Where should I apply for transfer? (top 20% from Tier 2)

[MiamiLaw]

My last semester grades put me around the top 20% mark now, but I have no idea how well I will do this semester, although I hope to do better. I like my school but I want to try to transfer to a more national school that will give me more options. I don't really care that much about geographic location that much, I just want it to be a big enough step up from where I am now. But i have no idea how to figure out where to apply because I have no idea what my grades will be this semester after finals.  I was thinking of applying to basically every other school up until top 25 but I am really not sure. Realistically if I am just looking for a bite from a "top school", how should I figure out which ones to apply to?

[Bulldog86]

I think school past 25 or so are mostly regional schools... would the bump in "ranking" really be worth transferring if you like where you are now?

I know you don't care about geography, but in this case, I think it matters a lot...

[NYC2L]

You need not and should not worry about where to apply until after you receive your spring grades. Every school has, for all intents and purposes, the same transfer requirements: 1-3 letters of rec, personal statement, law school transcript, undergrad transcript and resume. What you should do now is focus entirely on finals. Once they are done, contact some professors and ask for letters, contact your undergrad, etc. Deadlines do not begin until mid-June and many are not until mid-July. When you receive your grades you can then determine where to apply.

If you finish top 1-5%, transferring is easily worth it because you have a good shot at the T14, top 5-10% and you have a shot at T25, any lower than that and you have to consider the value of transferring, like Bulldog86 said, to other regional schools. Notwithstanding your class rank, you can still send out applications to any schools you want. Besides the application fee, no harm can come from that.

Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transferapps/ It is a useful resource for transfers.

[Bob23]

I hate to burst your bubble, but you'll likely have to do better than top 20% to get into a "National" school. That said, I think the general consensus is the Top 14, 20, MAYBE 25 are the "national" schools. Most of those schools (especially the T14) will be looking for top 10% or better. The more "Transfer" friendly schools are considered to be GULC, WUSTL and a few more that I can't recall. Check out the link below, there is a database with lots of data concerning who got into what school from what school and with what grades.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transferapps/

[Bob Loblaw Esq.]

top 20% coming out of miami (im assuming from your name), i would apply to t25ish schools, but i dont think 20% will generally get you into a t20,and i dont think its worth it to transfer to a t30ish and lower.  when i applied as a transfer, i was around 15-20% and i got into two t25s and a handful of other t1s. 

[lrb2010]

I think you might be a good candidate for WUSTL, provided your rank doesn't slip too much this semester. I got in EA with a similar rank from a T2, so it might be worth a try. Good luck.

[MiamiLaw]

Im gonna be sending out apps in a few weeks, but would it be worth it to transfer out of a school i really like, if i only got into BC/BU on no scholarship?  Basically, if I got into BC/BU, would I be in a better position there at any rank, than I would be here?  I would only transfer to BC/BU if I was basically guarunteed to get a big firm job in Boston or NYC.  If not, I can't really think of any reason to leave a law school that I really like, with people that I also really like?

[plex]

From what I have read, most transfer students don't place at the bottom of the class wherever they transfer, they usually are at least average, the law doesn't change that much, and required 1L classes at most law schools are all taught by professors from T14s. Obviously, the law students are going to be smarter on average, but the difference isn't going to be night and day. The biggest skill that gets good law grades is hard work/ability to study.

So you really should be asking, would an average student at a t25 have much better prospects than top 15-20% at a purely regional school.

[MiamiLaw]

So you really should be asking, would an average student at a t25 have much better prospects than top 15-20% at a purely regional school.

Alright, so what would be the general idea on that? That seems to sum up everything I wanted to know in a clear, short question.

[roygbiv]

http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/students/index.php/topic,3006802.msg3053932.html#msg3053932