What the Elite National Law Schools Are Looking For From Transfer Applicants

By Brad Dobeck, Esq.

President, PrelawAdvisor.com

Spring 2009

Schools listed in accordance with the 2010 US News & World Report ranking.

Data Source: ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, 2009 Edition

1. Yale—Submit between May 1 and July 1, 2009. You must have finished “the equivalent of one year at another ABA-approved law school.” “A college degree and an outstanding record at another law school are prerequisites.” In my experience, Yale is by far the toughest law school to reach via a transfer application. Essentially you have to have been a near-miss in your initial application, ideally waitlisted, and then producing a stellar year at your actual law school, ideally becoming number 1 in your 1L class after the first year. Yale receives about 200 transfer applications and makes offers to about 12 of them. All of them enroll.

2. Harvard—The deadline for transfer application submission is July 1, 2009. “Applicants for transfer admission must have completed one year of full-time study in a JD program (or one third of total credits required in a part-time program) at a United States law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Students may apply for transfer to begin the second year of JD studies in the fall semester only.” Harvard sets a formidable standard for transfer admission. You need all elements of it: “Many successful transfer candidates typically place very near the top of their first-year law class and would have also been admitted or wait-listed as first-year students on the basis of their pre-law-school credentials.” Harvard enrolls about 29 transfer applicants.

3. Stanford—The deadline to apply is June 15, 2009. Stanford seeks only those with “superior academic records in law study,” a standard in my experience only slightly less tough than Harvard’s standard. “Applicants must have completed one full year of law study.” And note that for Stanford, you must have studied law at a law school which is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), a smaller group than the list of ABA-approved law schools. (Essentially, if you are at a Tier 4 law school, Stanford won’t consider your application.) Stanford enrolls about 12 transfer applicants.

4. Columbia—Columbia wants your transfer application by July 15, 2009. It will accept applications from students at AALS or ABA-approved schools (although it will not give credit for “work completed in an American law school that is not a member of the Association of American Law Schools.”) Columbia wants transfer applicants “who have done outstanding work in other approved law schools.” Columbia enrolls about 61 transfer applicants.

5. NYU—At NYU, transfer applicants must have completed first-year course-work by July 1, 2009 in order to apply. “They must have earned no less than 28 and no more than 33 credits in order to be eligible for admission.” You must submit your NYU transfer application by July 1, with all supporting documents received by July 15. NYU enrolls 42 transfer applicants.

6. Berkeley (tied with Chicago)—“Admission to Berkeley Law with advanced standing is competitive. The school usually receives more than 200 applications for the 30 to 40 places available in the second-year class for transfer students, and those who are accepted are usually in at least the top3-5 percent of their classes.” Berkeley wants transfer applicants who have been full-time students, who have earned 24 to 31 credits, for work of “very high quality.” Students who have more than 31 credits may apply to Berkeley, but credits beyond 31 won’t be recognized. Transfer applications are accepted until June 15, 2009. Berkeley enrolls 39 transfer applicants.

6. Chicago (tied with Berkeley)—The University of Chicago Law School seeks “successful students at other law schools.” “We base our transfer admissions decisions primarily on an evaluation of the applicant's law school performance, including the law school attended and a letter of recommendation from a law school professor. While the LSAT and undergraduate recordare still considered and will be a part of the file,theyare not as critical to the application as the applicant's current law school record.” “Transfer applicants must ensure that we have received their application and all supporting materials, including the Law School Information Form and a law school transcript containing all first-year law school grades, by July 1, 2009.” Chicago receives 150-200 transfer applications each year and enrolls 16.

8. Penn—Penn Law is looking law students “who have achieved excellent records at other law schools.” You must have completed a full-time first-year program at another law school to be considered. Penn requires your law school to be a member of the AALS, thus eliminating some Tier 4 schools. Applications must be received by July 15, 2009. Penn enrolls 25 transfer applicants.

9. Michigan—Michigan wants transfer applicants with “outstanding first-year law school records.” They want applicants who have “demonstrated outstanding academic promise as first-year students at other law schools by earning first-year grades that place them at or near the top of their class. Class rank is an important factor in our evaluation process; successful applicants are typically in the top 10 percent of their class, based on first-year grades at their current law school. Applications are due by July 21, 2009. Michigan enrolls 42 transfer applicants.

10. Duke (tied with Northwestern and UVa)—At Duke, “most successful transfer applicants have a law school record that puts them at least in the top quarter of their class. We are particularly interested in admitting applicants who have specific reasons for wanting to be at Duke Law and seem likely to be active members of our community. Transfer applicants must have completed the entire first year of legal study at an ABA-approved law school with membership in the Association of American Law Schools, and must complete at least two years of study at Duke Law School.” Duke’s application deadline is July 1, 2009. Duke enrolls 12 transfer applicants.

10. Northwestern (tied with Duke and UVa)—At Northwestern, to be considered as a transfer student, you must have earned at least 30 semester hours, or the equivalent, of credit at your former school and intend to complete your last two years of residence at Northwestern Law. Transfer applicants follow the same application procedure as for regular admission. Transfer applications should be submitted no earlier than June 1 and be completed by July 1. They review transfer applications in early July. Northwestern enrolls 43 transfer applicants.

10. Virginia (tied with Duke and Northwestern)—At UVa, they receive transfer applications beginning May 1, with their review process beginning on June 15. UVa gives “particular attention to performance in the first year of law school.” “The transfer program is open only to applicants seeking entry as a second-year student in the fall semester. We do not admit transfer applicants who have completed only one semester of law study. To be eligible for enrollment with advanced standing, you must have completed at least 24 hours of classroom study at an accredited law school prior to enrolling at Virginia. Students enrolled in a part-time program may apply with fewer than 24 credits as long as they will have completed the remaining credits during an in-class summer session at their law school...No more than 32 hours will be credited...” UVa enrolls 42 transfer applicants.

13. Cornell—Cornell says, “Our Admissions Committee is interested primarily in your academic performance at your current law school, as well as in your reasons for wishing to transfer. Accepted transfer students are almost always at least in the top 10% of their first-year class.” Up to 32 credits will be approved from the law school first attended. Cornell receives over 75 transfer applications each year. Its deadline is July 15, 2009. It enrolls 10 transfer students.

14. Georgetown—GULC reviews transfer applications for both spring and fall semester admission. Competitive candidates are typically in the top 15% of their current law school class with an A-/B+ average. Transfer applicants are considered for either the full-time or part-time division, or both. GULC will accept for transfer a maximum of 30 semester hours earned at a student's previous institution. GULC’s application deadline in June 15, 2009 for fall 2009 transfer enrollment. GULC enrolls 93 transfer applicants.

15. UCLA (tied with Texas)—At UCLA, “The faculty believes that it is appropriate to make some spaces available in the second year for those who have achieved academic distinction during their first year at other law schools.”UCLA’s deadline is July 5, 2009. UCLA enrolls 35 transfer applicants.

15. Texas (tied with UCLA)—“Due to the size of our student body, only a few students with outstanding law school records are accepted as transfer students each year and then only if the applicant presents compelling reasons for continuing his or her law studies in Austin...Admission as a transfer student is competitive. The decision regarding admission of a transfer applicant will turn on such factors as: the applicant's undergraduate record, the strength of the applicant's law school performance, the Law School's capacity to handle additional students as transfers, and the applicant's reasons for wanting to transfer.” No more than 30 credit hours may be transferred. The transfer application deadline is July 15, 2009.

17. Vanderbilt—“Law students who have completed one year of study in a J.D. program at an ABA-approved law school may apply for transfer admission.” Vanderbilt is interested in “the reasons you would like to complete your J.D. at Vanderbilt” or why you “need to be located in Nashville.” Vanderbilt’s deadline is July 1, 2009. Vanderbilt enrolls 17 transfer applicants.

18. USC—“To be eligible to apply as a transfer student, applicants must have a weighted overall average which places them in the upper 20% of their first-year class.” USC’s deadline is July 3, 2009. USC enrolls 3 transfer applicants.

19. Washington University in St. Louis—At WUSL, “Competitive candidates are typically in the top 20-25% of their current law school class with an A-/B+ average. The School of Law will accept for transfer a maximum of 29 semester hours earned at a student's previous institution (the number of semester hours earned by our first-year day students). A minimum of 22 credits is required for transfer.” WUSL’s deadline is August 1, 2009. WUSL enrolls 36 transfer applicants.

20. Boston University (tied with Emory and Minnesota)—At BU Law, they seek transfer applicants with “academic ability and potential for law study.” BU’s deadline is June 15, 2009. BU Law enrolls 7 transfer applicants.

20. Emory (tied with Boston University and Minnesota)—At Emory, “Students who wish to transfer to Emory from other fully accredited law schools (ABA-AALS) will be considered after completing their first year if they rank in the upper half of their class. If you are in a part-time program at a law school, you must have completed the equivalent of a full-time first year curriculum at your institution.” Emory’s deadline is June 30, 2009. Emory enrolls 22 transfer applicants.

20. Minnesota (tied with Boston University and Emory)—At UMN, “The Law School's transfer and visiting students enhance our classrooms and community. Admission as a transfer student or a visiting student is available to those applicants who have been attending a law school that is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is accredited by the American Bar Association.” UMN’s deadline is July 1, 2009, although it will be waived upon written request. Minnesota enrolls 24 transfer applicants.

28. George Washington*--At GW, “The primary factor considered in an admission decision is the student’s first-year law performance.” GW’s deadline is July 1, 2009. GW enrolls 61 transfer applicants.

*Normally, one wouldn’t go outside of the top 20 law schools, when considering a transfer to an elite national law school. GW has in recent years been included in this top 20 group. In a shock, it fell to 28^th place in the new 2010 US&WR rankings. This occurred because the magazine started counting the GPA and LSAT data of enrolling night students with GW’s day numbers. GW has responded with an invitation to let new night students become either day or night students. I expect that GW will raise the 2010 GPA/LSAT “price tag” for its night program to make it equal to its day program. GW is an elite national law school.

Are you certain that you are on the right path to an elite law school? Sometimes you have to have help, in order to know that you need help. Send an e-mail to BradDobeck@aol.com or call him at 703.237.8531 to get the help that may make all the difference in your campaign for an elite law school.

Some Lessons from One-L by Scott Turow

(The classic story about the first year of law school)

By Brad Dobeck, Esq., President, PrelawAdvisor.com

I recommend the book One-L to all of my advisees. Through his account of his first year at Harvard Law School, author Scott Turow reveals many powerful lessons about the realities of law school. Here is my list of key points for you:

1. Page 81---“I don’t care if Bertram Mann doesn’t want to know how I feel about prostitution...I don’t want to become the kind of person who tries to pretend that my feelings have nothing to do with my opinions. It’s not bad to feel things.” (Lesson: The process of law school attempts to detach you from your emotions and strongly-held personal views.)

2. Page 87---“...the paramount importance of grades...grades were a kind of tag and weight fastened to you by the faculty which determined how high in the legal world you were going to rise at graduation.” (Lesson: The competition for high grades is fierce. Success is significantly rewarded—and failure punished—by the legal marketplace.”

3. Page 92---“I feel so damned uncertain about everything I’m doing anyway. Who can tell?” (Lesson: As a 1L, it can be difficult to understand the advantages and disadvantages of particular legal employers.)

4. Page 93---“...I know that people are sincere when they talk about how unhappy they are.” (Law school can be particularly unpleasant during the first year.)

5. Page 111---“The only end to that fear of failure would come when we were examined in January. There would be no grades until then, and the single test would be the sole basis for determining marks in each course.” (Lesson: Law school performance generally rides completely on the results of one test. Class attendance, contributions to class discussions, and keeping up with the reading typically don’t officially count at all.)

6. Page 121---“Whatever the reason for large classes, it is a safe bet that many students would prefer a more intimate setting...Most of the professors were loath to grant us any kind of praise in the large classes, no matter how extraordinary was a student’s performance.” (Lesson: This is the law school norm—large classes, impersonal treatment, hostile questioning by professors, and no praise. This is law school designed from the perspective of the seller of legal educational services, not the buyer.)

7. Page 123---“...the sheer numbers often spell great distance and formality in relations. At HLS, it is rare to be called anything but ‘Mr. or ‘Ms.’ by a professor and even rarer to address faculty members by their first names.” (Lesson: This distance and formality can be maddening. Students crave a more personal relationship, which can be tough to establish.)

8. Page 132---“Where were we shown images of lawyers as organizers, determined advocates, rather than the disinterested hired hands of whoever could throw the price?” (Lesson: Legal education tends to develop mercenaries. It is difficult to resist this pressure, particularly in a large law school. Yet law school seeks attracts idealists as applicants.)

9. Page 135---“At HLS exams are graded anonymously, with a private identifying number affixed to the test instead of the name.” (Lesson: In law school, any hope that you can influence your grade by your personality and character is usually eliminated.)

10. Page 153---“the course had been so disorganized that we had all been forced to agree that a collective effort was required to put it together.” (Lesson: Despite all the tuition dollars a law student is paying, it is not uncommon for first-year teaching to be abysmally bad.)

11. Page 157---“Superachievers in an era of grade inflation, many people ...were despondent about Bs.” (Lesson: Law school grading standards come as a shock to many 1Ls.)

12. Page 162---“...like many first-year students I had heard about the Review so often that it had finally been digested as the emblem of a success which was otherwise hard to define.” (Lesson: Earning an invitation to join the mysterious, but highly sought-after Law Review—the most prestigious academic journal of the law school—becomes the great prize to be earned from first-year performance in law school.)

13. Page 163---“For me, the anxieties showed in a spending spree on hornbooks, outlines and prepared briefs.” (Lesson: Despite all the money students pay for official textbooks, almost every student invests even more money in the commercial products available to help first-year students master the basic law and cases.)

14. Page 169---“I’ve ...found it difficult to describe HLS to others.” (Lesson: The law school experience, particularly first year, can be isolating. It can be challenging to make outsiders understand one’s doubts, incomprehension, and fears.)

15. Page 171---“Little of what goes on in classes aims at developing intricate knowledge of rules.” (Lesson: Law school doesn’t teach you the ‘black-letter law.’ You have to learn it yourself.)

16. Page 173---“...studying sessions were of limited use. We tried on a couple of occasions to get together, but the variations in the way we were preparing and in the progress each of us had made seemed mostly to disquiet us all. We each seemed to leave those meetings with the sensation that we were doing something wrong.” (Lesson: First-year students struggle to discover the optimal approach to preparing for law school exams.)

17. Page 178---“I studied almost lethargically, sifting through the huge outline—it was over 400 pages—which we’d put together. Most of the pre-Christmas work seemed now to have been purposeless. Time and Torts had pushed almost all of it out of my head and I made a note to myself to avoid getting enmeshed in that kind of project in the spring.” (Lesson: 1Ls often engage in the frantic collective preparation of huge course outlines, which can prove to be much less beneficial than collective attacks on the old official tests—and their model answers—combined with solo personal review of the best commercial study aids and outlines.)

18. Page 179---“In the aftermath of exams...I’d seen how much of my elaborate daily preparation for classes had not been worthwhile. The finest points of the cases, which I’d stayed up to all hours struggling to comprehend, were not merely irrelevant to the exams, but had also proved to be beyond the grasp of my memory.” (Lesson: In the crush of studying, one can easily lose sight of what gets measured in law school—how well you can write exam answers. Keep the focus on mastering the exam format and learning the law from the most helpful sources.)

• GW Law overtakes Penn Law for 8th place.
• UCLA overtakes Texas for 14th place.
• Yale overtakes Texas for 15th place.
• Boston College overtakes Notre Dame for 19th place.
• Boston University ties Boston College at 19th place.
• Illinois overtakes William & Mary for 25th place.
• Washington University in St. Louis overtakes William & Mary, Illinois, and Washington & Lee for 23rd place.

My Top 30 Law School Ranking will next be adjusted in September 2009.

A talented advisee who was a top student in college (he earned a 4.0 GPA) and is now in law school, shares this advice with those who are shortly contemplating their first year in law school. He recommends the following:

In the summer before law school ( and it is best to start much earlier), read the following. In every case, seek the most current version available.

One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School, by Scott Turow. This classic account of the first year of law school gives the reader a grasp of the challenges of law school, and offers advice about what to do and not to do during the critically-important first year.

Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory, by John Delaney. This book is essential as a guide to help you learn how to construct excellent, “to the point” briefs for your future law school classes.

How to Do Your Best on Law School Exams: Complete with Exam Problems& Answers, by John Delaney. This excellent resource is on par with the LEEWS system (www.leews.com), but less expensive.

Civil Procedure: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

Constitutional Law-Individual Rights: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

Constitutional Law-National Power and Federalism: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

Contracts: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

Criminal Law: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

Property: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

The Law of Torts: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers)

In your “E & E” reading, focus on the courses and subject areas that will be covered in your fall 1L classes. Your E & E books can serve as a hornbook for each of your 1L classes.

Purchase and use these during your first year:

Law in a Flash (a flash card learning system for each of your 1L courses). These are highly recommended if you want to start learning the black letter law early. Check eBay for used versions of entire sets. Law in a Flash is very helpful to clarify subjects in class that may not be clearly presented. Use these cards as study aids for any quizzes you might have, because they contain hypotheticals with the tricks you are likely to see from your law professors. Study the hypotheticals with the study group you form and lead. These cards will also be useful as a refresher before your future bar exam, after law school is over.

Other key reading:

Planet Law School II: What You Need to Know (Before You Go)...But Didn’t Know to Ask...and No One Else Will Tell You, by “Atticus Falcon,” Esq. This very interesting book contains the critically important explanation of the “law school paradox” and it explains how law schools stress knowing black letter law. This book is time consuming, but very valuable.

For more information about how I can help you in your law school planning, please contact me.

The key forces they describe that can result in irrational decision making are:

Loss Aversion: the tendency to go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses.

The Diagnosis Bias: the inability to change one’s mind after an initial, quick diagnosis of a person or situation.

The ‘Chameleon Effect’: the tendency to take on characteristics that have been arbitrarily assigned to us.

As I was reading Sway, I realized that I’ve seen these forces at work in the world of law school applications, legal education, and law-related career choices.

Examples:

Loss Aversion: A law school applicant says, “I want to go to a Top 14 law school (but I don’t have anywhere near the GPA and/or LSAT score to be offered admission there). But I’m going to apply anyway. Everybody’s watching me. If I don’t apply now, I’ll be embarrassed. Admission might happen, and I’ll also apply to some Tier 4 law schools, just to make certain that I’ll have some law school choices. I just can’t stand the thought of not being in school next fall.”

What happens? Inevitably, the applicant is rejected from all of the Top 14 law schools. It’s not a lottery; it’s an analysis. You have to win your argument on a foundation of strong numbers. So only the Tier 4 schools offer this person admission. The applicant feels compelled to start law school at a Tier 4 school. Only later does this person realize that the market of law-related employers tends to ignore job applicants from Tier 4 law schools. Yet the Tier 4 law school experience is quite academically demanding, and the competition is fierce. It can be extremely difficult to get to the top of the class, even in a Tier 4 setting.

How to avoid this problem: Stop. Do not launch applications. Start over again with a comprehensive effort to earn a huge increase on the LSAT. Find appropriate law-related work. Do a great deal of law-related reading. Visit law schools. Work with an experienced prelaw advisor.

The Diagnosis Bias: A law school applicant says, “You know, when I visited the X Law School, the weather was lousy, it was hard to find parking, some people didn’t smile at me when I first walked through the doors, and the admissions office didn’t have much time for me. Forget it. I’m not applying there.”

What happens? The applicant fails to apply to a school that might actually be a great fit.

How to avoid this problem: In the example I’m thinking of, the X Law School happens to be an outstanding law school for lifting its best law students to top jobs with major law-related employers in a highly desired city. It really does a fine job for its best students. To not apply based on such shallow initial reactions is ridiculous. Take the long view. Can a particular law school help you reach your goals? Is it respected in the place(s) where you want to work? Does its name have some market power? If so, it has to be seriously considered. Be willing to reconsider thoughtfully your initial impressions.

The ‘Chameleon Effect’: A graduate an elite law school (I can think of three immediate examples, a brand new Top 3 law school graduate; a Top 14 law school graduate who landed a job with one of the most respected corporate legal departments in the US; and a highly respected elite law school official who needed the bar in that person’s new state of employment) says, in effect: “I am a graduate of one of America’s very best law schools. Therefore, I am extremely bright, like everyone around me there. Therefore, difficult things will automatically come easy to me. Therefore, I am not going to invest too much time and effort in a commercial bar exam prep course for the bar exam I’ll take this summer. As an extremely bright person, I am entitled to bar passage, just like my very bright peers.”

What happens? To the person’s shock and deep embarrassment, the person fails the bar exam. Then colleagues of the person react with the “diagnosis bias,” instantly wondering if a mistake has been made in the hiring decision. The person is now in the “penalty box,” and must fight hard to retain the job offer. Enormous pressure is on the person to pass the bar the second time.

How to avoid this problem: Sign up for the most respected commercial bar exam prep course that serves students who want to pass your state’s bar exam. Give it every ounce of your attention and effort. Employ the strategies that they recommend. Learn from their materials. Go to every class. Put all their information and experience on your side. Do not rely solely on your assumptions when you have expert guides to show you the way.

Could you be making mistakes in the areas of Loss Aversion, Diagnosis Bias, or the Chameleon Effect? If you need assistance in planning for law school, please contact me.

His Washington, DC law school gave him the earliest admission offer I've ever seen in the annual 1L JD admission cycle--dated October 31st!  But we're not done yet.  It's possible for this advisee to earn a Top 10 law school admission offer.  We'll see.

Would your plans for law school and the legal profession benefit from expert guidance from PrelawAdvisor.com?

Please contact me for more information.