UMich to HYS?

[bdiz]

Hey all!

I'll be attending Michigan this year as a 1L, and I am very excited.  However, I would like to work in the Denver area after graduation, while keeping the possibility of clerking or teaching as open options.  So, assuming decent grades during my 1L, I intend to transfer to a top-top school in order to make these goals more possible.  I realize that Michigan is a great school, but it seems that the HYS trio trump all when it comes to opening doors throughout one's career (grades, accolades, and "connections" being equal). 

I am wondering if any of you have any experience, first-hand or otherwise, with students who were able to transfer successfully from a school of about Michigan's caliber to either Harvard, Yale, or Stanford.  Do they even consider students from such schools as possible transfers? or are they looking for exclusively "le creme de la creme" from schools like NYU, Columbia, or Chicago?

Any insight is appreciated!

bjtnj  

[dashrashi]

Don't come to HLS. It...wouldn't be a good fit for you. Alternatively, defer a year, and then try to transfer after 1L. I'll be gone by then.

[Kirk Lazarus]

If you're 1st in your class at Mich you might be able to transfer to YLS.

[NeverTrustKlingons]

It can happen.

But it's also pretty ridiculous to be thinking about this -- you are at a T14 (in fact, T10) school that will open just about any door you want.  You will be competitive with HYS kids, and if you have notably superior credentials you will beat them out for any given position.  UMich hasn't planted a Supreme Court Justice yet, but they've had clerks there (right?) and there's no reason it can't happen.

In a very select few circles there may be some "good old boys" mentality about only hiring from HYS, but query whether you actually would want to work in that type of setting anyway. 

Of course you will try your best and you can certainly put those transfer applications in, but it's not like you're in a situation where transferring should be anywhere near the top of your list of priorities (different story if you were a bright person entering a third or fourth-tier school, for example).

[intel]

If you're 1st in your class at Mich you might be able to transfer to YLS.

You seem to be giving YLS too much credit, or Mich not enough. 1st in class at Mich will be able to transfer to YLS 100% of the time. I know people who've transferred from schools ranked in the 30s and 40s to Yale who were not even first.

[Kirk Lazarus]

If you're 1st in your class at Mich you might be able to transfer to YLS.

You seem to be giving YLS too much credit, or Mich not enough. 1st in class at Mich will be able to transfer to YLS 100% of the time. I know people who've transferred from schools ranked in the 30s and 40s to Yale who were not even first.

name one.

[OldCraig]

That's nothing, I know people who've turned Yale down to go to other top 14's that shall remain nameless - Why? - They were working class and proud of it.

[SCOTUS]

Yale Law actually has only two more justices than Michigan Law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Law_Schools_by_United_States_Supreme_Court_Justices_trained#Three_or_more_Justices

Also, According to the Cicolli study, has the best placement record in the Rocky Mountain region.

http://www.autoadmit.com/studies/ciolli/ciolli.final.pdf (page 30)

Finally, don't under estimate your fellow students. You may not even do well enough to transfer to NYU, much less Harvard.

[Visual Dictionary]

If you do well enough at any of these schools to be able to transfer to another one, then you're basically set.  The sole valid reasons are: 1. personal (family) 2. academia (in which you would be Yale or bust.  even HLS's academic placement doesn't really justify a transfer if you're already at a T10).

[justuskuhn]

If you're 1st in your class at Mich you might be able to transfer to YLS.

You seem to be giving YLS too much credit, or Mich not enough. 1st in class at Mich will be able to transfer to YLS 100% of the time. I know people who've transferred from schools ranked in the 30s and 40s to Yale who were not even first.

name one.

Check out the Yahoo Transfer Apps website.  There is a person accepted to Yale from George Mason (38).  That person was first in their class however.  There is another person from a "t12" (I'm assuming Duke or Cornell) that got into Yale as a transfer, with a good GPA(3.85) but they don't note that they were #1 in their class.  Clearly transferring to Yale is hard as hell, but certainly not impossible for someone near the top of their class at Michigan, not necessarily #1.