You Asked, I Answered

I’ve tried to address the most common queries I receive, as broadly and accurately as possible. But, at the end of the day, this information is largely based on my own experience and the research I did when I was preparing to transfer; keep in mind that every school is different, as is every student’s transfer experience.

Can I transfer after first semester?

In a word, no.

Though the material taught during the first year is pretty standard, the structure of the academic year tends to vary across law schools. The school I attended my 1L year had year-long classes – we didn’t even receive an official grade until the end of the year. Some schools, on the other hand, will offer fewer classes each semester, but you’ll knock out the whole course in one term. So, allowing students to transfer after first semester of 1L is really not feasible.

Can I transfer after second year?

Again, generally not.

You pretty much have one shot to nail your transfer: between 1L and 2L. Now, many law schools will grant visiting student status to students who come in after the beginning of the second year. However, there are two things to note about this: 1) visiting status is usually granted based on extenuating circumstances (we had one student whose husband got transferred to the area, and we also received several visiting students who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina), and 2) your diploma will still come from your original school.

How difficult is it to transfer law schools?

This really depends. Many schools have an established transfer program and accept the same number of transfer students each year; others only accept transfers to account for attrition from the prior year. So, depending on where you apply, you may be competing for one of 20 spots, or one of two.

But, no matter where you apply, you’ll be competing with the best of the best. There’s no set rule, but it’s safe to say that you’ll have the best chance of getting in if you’re in the top 10% of your 1L class. Study hard!

What is the process for transferring law schools?

I’ve outlined the timeline I used when I transferred. Of course, your individual experience may vary – and please feel free to share it with me!

Does my LSAT score matter when applying to transfer?

Yes and no. You do have to submit your LSAT score (and therefore need to make sure that you have a current LSAC registration). Schools do look at it. However, it matters much, much less than it did when you initially applied to law school. Ostensibly, the LSAT is a predictor of your future performance in law school, but with a year of actual classroom experience behind you and the grades that accompany it, there’s less need for a prediction.

I was never a good standardized test taker (until, ironically, the MBE portion of the bar exam), so I had a supremely mediocre LSAT score relative to my academic abilities. However, I ranked 4th in my 1L class, so the predictive value of my LSAT score was relatively low. Conversely, if you have a high LSAT score but didn’t do well in your first year, there may be a perception that you didn’t do as well as you are able to, which could weigh against you.

Should I even transfer law schools?

Transferring law schools is a very personal decision, and the reasons vary widely. Before you actually do it, I recommend making a list of pros and cons – both for transferring in general, and for transferring to each school to which you are accepted – and ensure that your reasons are sound and defensible.

I address this question in much more depth in this post about whether to transfer.

More Questions? Ask Away!

As I said, I’ve attempted to answer the questions that I’ve seen appear most often. However, if you have another question, please feel free to submit a comment below, and I’ll edit this post to include the answer. This resource is for you, so don’t hesitate to ask!

In recent weeks I’ve noticed a sharp uptick in the amount of traffic coming to my blog, and to my transfer timeline post in particular. As much as I want to shove all the remnants of law school and practicing law to a dusty back corner of both this blog and also my life, I would be remiss not to do some sort of follow up to that post. While the timeline provides a fairly comprehensive answer to the question, How do I transfer law schools?, it doesn’t address the more fundamental – and in my mind, more important – question, Should I transfer law schools? Now that I have a little more hindsight, I am going to take a shot at answering the latter.

Decisions, Decisions

There are, on the face, a lot of compelling reasons to transfer: a better alumni network, a different campus environment, a more prominent school with better job prospects and perhaps even lower tuition (if you transfer from a pricey private school to a better, more inexpensive state school), to name a few. I didn’t like the ultra-urban environment of my first law school, and based upon the advice of several smart people, I felt like transferring would be a step up where my resume and job prospects were concerned.

I got accepted to an exclusive and excellent private school that had a well-established transfer program. Instead, I opted to stay in state and ended up transferring to a highly-regarded Tier 1 public school that was a fraction of the cost. Though I sometimes wonder if things would have been different had I made a different choice, I can say with certainty at this point that I don’t regret taking on a smaller debt load than I otherwise would have. I frequently encounter attorneys who are miserable, but feel trapped in their jobs because they have few other alternatives for paying off their enormous student loans. I’m truly thankful that I don’t find myself in that position.

Buyer Beware: The Undisclosed Risks

However, there were pitfalls to the decision I made, and I think some of that is because my school did not have the most well-defined procedures for handling transfer students. A lot of classes were closed by the time I registered, so my course load my first semester left a lot to be desired. I was told by one of the administrators that I would have the opportunity to write onto the law review, but once my transfer was complete, I learned that the law review “was not taking transfers this year.” I’d previously considered applying to clerk for a federal judge, but this effectively slammed that door shut for me.

Most importantly, because my transfer process happened so late, I missed out on Early Interview Week and was left to my own devices to try to find a summer job. By sending out letters on my own, I was able to secure first interviews with several large firms. However, by the time I interviewed, they had already conducted their callbacks from EIW and I missed the big-firm boat entirely.

Not being able to participate in EIW might have been a tipping point in my career, and I look back on it with an immense amount of regret. On the other hand, it is just as likely that if I had ended up with a big firm job, I would have been one of the casualties of the massive layoffs that occurred when the economy tanked less than a year after I graduated. But still, I have to wonder how differently my life would have turned out had I been able to interview on-campus during EIW.

When I did land interviews, both during and after law school, I frequently found myself in the uncomfortable position of having to justify my decision to transfer. Because I transferred in state, this was sometimes difficult to do without coming across as flighty and indecisive. It seemed clear to me that going from a Tier 3 to a Tier 1 school was a step up, regardless of the fact that I went from one public school to another in the same state. That never seemed to make sense to interviewers. Though I can never be sure, I have a feeling that if my transfer had been an even “bigger jump” to the elite private school to which I was also accepted, I never would have faced that question.

The Bottom Line

I am fully aware that my objectivity about my transfer decision is tainted by hindsight, as well as my general regrets about having ever attended law school in the first place. However, I also understand that transferring is a good decision for many people. Given that, here are a few things to keep in mind when making your decision about whether to apply to transfer:

• Jump big. Make sure that you are really “trading up” in a meaningful way that will resonate with prospective employers. I went to a much higher-ranked public school in the same state, but sacrificed the opportunity to be on law review and the ability to participate in early interviews. Had I gone to the even higher-ranked private school, my opportunities and experience would have looked much different (but on the flip side, so would the size of my debt).
• Look at each school’s transfer program. Does the school you’re applying to have a well-established process for dealing with transfer students and integrating them into the school? Or does the school take few transfers and deal with them on an ad hoc basis?
• Consider your law review and moot court opportunities. I walked away from a grade-on spot on law review and transferred to a school that told me I’d be able to write on. In reality, I was never given that opportunity. Make sure that the doors you’ve opened at your first school will also be open at your new school.
• Examine your job prospects. Does the new school place graduates better than your old school? This certainly makes sense if you’re able to transfer from a third- or fourth-tier school to a first-tier one. It also makes sense if you want to transfer to a school that is geographically closer to the area in which you want to work after graduation, or that has a highly-ranked curriculum in a specialized area of law (i.e., environmental or intellectual property).
• Get in on Early Interview Week. I simply cannot stress this enough: Make sure you will complete your transfer in time to have an opportunity to take part in on-campus recruiting. Getting behind the 8-ball on this one, as I did, can really throw you for a loop, possibly forever.
• Understand your debt load. As a transfer, you will likely be ineligible for any scholarships that the school may have. This means you’ll have to rely on student loans and whatever external scholarships you may have received. Is the ability to transfer to a new school worth the extra financial obligation you’ll likely incur? Do you want to practice law for as long as it is going to take to pay off that additional debt?
• Be able to clearly articulate your reasons for transferring. You’ll need to be able to explain to potential employers in a logical, respectful and convincing way why you decided to transfer. Chances are, if you haven’t sold yourself on the reasons you transferred, you won’t convince your interviewer, either. (And if you “jump big,” as I noted above, you might not even have to answer this question.)

Personally, I think I was looking for a silver bullet that would get me a great, lucrative job and rewarding law school experience. I realized too late that my decision had a fair number of drawbacks of which I was unaware. It is not useful for me at this point to get wrapped up in whether I should or shouldn’t have transferred, or whether I should have even gone to law school in the first place – it’s done and in the past. On the other hand, I also met lifelong friends and encountered amazing and inspiring professors at my new school, and I wouldn’t give those things up for the world.

I am fairly certain that I won’t change a lot of people’s minds if you’ve already decided to transfer (and if you fall into that camp, check out my FAQ page about transferring). Instead, my goal here is to simply help you evaluate the reasons for your decision and make you aware of certain factors that are not immediately obvious from the outset. Ultimately, you are the only one who will be able to assess the pros and cons and determine if transferring is right for you, and if so, which school will be the best fit. Whatever decision you make, I wish you the very best of luck.

People transfer for a variety of reasons. I personally did not get a fantastic LSAT score and couldn’t get into my top choice law schools on the first go around. I attended a safety school that I’d been accepted to and immediately made plans to transfer after my first year.

Knowing right off the bat that I wanted to transfer helped me do well in my classes because I had a lot of motivation with a very clear goal in mind. It also helped me to craft a strategy and develop a timeline to get things accomplished in an orderly manner.

Hopefully this timeline will be helpful to those of you who have decided to transfer or are actively considering it as an option.

Update: Before you read any further about how to transfer, however, I encourage you to first read my post about whether you should even consider transferring at all. And, if you’ve landed decidedly on the “I’m going to transfer” side of the fence, I’ve compiled a list of FAQ’s about transferring law schools.

September:

• Know what you’re getting into. Prep for the reality of starting law school so that you hit the ground running with realistic expectations of what your experience will be like. Have your study space set up and your supplies ready. I highly recommend Robert Miller’s Law School Confidential, which lays out every aspect of your next three years, from selecting a desk to searching for jobs.
• Find a study group, if you haven’t already. Carefully select bright and disciplined people who you can get along with for long periods of time, and who will be able to really help you master the material for the exam.
• Stay caught up with your reading. Try to stay ahead if you can, but definitely do not get behind. If you are currently behind, catch up now.

October:

• Begin outlining your classes. Outlining is an iterative process and thus you should start early because your outlines will change and go through several versions as you refine them. A note about outlining: It’s absolutely okay to avoid reinventing the wheel by using others’ outlines (including mine) to supplement your own outlining process and check for things you may have overlooked or missed. However, in order to do well as possible on your exams, it’s absolutely essential that you do make your own outlines (and study them!).
• Develop relationships. Once you have settled into the school routine, begin developing relationships with professors who you might want to provide you with recommendations. It’s okay to demonstrate genuine interest in a class, but do not become a gunner.

November:

• Start studying for finals. This process should begin about six weeks before your first exam. Aim to master one subject per week and do practice questions. Iron out the kinks in your outlines; meeting with your study group is helpful in accomplishing this goal.
• Finish your outlines. Have all of your outlines up to date for the most recent class session by the time you break for Thanksgiving. Enjoy some turkey and stuffing as a reward!

December:

• Ace your final exams! With well-prepared outlines and a disciplined study schedule, you should be able to kick some ass on your first semester final exams.
• Take time to reflect. With your first semester finals behind you, take this opportunity to decide whether or not you really want to transfer. Think about the qualities you are seeking in your ideal law school environment, both academically and environmentally.
• Research. You have two weeks off for the holidays; make them productive. Using the criteria that you have determined are important in a prospective law school, select several schools that you want to apply to. Look at their transfer criteria, application requirements, tuition costs, etc.

January:

• Evaluate your fall semester grades. Once your fall grades are posted, evaluate your performance and determine which schools from your list you actually have a realistic shot at being accepted to. You might need to revisit your list and add some schools and delete others.

February:

• Stay caught up. Just like fall semester, you need to stay caught up with your reading during the spring. This can be particularly challenging if your law school adds an additional class for spring semester, but is nonetheless imperative.

March:

• Begin outlining. Again, you’ll want to begin outlining during the middle of the semester or so.
• Start crafting your personal statement. For me, writing my personal statement was the most challenging part of the transfer application. Start early so that you can have several people read over it before you have to submit it with your applications. You may need to write more than one statement if the schools you are applying to give different essay prompts. Spring break is a good time to start your personal statement.

April:

• Take care of administrative issues. Finalize the list of schools you’ll be applying to. Register for LSAC. If your LSAC subscription has lapsed, you’ll need to register again. Make sure you have transcripts from your previous degree-granting institutions sent to LSAC. Begin filling out the individual applications. Budget for application fees. Write down due dates.
• Approach your selected professors for recommendations. This can be intimidating and nervewracking. I was afraid that my professors would be insulted that I was leaving their school. To the contrary, they were supportive and more than willing to write me excellent recommendations to my schools of choice. One professor asked me why I was transferring, another said that it wasn’t her business to ask. Be prepared for either reaction. Have all forms ready to give them, with postage-paid envelopes attached and a post-it with due dates on each one.
• Begin studying for spring finals. As with last semester, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to study, beginning about six weeks before your first exam.

May:

• Submit your applications. Have you applications submitted before finals begin so that you only have to tackle one hurdle at a time.
• Finish the year with a bang! You’ve almost made it – do great on your finals so that you will place high in your 1L class and optimize your chances of getting into the law school of your dreams.

June:

• Request transcripts. As soon as your law school releases first year grades, request official transcripts be sent directly to each of the schools you’ve applied to. Some schools may want your 1L transcripts to go through LSAC, but that usually takes too long considering the admissions directors’ short deadline.
• Sit back and wait. Although it’s difficult to do, you just have to be patient. Many schools don’t make their transfer decisions until sometime in July.

July:

• Select a law school! With a little determination and a lot of hard work, you’ll have a very difficult, but great decision to make – which law school will you attend?
• Get in touch with career services at your new law school. You don’t want to miss the early interview process, as this is when many firms start their hiring process for the following summer.
• Withdraw from your old school. Contact the registrar and any other administrators you need to in order to make sure that you are withdrawn from your classes and that you won’t receive a tuition bill from your old school.
• Notify your friends. It’s a hard thing to do, but make sure you let your friends at your old school know that you’re leaving.

August:

• Start classes at your new law school! Congratulations, you did it! You’ve worked hard, so enjoy your final two years of law school at your new law school.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting more detailed articles about some of the action items listed in the timeline. But for now, this will hopefully provide a helpful perspective of the big picture for those of you already considering transferring. Best of luck, and check back for future transfer articles!

I have been talking to my friends and hearing about their awesome summers at big firms, and I must admit that I am a bit jealous. They get assignments to do, but they also get taken to lunch everyday and they get to use the firm’s box seats at Turner Field. They get to interact with so many different people on a daily basis.

I know that I could have landed one of those jobs if I’d either 1) stayed at my First Law School and interviewed there, or 2) made my transfer decision earlier so that I would have been able to participate in Early Interview Week at PDSEU. Instead, my indecisiveness bit me in the ass and I missed out on all the cherry jobs.

Instead, I am working for a solo practitioner where I have real deadlines and work on real cases. While that may sound well and good, it actually puts me under immense pressure that I don’t feel like I am prepared for. I’m not a lawyer. I’m a law student.

After being lulled into a sense of contentment at my current job, I decided not to go to the firm that had offered me a job for the second half of the summer. Mostly because I don’t have to be at the office at 7:30 a.m. here and can occasionally bring T.Min. to work with me. I mailed them a letter declining their offer, which was probably not good, considering I’d previously accepted. Then, things took a turn here and suddenly felt trapped, thinking that I’d sent that letter just a few days too early. Timing – it always sucks.

If anything, this summer has been educational in showing me the reality of practicing law. Perhaps that’s better than working at a big firm in some respects, beceause I get to see the shitty parts of it in addition to the good parts of it so that I can make an informed decision about my career choice. I have more or less decided that while I definitely have the ability to be a lawyer, and a good one at that, I don’t necessarily want to.

For so long I had thought that the law was my calling. And I don’t hate the law, or even law school for that matter. I love both. It’s the practice of law and the reality that goes along with it that have so far left a sour taste in my mouth.

In light of all of that, I have been seriously pursuing the idea of going to graduate school after I finish law school. I want to get my masters in a program where I can get strong methodology training so that I can go into research consulting. I loved doing research when I was in college, and I even wrote a thesis that was not required. I enjoyed constructing surveys and measuring and calculating and analyzing. There is something inherently academic in it that is lacking in the practice of law.

I’ve gotten in touch with my college advisor, who is now teaching at a big state university in Tornado Alley. She has a wealth of information about graduate admissions and procedures and even volunteered to chat on the phone, given the complexity and number of questions I posed to her. Most importantly, she didn’t think that I’m being silly or flighty. I appreciate the fact that she takes me seriously and doesn’t think I’m absurd for wasting three years of time and tuition on law school.

So that’s where I am at this point. I will graduate from law school. I will take the bar and pass the bar and be sworn in at the Capitol. But I will also take the GRE and apply to graduate school and see where I get accepted and go from there. And ultimately, this all may lead to an entirely new adventure for me, one that I welcome.