Transferring from PT to FT

[non parata est]

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick question about transferring from a school's PT program to their FT program.  At GULC, for example, I hear you can transfer after your first year if you take summer classes.  Wouldn't this bring with it some significant disadvantages, such as not being able to snag a SA position (or any other substantial work) for what's essentially the summer after 1L year?  If you do miss out on substantial work your first summer, how much of a blow is that to future job prospects (especially prosecutorial/public interest/government work)?

Thanks!

[Harsh Reality]

For BigLaw, having significant legal experience for the 1L summer is critical because everyone they interview will have a some substantial legal work experience.  Their order of preference goes from judicial internship with district court, DOJ, and then judicial internship with state judge.

If you have to go school for the summer because you are in a PT program, you better make sure you get a 4.0 GPA to even the playing field.  Being in a PT program, you are expected to have a higher GPA because you have more time to study. 

For public interest jobs, working 1L summer is important but not as critical for a law firm job.  But even public interest jobs are highly competitive.  If you go in with the mindset that everything is competitive, and it is, then you'll capitalize on every opportunity and leave nothing to chance.  Every missed opportunity is another door closed.

[nealric]

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick question about transferring from a school's PT program to their FT program.  At GULC, for example, I hear you can transfer after your first year if you take summer classes.  Wouldn't this bring with it some significant disadvantages, such as not being able to snag a SA position (or any other substantial work) for what's essentially the summer after 1L year?  If you do miss out on substantial work your first summer, how much of a blow is that to future job prospects (especially prosecutorial/public interest/government work)?

Thanks!

1. Yes, you can transfer (I just did!). In theory they hold a lottery if too many people want to transfer, but that has never happened as far as I know.
2. I know a few people who got big firm positions after one L and who are transferring. Since there are evening summer classes you can still work. Alternatively, you can do the 1 month London program and blitz the summer courses and still have time to be a summer associate.
3. Keep in mind that summer associate positions are VERY hard to come by. All but one person I know with a 1L summer associate position is a URM (Firms aggresively recruit URMs for 1L, many will ONLY hire URMs for 1L)
4. You don't need to do anything all that fancy 1L summer. I am doing a research assistant position that I can tellecommute to from london.
5. If you want to be an assistant DA, it shouldn't be tough at all coming from GULC (As long as your heart is not set on prestigeous DA offices like the NY DA office)

For BigLaw, having significant legal experience for the 1L summer is critical because everyone they interview will have a some substantial legal work experience.  Their order of preference goes from judicial internship with district court, DOJ, and then judicial internship with state judge.

If you have to go school for the summer because you are in a PT program, you better make sure you get a 4.0 GPA to even the playing field.  Being in a PT program, you are expected to have a higher GPA because you have more time to study. 

I'm sorry but this advice is incorrect (at least when it comes to GULC).

1. Big law firms mostly just care about grades. Most people don't have much substantive legal experience to speak of. Watching trials for some judge isn't going to make you any more useful to a firm. You need to do something law related, but it dosen't need to be anything special.
2. Law firms have the same grade cutoffs for PT and FT. If you transfer, they don't even know you were PT if you don't feel like telling them.

[SCK2008]

Tag.

[non parata est]

Very informative, thank you!

[laplacian]

If you have to go school for the summer because you are in a PT program, you better make sure you get a 4.0 GPA to even the playing field.  Being in a PT program, you are expected to have a higher GPA because you have more time to study. 

I beg to differ.  If you have a real job while in the PT program (like you're theoretically supposed to), you would definitely have less time to study than your full-time peers.

[non parata est]

You do have to start paying on your UG loans, though, don't you?

Besides that, I'm surprised more GULC hopefuls don't take this route.

[nealric]

I would imagine you could get some kind of forebarance on your UG loans. Alternatively, you are allowed to borrow the full cost of tuition + housing even as a PT studennt. You could then use your job to pay off the UG loans.

I think the only reason more GULC hopefuls don't go the PT route is because they don't know about it. Usually people who apply PT & FT are treated as FT applicants, so you really have to check PT only on your application. Bear in mind that the admissions rate for the PT and FT programs is the same. They seem to value soft factors quite a bit more in PT apps.

[SCK2008]

Mum is the word.

[non parata est]

Usually people who apply PT & FT are treated as FT applicants, so you really have to check PT only on your application.

Wow, I did not know that.  Would it just be unfeasible to kick FT rejects/waitlists into the PT pile?  I guess I could see that, but then why not just require people to check one or the other?