Admitted to Appalachian but I want to go to Uconn

[mycousinvinny13]

Average GPA(2.86) and horrible Lsat (145) has forced me to consider attending a TTTT with hopes of transferring to Uconn Law. Has anyone attending a TTTT and actually transfered to a TT school?

I am not retaking the LSAT and so far I've been admitted to Appalachian, denied at Cardozo, Quinnipiac, and wait-listed in New England law. The way my cycle has been going I do not see my self attending a TT. Most likely I can get into a TTT but with no scholly so I am thinking TTTT for scholly reasons and then transfer to TT.

All input is helpful.

Thanks.

[kjw5029]

Is the 2.86 your undergrad or 1L gpa?  Either way, I transferred T4 to T2 3 years ago.  I had a really high rank though.  Not saying you need a really high rank (though you did when I transferred because everyone in the world was going to law school), but it's certainly possible to do. 

Edit:  Just read your post a little closer (sorry).  I had a 3.0 going into law school and slightly higher LSAT.  I went to a T4 school and then worked extremely hard my first year to transfer.  I got into a bunch of T2 and a couple T1.  I wouldn't go to law school expecting to finish in the top 10% though.  90% of law students won't finish in the top 10%.  You have to work extremely hard.  If this is something you feel you are capable of accomplishing, it can be done. 

[livinglegend]

Congrats on getting into an ABA school. However, as KJW says odds are against you for transferring do NOT go to a law school if you will be disappointed staying there all three years. You need to be in the top 10-20% of the class to transfer up and 100% of 1L's at Appalachian or any ABA school are convinced they will be in the top 10%, but 100% of people will not be in the top 10% and there is a 90% chance will not be in the top 10%.

If you want to go be a lawyer in Connecticut then I would strongly encourage you to retake the LSAT and go to Quinnipac or UConn. The odds of you being in the top 10% at Appalachian are much lower than you improving your LSAT score. Opposed to spend 40,000 and a year of your life to transfer to these schools spend 100 dollars to retake the LSAT if Connetticut is where you want to be a lawyer.

If you want to be a lawyer in Virginia then Appalachian might be fine.

Good luck

[mycousinvinny13]

Thanks guys, re-taking is not an option since the February exam is tomorrow and it would be a waste to take off a whole year. I applied to St John's through their summer institute program and Seton Hall's leo program.

 

[Maintain FL 350]

Thanks guys, re-taking is not an option since the February exam is tomorrow and it would be a waste to take off a whole year. 

I understand the desire to get started and not waste a year waiting for another shot at the LSAT. But consider this: postponing for one year is a lot less expensive and difficult than spending three years at a law school you aren't happy with. As the above posters have said, it's not easy to transfer, especially from a low-ranked school to a higher ranked school. You'd probably have to be in the top 10-20%, which is difficult to achieve.

Wherever you go to law school, whether it's Appalachian or UConn, you'll be competing for grades with smart, motivated, disciplined individuals. The slackers are gone, they never made it past the LSAT. If a few did manage to sneak in, they'll be gone after the first year. Getting high grades in law school is infinitely more difficult than getting high grades in college. If you begin at Appalachian, understand that you will almost certainly graduate from Appalachian. You will have tough time returning to CT, taking the CT bar, and searching for a job when you've been gone for three years.

OTOH, you probably have a very good chance of improving your score if you spend the next six months preparing. Bottom line: only go to a law school that you are prepared to graduate from.

[mycousinvinny13]

Thanks for your advice. I am touring ASL in March so depending how I feel about the classes and the student body there could be a possibility I would take a year off work and reapply. Something I do not want to do but your right, its beneficial to wait and go somewhere thats going to benefit me than hurt me.

Appreciate all the replies.

[Maintain FL 350]

When you took the LSAT, did you study much beforehand? Or take a prep course? The reason i ask is because if you could raise your score to even 153-55, you'd have many more opportunities. I don't know if it would be enough for UConn, but maybe for Quinnipiac and few other schools in the region like Roger Williams, Albany, Widener, etc. Any of those would give you a better shot at employment in the CT area.

[mycousinvinny13]

When you took the LSAT, did you study much beforehand? Or take a prep course?

Yes, I took Kaplan test prep (big mistake) and I was scoring in the 155 range during practice exams. I still do not know what happen on the real thing since I went down ten points. Ive always been bad at standardize tests and thats why I feel it would be a waste to pick up where I left off and retake the exam.

[livinglegend]

Well one thing to realize is that law school and the bar is one big standardized test. When you enroll in law school you will have one final for each class that is it a 3 hour test for your entire Contracts Class and what you do in those 3 hours will be your entire grade for that course. There is usually no midterm, no h.w. assignment, just one 3 hour test, which is essentially standardiezed. Your first year contracts exam for example will generally involve identiyfying whether it is UCC or Common Law Contract, then whether there is an offer or acceptance in the contract and they will combine some nuances like was it a firm offer (bla bla), then there will be an issue of whether or not the contract was formed with consideration, and what remedies the parties had. That is typically the formula for a contracts questions and it is a high pressure standardized test that you need to not miss any issues and do better analysis than the guy or girl next to you. Honestly your law school exams will make the LSAT seem like a piece of cake.

When your done with three years of law school you get to take arguably the hardest standardized test in the world a Bar Exam and if you don't pass this you can't be a lawyer.

Bottom line is I would recommend getting good at standardized tests before enrolling in law school and if your goal is to be an attorney in Connecticut then go to law school there. No guarantee you will do good enough to get into Quinnipac, but you will spend 100 bucks and have your life if you don't get a 155. If you go to Applachian there is realistically you will probably have to be in the top 15-20% of your class to transfer out and there is an 80-85% chance you won't be. Then you will pay 30,000-40,000 and be in Grundy, Virginia for the next two years and if you go to Appalachian that is probably where you will graduate you from.

My post is not meant to knock Applachian it is an ABA school, but it is in a very small town in Virginia and this will probably be a big culture shock to you. If you visit and think it is a good fit for you then great, but it is ALWAYS A BAD IDEA TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL COUNTING ON TRANSFERRING.

[mycousinvinny13]

Well one thing to realize is that law school and the bar is one big standardized test. When you enroll in law school you will have one final for each class that is it a 3 hour test for your entire Contracts Class and what you do in those 3 hours will be your entire grade for that course. There is usually no midterm, no h.w. assignment, just one 3 hour test, which is essentially standardiezed. Your first year contracts exam for example will generally involve identiyfying whether it is UCC or Common Law Contract, then whether there is an offer or acceptance in the contract and they will combine some nuances like was it a firm offer (bla bla), then there will be an issue of whether or not the contract was formed with consideration, and what remedies the parties had. That is typically the formula for a contracts questions and it is a high pressure standardized test that you need to not miss any issues and do better analysis than the guy or girl next to you. Honestly your law school exams will make the LSAT seem like a piece of cake.

When your done with three years of law school you get to take arguably the hardest standardized test in the world a Bar Exam and if you don't pass this you can't be a lawyer.

Bottom line is I would recommend getting good at standardized tests before enrolling in law school and if your goal is to be an attorney in Connecticut then go to law school there. No guarantee you will do good enough to get into Quinnipac, but you will spend 100 bucks and have your life if you don't get a 155. If you go to Applachian there is realistically you will probably have to be in the top 15-20% of your class to transfer out and there is an 80-85% chance you won't be. Then you will pay 30,000-40,000 and be in Grundy, Virginia for the next two years and if you go to Appalachian that is probably where you will graduate you from.

My post is not meant to knock Applachian it is an ABA school, but it is in a very small town in Virginia and this will probably be a big culture shock to you. If you visit and think it is a good fit for you then great, but it is ALWAYS A BAD IDEA TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL COUNTING ON TRANSFERRING.

Thank you, I appreciate your input. I am visting appalachian in two weeks, they arranged for me to sit in on a 1L Contracts course and tour the law school. At this point if I do not like the school and cannot get in anywhere else, I am going to take a year off, enroll in a different prep course and aim for the high 150's.

From everyone's experience, I have heard that it is difficult to transfer and I feel that it is an awful idea to attend a school that I cannot see myself graduating from with the sole purpose of transferring.