TRANSFERRING LAW SCHOOLS - THE CAUSE OF MY INSOMNIA

Before I enrolled in law school at Thomas Jefferson, I set a goal to transfer to a higher ranked school if I could place near the top of my class. I remember hoping for a rank in the top 20% which would make a potential transfer possible. Well, my current rank is 6th out of 224 students which places me in the top 2.5% of my class after the first year. Of course this thrills me and I now realize that transferring is no longer a possibility, but a reality.

I applied to 7 schools for potential transfer (I always tend to overdo things a bit): UCLA, University of San Diego, UC Hastings (in San Fran.), U of U, UC Berkeley, Georgetown, and George Washington (both in DC). I was not accepted to Georgetown, however I recently learned I have been accepted to transfer to U of San Diego (USD) and am waiting to hear from the rest. USD has the best reputation of the San Diego law schools by far, so one would think transferring is a no brainer. However, if I transfer, I have to give up my spot on law review as well as my class rank because I will obviously no longer be at Thomas Jefferson. It is still possible to write on to USD's law review and I can try to claw my way towards the top of the class there as well. What is making it super tough is the fact that Thomas Jefferson offered me a fellowship that - when added to my scholarship - covers 75% of my tuition.

I will be calling the financial aid department at USD tomorrow to set up a meeting to see if they can ease the burden of their $40k/year tuition - that's right $40k/year tuition :( However, they have an 80% first time bar passage rate for the CA bar compared to a 56% percent passage at Thomas Jefferson. I think I will pass the bar on my first try regardless of which school I attend, however, the job prospects from a USD graduate are much greater than a Thomas Jefferson graduate.

In the meantime, I will be watching the mailbox every day to see where else I get accepted. If it is UCLA or Berkeley, my bags are packed as they are two of the most prestigious schools in the nation. UCLA is ranked about 15th and Berkeley is 6th, while UC Hastings is ranked 35th, the U of U is 53rd, and George Washington is 20th. Thomas Jefferson is a tier 4 school, meaning it is somewhere between 150th - 200th, due in large part to the fact that it has only been accredited for 12 years. USD is currently ranked 85th. This ranking does not reflect USD's reputation in California, however, as the alumni network and job prospects are some of the best of any California school. Also, the school was ranked 50th a couple of years ago, but apparantley the career services office failed to submit employment data on time to US News - the ranking authority for schools - leading to a plummet in recent rankings. I should also note that Thomas Jefferson is most likely on its way up the charts because of a brand new downtown campus in the works and a bar passage rate that continually increases.

The hardest part is that I personally think the ranking system is a bunch of crap. I have had a great experience at Thomas Jefferson and feel the legal education I have received thus far is as good as any other law school. The reality, however, is that leading law firms generally recruit from the higher ranked schools as they have usually been around longer and are better known.

Time will tell I guess..... "Should I stay or should I go now....."