For all those receiving good news...

[Gab092]

How did you do it? I know it is not the recommended way to go, but I will be starting law school in a few weeks with the intent of transferring.

What I want to know from all of you awesome transfer students is how the hell did you do it and what advice would you give to someone that wants to do the same thing?? I know study hard and work like crazy is the way to go, but anything specifically? Did you just absolutely commit yourself 100% to being at the top of your class? Did you outline every single day, read all the cases, how about briefing?

[xferlawstudent]

I went from a T4 to a T1.  Go into law school intent to do well, whether you want to transfer or not.  Grades do matter much more than in college or in other graduate programs.

I've heard great things about LEEWS, but I cannot personally speak about it.  I've heard so many good things however I would reccomend at least looking into it.

I kept up with my work, did the reading every night, NEVER missed a class lecture, read some commercial outlines (but didn't rely on them) and outlined on my own for every class.  I studied hypos in groups, but outlined on my own.

Any time there was an exam tips session or something like that put on by academic services, I would attend.

There's really no magic formula, just studied hard, attend class, always be prepared for class lecture, and study for tests.  I think many of those who go wrong either don't study enough hypos and/or they don't know exam skills.  Make sure to include those in your preparation for fall exams.

Good luck

[k2217]

Take good notes during class, write down the hypos the professor gives (you'd be surprised what shows up on an exam).  I also took my own notes while reading the casebooks, and just added the prof's in during class.

As for outlining, I'd begin about 2 or 3 weeks before exams started.  Find outlines from students who had the same prof (use them as a guide - but still make your own.  Making an outline is half of your studying.

The other half - Go over old exams with a study group (cannot stress this enough)..use your peers to tweak your knowledge of the course, not to supply it.  Write out answers, or just make notes and then hash it out with a group.  Learn to break down exam questions, and to answer them giving several alternatives, and remember to argue both sides!!

If you want some reading to do for the next month, I suggest picking up "Getting to Maybe - How to succeed on Law School Exams".  It explains the whole "ping pong" method of answering an exam question.  I didn't read it til after 1st semester, but it seemed to be right on track with how I was taking exams.

(By the way - transferring to Michigan this fall, so it's doable!)

[PooP]

You should know that the chance of you transferring to a t-14, if you are in a T-2, is less than 10%. You should also know that this percentage is related to the rank of your law school. In other words, the more your school sucks, the more likely it is that you won't be able to transfer. That being said, if you are looking to transfer to a school outside the T-14, then your task if much more doable.

[ploki]

I was taken off the wait-list at a low T-2 and had no expectations of transferring.  I read every case, attended all but 3 lectures, and got involved in every class discussion.  I placed #2 in my class and so far have been accepted at 3 T-14 schools.

Some people have recommended outlining, study groups, and briefs.  All of those things are needed.  What I found to work best for me was class participation.  I did not wait to be called on.  If you prepare day in and day out then you will have no problem.  If you are hesitant or afraid to participate then you know you are either shy or have not prepared the material adequately.  I did not take notes.  I was too busy listening to what everyone else had to say and following the discussion.  Others typed every word the professor ever said and that may have worked for them.

For some people law school will just click from day one and for others it will require a lot of hard work.  I have seen people with large scholarships struggling to keep afloat and people off the wait-list sailing through the year with relative ease.  You have one shot at your first year so regardless of transferring do your best because employers are going to want to see your grades.  Finally, be happy with the school you will be attending because chances are you will be there for three years and that is not a bad thing.  Get to know your classmates and professors and I am sure you will have a great time.  Don't let transferring expectations ruin your first year.  The last thing you need is added pressure.  Good luck! 

[dk24]

I was originally denied at my T4 school, then waitlisted, then finally accepted.  I'm transferring to a T25 school, but I did work very hard.  I only took off one day, from day 1...which I believe was a bit overboard.  All this advice above is good advice, but I'd caution you about study groups.  People veiw things very differently and to me, studying with others was just confusing.  In a group, everyone tries to persuade the other that they're right, so you could be easily misled by another member.  Plus, most are just BS sessions anyway.  Law school is high drama and group time = social time.

[k2217]

I was originally denied at my T4 school, then waitlisted, then finally accepted.  I'm transferring to a T25 school, but I did work very hard.  I only took off one day, from day 1...which I believe was a bit overboard.  All this advice above is good advice, but I'd caution you about study groups.  People veiw things very differently and to me, studying with others was just confusing.  In a group, everyone tries to persuade the other that they're right, so you could be easily misled by another member.  Plus, most are just BS sessions anyway.  Law school is high drama and group time = social time.

I am not a big fan of "all semester long" study groups either cuz they do tend to turn into social hour, however the only time I found it useful was about a few days before each exam, when we'd get in a group (of 4 or 5) read an old exam, think about our answers to ourselves and then discuss.  These group sessions were pretty focused, seeing as the exam was only 3 days away.

And I didn't use this time to learn the material (by that point, I had already done that), what I did was use this time to see how my classmates approached problems, to see if they had thought of something I didn't.  I used it to hone my analytical skills.  To learn how to think in the alternative.

[captain steamship]

here is my take.
4t top 17%
really crappy lsat
3.24 UG at NYU
7 years work exp
published writing (pre-law school)
2 legal internships
board member of 1L club
moot court
honor roll
deans list
# of law schools i've gotten into one...
(the one i'm currently attending at and want to transfer out of.)
yes, i'm slightly bitter.
at 34 i gave up tons to start law school.

and no i did not apply to all t14 schools.

bottom line is there is no magic formula you may bust your ass and still not be able to get in where you want to go. my advise really want to go to law school and be able to spend 3 years at your current school because you may not be able to transfer.
good luck!

[brightline]

I definitely agree with the general advice of don't go if you won't be comfortable spending three years there and the opportunities your original school provides. Getting good grades in law school is tough and there are no guarantees.

Anyway, here's what I did. I went from a tier 2 to a T14:

Summer before law school:

6 week PLS2 prep program

First two weeks of law school:

LEEWS

Weekends:

Read canned briefs for all assigned reading for the entire week, then skimmed over cases in the casebook. I did not take any notes while reading, and just made LEEWS style briefs from canned briefs and LexisNexis case summaries.

During Class:

I'd take notes into my LEEWS style briefs, and take class notes in a separate document on my laptop. I only took class notes on stuff that mattered...not the profs opinions or political preferences and such. Mostly people take far too many notes and have lots of useless information.

Weekdays:

I would read the relevant chapter in the Examples and Explanations series for the topic we were covering in class and write out the answers to the questions. After a month or so, I starting working practice exams using the LEEWS outlining method. I would also do CALI lessons for the relevant topics we would cover in class. At the end of the week, I would update my course outlines. While doing the course outlines, if there was something I couldn't "get" from my notes, I would look it up in a commercial outline, then put my own "take" on it into my own course outline.

About six weeks before exams:

I would start working more and more practice exams, many with a study partner who also did LEEWS. More CALI lessons. I would start condensing and editing my course outlines too. A good course outline shouldn't be more than thirty five pages. You can also do a one page "checklist" of your outline with "trigger words" or mnemonics that you memorize, then recreate it during the exam. Also, I would try some timed practice exams, especially in the day or two before the real thing.


One more note:

Your best strategy will be to get the best grades you can first semester. It will be harder to get good grades second semester because you will be swamped with more work (appellate brief, looking for summer work), and the smartest students will have caught on to the "trick" of law school. If you do great the first semester and have a mediocre second semester, you can still have a solid gpa / rank at the end of second semester depending on your school's curve.


Law school is not about spending all your time poring over casebooks and briefing ad nauseum so you can impress your classmates and your profs. The only thing that matters is the exam and in most cases, merely focusing on the assigned work won't prepare you for it.

[sanaementis]

I went to Univ. of San Diego with a 166 and a 2.54 ugpa

I ended up being top 18% of my class. 3.54gpa

I got rejected at Boalt
I have not heard back from USC
I was accepted at UC Hastings
I am attending UC Davis

One note: I HATED my university before I attended. I love San Diego. I love how smart my classmates and my professors were. I hated the incompetent administration and the high tuition - and I knew about these things before I went. The fact that I didn't like where I was from day 1 motivated me to do well so I could transfer.

What I did:
Drank beers as often as possible.
Spent a lot of time with friends and family.
Never fell more than 300 pages behind in the reading.
Never missed more than 5 consecutive class meetings.
Volunteered to speak when I was prepared in hopes that I wouldn't get called on when I was unprepared.
Never brought a laptop to class - no distraction from ESPN.com = more retained from lecture.
Re-read everything a few days before the exam and hand wrote my outlines and exams.
Sat behind gals who were stacked and liked to share it with the class. (Incentive to attend classes)