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Hey folks, any help is appreciated. I'd love to do a D.Ct. clerkship in the '16-17 term if at all possible and would like some input/advice on where I should be looking and how "high" I should be aiming. I know I'm behind on this but I'm a transfer student and wasn't really anticipating being in this position, hence my delay. I finished 1L top 12% at one of the MN TTT's and transferred to a B1G state flagship (think OSU, UW, Iowa, Indiana) and after getting all but one of my grades back my GPA is above the top 1% according to the historic scales provided by the school. I know I may be getting a bit ahead of myself but I feel confident that after getting my last grade back I won't be any lower than top 2%. I'm not on LR but did make the #2 journal, fwiw. I'm not published yet and won't know if my note will be published until late April.

As far as where I'd like to do my clerkship, I'm pretty open although I'd definitely prefer something warm. I'm by no means gunning for something like SDNY, NDCA, EDVA, etc. but if those are at least within the realm of possibility I wouldn't mind knowing that. Last note I guess is that I am pursuing JAG as a career and have been accepted for the Army summer internship; while JAG is by no means easy to get, those who do the internship are selected at about a 70% rate. Best case scenario is that this clerkship serves as a gap filler between when I graduate and when I would head off for training (the interim time can last 12-18 months in some cases). That's kind of why I'm hoping for rushing out 16-17 apps instead of holding off for 17-18. Feel free to poke holes in my plan, that's why I'm here.

Sorry this is all sort of stream of consciousness so my apologies if I missed anything or am unclear in places. Again, much appreciated.

most of the competitive districts including the ones you mentioned are already full for 2016
lots of others hiring are hiring though. a significant number of districts will be interviewing & hiring this spring/summer so plenty of opportunities still available

OP, there are definitely lots of opportunities for 16-17 still available. I did all of my applications after this date last year (like you, I was a transfer, so I waited for a semester of grades at my new school). I was 5% at T1-2 straddler school (sometimes T50, sometimes T60) and transferred to T20 where my fall 2L grades put me 5% (after this semester, I'm just outside 5%... probably 6-7%) and didn't join any journals after transferring. I know you said you'd like somewhere warm, but also be sure to hit all the alums of your current school. I got two interviews out of just a handful of apps, both of whom were alums of my new school. The interviews were in March and June of my 2L. (I ended up taking a SSC clerkship, in case you're wondering).

As the poster above says, the districts you're not gunning for but want to know chances of are out of the question for '16-17. But lots of D Cts are still available.

Aside from those previously listed, which circuits are the traditionally more "competitive" ones? Where would, e.g. NDIL or SDCA fall on that spectrum?