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Transferred to Georgetown from a lower T1, and had a great experience. Currently summering at a V50 and loving that as well. Happy to take questions.

Do you think GULC does a good job of integrating transfers? And would you say that transfers end up sticking with themselves or mixing in well with the rest of the school?

Also thanks for taking questions, looks like we have a lot of people on TLS already headed to GULC.

scottidsntknow wrote:Do you think GULC does a good job of integrating transfers? And would you say that transfers end up sticking with themselves or mixing in well with the rest of the school?

Also thanks for taking questions, looks like we have a lot of people on TLS already headed to GULC.

Yes, at least in my experience. I applied, and was accepted, EA, so myself and others who were similarly situated were placed in the school's regular OCI pipeline (meaning I had access to full bid lists, etc.). A couple of people that I knew got in late (July or so) off of the waitlist and had very slim pickings at OCI. Even so, many of them were able to nail positions for 2L summer jobs through networking, hustling, mass mailing, etc.

In terms of social life and integrating in that sense, I found the transition to be relatively seamless. At my 1L school, Constitutional Law was a 2L required course, so I was in a ConLaw class with all transfer students. I met a lot of people that way, but I also integrated with a lot of other non-transfer students through small seminars, rec sports leagues, bar reviews, etc. I don't know if the experience is different for people that took a lot of large lecture classes.

Oh I only meant socially (I'm skipping OCI as I've already accepted an early offer) but that's good to hear for everyone else.

And sounds good. I'm social so I figured it wouldn't be a problem, and if anything the large transfer class seems like it's good for this.

scottidsntknow wrote:Oh I only meant socially (I'm skipping OCI as I've already accepted an early offer) but that's good to hear for everyone else.

And sounds good. I'm social so I figured it wouldn't be a problem, and if anything the large transfer class seems like it's good for this.

Oh yes, for sure. There are lots of opportunities to socialize, and on the whole, I found that the student body at GULC was a helluva lot more friendly and less competitive than the student body at my 1L school. Between bar reviews, lots of fun student organizations, rec sports, and Wednesday Wind Downs (read: free beer, cookies, treats, and snacks every Wednesday afternoon), you won't have any trouble. Congratulations on your acceptance, by the way!

doctoroflaw91 wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:Oh I only meant socially (I'm skipping OCI as I've already accepted an early offer) but that's good to hear for everyone else.

And sounds good. I'm social so I figured it wouldn't be a problem, and if anything the large transfer class seems like it's good for this.

Oh yes, for sure. There are lots of opportunities to socialize, and on the whole, I found that the student body at GULC was a helluva lot more friendly and less competitive than the student body at my 1L school. Between bar reviews, lots of fun student organizations, rec sports, and Wednesday Wind Downs (read: free beer, cookies, treats, and snacks every Wednesday afternoon), you won't have any trouble. Congratulations on your acceptance, by the way!

Awesome to hear! My 1L class was... Interesting, so I'm definitely excited for a new student body. And thanks, I'm thrilled and not having to go through OCI is huge. Hopefully others chime in with some more questions.

How would you say transfers do in OCI?

Would you think it would be worth it to transfer GW -> Georgetown, if you want biglaw, all other factors equal (same cost, no journal, etc)? I know this might not be something you can answer but any insight you might have would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

felinafelina wrote:How would you say transfers do in OCI?

Would you think it would be worth it to transfer GW -> Georgetown, if you want biglaw, all other factors equal (same cost, no journal, etc)? I know this might not be something you can answer but any insight you might have would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Based on pure anecdotes, transfers seem to do pretty well at OCI. The ones that seem to struggle the most are the ones that come from TTTs or people that are let off the waitlist at the last minute, and are left only with the interviews that the school can gather for them. I knew a couple of people in the latter situation who still landed a summer gig through mass mailing, which they had done prior to getting off the waitlist in mid/late August. Once I paid my deposit at Georgetown, I also had immediate access to Career Services, etc. so I was able to have my resume reviewed and tweaked prior to bidding on firms, so that was helpful too.

I wish I could shed more light on the GW to Georgetown move. Intuitively, it seems that the jump from GW to Georgetown might not be worth given the relative proximity in rank, though I'm not entirely sure how GW places in terms of students nailing summer associate positions.

Any recommendations on GPA-boosting classes?

scottidsntknow wrote:Any recommendations on GPA-boosting classes?

Scott, are you looking for specific course recommendations or just general advice? Below is some general advice, but let me know if you're looking for specific courses.

In general, seminar professors tend to be far more generous with their grading than large lecture classes, where professors are more or less bound by the curve. In smaller classes, you will often have the chance to boost your grade with meaningful participation in class or small in-class projects. Many of the practicum courses follow this trajectory as well (in the one that I took this semester, most got A-s and almost everyone else got As).

A lot of people take large lecture courses that they have no interest in solely because the material will be covered on the bar. I've more taken the approach that I would rather take courses that interest me because I'm paying 50k per year for an education and probably won't have the opportunity to have course selections like Georgetown's at my fingertips for a while (unless I go back for another degree at some point). Not everyone would agree with this approach, but I've found that it has made for a much less stressful law school experience (and a good GPA).

Don't forget: Georgetown also allows you to elect to take 7 credits of your coursework as pass/fail (as opposed to a letter grade). Most students use those credits to take large, hefty courses like Evidence or Federal Courts so that they can learn the material without the stress of being graded on a curve. I'm personally using mine for Evidence and Criminal Procedure.

doctoroflaw91 wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:Any recommendations on GPA-boosting classes?

Scott, are you looking for specific course recommendations or just general advice? Below is some general advice, but let me know if you're looking for specific courses.

In general, seminar professors tend to be far more generous with their grading than large lecture classes, where professors are more or less bound by the curve. In smaller classes, you will often have the chance to boost your grade with meaningful participation in class or small in-class projects. Many of the practicum courses follow this trajectory as well (in the one that I took this semester, most got A-s and almost everyone else got As).

A lot of people take large lecture courses that they have no interest in solely because the material will be covered on the bar. I've more taken the approach that I would rather take courses that interest me because I'm paying 50k per year for an education and probably won't have the opportunity to have course selections like Georgetown's at my fingertips for a while (unless I go back for another degree at some point). Not everyone would agree with this approach, but I've found that it has made for a much less stressful law school experience (and a good GPA).

Don't forget: Georgetown also allows you to elect to take 7 credits of your coursework as pass/fail (as opposed to a letter grade). Most students use those credits to take large, hefty courses like Evidence or Federal Courts so that they can learn the material without the stress of being graded on a curve. I'm personally using mine for Evidence and Criminal Procedure.

Any large lecture classes with more generous curves? I'm going to just take 3 large lecture classes this semester because that's going to be the easiest for me, and so far I've been advised to avoid the most popular professors to avoid gunners.

scottidsntknow wrote:

doctoroflaw91 wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:Any recommendations on GPA-boosting classes?

Scott, are you looking for specific course recommendations or just general advice? Below is some general advice, but let me know if you're looking for specific courses.

In general, seminar professors tend to be far more generous with their grading than large lecture classes, where professors are more or less bound by the curve. In smaller classes, you will often have the chance to boost your grade with meaningful participation in class or small in-class projects. Many of the practicum courses follow this trajectory as well (in the one that I took this semester, most got A-s and almost everyone else got As).

A lot of people take large lecture courses that they have no interest in solely because the material will be covered on the bar. I've more taken the approach that I would rather take courses that interest me because I'm paying 50k per year for an education and probably won't have the opportunity to have course selections like Georgetown's at my fingertips for a while (unless I go back for another degree at some point). Not everyone would agree with this approach, but I've found that it has made for a much less stressful law school experience (and a good GPA).

Don't forget: Georgetown also allows you to elect to take 7 credits of your coursework as pass/fail (as opposed to a letter grade). Most students use those credits to take large, hefty courses like Evidence or Federal Courts so that they can learn the material without the stress of being graded on a curve. I'm personally using mine for Evidence and Criminal Procedure.

Any large lecture classes with more generous curves? I'm going to just take 3 large lecture classes this semester because that's going to be the easiest for me, and so far I've been advised to avoid the most popular professors to avoid gunners.

I actually haven't taken many large lectures, with the exception of ConLaw and Professional Responsibility. Let me poke around when I get from my business trip this weekend and see if I can find some information that a 3L gave me about the curves in various classes.

Thanks! And no rush, we can't register yet anyways.

And I love the pass/fail option but I'm definitely gonna save it for now.

scottidsntknow wrote:Thanks! And no rush, we can't register yet anyways.

And I love the pass/fail option but I'm definitely gonna save it for now.

Yeah, I think that's relatively typical. I saved all of mine for 3L so that during 3L fall, I can have one P/F class, one practicum, one externship, and an easy seminar. Then spring is clinic and another P/F class. Always good to prepare thyself for the wrath of 3LOL.