With Diabolical Efficiency

I finished my 1L year in a very good spot (despite still not having class ranks released) and I decided I should try to transfer. While my 1L year is good, my undergrad GPA is abysmal--welcome to transferring in your junior year, getting your GPA wiped to zero, and then trying to build a new GPA on junior and senior level chemistry courses. Anyway, I worry about getting into any law school as a transfer because of the undergrad GPA. I am actually astonished that I got into a top 50 and a top 100 law school in my original cycle.

Ultimately I decided to try to transfer because I have become so disheartened and so disillusioned with the shitty tactics my law school employs during the year to make sure as many 1Ls as possible do not continue to have scholarships by stacking sections along with a few other tactics to keep people from transferring. I decided that I had no right to continue to bitch about my school and continue to challenge the deans and general administration if I didn't at least try to get out when the opportunity arose.

So 1/2 the schools in this area have deadlines of July 1st. Pretty tight, but possible. The other 1/2, however, had deadlines of June 15th. Since trying to transfer, I have discovered yet more dilatory tactics my school employs to avoid students transferring.

We finished our exams on May 9th. Grades didn't even begin to come in until June. My section got all of its grades on June 9th at 5pm. So the soonest you could even request your final transcript with all 1L grades (a transfer requirement at all area schools) was June 10th---for my section. That means I would have had 5 days to apply to any of these schools.

Another set of 1L sections totaling around 80 students didn't get their final 1L grades until JUNE 17th, 2 days after half the admissions deadlines had passed. Now if that's not contrived and devious, I don't know what is. Also, most schools want your class rank--which stands to reason since my law school also pegs its curve lower than any other school in the area. My school will not be releasing class ranks until AT LEAST mid-July......2 weeks after the latest deadlines for transfers. I have gotten special permission to turn that information in late at both my prospective schools because my application will otherwise be complete and I have no control over when ranks are released.

As it stands I have had to race to get my applications in to the 2 schools I sent applications to, but the finish line is in sight. I'm just waiting on my school to send those "Dean Certifications" that basically say I'm not in academic trouble or on review from the honor board or some such. What at most schools is a form letter the office can just fill in a name for, my school requires 7 to 10 BUSINESS days, in other words, TWO FULL WEEKS. Absurd. They couldn't be more blatant than if they tacked up a "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" sign.

I've done everything I know to do. I have a letter of rec from a prof and my judge I'm working for this semester where the vast majority of interns for the court attend one of the schools I've applied to. I applied to both schools the first time around, so my file will be there from that go round too--for whatever that's worth.

I just don't seem capable of picking a school that isn't underhanded. I did it in undergrad and I've done it again in grad school. Maybe it's just academia. They only answer to their own authority, and absolute power corrupts. I have several friends in my study group who did very well and are trying to transfer with me. They're already talking about sending a formal complaint to the ABA about all the stuff we've witnessed this year. I'm considering it.

In the meantime, Apps are due in around a week, and I've done my legwork. Now it's time to wish myself luck, send them along, and try to remain calm.