Questions about Transfer to Another Law School

Katherine1998

Hi,

I am a 1L student right now. I am planning to transfer to another law school of exactly the same rank as my current school. (Both of these schools are T35.) I know transfers are for those top students who would like to go to T14 schools. But I have this plan because the school I would like to transfer to is super close to my home, which means I would not need to rent an apartment anymore and I could largely reduce the financial burden placed on my family. (I have been raised by a single parent who has lost the job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and my brother is also a law student.) Most importantly, I personally prefer to practice law in a city closer to my home in the future.

I was waitlisted when I applied for the dream school last year but I was rejected in late August (perhaps because my LSAT was one point lower than its 25-percentile score). While I am trying to be one of the top students at my current law school, it is much harder than I expected. (Grade curving is always my nightmare!) My 1L GPA so far is 3.37 and I am around top 45% of our 1L class, which makes me anxiously wonder if I still have a chance to get into another law school of the same school rank.

I would appreciate any advice! Thank you all!

Selene Steelman

Hi @Katherine1998 ! I am a former admissions officer. You might find the information about the transfer application process at https://7sage.com/transfer-101/ to be useful. Clearly stating why you enrolled in your current program and why you wish to transfer is an important part of a strong transfer application. Also, 1L grades are generally a significant part of the review process when adcoms are evaluating transfer candidates.

You should be aware of how transfer candidates are treated by the school you are targeting. You can find this information at https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx. If you pick a year and your target school and look at the 509 Required Disclosures, the last page of the report will show what that school did with its transfer population in a given year. Some schools offer extensive information (#s of students admitted from named schools and their GPAs) and others give minimal information. If you review information from multiple years, you can see how your target school has historically treated its transfer population. Good luck!