What Do I Need to Do to Transfer to Another Law School? - Part 4 of 4

Who is Eligible?

In order to apply for a transfer to another law school, you must go through the same application process that you went through to initially apply to law school.  There are some minor differences but for the most part the process is the same.  For most schools, you can use the LSAC process and fill out the transfer application (which is very similar to the original law school application) online.  You will require everything that you needed to apply to law school including a resume, a personal statement, letters of reference, transcripts and the completed application.  You must also provide your LSAT score but the schools will not place much, if any, weight on it.  The most significant factor that the schools will consider are your grades from your first year of law school.  Like everything else, the higher the better.

While most schools will want a complete picture, some are only interested in your first year grades.  For example, at New York University (NYU), the personal statement that they request is quite short and it does not have to talk about anything specific. Moreover, they do not require (or want) any letters of reference.  To contrast, Harvard, Yale and Columbia all require a comprehensive application complete with letters of reference, a resume and two page personal statements.

How Do Schools Select Who They Want?

In order to transfer to a top school, you will need top grades.  Harvard accepts around 25 transfer students a year and boasts that many transfer students could have been admitted if they applied there for their first year or are students that were waitlisted when they applied to Harvard in their first year.  You may know, Harvard’s entering class has a GPA very close to an A average and a LSAT score in the top 2%.  Yale only admits around 10 transfer students and the competition is very stiff.  In fact, many of the transfer students that were admitted to Harvard the year I was accepted were not accepted as transfer students to Yale.  (I did not apply to Yale so I will never know) 

As a rough guide, you should be in the top 10% of your class if you are applying to a top school.  This is by no means a cut-off and the number could change if you have some other compelling characteristics or you are transferring from a highly or lowly ranked school. The higher the ranking of your school, the lower your grades can be.  For example, if you are transferring from Columbia to Harvard, you could likely get away with an A- average (top 30%).  If you are transferring from Brooklyn Law School (ranked in the sixties), you will generally have to be in the top 5% of your class with other significant accomplishments. 

In addition to top grades, most of the transfer students at Harvard had a second Masters or Doctoral degrees or some other significant accomplishment.  Also,  law schools will look at other symbols of excellence such as success in Journals or Moot Court Competitions.  Moreover, work as a research or teaching assistant and participation in student groups during law school demonstrates that you can juggle classes along with other activities.  All of these accomplishments will help your application but the main thing the admitting school will look at is good old high grades.

Are There Disadvantages Associated With Transferring to A Different Law School? – Part 3 of 4.

           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.

How Much of Jump in Rankings Is Needed to Make A Transfer Worth While? – Part 2 of 4

 Can I Transfer to an Ivy League School After My First Year?

If you get great grades in your first year of law school, you could be eligible to transfer to Harvard, Yale or another top school and this is an option you should keep in mind as your first year comes to an end.  A dream of attending an Ivy League school is well within reach if you do exceptionally well in your first year.  I am living proof! The school you want to transfer to will base their decision primarily on your grades and other achievement in your first year and your LSAT score and College grades will generally not matter.

How Big Does A Jump in Rankings Have To Be To Make A Transfer Worth It?

 

Many students wonder whether or not they should transfer schools based on a small jump in rankings.  I know one student who transferred from a school ranked around 70 in New York City to a school ranked around 60 that was also in New York City.  This move made absolutely no sense to me.  I met him during the summer at Brooklyn Law School (the school he transferred to) and he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer and this was evident by more than just his school change. 

The point of this story is that you should only change schools if the jump you are going to make is going to put you in a substantially better place than you are.  I could have easily transferred to Fordham law school (which is ranked in the 30s) from Brooklyn (ranked in the 60s) but I did not even apply because I did not believe that this type of move was worth it.

The key if you decide to transfer is to make sure that the jump is significant.  As s general guide, you should jump at least 35 points in the rankings and higher if you can.  Also, the move should move you from one tier to another or from a first tier school to a top 5 school.  I know students who moved from Brooklyn law school to schools ranked 20-30 and they had a tough time during the on campus interview process and did not substantially benefit from the transfer.

Are There Disadvantages Associated With Transferring?

While rankings are important, you should not change schools for a slight improvement in ranking.  This is primarily because some of the disadvantages of transferring will outweigh any minor benefit.  For example, when you start law school, you will be assigned to a section along with around 80 other students.  Everyone in your section will have the same classes and you will get to know them quite well.  You will all be going through the exact same experience and as a result you will form quite strong bonds and networks. These bonds and networks may result in lifelong friendships, business contacts and even marriage.  Do not underestimate the importance of these connections.  If you transfer, there is a substantial risk that you will lose some or all of these connections.  Moreover, strong bonds have already been formed at the school you will go to and it may be hard to establish similar connections.  Additional negative aspects of transferring to another law school will be discussed in a future post.

Should I Transfer Law Schools After My First Year? - Part 1 of 4

            After you have completed one year of law school, you will be eligible to transfer to another law school.  If you transfer after your first year, you will get the degree from the new law school that you go to instead of your old school.  If you transfer after your second year, you will get the degree from the school that you went to for the first two years.  I attended Brooklyn Law School for my first year and then transferred to Harvard Law School.  As such, I received a law degree from Harvard Law School that did not indicate that I went to Brooklyn Law School for my first year.

There are two primary reasons for transferring.  First, people transfer because they have a personal change in their lives such as a spouse that gets relocated to a different city.  The second reason that students transfer is to “upgrade” schools.  This upgrade is done because a law school’s ranking is very important and students will often try to move from a second, third or fourth tier school to a first tier school. (or move from top tier school to an even “better” top tier school)  For your reference, here are the school rankings.  www.top-law-schools.com/rankings.  Moving from tier 2 to tier 1 was what I did when I moved from a school with a rank in the mid sixties to Harvard Law School, ranked number 2. 

Many students attempt to transfer to a top school and this can generally be a smart move as a top school will afford you more opportunity. This is especially the case in this competitive job market where many lawyers cannot find a job. There are some downsides however to transferring and these will be discussed in a subsequent post.  A move is especially advantageous if you upgrade to a top 5 school from a second tier school or make a significant jump in rankings (greater than 35 points).  For those of you in third or fourth tier schools, transfer is something to consider but generally speaking it is very difficult to transfer to a top 5 school. When I transferred to Harvard, of the 25 or so students that transferred there, there were only two or three other students that went to second tier schools (all others went to first tier schools) and none came from third or fourth tier schools. The next blog post will deal a bit more with how much of a jump you should make to make a transfer worth your while.