Transfer from low T4 w/scholarship to T2 w/o?

[MT2014]

Just got into a T2 from a T4 as a transfer applicant and wanted to pose the question to the board of whether it not I should make the move.

Current School:

PROS:

Have a partial scholarship at my current school.

CONS:

Do not want to work in that market.  They do place some in the market I wish to work but primarly serve a different market.
Lose relationship with professors.
Lose class rank (not eligible for law review however).

Transfer School:

PROS:

Ranked (T2) which gives me a much better shot at ever teaching then current school.
Name recognition over current school.
Can write on for law review.
Located in the job market I wish to work.
Major metropolitan area.
Clinics available in field(s) of interest.
All my credits will transfer.
One of the highest ranked legal writing schools in the country (of particular importance to me).

CONS:

Costs more to attend then current school, about 10 or 20 thousand more for two years.
Cost of living higher (200 more per month).

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions?

[Hamilton]

Sounds like a no-brainer.  In the grand scheme of things, the cost increase is minimal considering 2 key facts: (1) your chances of landing a job out of the T2 are infinitely greater than out of a T4, and (2) it is in the market where you want to work.  Sounds like you are already neck deep debt-wise (not unusual considering the ridiculous cost of law school), bringing the debt over your chin a little will be more than offset by the increase in employment potential.

[kjw5029]

I went T4 to T2 last year.  Still think it was the right move.

[FalconJimmy]

I'd say go to the T2, for many reasons.

I will advise you not to hold any illusions about teaching, though.  For one thing, unless you're a diversity pick, if you aren't going to Harvard or Yale, your odds of getting a teaching post are pretty poor.  Really. 

Really.

Other than that, the T2 makes a lot of sense.

[Hamilton]

I think it depends on WHERE you want to teach.  My T4 had a Harvard grad all the way down to T4 grads.  I think the key is to get some good relevent experience under your belt. 

I'd say go to the T2, for many reasons.

I will advise you not to hold any illusions about teaching, though.  For one thing, unless you're a diversity pick, if you aren't going to Harvard or Yale, your odds of getting a teaching post are pretty poor.  Really. 

Really.

Other than that, the T2 makes a lot of sense.

[FalconJimmy]

My T4 had a Harvard grad all the way down to T4 grads.

Yes, and you will find them here and there.  However, first, are they diversity picks?  If not, when were they hired?

Heck, when I went to school, the head of the Marketing Department only had an MBA.

Times change and the ante ratchets up every single year. 

Will it be "possible"?  Yes.  So long as you're okay with incomprehensibly long odds, this should be part of your plan.

Realistically, though, it's such a remote possibility as to be a near impossibility.

[Hamilton]

FJ- good points.  I would caution about anyone going to law school with the primary goal of becoming a law school professor.  Generally there is ONE reason to go to law school - to become a practicing attorney.

[random83]

All around bad choices, but you might as well transfer, especially if the T4 is not in the market you want to work at. As mentioned earlier, you are unlikely to get a professor job as they tend to require huge qualifications. Hardly any professor at my school earned their JD outside Harvard or Yale. A handful have JDs from Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, etc. I think the lowest ranked school any of our tenured professors are from is a lower T1 school, and he was just a writing professor (easier to get usually). Lower ranked schools sometimes dip lower for professors, but even most T4s have professors from top schools. Not to mention most law professors are in the order of the coif (top 10% of their schools). Realistically, a T2 grad would have to do something phenomenol to have a shot at a tenured law professor position (adjuncts are much easier to get but they earn very little).