking to some professors and past students who have transferred, I've decided to stay put. There's a lot of reasons why, but the main ones are the fact that I have a great shot at achieving the career I want from my current school, I've decided that I want to end up practicing around where I'm from and where my current school is located (SoCal), and I'm not interested in taking on any more debt or moving cross-country on a few weeks notice. I'm well aware of the doors that would open if I transferred to say, HLS, but at the end of the day I don't think it's the right call for me personally given where I'm at in life and what I want to do with my career.

You probably could have guessed based on the above info, but I'm at UCI. I'm revealing that for the sake of future UCI students who may stumble across this thread and want someone to talk to re transferring or other career stuff (assuming I can make a career for myself). If that's you, shoot me a DM, I'll be keeping an eye on this account. Hell, even if you go to a different school, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm happy to be a resource.

Cheers!

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