Boston University v. Boston College

[lawsuperstar]

I have just been accepted as a transfer student to both Boston College and Boston University.  I finished my first year at Suffolk as #4 in my class.  I have been offered a scholarship from Suffolk, probably to entice me to stay, but I really think that I need to transfer out.  I have insignificant personal reasons for wanting to go to BC, but would be happy at either BC or BU.  I would like some advice in deciding between BC and BU.  I know that BU (20) is higher ranked than BC (27), but does that really matter?  Also, am I making a mistake by not accepting the scholarship and remaining in the top 5% of my class at Suffolk?  Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[dft]

I can't give really give you much advice on this, since I am a soon to be 1L. However, your predicament in interesting, since I will be starting at Suffolk Law month.  All I can say is this -- I would love to be in your shoes at the end of 1L.

[lawgirl21]

I have done a lot of research on this (soon to be 1L at Suffolk) and really the question is what do you want to do after law school??  If you want to stay in Boston and become a public defender/judge/work in public policy; then Suffolk is a good choice, especially given the fact that they are giving you a scholarship.  All in all though, BC and BU are going to open more doors than Suffolk (at least from what I have been told)..

How was your transfer experience??  I am thinking about possibly transferring from Suffolk to either of the two places you were accepted to.  What do you think helped you get into BC/BU.. Did you have strong soft factors?  Who did you get letters of rec from?

[dft]

How was your transfer experience??  I am thinking about possibly transferring from Suffolk to either of the two places you were accepted to.  What do you think helped you get into BC/BU.. Did you have strong soft factors?  Who did you get letters of rec from?

I think what "helped [him/her] get into BC/BU" was the fact that he/she was placed fourth in the class.  That puts him/her in the top 1% of the class --  I don't think he or she really needs much else than that!

[dft]

Lawsuperstar -

First, how did you manage to do so well at Suffolk?  Did you use mostly commercial study aides (e.g. E&E and Gilberts) or did you mostly stick to briefing and reading the cases?  Can you offer any other advice on how to succeed at Suffolk?

Second (like LawGirl), I have done a lot of research on the schools in Boston and I will try to answer your questions:

I honestly think that you are going to have ample great job opportunities coming out of Suffolk with your class rank, and I'm not sure how much transferring to BC or BU will increase these opportunities.  If you're in the top 1% at Suffolk, it could be risky to transfer to BC/BU, because if you end up in the bottom 50 %, for example, you could be worse off.  However, since you were able to do extremely well at Suffolk, I'm sure you'll do well at BC/BU.  I'd say that you'd have to place in the top 25% at BC or BU to increase your current potential for employment opportunities.

It also depends what you want to do and where you want to practice after graduation.  I'm assuming you want to go into BigLaw, since you want to transfer to BC/BU.  If you want to practice BigLaw in Boston, you'll be fine at any of these three schools. However, if you want to practice outside of Boston (DC, NY, anywhere else), don't stay at Suffolk -- go to BC/BU.

You also want to think about whether you want to leave all the people you have met at Suffolk (friends, etc.) because you'll have to meet new people all over again at BC/BU.

That said, if I were in your shoes, I would probably go to BC.  Despite the rankings (BU - 20, BC - 27), BC is still king in Boston (I plan on practicing in Boston).  It's second only to Harvard, and most of Harvard's grads do not practice in Boston.

If you're looking to practice outside of Boston, then BU would probably be a better choice than BC (BU places better nationally).  These differences in reputation in Boston vs. the rest of the country are not huge, however. Therefore, it is also important to look at other aspects of the schools, such as location, facilities, academic programs, etc.  I like BC's location better, because it's not right in the middle of the city.  If you like the city more, go to BU.  I also like BC's facilities.  BU's are supposed to be pretty dumpy.

I have just been accepted as a transfer student to both Boston College and Boston University.  I finished my first year at Suffolk as #4 in my class.  I have been offered a scholarship from Suffolk, probably to entice me to stay, but I really think that I need to transfer out.  I have insignificant personal reasons for wanting to go to BC, but would be happy at either BC or BU.  I would like some advice in deciding between BC and BU.  I know that BU (20) is higher ranked than BC (27), but does that really matter?  Also, am I making a mistake by not accepting the scholarship and remaining in the top 5% of my class at Suffolk?  Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[lawsuperstar]

Here is some advice on doing well at Suffolk and law school in general.  My key to success was to develop a routine and stick with it was much as possible.  I went to the library directly after class, I studied until about 7 or 8 at night without many interruptions.  I didn't deviate from this routine much at all.  For many of my other classmates I would hear that they were in the library until midnight every night.  That to me is nuts.  The reason that they were there that late was because everytime I was going to my locker to get more books or take a short break I would see them chatting with other people and not focusing on what they needed to do to prepare for classes.  For some people this is not the ideal routine, but the key to success is figuring out what works best for you and sticking to it.  I also did not really become best friends with anyone at school.  I found that people who had really good friends at school were always focused on school and even when they were "relaxing" they were still discussing the law.  What I did was mainly stick to myself and maintain friendships outside of law school.  I always made time each day to do something that was completely unrelated to school like watch TV or go to the gym.  You have to do those things to stay sane.  On the weekends I would focus on outlining.  I suggest you start outlining about 3 or 4 weeks into classes and try to update your outline each weekend, like Contracts and Torts on Sat and Property and Civ Pro on Sun.  I used my class notes to start the outlines and filled in the gaps with Emmanuels.  Closer to exam time I would take every practice exam I could get my hands on and use E&E questions to make sure I knew all of the big stuff.  Another piece of advice, don't get wrapped up in study groups.  They may work for some people, but I found that study groups were not that helpful and always turn into a gossip session.  Some people learn well in a group, I don't and found it to be a waste of time.  THe only time study groups were useful for me was close to exam time when I would get together with a small group and go over spotting issues on past exams.  For what it's worth this is how I succeeded in law school, but the trick is finding what works best for you.
As for getting a job in the top 5% of the class at Suffolk I have talked with many people and they have told me that the Boston market is very competitive because there are so many law schools.  The top students at Suffolk compete with the bottom 50% of the students at BU and BC.  With that being said Suffolk is still a great school and everyone will get a job, but it is just more difficult.

[yale05]

First of all, congratulations! That is an amazing story and I am happy that you took the time to tell us all. As for BC/BU, I chose BC over BU due to its superiority in the Boston market. I would definitly transfer to BC if I were you. You should be proud of everything that you have accomplished, and continue as you are at BC and you will be putting yourself in a great position for your future.

[charseven]

In Boston, Boston College's Law school is considered superior, in case youre interested in the Boston job market. Over all I dont think its going to matter at all where you go unless youre going to have an easier time at one school than the other. Time for eeny-miney-moe.

[jdohno]

First of all, congratulations. And no you are not making mistake in turning down the scholarship to go to a higher ranked law school. You want a school that will put you in a better position when it comes to employment. I don't think Suffolk can give you that. You do have to keep your grades up for your last two years at BC. If you PM me, I will email you an article from a woman who transferred from Cooley to Boston College. Boston College is known for accepting transfers from T3 and T4 schools. They have accepted a few Cooley transfers in the last couple of years. I think it's great that Boston College does that. Look at both schools. Does one school have what you need over the other? Have you looked at what your housing situation will be at Boston College? I agree with the other people about going to Boston College. Either way, you are in a great position. Congrats again.

I have just been accepted as a transfer student to both Boston College and Boston University.  I finished my first year at Suffolk as #4 in my class.  I have been offered a scholarship from Suffolk, probably to entice me to stay, but I really think that I need to transfer out.  I have insignificant personal reasons for wanting to go to BC, but would be happy at either BC or BU.  I would like some advice in deciding between BC and BU.  I know that BU (20) is higher ranked than BC (27), but does that really matter?  Also, am I making a mistake by not accepting the scholarship and remaining in the top 5% of my class at Suffolk?  Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[amg]

Hey lawsuperstar,
I am applying to tranfer to Suffolk. Do you know how many people left after the first year? ballpark?