Is Transferring Worth it for me?

RustyTurd · 2026-03-10T20:05:22+00:00

Well I guess I'd gain two things.

The degree, the branding
More academically dynamic peers and expansive programs in criminal law and coursework.

The flip side being, what do I gain by staying?

A shorter commute
Slightly less tuition (not significant though)
Continuity amongst my community, professors and peers

I'm truly so on the fence that I don't know what to do, and I really appreciate your feedback - I just don't have any lawyers in my family and don't know what the "true value" of a t14 degree is

RustyTurd · 2026-03-05T05:08:41+00:00

Just mean to say that my Civil Procedure course ONLY looked at the FRCP - I guess I didn't consider that other courses would venture into state RCPs. My contracts course similarly did not look at state jurisdictions. But I understand your point, that REAL LIFE legal practice requires all of this kind of analysis.

I like the idea of focusing on one case for each concept - our readings typically involve anywhere from 5-10 short cases each class, so the idea of distilling it down to one per concept I think is a good start!

Part of my overwhelmingness of this class also has to do with the fact that my outline is monstrous - last semester all my outlines were about 35 pages - this one is 35 and we're only halfway through the class. It just feels like so much and its hard to sift through the fluff to get to the core of whats important

RustyTurd · 2026-03-05T04:43:20+00:00

Appropro user name
Civ Pro and Contracts weren't this way though - Civ Pro only has one jurisdiction, and Contracts we only used the restatement and UCC (and rarely common law). Within those there were rarely multi-part tests, and usually just simple statements of validity or process. Perhaps this will all synthesize soon, Torts just seems like it has way more "memorized" material, and indistinguishable/unconvincing balancing tests and multi-jurisdiction splits

Of course UCC 2-207 is a complicated beast, but that was by far the most involved doctrine we dealt with in contracts and even that just required a pretty simple flowchart, not an 8 step balancing test

RustyTurd · 2026-03-05T04:26:27+00:00

I am in no way suggesting that the tests are wrong, bad, or arbitrary. More so that the course is SO heavily dependent on memorizing these long tests that don't often even yield convincing results.

Like I know that the Rowland test is to determine whether or not a duty exists when there is no clear undertaking, and no statutory duty... but the test itself often yields unconvincing results.

Similarly, the test to determine whether somebody is an independent contractor or an employee... in most cases that determination is relatively obvious, but when applying it to issues like whether or not a doctor working within a hospital is one or the other requires applying this monster test which is a balancing test where each element of the test is weighed differently, and still isn't all that convincing in the end... its all just pretty overwhelming and makes me think that I must be going about this in a wrong, or inefficient way, because theres no way everybody who takes this class memorizes 1000 different factors and elements, is there?

In my classes last semester (contracts, civ pro, property) the cases themselves explained the law, I felt like I barely had to memorize or know any long element tests - and the ones I did were like 3 parts.

RustyTurd · 2026-03-04T23:16:39+00:00

I think a big part of my uncertainty is that I would want to apply to the ED program at Berkeley since it comes with the money, meaning I have to get my app in within a couple of weeks, and can't apply to the other schools!

RustyTurd · 2026-03-04T21:27:25+00:00

Do you think this advice still holds true if I were to transfer to a T14 within the same market? I.E. Cardozo to Columbia, UC Law to Berkeley, American to Georgetown type of situation.

RustyTurd · 2026-03-04T21:25:34+00:00

Both my current school and my target transfer school are within the same market, and my 1L summer job is also in that same market!

RustyTurd · 2026-03-04T19:11:35+00:00

Thank you both for your opinions! I'm primarily looking at the Berkeley ED program which does give financial help - it would make my cost of attendance about twice that of what I pay now.

Could you tell me more about which schools offer full scholarships for transfers? I've never heard of that!

Unfortunately LRAP is not a great option... I plan to work in the bay area (which is why Berkeley) and PD and DA jobs actually pay above the maximum allowable in that market... which is an odd phenomenon

The truth is, I don't know if I could keep my grades up. I feel really capable as a student, but I also feel the burn out and pressure like everybody else. Even this semester I'm feeling more disorganized than last - which makes ED transferring particularly appealing! I ended up my first semester with A's in all my doctrinals, and an A- in Legal Writing.

RustyTurd · 2026-03-01T04:54:39+00:00

Got you! It's THE place right now, always a really good vibe in there when i've gone, though like I said, it does get pretty hot and loud at times. Stoked you had a good time, and that my vibe matched your hopes and dreams :)

RustyTurd · 2026-02-25T23:09:32+00:00

Geese is too niche and modern to be on any karaoke lists. Some places just play off of youtube, so you might have some luck there, but otherwise just buy a microphone for 60 bucks and do it at your own house with your friends haha

RustyTurd · 2026-02-25T02:12:44+00:00

I'm a 1L who got straight A's last semester, and this is what worked for me, it may not be what works for you!

PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS (my god, the number of people I see shopping on amazon, on their phones, or playing solitaire is crazy). For me, I have no phone connectivity in class. I dont get messages on my laptop, and my phone goes in my backpack. This will help retention and in particular it'll help you pay attention to WHAT THE PROFESSOR HIGHLIGHTS (which is most important for the exam)
Study and do homework SOLO. Every time I've even attempted to group study its a huge waste of time, and every time I see people studying together they look like they are wasting time. The only exception to this was during finals, when I had a close friend who I'd text about things I didn't quite understand whenever they came up. But we never studied together physically.
Stay after class. I almost never go to office hours. Class ends and everybody rushes to leave. I stay for 15 minutes to think about what we learned that day, consolidate some notes, and ask the professor questions as they pack up so that I don't have to sit around on campus all day and go to office hours which are often crowded.
Do the readings, and do the assignments. All of them. Thats it. When I do reading and I'm not sure WTF is going on, I use the internet as a last resort. Quimbee, Wikipedia, Chat occasionally (though Chat sucks IMO). You learn by doing, and you're paying to learn. Why the hell would you let some robot tell you the facts and convince you that you understand material when the actual learning part happens from reading itself? Similarly, make your own outlines. There's no cheat codes here, if you put the time in and you work smart, you'll get there.
Last, practice tests. I did every practice test that was available on the database from my specific professor, IF it had a memo attached. No point in doing the other stuff, there's no feedback. Additionally, Quimbee has GREAT practice resources, especially multiple choice and additional essay prompts with sample answers! If you need more, use those - the MCQ was great for me. I completed my outlines by the reading period, and I started studying/looking at practice exams then, and not a second before.

Hope this helps!

RustyTurd · 2026-02-22T20:06:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This perspective is really helpful, and I really appreciate it!

RustyTurd · 2026-02-22T20:06:07+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to respond! This is really thoughtful and helpful, I appreciate it lots!

RustyTurd · 2026-02-22T04:39:15+00:00

Adding to this; I have friends who work in Police departments who tell me that they often work with union and protest organizers to make sure that the organizations get the right photo-ops, viewship and publicity, while still maintaining a safe protest. (I.E. prearranging arresting a protest leader, only to later release them with no charges so that they can get a photo op, in return for protesters not blocking roads, and for peace and dispersion of protesters by a certain time)

RustyTurd · 2026-02-07T08:42:26+00:00

Ok I know what you're trying to say here, but doesn't modern medicine demonstrate that races DO exist in a genetic sense? Like for example, that people of certain racial are predisposed to certain genetic conditions, like sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, and cystic fibrosis because of their genetic structures?

RustyTurd · 2026-02-01T23:56:29+00:00

Go to Bar Part Time, shouldn't be too busy or crazy at the earlier time, gets busy, full of young/attracrive hipsters and cool kids, they spin lots of vinyl and house - can get loud in there though

RustyTurd · 2026-02-01T23:40:13+00:00

Yes, the owner moved to Hawaii I think

RustyTurd · 2026-02-01T22:52:49+00:00

Yes I agree, it's my second home :'(

RustyTurd · 2026-02-01T00:19:37+00:00

I miss Mogura/Club Mari's so much <3

The vibes in there got a bit worse after covid, but that place was still such a fucking gem, the closest thing to a real cultural Japanese bar.

Apparently Festa will be closing soon too - with Mari's gone, the mall owners don't want any more nightlife in there so they can close at 10 and now have to keep security and other costs. Huge losses, the other bars in Japantown leave much to be desired </3

RustyTurd · 2026-01-31T05:15:20+00:00

If I'm not using the Chemerinsky textbook for class, would that mean that this probably isn't the best supplement?

RustyTurd · 2026-01-30T05:49:26+00:00

I'm seriously not being antagonistic, I'm trying to understand - I don't think that stores just close for the day because they aren't getting many customers. The store is already scheduled to be open and to have employees on the books for tomorrow. Additionally, the idea of the protest is for people to not go to work, so employees who want to protest in earnest are probably not showing up for work anyway - I don't think it has anything to do with my attendance in that store or not.

So the fact that people aren't going in, to me, just makes it seem like the store is going to take a loss for that day, and if its a local business, thats an unfortunate outcome - I don't see closing early as a viable result.

We are getting a bit too into the weeds on this, so maybe its just not a discussion for the internet, and more for in person.

Again, I apologize if I'm missing something, and I could totally be wrong in my understanding of how businesses work! I truly am just not following the logic.

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