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As many people predicted, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated numerous individuals to consider law school. Of course, it may sound appealing to ride out the current economic environment in academia, even though students may have to pursue online learning for months to come, and this might not be the best time to attend law school. In fact, much more people than usual have been reaching out to me for law school advice, and many questions are especially tricky to answer given the complexities of the current environment. Since I transferred law schools during my legal education, many people have asked me questions about the transfer process. Some prospective law students seem to have misconceptions about the transfer process that are especially important to keep in mind during the time of COVID-19.
Many people justifiably think that attending a top law school may not be what it’s cracked up to be next semester because numerous campuses may be closed. If law students will simply be at home learning online next semester, it matters less where they attend law school for that time. Of course, some benefits of attending a top law school include being on campus, meeting classmates, attending events, hearing speakers, and participating in clubs, all of which may be difficult to do remotely.
In addition, if law schools continue pass/fail options while students are forced to pursue online learning, there may be less motivation to attend better law schools that cost more money. Such pass/fail options may make it difficult for students to distinguish themselves at a top law school, and they may simply wish to satisfy credits at any law school for the time being. All of these conditions seem to be motivating some law students to pick cheaper and lower-ranked law schools for their first year of study. Such students think they might be able to transfer law schools after their first year after campus life presumably returns to normal and the credits they obtained at a cheaper price can still be used to obtain a JD.
I can certainly empathize with students not wanting to attend a top university when they will likely be forced to take classes online in their parents’ houses. Some news outlets have discussed this dilemma of many college students, and I wrote an article about this for my student debt blog. And it is true that a decent amount of law students are able to transfer to other schools during the course of their legal education. However, I would caution prospective law students about picking a law school with the expectation of transferring for a number of reasons.
The main reason why you should not pick a law school with the expectation of transferring after your first year is that only a small minority of students are able to transfer to better schools. The most important factor that is used when assessing transfer applicants in a normal year is a student’s grades during their first year of law school, as opposed to regular law school admissions where college grades and LSAT scores are more important. If law schools continue pass/fail programs into the fall semester, it is possible that transfer candidates may only have one semester of actual letter grades to show admissions officials when trying to transfer.
As many lawyers understand from first-hand experience, law school grades are extremely arbitrary. For instance, I received almost all As in my first semester of law school, and did much worse during my second semester of law school, even though I buckled down during those months and tried even harder than before to earn top marks. Most law school classes are graded on one final exam at the end of the course, and small errors, illnesses, exam irregularities, and other issues can all impact grades.
Many first-year law students who excelled in college have been confronted with horrible grades during their first year of law school. Even if you commit yourself to studying hard and working your tail off, you cannot guarantee that you will be able to transfer law schools. As a result, it is important to select a law school that you will be able to enroll at for the long haul in case you are unable to transfer.
Furthermore, there may be reasons why you would not want to transfer after your first year of law school that do not relate much to grades. For instance, it is oftentimes more difficult to earn spots on journals and other accolades if you transfer rather than enroll at a law school for all three years of your legal education. In addition, it might be difficult to pursue study-abroad programs, work at certain clinics, or pursue other opportunities as a transfer student. As such, you may eventually decide not to transfer schools even though you could have had such opportunities at a better school if you enrolled there from the beginning.
All told, I can see why students would want to choose the cheapest and most convenient option for their first year of law school given the realities of COVID-19. If law school classes continue to be online in the fall, it might make sense to take courses at one school and transfer to another school when conditions improve. However, students should not pick a law school with the expectation of transferring, since transferring law schools can be impractical or impossible in a number of situations.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.