GULC Status Checker -- Anyone Go Decision?

[MDS26]

My status is "Decision" now too.  I know it's all speculation but now I'm thinking seriously about what to do.  I'm curious--and i'm sure this has all been said on another thread, but is there something to be said about staying at your current school with a top 5% rank--or even higher.  I'm lower tier two (in the 80's), and would love to hear any feedback on the pros and cons.  Also, what you all think the fall recruiting is like for transfers at G-Town, considering there would likely be around 100 of us.

Thanks

[GoGoPogo]

My status is "Decision" now too.  I know it's all speculation but now I'm thinking seriously about what to do.  I'm curious--and i'm sure this has all been said on another thread, but is there something to be said about staying at your current school with a top 5% rank--or even higher.  I'm lower tier two (in the 80's), and would love to hear any feedback on the pros and cons.  Also, what you all think the fall recruiting is like for transfers at G-Town, considering there would likely be around 100 of us.

Thanks

From the lower tier 2, I would stay at your current school with that rank.

I'm in the same position, applied to GULC, and am awaiting decision. If I make the same rank for this semester, I'll be in the top 5-10% of the class AND will be able to grade onto law review. I think top 10-15% + LR at any tier1/2 school is MUCH better than being a transfer student at GULC. I applied only as a safety in case I get bad grades this semester.

Basically, with that rank you can have your pick of firms. Law review only sweetens the deal.

At GULC, you're not ranked and don't have any grades for the Fall OCI. I hear they kind of use your old rank and then subtract a bunch. So if you're top 10% at your old school, employers treat you like you were top 20-25% at GULC for hiring purposes. Not a bad place to be, but top 10% is a great place at any school.

At your school you probably already have housing set up, friends, and know profs. Thus, you can get good recommendations if you decide to clerk (and you will be able to clerk with that rank at a T1/T2).

Think long and hard about moving from a great position at a tier 2 to starting all over at a new school, even one ranked as GULC is. As for me, if my grades tank this semester (unlikely), I'll take my acceptance to GULC. If they stay the same, I'm staying put.

However, I would transfer to NYU/Columbia with my rank, just not worth it for GULC.

That's my two cents.

[Lawbster]

As for whether you should transfer, just think about it and make the best decision. Judging from transferapps, people do okay as a GTown transfer, but not as well as people who started at the school. I see it more as a safety against poor grades than anything, or a chance to move up from a tier 3/4. Check your 1L gpa once exams are finished, if you're top 10% think hard before moving your life to another school, especially if that school is in another city. I can understand people moving from a DC T3/4 school, maybe even T2. However, I think you'd be a fool to transfer from GW to GTown. Or top 10/15% at American to GTown. That's silly and I think the fact that you're giving up so much to move across town shows how much you value "prestige," as if GTown is a "prestigious" school.

If you are from out of the area and have a legit reason for going to GTown, do so. Don't think for a second though that you'll have wildly better employment opportunities at GTown over a great rank at your T1/2 school. I have to laugh at these people on this thread who are top 2-3% at a T30 considering a GTown transfer. For those cases especially, transferring is a bad move unless there is a real need to be in DC.

[worrfreak]

I think there is some credence to that line of thinking, depending on your ambitions.  If your dream is to come out of law school, get a biglaw job, make partner, etc., then top 5% at a decent regional school is probably sufficient for that result.  However, if you want to clerk at the federal level, you're going to be in a better place coming out of GULC than most any T2 school.  The same chambers that will interview Top 10-15% GULC might only interview the top 5 students at any given T2 (ballpark figures so don't call me out of my numbers).  Generally transfers do quite well grade-wise at their new schools and you'll have the benefit of a softer 2L curve to set your rank for clerkship applications in the Fall of 3L.  Further, on the issue of biglaw, there is something to be said for an OCI with 500+ employers vs. an OCI with <200 (e.g., my big city T1).  Finally, if you have any inkling that you might not want to stick around the region of your T2, you might be SOL.  At a school like GULC, you're credentials will travel much better than any T2.

[Bob23]

I was hesitant to even apply to Georgetown from my Chicago T4 where I'm in the top 3%, but I came to the conclusion that it would be short-sighted not to do so. While I have little to no desire to leave Chicago, the career opportunities that Georgetown can offer over the T4 here (or even transferring to a local T2) are hard to look past. Even though I'm giving up ~$10k/year in scholarships, it would seem penny wise and dollar foolish to not take a shot at Georgetown. My current school lists 37 employers on the NALP OCI search. Georgetown lists over 500. It's not a "hard" decision in that sense. However, If I was already at a higher ranked school, it becomes questionable whether or not there is any real advantage in making the move and up-ending your life and education. Just my 2 cents.

[MDS26]

Thank you everyone.

All very helpful posts.  It is definitely a tough decision--one thing I notice, a lot of established professionals (lawyers and otherwise) that I've spoken with say I would be foolish not to attend if I get in.
I guess it's just a decision we can only make for ourselves, tailored to our own situations.

thanks again

[mike4488]

Thank you everyone.

All very helpful posts.  It is definitely a tough decision--one thing I notice, a lot of established professionals (lawyers and otherwise) that I've spoken with say I would be foolish not to attend if I get in.
I guess it's just a decision we can only make for ourselves, tailored to our own situations.

thanks again

I've repeatedly been told this as well.  I mean I already have a 2L big law job lined up and I am still transferring if I get in.

[FreddyPharkas]

I don't presume to tell people what to do on here, but for most people who have the numbers to get into gulc, it's stupid to transfer.

Instead of looking at info on here, check with your career services about what firms require what gpas. If you can easily get the firm you want, don't leave. 500+ employers doesn't mean much when you can only really accept one offer in the end. More variety I suppose, but that doesn't mean too much in the end.

chicagolaw: Just transfer into NU, you should be a shoe-in and would be at a better school than gulc and MUCH more beautiful. gulc is a literal toilet, I visited when I got in. All the homeless people on campus and dingy carpets scared me off.

[Bob23]

Going to Northwestern was my first thought, however the reality is that it seems that they simply don't accept transfers from my school. The TransferStudents database (on Yahoo) shows multiple students from my school, with equal or better numbers getting consistently rejected from NU. I'd go there in a heartbeat if I thought it was possible. If I don't get into GULC, I'll thrown them an app, but I'm simply not confident that I have any chance of getting in there.

[mike4488]

Anybody close to D.C. check their mail yet today?