Top Law Schools

Specifically, transferring from BU to GW after 1L. If someone wanted to do this and had performed reasonably well during his or her 1L year, how likely is the transfer to happen without major issue? Is there any reason to think that this would be a difficult maneuver?

Thanks.

I suppose it would depend on if GW considers BU to be a peer institution. I would be inclined to think they would but I'm purely speculating. I think if you were in the top 50% and put together a strong application it shouldn't be terribly difficult.

Why transfer? I would say the BU is the superior school and the markets are very comparable, unless you are looking at working in politics/policy/government.

I think the better the reason for the lateral transfer, the better your chances are. Class rank requirement is top half, at least, but probably closer to top third, especially if you are lateraling between two very good schools.

The common (and probably accurate) thought is how good of a school you go to and how well you do their will determine whether or not you can transfer, so not many other factors will play a significant role (however, like I said, if you have a compelling reason, like living closer to your spouse or something, then you may get a little boost).

bump - out of curiousity, what do you guys think of a xfer from like Michigan to Berkeley?

Teoeo wrote:bump - out of curiousity, what do you guys think of a xfer from like Michigan to Berkeley?

This would be a slight upgrade as Boalt is slotted at 6 and Mich at 9. Not that those few spots really matter. Again you would need to demonstrate ability (be in the upper half of the class at the least) and have a good reason to transfer as one of the other posters mentioned.

It's a bit different situation than a lateral BU to GW transfer but I think some of the same conventions can apply to both situations.