Thank you, TLS. Forum

[adonai]

Congrats! How did you get your grades back so quickly? Did you take finals in mid november or something?

Yeah, we started end of November. The last day for finals was December 8th. I'm shocked they're out this early.

I'm really jelly. What do you think you did that set you apart? Seems like you had a small class, so competition would have been extra tight.

[moandersen]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

It depends on whether your T2 will up the scholarship amount and which T2 you are at. If they dont increase your scholarship substantially, it would make sense to transfer because you will take on only a little more debt but get a ton more job opportunities through OCI. Its not a no brainer to transfer - there are a lot of variable - but it is a no brainer to send out apps once you are done with 1L year to at least give yourself options, and to put the pressure on your school to increase your scholarship.

[queenlizzie13]

Congrats!! Jealous you got grades back so soon, but that is awesome! I would also look into transferring as well. Enjoy and a wonderful Christmas! Very nice early Christmas gift <3.

[SwampRat88]

Congrats! How did you get your grades back so quickly? Did you take finals in mid november or something?

...

[Cavalier]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

A "fairly good shot" at big law from a second tier school is not much, especially with only a 1/3 scholarship. You could still easily strike out and find yourself in a lot of debt for a degree that won't open many doors beyond "shit law." If you don't land a big law job from a T14, you still have a T14 degree. Do you know anyone on your school's law review? They can probably give you a better picture of career prospects. But also keep in mind that your degree doesn't lose its importance after your first job. A degree from a T14 school will open a lot of doors, especially if you want to switch to a different type of legal job or relocate. Hypothetically, if you transfer to Georgetown, get a degree from there, and then your S/O gets a residency halfway across the country, you'll have a much easier time following him or her than if you have a degree from a second tier school.

[quiver]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

A "fairly good shot" at big law from a second tier school is not much, especially with only a 1/3 scholarship. You could still easily strike out and find yourself in a lot of debt for a degree that won't open many doors beyond "shit law." If you don't land a big law job from a T14, you still have a T14 degree. Do you know anyone on your school's law review? They can probably give you a better picture of career prospects. But also keep in mind that your degree doesn't lose its importance after your first job. A degree from a T14 school will open a lot of doors, especially if you want to switch to a different type of legal job or relocate. Hypothetically, if you transfer to Georgetown, get a degree from there, and then your S/O gets a residency halfway across the country, you'll have a much easier time following him or her than if you have a degree from a second tier school.

I agree. I think it would be a good idea to through an app into GULC EA.

[johnB86]

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[Mr. Pancakes]

Ok, I just planned out your life for you. First off, Congratulations.
2. You need to drop your girlfriend.
3. Get in at a T14
4. Graduate
5. Get a sick tight job
6. Ball outta control
7. Upgrade each year to a freaky/nasty swedish 19 year old blond with a booty that stays high and tight.

[bceagles182]

Swamprat, where do you go, what city do you want to work in and what are your career goals?

T2 isn't specific enough for us to give you helpful advice.

[NJcollegestudent]

1L grades released at my TT. GPA is 3.861-----I got 3 A's, and 2 A-'s.

Couldn't have done it without the advice from this site.

Now time to start thinking of summer jobs...

How did you receive your grades that fast? Heck, I still have one more final to go. You must have super professors, ones who can grade 24/7, or have had a lot of multiple choice.

[random5483]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

Top law job? Not sure what you mean. If you mean big law, chances are remote. You might have a chance if you are fall in the URM category. Otherwise, it is extremely unlikely.

If you maintain your grades next semester, you will have a good shot at a big law summer associate position your 2L summer. 1L summer internships with big law are almost impossible unless you are a URM with excellent grades or a non-URM with exceptional grades and luck.

You should be able to secure a good internship your 1L year. Just get a decent internship this summer and aim for big law next summer. If you meant something else by "top law" then ignore this.

[Flash]

3.861 isn't that median at Northwestern?

[gothamm]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

A "fairly good shot" at big law from a second tier school is not much, especially with only a 1/3 scholarship. You could still easily strike out and find yourself in a lot of debt for a degree that won't open many doors beyond "shit law." If you don't land a big law job from a T14, you still have a T14 degree. Do you know anyone on your school's law review? They can probably give you a better picture of career prospects. But also keep in mind that your degree doesn't lose its importance after your first job. A degree from a T14 school will open a lot of doors, especially if you want to switch to a different type of legal job or relocate. Hypothetically, if you transfer to Georgetown, get a degree from there, and then your S/O gets a residency halfway across the country, you'll have a much easier time following him or her than if you have a degree from a second tier school.

Not a guru or anything but this info is just plain wrong. Sources? Unless HYS, school prestige is largely irrelevant after the first job.

[queenlizzie13]

Congrats! How did you get your grades back so quickly? Did you take finals in mid november or something?

Yeah, we started end of November. The last day for finals was December 8th. I'm shocked they're out this early.

I'm really jelly. What do you think you did that set you apart? Seems like you had a small class, so competition would have been extra tight.

Well, my GPA and LSAT are both above the medians, so take that for what it is worth. Otherwise, really, it was just hard work. I outlined from Day 1. I think I only took 5 days completely off from law school for the entire semester. I went into office hours almost daily during the last 1/3 of the semester. I had a really kickass study partner (who did slightly less well than me), and we both filled in the gaps in the each others knowledge.

I'm certainly not a genius or anything. Success in law school seems to be a result of: 1) hard-work 2) baseline intelligence level, 3) maybe some luck.

Edit: Oh, and also I did practice exams and memorized the shit out of my outlines. Regarding the outlines, I would fall asleep reading to them most nights. Crazy, I know.

Not crazy. I largely did the same as I had my outlines mostly done by Thanksgiving. Hoping it pays off, we'll see.

[Cavalier]

Congrats! Like most posters, I'd definitely recommend transferring--hopefully there's a strong school somewhere near your S/O.

I really don't know much about transferring--specifically, what's the advantage? If I stay, shouldn't have a fairly good shot at landing a top law job this summer? I also have one year of strong work experience.

A "fairly good shot" at big law from a second tier school is not much, especially with only a 1/3 scholarship. You could still easily strike out and find yourself in a lot of debt for a degree that won't open many doors beyond "shit law." If you don't land a big law job from a T14, you still have a T14 degree. Do you know anyone on your school's law review? They can probably give you a better picture of career prospects. But also keep in mind that your degree doesn't lose its importance after your first job. A degree from a T14 school will open a lot of doors, especially if you want to switch to a different type of legal job or relocate. Hypothetically, if you transfer to Georgetown, get a degree from there, and then your S/O gets a residency halfway across the country, you'll have a much easier time following him or her than if you have a degree from a second tier school.

Not a guru or anything but this info is just plain wrong. Sources? Unless HYS, school prestige is largely irrelevant after the first job.

Keep telling yourself that.

[SwampRat88]

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[blurbz]

Congrats: you're in a great position.

Start gunning hard for summer jobs, but don't worry if you don't get biglawl: There are so few 1L biglawl positions. I promise you'll get something good, though, and if you keep your grades anywhere near where they are now and you're not a social pariah, you'll likely get biglawl next fall.

Re Transferring: Definitely gun for more money. Tell your school you'll consider leaving...Where are you now? (rankings wise?) You obviously have a good shot at T14 and, depending on what school you are attending now, HYS. Apply and, if you get in, it might be worth it to consider actually going--depends on your goals.

Before doing any of that: Celebrate. Go out, get drunk, fall down, get your med-student significant other to take care of you.

[keg411]

How good of a shot do I have at transferring ED to Chicago?

I had a similar GPA at a T2 and was rejected outright from Chicago ED. Though if your school ranks, and you are #1 or so, it might help. Also, Chicago took a particularly small ED class last year and I'm pretty sure everyone was T14 or upper T1.

[SwampRat88]

How good of a shot do I have at transferring ED to Chicago?

..

[keg411]

How good of a shot do I have at transferring ED to Chicago?

I had a similar GPA at a T2 and was rejected outright from Chicago ED. Though if your school ranks, and you are #1 or so, it might help. Also, Chicago took a particularly small ED class last year and I'm pretty sure everyone was T14 or upper T1.

I should be in the top 5 persons, even though class rank isn't released yet. My GPA is 3.861. This is the previous 2 years:

Class of 2013 (138 students)
Top 5% = 3.583

Class of 2012 (117 students)
Top 5% = 3.542

So I'm clearly in the top 5 percent, probably top 1 or 2 percent. Is that good enough for Chicago folks?

Go look at the transfer thread from last year and you can see who got into Chicago. I was top 5% and got rejected (though likely not top 1-2%). However, like I said, the only people who got into went to higher ranked schools. You can probably get into CLS/NYU/Penn, though, as long as you stay in the top 5%.

[Vronsky]

Congrats on your success SwampRat! I was in largely the same position last year - after 1st semester, had a 3.8. You are correct that you are probably somewhere in the top 5 people. Take what you learned this semester and improve on it next semester - everyone will be doing that. Go over your exams when you get back to school, especially the A- ones, and see if you can adjust anything to improve for second semester. 2nd semester I got a 3.95 and ended up top 1% and transferred to C/N. I'll try to give some advice and give u the frame work for what you should consider.

First, if you're going to stay at your school, you absolutely need to be on LR and get that scholarship increased. I was open with my school and talked with several professors, including the Dean and people in student services. My TT had a blanket 10K scholarship for top 10%, so they wouldn't increase my scholarship beyond that. Try to be very tactful and say that you are considering all your options, and see what advice they might have. Most of the people at my TT said if I got into C/N, they would say congrats and encourage me to go. Which I did, and they did.

Second, given your rank, you should aim higher than GTown, and I don't recommend applying EA. I was so excited about my grades and eager to transfer, that I applied early - but luckily got deferred. You should be aiming at T10 and T6, and if you get accepted to GTown early, they make you pay a deposit of $1k to hold your seat.

RE: UChicago ED, a friend of mine at the same TT with a similar GPA applied and was rejected outright. It's a very difficult school to get into as a transfer because they take so few students. I would recommend you apply to all the biggest programs in the T10. CNMPB. If you can up your GPA second semester and land the #1 spot, apply at Harvard.

TLDR - keep up the good work, don't ease up cos you're only halfway there, and you have a good chance at Harvard, Columbia, or NYU!

PS - if you want better advice regarding career prospects and your chances at biglaw, you should be more specific about your TT and its location/market.

[SwampRat88]

Congrats on your success SwampRat! I was in largely the same position last year - after 1st semester, had a 3.8. You are correct that you are probably somewhere in the top 5 people. Take what you learned this semester and improve on it next semester - everyone will be doing that. Go over your exams when you get back to school, especially the A- ones, and see if you can adjust anything to improve for second semester. 2nd semester I got a 3.95 and ended up top 1% and transferred to C/N. I'll try to give some advice and give u the frame work for what you should consider.

First, if you're going to stay at your school, you absolutely need to be on LR and get that scholarship increased. I was open with my school and talked with several professors, including the Dean and people in student services. My TT had a blanket 10K scholarship for top 10%, so they wouldn't increase my scholarship beyond that. Try to be very tactful and say that you are considering all your options, and see what advice they might have. Most of the people at my TT said if I got into C/N, they would say congrats and encourage me to go. Which I did, and they did.

Second, given your rank, you should aim higher than GTown, and I don't recommend applying EA. I was so excited about my grades and eager to transfer, that I applied early - but luckily got deferred. You should be aiming at T10 and T6, and if you get accepted to GTown early, they make you pay a deposit of $1k to hold your seat.

RE: UChicago ED, a friend of mine at the same TT with a similar GPA applied and was rejected outright. It's a very difficult school to get into as a transfer because they take so few students. I would recommend you apply to all the biggest programs in the T10. CNMPB. If you can up your GPA second semester and land the #1 spot, apply at Harvard.

TLDR - keep up the good work, don't ease up cos you're only halfway there, and you have a good chance at Harvard, Columbia, or NYU!

PS - if you want better advice regarding career prospects and your chances at biglaw, you should be more specific about your TT and its location/market.

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[blurbz]

Chicago wouldn't be terribly far from Louisville. You and your girl could meet in Indy for a nice weekend (I lived there for a while; it can be a good weekend getaway town). I suspect if you're ranked in the top few students you'd have a very good shot at Chicago ED, though it'll be at least partly dependent on the size of their class this year.

What are your employment goals?

[thesteelers]

Wow OP, you crushed it. Congrats, I hope I'm in your position next month.

If you're attending a T2, btw, you owe it to yourself to transfer. Unless your school has an amazing alumni network and dominates your local market or something.

[SwampRat88]

Wow OP, you crushed it. Congrats, I hope I'm in your position next month.

If you're attending a T2, btw, you owe it to yourself to transfer. Unless your school has an amazing alumni network and dominates your local market or something.

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