successful EA GULC transfer AMA Forum

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Anonymous User
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successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:08 pm

I found one of these forums very helpful when I applied and I thought I'd pay things forward as best I can.

bpc3qh

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by bpc3qh » Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:41 pm

Would you mind going into your statistics? Your GPA/class rank, and your school ranking? When did you apply, when did you hear back? Were both semesters of grades considered? What was the application process like in general?

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:19 pm

OP here:

Doing my best not to out myself, I had a high 3.7x to low 3.8x that put me around the top 5% at my strong regional in the T1. LSATs don't seem to matter much in transfer admissions, but I had a 159-161 (note to general readers: I was a reverse splitter and not retaking was a HUGE mistake). I had totally run-of-the-mill letter of rec from a relatively notable prof from my school and a personal statement that explained why GULC and DC more generally made sense for the kind of law I want to practice. Applied in mid-March and heard back in early May by letter.

Some EA folks I think were deferred, but most get in (or rejected) a good month before their second semester grades came out, so only first semester grades are considered for EA. For those who were deferred, (I think) they had the option of sending their second semester grades.

In general, the process was pretty low-stress. The school I came from sees a fairly high proportion of the class transfer each year so the two profs I asked for recs (only needed and used one) didn't do very much to convince me to stay. The dean's office did (from which you need a form noting that you're in good standing with the school) but the school I came from never grants more aid if you try to leverage a transfer admission (which I understand to be pretty normal for all law schools). Submitting early meant I spent less time worrying about transferring later on in the semester (when I was instead worrying about trying to get onto journal and the skills teams and such) and also, crucially, the option to participate in GULC's OCI (which it calls Early Interview Week) and a journal competition exclusively for transfers. I'm sure ppl will ask about those two things, so I'll save that for a later post.

tls_toddy

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by tls_toddy » Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:36 pm

Did you apply through LSAC? I am hoping to get in an EA app but I noticed their transfer app is not yet available. The GULC admissions page says it will start accepting applications on February 1. Is that also when the LSAC application will open? Or did you end up mailing yours?

I have everything ready to go, except that the professor who agreed to write me a LOR requested a lot of information from me (not just about me, but about GULC) so I'm worried that his letter may get in a bit later. Also, my current school requires us to reach out to have a meeting with faculty before requesting a letter of good standing, and so far none of the approved faculty I've reached out to have gotten back to me. I noticed one of my current teachers is on the list so I may have to bite the bullet and talk to him.

MSUN5

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by MSUN5 » Fri Jan 25, 2019 3:38 pm

Anonymous User wrote:OP here:

Doing my best not to out myself, I had a high 3.7x to low 3.8x that put me around the top 5% at my strong regional in the T1. LSATs don't seem to matter much in transfer admissions, but I had a 159-161 (note to general readers: I was a reverse splitter and not retaking was a HUGE mistake). I had totally run-of-the-mill letter of rec from a relatively notable prof from my school and a personal statement that explained why GULC and DC more generally made sense for the kind of law I want to practice. Applied in mid-March and heard back in early May by letter.

Some EA folks I think were deferred, but most get in (or rejected) a good month before their second semester grades came out, so only first semester grades are considered for EA. For those who were deferred, (I think) they had the option of sending their second semester grades.

In general, the process was pretty low-stress. The school I came from sees a fairly high proportion of the class transfer each year so the two profs I asked for recs (only needed and used one) didn't do very much to convince me to stay. The dean's office did (from which you need a form noting that you're in good standing with the school) but the school I came from never grants more aid if you try to leverage a transfer admission (which I understand to be pretty normal for all law schools). Submitting early meant I spent less time worrying about transferring later on in the semester (when I was instead worrying about trying to get onto journal and the skills teams and such) and also, crucially, the option to participate in GULC's OCI (which it calls Early Interview Week) and a journal competition exclusively for transfers. I'm sure ppl will ask about those two things, so I'll save that for a later post.
With that GPA and class rank at a T1, why GULC? Did you explore other T6 schools?

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Anonymous User
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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jan 25, 2019 5:14 pm

OP here:

I applied through LSAC. I don't think there's much of a difference between applying through LSAC and applying by mail. IME, there was/is no difference between submitting your app on 2/1 and 3/1 or even 4/1. In fact, I don't think my faculty recommender from my prior school submitted her letter until the end of March.

Yes, I considered other schools. Going into which schools I applied to and which ones I got into may out me, so I won't go into that other than to say 1) that I chose GULC over the T6 because I *really* wanted to end up in DC (partially for unique personal reasons) and 2) I regret not applying to HLS (though my odds of getting in were slim). That said, I think the TLS common wisdom that you should blanket the T6 with my kind of stats and go to the best school you get into is generally right and that picking GULC over the T6 was risky. I'm guessing that's truer the lower ranked the school you come from and the more you want to clerk. But it's worked out for me so far.

grovestreet123

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by grovestreet123 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:44 pm

Hi OP, thanks for your insight! Can you elaborate more on your OCI experience as a transfer, and importantly as an EA transfer? Do you think you were disadvantaged in any way as a transfer, and did interviewers focus on your status as a transfer?

I've also heard of a program called OTIP at GULC which is supposedly the pre-OCI program. What is it, and as an EA transfer were you able to participate?

Finally, which journal are transfers eligible for? Do they get to write-on to GULC's law review?

Anonymous User
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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:05 pm

OP here:

One of the best things about the transfer process at GULC is that if you're admitted as an EA transfer (or one of like the first third admitted as a regular applicant) you can both participate in OCI (called EIW, Early Interview Week) and the journal write-on competition.

I did not do OTIP, the On Tour Interview Program, because I was focusing mainly on DC. First, yes, transfers are eligible for OTIP, but it ends earlier before EIW begins, so I think you'd have to almost have to get in as an EA transfer. OTIP is a resume drop of sorts where firms then invite you to their offices in cities that are not NYC, DC, or Philly. It involves two other schools (Northwestern and UVA I think). I suspect if you come from a school in one of the OTIP markets, you'd be a stronger candidate, but I can't speak much to the program because I didn't do it.

Re EIW (OCI), there are advantages and disadvantages to doing EIW as a transfer. First, the structure of EIW. EIW is 70% lottery and 30% preselect. That means that on the firm's official calendar of interviews, 70% of those interviews GULC forced the firm to talk to by lottery, and 30% of those interviews the firms selected those candidates to talk to. For the lottery, you rank the firms you want to talk to, those rankings go into some algorithm (math something something––there's a reason why I'm in law now) and that math something something spits out a number of firms (~3-7). That's great for transfers because it forces firms to look at resumes from TTT and TTTT schools that it wouldn't otherwise. And that's the main reason why people transfer––more and better firms that might look at your resume. BUT, the really important thing to remember here is that these interviewers, particularly for the "best" or most grade-selective firms, walk in with a memo from recruiting that lays out the firm's GPA targets and the firm's GPA floor, the floor the firm can't go below. If you're coming from a school that the firm recruits at to begin with, that means that the interviewer might just toss your resume because, with another school's GPA, he doesn't know how to fit you in the yield the recruiting folks have instructed him on. The key thing to understand is that every interviewer will thin of you as a rising 2L at whatever school you're coming from. For that reason, if you're coming from Fordham and want to go to NYC, or if you're coming from GW and want to stay in DC, it might make more sense to do the OCI at your prior school.

Having explained all that, my experience. I'm going to one of the big prestigious firms in DC. I did well mainly because I was top 5-10% at a school screeners had heard of and I interviewed well. I think every other transfer who 1) was ranked similarly at a school the screener had heard of and 2) interviewed well had JUST AS GOOD a shot as a top 20% non-transfer. Every interviewer asked why I transferred and I think I had a pretty good answer for that. A few times the conversation turned a bit awkward because an associate wanted to talk about his experience at GULC, which is something to be aware of, but I don't think it's that much of a disadvantage.

If you get in before the write-on competition's deadline, you're eligible for all of the journals, including the Georgetown Law Journal (law review). Each journal reserves a certain number of spots for transfers. Two to four transfers make it onto GLJ each year and two to four make it onto the best-regarded secondary journal, the American Criminal Law Review. Even if you miss the deadline, all transfers are eligible for the Georgetown Law Technology Review.

grovestreet123

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by grovestreet123 » Sun Jan 27, 2019 8:36 pm

Anonymous User wrote:OP here:

One of the best things about the transfer process at GULC is that if you're admitted as an EA transfer (or one of like the first third admitted as a regular applicant) you can both participate in OCI (called EIW, Early Interview Week) and the journal write-on competition.

I did not do OTIP, the On Tour Interview Program, because I was focusing mainly on DC. First, yes, transfers are eligible for OTIP, but it ends earlier before EIW begins, so I think you'd have to almost have to get in as an EA transfer. OTIP is a resume drop of sorts where firms then invite you to their offices in cities that are not NYC, DC, or Philly. It involves two other schools (Northwestern and UVA I think). I suspect if you come from a school in one of the OTIP markets, you'd be a stronger candidate, but I can't speak much to the program because I didn't do it.

Re EIW (OCI), there are advantages and disadvantages to doing EIW as a transfer. First, the structure of EIW. EIW is 70% lottery and 30% preselect. That means that on the firm's official calendar of interviews, 70% of those interviews GULC forced the firm to talk to by lottery, and 30% of those interviews the firms selected those candidates to talk to. For the lottery, you rank the firms you want to talk to, those rankings go into some algorithm (math something something––there's a reason why I'm in law now) and that math something something spits out a number of firms (~3-7). That's great for transfers because it forces firms to look at resumes from TTT and TTTT schools that it wouldn't otherwise. And that's the main reason why people transfer––more and better firms that might look at your resume. BUT, the really important thing to remember here is that these interviewers, particularly for the "best" or most grade-selective firms, walk in with a memo from recruiting that lays out the firm's GPA targets and the firm's GPA floor, the floor the firm can't go below. If you're coming from a school that the firm recruits at to begin with, that means that the interviewer might just toss your resume because, with another school's GPA, he doesn't know how to fit you in the yield the recruiting folks have instructed him on. The key thing to understand is that every interviewer will thin of you as a rising 2L at whatever school you're coming from. For that reason, if you're coming from Fordham and want to go to NYC, or if you're coming from GW and want to stay in DC, it might make more sense to do the OCI at your prior school.

Having explained all that, my experience. I'm going to one of the big prestigious firms in DC. I did well mainly because I was top 5-10% at a school screeners had heard of and I interviewed well. I think every other transfer who 1) was ranked similarly at a school the screener had heard of and 2) interviewed well had JUST AS GOOD a shot as a top 20% non-transfer. Every interviewer asked why I transferred and I think I had a pretty good answer for that. A few times the conversation turned a bit awkward because an associate wanted to talk about his experience at GULC, which is something to be aware of, but I don't think it's that much of a disadvantage.

If you get in before the write-on competition's deadline, you're eligible for all of the journals, including the Georgetown Law Journal (law review). Each journal reserves a certain number of spots for transfers. Two to four transfers make it onto GLJ each year and two to four make it onto the best-regarded secondary journal, the American Criminal Law Review. Even if you miss the deadline, all transfers are eligible for the Georgetown Law Technology Review.
Thanks so much. This is really helpful. Were you given the option of doing OCI at your previous school vs GULC, though? I thought they required you to withdraw from your old school's OCI if you accept GULC's offer.

Congrats on getting into a big DC firm!

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Anonymous User
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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:19 pm

OP here:

I don't know what the official policy is, but I know of two transfers who got in before the EIW deadline, talked to OCS to GULC, and then did OCI at their prior school.

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Re: successful EA GULC transfer AMA

Post by jacketyellow » Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:15 am

grovestreet123 wrote:
Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:44 pm
Hi OP, thanks for your insight! Can you elaborate more on your OCI experience as a transfer, and importantly as an EA transfer? Do you think you were disadvantaged in any way as a transfer, and did interviewers focus on your status as a transfer?

I've also heard of a program called OTIP at GULC which is supposedly the pre-OCI program. What is it, and as an EA transfer were you able to participate?

Finally, which journal are transfers eligible for? Do they get to write-on to GULC's law review?
I'm trying to PM you. You sent me a PM, but, for some reason, it won't let me reply!

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