PKSebben's Transferring FAQ Forum

[06072010]

I can't remember exactly, but Columbia had ridiculous requirements for things like Dean's certs, etc. I've attended like a billion colleges, so that was a serious pain in my ass. If I recall, those sheets were basically like information cover sheets.

[didi]

is duke known to be very idiosyncratic in considering its transfer applicants?

It's got a relatively small transfer class, but it states most successful applicants are from 25% of their 1L class (most schools emphasize that their transfer applicants must be in top 5%-10% to be considered)

[Zeph]

is duke known to be very idiosyncratic in considering its transfer applicants?

It's got a relatively small transfer class, but it states most successful applicants are from 25% of their 1L class (most schools emphasize that their transfer applicants must be in top 5%-10% to be considered)

i smell bs on their part, what they probably didnt tell you was that the top 25% from a T14 would land you a spot at duke

[didi]

if i were at t14 already I won't even need to transfer to duke.

[didi]

but your previous posts are right, maybe T25. it makes some sense if they are referring to T25. just about right.

[Zeph]

if i were at t14 already I won't even need to transfer to duke.

You wouldn't but others might..for example you had to move. But yes makes more sense from a T25

Edit: sorry if that doesn't make sense, typing on blackberry storm -_-

[21124]

i will be referring to this thread in a year...

[OperaSoprano]

Hey, PK- do you know if there is any disadvantage to applying "late" in the transfer cycle? I have heard that some schools take longer than others to put transcripts together. (IE, after July 1st.) Assuming everything else is in, will schools wait for this information?

I would never attend a school with the intention of transferring, but I may be leaving for a new city, and I want to have the option open in case I need to move closer to my family.

Thanks very much!

[06072010]

Hey, PK- do you know if there is any disadvantage to applying "late" in the transfer cycle? I have heard that some schools take longer than others to put transcripts together. (IE, after July 1st.) Assuming everything else is in, will schools wait for this information?

I would never attend a school with the intention of transferring, but I may be leaving for a new city, and I want to have the option open in case I need to move closer to my family.

Thanks very much!

I'm not super sure. The cycle is really compressed and it's difficult to get everything in order. Schools will wait for your information to a certain extent. Columbia waited on a Dean's cert well into late July (and sent me an email saying they were ready to take action, so jump on my school). When they got the cert, I had a decision very quickly, so I'm thinking they might make a preliminary yay/nay and then check the Dean's Cert. Maybe they're just quick, I'm not sure.

Schools that sandbag are just shady, in my opinion. I didn't have a problem.

[OperaSoprano]

Hey, PK- do you know if there is any disadvantage to applying "late" in the transfer cycle? I have heard that some schools take longer than others to put transcripts together. (IE, after July 1st.) Assuming everything else is in, will schools wait for this information?

I would never attend a school with the intention of transferring, but I may be leaving for a new city, and I want to have the option open in case I need to move closer to my family.

Thanks very much!

I'm not super sure. The cycle is really compressed and it's difficult to get everything in order. Schools will wait for your information to a certain extent. Columbia waited on a Dean's cert well into late July (and sent me an email saying they were ready to take action, so jump on my school). When they got the cert, I had a decision very quickly, so I'm thinking they might make a preliminary yay/nay and then check the Dean's Cert. Maybe they're just quick, I'm not sure.

Schools that sandbag are just shady, in my opinion. I didn't have a problem.

Thanks! I'm more concerned about actual grades, or in the case of the school in question, written evaluations. I don't believe this school would ever sandbag, but it does take longer for evals to be written out than a typical GPA/class rank computation would take. I have head that evals at this school come out weeks later than most grades. I know of a few people who successfully transferred anyway, but I just wanted to get your edit.

[bwv812]

.

[awesomepossum]

I'm not super sure. The cycle is really compressed and it's difficult to get everything in order. Schools will wait for your information to a certain extent. Columbia waited on a Dean's cert well into late July (and sent me an email saying they were ready to take action, so jump on my school). When they got the cert, I had a decision very quickly, so I'm thinking they might make a preliminary yay/nay and then check the Dean's Cert. Maybe they're just quick, I'm not sure.

Schools that sandbag are just shady, in my opinion. I didn't have a problem.

I'm not seeing any super onerous requirements by CLS; am I simply wrong in assuming that the certification on the LSAC website is only required from your law school? Do they expect all institutions to know what may or may not constitute a C&F issue for the bar, and require all institutions attended to fill it out?

I have no idea what the hell schools expect you to do when they have a June 15th deadline—we probably won't even have grades by then.

I'm sure they kind of know there are people in that situation. Maybe you can try calling them and asking. It could be as simple as sending the rest of your application in beforehand and then sending in your grades as soon as you have them.

The tough part of course is without your grades you don't really know if you're in a position to put in a transfer app, but I guess that's just how it is.

[motownsaint]

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.

Do T10 law schools really offer additional merit aid if there's a risk of you transferring out?

[bwv812]

.

[06072010]

I'm not super sure. The cycle is really compressed and it's difficult to get everything in order. Schools will wait for your information to a certain extent. Columbia waited on a Dean's cert well into late July (and sent me an email saying they were ready to take action, so jump on my school). When they got the cert, I had a decision very quickly, so I'm thinking they might make a preliminary yay/nay and then check the Dean's Cert. Maybe they're just quick, I'm not sure.

Schools that sandbag are just shady, in my opinion. I didn't have a problem.

I'm not seeing any super onerous requirements by CLS; am I simply wrong in assuming that the certification on the LSAC website is only required from your law school? Do they expect all institutions to know what may or may not constitute a C&F issue for the bar, and require all institutions attended to fill it out?

I have no idea what the hell schools expect you to do when they have a June 15th deadline—we probably won't even have grades by then.

Every school you ever attended. That sucked for me

[bwv812]

.

[stab master arson]

Good thread. Sticky?

[Virility]

Did Michigan require a personal statement? I don't see it on their site.

[06072010]

Did Michigan require a personal statement? I don't see it on their site.

Yes.

[IStillPlayVideoGames]

How did you deal with asking your professor for LoR? Were they put off by your request? Do you think they would have treated you differently had you not gotten into any transfer schools?

[06072010]

How did you deal with asking your professor for LoR? Were they put off by your request? Do you think they would have treated you differently had you not gotten into any transfer schools?

Most of professors were A-OK with it. The all attended the usual suspects, so they knew the score. They were very supportive. The only prof I had trouble getting an LOR from was a transfer, too. I think it was more of a "I didn't know you very well, even though you rocked my class."

I told him was cool and no worried. Several weeks later he contacted me sua sponte and offered to write one. It was genuine and fantastic LOR. Not really sure what happened.

[midrangejumper]

i have a question for a buddy of mine:

he's going to start at a part time t3 program this fall, with hopes of transferring to a full time t1 program. i told him i wasn't sure if you could transfer from part time to full time jumping to DIFFERENT schools, let alone going from a t3 to a t1 doing it that way. PK, do you know if he can do this or not?

[snotrocket]

he's going to start at a part time t3 program this fall, with hopes of transferring to a full time t1 program. i told him i wasn't sure if you could transfer from part time to full time jumping to DIFFERENT schools, let alone going from a t3 to a t1 doing it that way. PK, do you know if he can do this or not?

Most schools have credit hour minimums for transfer applicants, and I suspect a part-time student could not meet those until his second year, if it's a four-year program (maybe third semester, I don't know). He needs to check this point to see if it's possible for him to transfer at all, and if so when he could do it. If he's starting PT because that's the only way he got into the T3 school, then his chances for transferring anywhere seem grim at best.

[upgrade]

Most schools have credit hour minimums for transfer applicants, and I suspect a part-time student could not meet those until his second year, if it's a four-year program (maybe third semester, I don't know). He needs to check this point to see if it's possible for him to transfer at all, and if so when he could do it. If he's starting PT because that's the only way he got into the T3 school, then his chances for transferring anywhere seems grim at best.

Also, if he is going part-time and does not have a 30+ hour/week job, I think that adcomms would view his GPA/rank as inflated.

[Aqualibrium]

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.

Do T10 law schools really offer additional merit aid if there's a risk of you transferring out?

So what is the consensus on this with any school? Will a school generally come up with more aid to keep a top student around?