Top Law Schools

Can anyone comment on:
-what the curve is like at SLU?
-is it realistic to do 1L there and transfer somewhere with a better ranking?
-does the health law certificate actually hold any weight in the job market?

dualie wrote: -is it realistic to do 1L there and transfer somewhere with a better ranking?

Pretty much everyone in TLS will tell you this: never ever ever go to law school expecting to transfer. Worst idea ever.

dualie wrote:Can anyone comment on:
-what the curve is like at SLU?
-is it realistic to do 1L there and transfer somewhere with a better ranking?
-does the health law certificate actually hold any weight in the job market?

The curve only matters for relating your fellow students to yourself. The actual median (2.7 vs. 3.3 or whatever) doesn't matter unless you have stipulations on your scholarship (which you'll want to avoid). SLU is a great option if you want to work in St. Louis, especially if you're given a scholarship (since tuition costs less than WashU, but I dunno if Mizzou's more cost-effective). Don't plan on transferring in order to reach for a different city - go to a school in the city you're interested in if you're looking at very region-specific schools.

Rising SLU 2L here - The curve is set between a 2.7 and 2.8 for 1L classes. You can study all the figures here: --LinkRemoved--

As far as transferring goes, I do not know anyone personally who is transferring law schools. Grades are slowly trickling in and that may have something to do with it. Most people come to SLU with intentions of sticking around - the school is very community focused. I know some people that have dropped out altogether or have decided to pursue other degrees, but that probably doesn't help your question very much.
As most others would agree, I would not recommend going to any law school with expectations to transfer. Everyone I know who came into school with that mentality are stuck in STL for another 2 years.

As far as health law goes - we are still #1. STL has many hospitals that hire students for internships during the school year and summers; opportunities certainly exist. The school has a decent reach to DC with alumni in the health field, but I cannot recall specific figures.

Hope this helps.