Should I transfer? Forum

[LucaTooly]

Hello,

Welcome all, I am new to the site so please bear with me if this is the incorrect forum to this question! I am asking anyone if they have advice on whether I should transfer law schools. I have heard both sides so often that I just do not know which is the better option and would love to hear some recommendations or stories from other people who have transferred schools as a 2L! I am currently at Syracuse University, which I know is not a great school and currently ranks in the 80's. I chose this school unfortunately because I had some family in the area and it was the best decision for me at the time. I finished my 1L year with a 3.8 GPA and am just waiting on my final rankings to come in (we just got our final grade, so, unfortunately, the school has limited my options to schools whose deadlines are not June 15th) but I assume that I will be in the top 5% or at least the top 7% of my class. This would grade me onto LR as well. My official list of schools that I am applying on transferring too after my rankings are published is NYU, Columbia, Cornell, and UCLA. I currently have a half ride scholarship to Syracuse but assume that they would offer me a full ride to stay once final 1L rankings come in (hopefully). If I got into one of these schools, do you think the massive student loans and change of environment would be worth it? I should also mention that I am conflicted about what I want to do but working Big Law in a major city has always been a huge interest of mine.

Thank you guys and for quick reference:

Current School: Syracuse University (Ranked 88th)
Current GPA: 3.8 (assumed top 5%)
Current Scholarship: $35,000 (Half price) but should increase with final rankings to hopefully a full ride
Applying Schools: NYU, Cornell, UCLA, and Columbia

[Wubbles]

Why UCLA?

[LucaTooly]

I've heard good things about the school and I just wanted more options in case I did not get into any of the other schools

[cavalier1138]

I've heard good things about the school and I just wanted more options in case I did not get into any of the other schools

But do you want to work in California?

[yyyuppp]

Setting location and prestige aside, transferring makes sense when the school you transfer to gives you a (significantly) better chance of getting the job you want out of law school, and to you that increased chance is worth the additional cost. Typically, the former means access to a bigger oci program with more firms, or access to a target market that you can’t access cuz those firms don’t come to your 1L school. The latter part is based on your comfort with risk and all that, and is a subjective determination.

If you want NYC big law, determine whether median at CLS or NYU-you will effectively be a median student there-gets you a better chance than top 5% at Syracuse. My guess is, if New York firms generally recruit from Syracuse, you won’t get much of a bump for what is a substantial cost. You should also keep in mind firms won’t hire you just cuz transfer: if you were not gonna get hired based on grades at school 1, they likely won’t hire you at school 2 as a transfer, though here my guess is grades won’t be your problem.

If I’m wrong, and Syracuse is in the boondocks of the OCI recruiting landscape even for nyc, then transferring could make a ton of sense.

Of course, there is always location and prestige, and you need to figure out if those things are worth it if they are affecting your decision.

Also, apply to Harvard.