PKSebben's Transferring FAQ Forum

[OperaSoprano]

Great info here! What about a list of top schools that will take transfers from other schools' part time programs (I know Berkeley will not), along with the minimum number of credits required to transfer?

This is the age old question that I have never seen answered in its entirety. It is a mystery. You should see if Ken will hire you to research this for the t50 schools.

Are you reading this, Ken? I'll do it, if you'll use it!

[Virility]

pros/cons in asking out a cute single professor at your current school if the transfer works out?

[A'nold]

pros/cons in asking out a cute single professor at your current school if the transfer works out?

Do it!

[bwv812]

.

[Virility]

I think you're both interpreting it pretty much in the same way...in either case, it's not really worth this much discussion.

Essentially, you have to absolutely dominate your first year and be no lower than a Top 50 to transfer to HYS.

[Virility]

PK (and other transfer students):

Are you on law review or a secondary journal at your new school? Did you even attempt a write-on?

[twothousandeleven]

pros/cons in asking out a cute single professor at your current school if the transfer works out?

Damn that's ballzy. Hit that shit and earn that A.

[Virility]

PK, did you write on at your previous school just in case you ended up staying? If so, was it a big deal when you declined an invitation from a journal because of your decision to transfer?

[06072010]

PK, did you write on at your previous school just in case you ended up staying? If so, was it a big deal when you declined an invitation from a journal because of your decision to transfer?

I did write on and was offered a spot on law review. To decline, I sent an email and never heard back.

[rayiner]

Do you think attending a tier 2 school after a mediocre showing on the LSAT and attempting to transfer to a tier 1 after a year is a reasonable alternative to taking a year off, retaking the lsat, and applying to the tier 1 school as a regular applicant?

Taking a year off and retaking the LSAT costs you like $120. If you fail, doing it again costs you $120. A year of LS will cost you tens of thousands of $, and you only get one chance.

[rayiner]

So here's a question. At what point does it not make sense to transfer, say from a Tier1. Would American -> Vanderbilt, Texas, or UCLA make sense? What about GW or WUSTL?

[Virility]

Good question, rayiner. I'm interested in responses as well.

For me, it wouldn't be worth it if the transferee school wasn't a T-14. I don't really know where I want to eventually practice yet and I want the assurances of degree portability that comes with a T-14 (though there's a good argument that the schools you mentioned have similar national mobility). I would just feel like I would regret giving up the things I've accomplished at my Tier 1 if I transferred to one of those.

[06072010]

I really like Vandy and Texas and think they have decent portability. I would have considered Texas. Maybe I'm a sucker for big football.

[rayiner]

I like Vandy and Texas too, and UCLA. I'd be perfectly happy graduating from any of the places I applied to, but for some reason all the splitter-friendly schools are in the Midwest, and I'd be the most happiest somewhere warm and sunny

[T2toT1Hopeful]

So here's a question. At what point does it not make sense to transfer, say from a Tier1. Would American -> Vanderbilt, Texas, or UCLA make sense? What about GW or WUSTL?

Having lived in Los Angeles for 12 years and having 2 years of legal experience in a firm with 300+ attorneys, I would say American to UCLA is definitely worth it if you intend to stay in west Coast after you graduate. I am sure same applies to Texas if you with to stay in Texas after you graduate. I don't know about American to GW, since they are in the same region and are not that far from each other when it comes to ranking. It would be tough to justify giving up your current GPA/ranking for that small jump.

Anyways, I have a question as well. If you improve your GPA dramatically the second semester, does it get considered by the transfer ad-com? For example, is a 3.4 to a 3.8 jump averaging 3.6 overall considered better than two semesters of 3.6s? Or is it negligible/ignored since two semesters are two short to be considered a trend?

[Virility]

T2tT1H, probably no trend evaluation for transfer students. All about rank. And like you say, just too short to really show anything. Second semester is generally harder though and pulling a beastly GPA is very impressive so maybe they would give you the nod over the steady 3.6 guy, going with your hypo numbers.

[kurama20]

What kind of class rank would one need to transfer from a lower T-14 or Vandy/Texas/UCLA to HYS? Does being a URM affect your likelihood of being accepted? Would you boost the schools diversity stats as a transfer or is this only for regular admits?

[06072010]

I think you'd need top 5 - 10% from those places to get into HYS. I have not seen any data that suggests an AA boost on transfer.

[kurama20]

I think you'd need top 5 - 10% from those places to get into HYS. I have not seen any data that suggests an AA boost on transfer.

If you have to be top 5-10% from a lower top 14 to transfer to HYS you might as well stay where you are. Even Texas/Vandy top 5-10% to transfer seems like you might as well stay.......

[06072010]

I mean, you'd likely be moving up for academia / prestigious clerkships -- I can see it making sense from that viewpoint. If you're talking about biglaw then I agree with you.

[Bender]

I mean, you'd likely be moving up for academia / prestigious clerkships -- I can see it making sense from that viewpoint. If you're talking about biglaw then I agree with you.

This is the credited response.

A good friend of mine who is fluent in all things business, though, also believes that the Harvard name pulls more in the business world than, say, the Duke or whatever name. I suppose transferring for that reason might also be plausible.

Otherwise, there just isn't any point to transferring to HYS when you have great grades at a lower T14. In some cases, you might even be able to score more merit money by negotiating with financial services. If you're on a scholarship, you might also want to consider the fact that no merit aid is given to transfers into HYS (or many other T14s, for that matter). In general, you don't want to take on more debt in this economy. Staying put with great grades, a nice scholarship, and an excellent school can only hurt your ego if you put so much value in a name. Other than that, you have a pretty sweet life ahead of you. I'd enjoy it.

[Virility]

How about with girls? Did you guys notice a depreciation in attractiveness? PK, I know you're married. Don't cop out, though. We trust your objective assessment!

[helvidius2010]

I think you'd need top 5 - 10% from those places to get into HYS. I have not seen any data that suggests an AA boost on transfer.

If you have to be top 5-10% from a lower top 14 to transfer to HYS you might as well stay where you are. Even Texas/Vandy top 5-10% to transfer seems like you might as well stay.......

I mean, you'd likely be moving up for academia / prestigious clerkships -- I can see it making sense from that viewpoint. If you're talking about biglaw then I agree with you.

Even for the purposes of prestigious clerkships and academia, I would question the value of transferring up for students in the top 5%-10% at Texas or Vandy.

First, Law Review and Ed Board can be very important for COA clerkships and academia. Before transferring, investigate the write-on process for transfer students at your target school. Some schools have a special write-on for transfer students in the fall of 2L. Other schools require transfer students to do the regular summer write-on before knowing if you are accepted.

Second, students in the top 5% at Texas already have solid chances at COA clerkships. In recent years, Texas has been placing around 4% of the class in COA clerkships. (Sorry, I don't have stats for Vandy.) In fairness, some COA judges don't look outside the top 3 or 6 for their clerks. But I wonder whether these highly selective COA judges also exclude transfer students. I have heard that being a transfer student is a negative factor for many judges. Perhaps the Career Services at your target school would have information on how well transfer students have done with landing clerkships.

[cooleyjn]

Hey PK(or anyone else) for the WUSTL app are we supposed to scan the transcript and letter of good standing so to be able to send it electronically? Or are these ok to send a hard copy? Also i know most schools only accept 29-30 credit hours, but what about credits from study abroad since members of any school can go? Will the transfer school accept the study abroad credit hours in addition to 29-30 typically allowed? Any help much appreciated.

[06072010]

Hey PK(or anyone else) for the WUSTL app are we supposed to scan the transcript and letter of good standing so to be able to send it electronically? Or are these ok to send a hard copy? Also i know most schools only accept 29-30 credit hours, but what about credits from study abroad since members of any school can go? Will the transfer school accept the study abroad credit hours in addition to 29-30 typically allowed? Any help much appreciated.

As to the transcript and letter of good standing the jury is out on whether electronic scanning is acceptable -- this was discussed in another thread and we didn't come up with a solution.

As far as credit hours, each school determines how many credits they will take. Michigan takes more than 30, subject to certain other requirements. When you are accepted, your school will conduct an audit to determine whether these will be transferrable -- I'd talk to schools as see what they think.