There are several factors that one should consider when deciding whether or not to transfer if your desire to transfer is based on an attempt to upgrade schools. A higher rank does not always mean better and here are few things to consider.
You Will Lose Many of the Important Connections You Made in Your First Year
As noted in my last blog post, there is a substantial risk that you will lose some or all of the important connections that you will make in your first year. This includes both students and professors. Moreover, strong bonds have already been formed at the school you will go to and it may be hard to establish similar connections.
You May be Considered an Outsider at Your New School
As a transfer student, you will always be considered one step below the people that started at that school from the beginning. This is particularly the case if you come from a lower ranked school.
For example, one day after class, a Professor at Harvard took some students for drinks. When he found out I was a transfer student and that I came from Brooklyn Law School (ranked in the 60s), he asked me if the other transfer students looked down on me because I came from a second tier school. (Most of the transfer students came from other first tier schools ranked between 15 and 30). If he thought that other transfer students would look down on me, you can imagine what he thought (or what some other students at Harvard thought/think) about transfers. This is not a reason not to transfer but it is something to consider. I became accustomed to the facial expressions of other students and professors when I told them I transferred. In fact, after my second year, I intentionally did not mention I was a transfer student unless explicitly asked.
Your Grades May Fall & You May Not Be Eligible For Latin Honor Awards
People who get into top schools know how to take exams very well. As such, you will find that the ability to get great grades when you transfer is more difficult. This of course depends on which school you are coming from as there is stiff competition in many top tier schools. Generally speaking, if you transfer your grades will decrease and you will not be at the top of the class. This is especially the case if you are transferring from a second tier school. Do not get me wrong, it is quite possible to do very well at the new school and some end up in the top 10% or top 30%. That being said, most transfer students were in the top 1-5% of their class in the school they transferred from and some were ranked number one. As such, I am not talking about a significant drop in grades but a moderate drop. For some, this is a big deal and you should consider whether it is important to you to be at the top of the pack or within the top 20%. Do not be fooled into thinking that because you were a superstar at your old school, you will be one at the school you transfer to.
You should also investigate whether or not you will be eligible for Latin Awards when you graduate and exactly how any class ranking will apply to you. Latin Awards are the Summa (top 1%), Magna (top 10%), Cumme Laude (next 30%). Some schools do not permit transfer students to be eligible for Latin and other awards because they did not spend all three years at the Law School. Moreover, very few schools, if any, will permit the high grades that you obtained at your first Law School to count in any calculation. Depending on the law school, the Latin awards or class ranking will be very important and it may not be obvious to employers that you were ineligible. Instead, all that they will see is that you were not in the top 40% and did not receive any awards. While ranking is not as important at a top school like Harvard or Yale, if you are transferring to a school that is say number 20 or 30, falling within the top rank levels of your class will be very important.
You May Move to Being A Small Fish in a Big Pond if You Transfer
Depending on the size of your school, as a top student you really stand out. For example, after my first semester when I scored over a 4.0 GPA, the Dean of Student Affairs at Brooklyn Law School called me into her office to discuss my progress. She was very pleasant and told me that she would do everything in her power to assist me. Also, as a top student, I was offered a scholarship in my second year and it was very clear to me that the eyes of the administration were focused on me.
When I transferred to Harvard, I was one of a class of 550 (plus another 100 LLM students) and I was clearly an outsider. I had moved from a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in an ocean. This was not just based on grades but also on the size of Brooklyn Law School and their ability to focus individual attention on top students. Moreover, many students at Harvard were very well connected (sons of Judges and Senators) so standing out was even more difficult.
While none of the above mentioned items should stop you from transferring, you should consider them to assess whether a transfer is right for you. The final post in this series will deal with what you have to do to transfer.
