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How to write a law school transfer personal statement + tips.

law school transfer essay

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 09/19/23

If you’re considering switching law schools and have begun your application, you may be wondering how to write a law school transfer personal statement. Read on to learn more about this essential application component. 

A person writing

Whether you were unable to get into your dream school on the first try, realized your current school wasn’t the right fit for you, or you simply want more opportunities for growth, you may want to transfer law schools . 

Regardless of the reason, a strong transfer application can ensure you join the perfect learning environment to pursue your personal and professional goals. Part of creating a stellar application is writing a compelling law school transfer personal statement.

Like the personal statement you wrote for your initial applications, this essay will give the admissions committee more insight into your personality and character to help them make an informed decision on your candidacy. 

This guide will give you tips and tricks on how to write a successful transfer statement!

What Matters Most to Admissions Officers in Transfer Applications

The admissions committee places significant weight on your academic performance and your rationale for transferring. 

They seek evidence of your excellence at your current law school and your potential to contribute meaningfully to their institution. They’ll also want to know your personal motivations for making the switch, which is where your transfer statement for law school comes into play! 

How to Write a Law School Transfer Personal Statement

An applicant writing

An effective law school transfer personal statement may seem complicated but it can be broken down into three main components: reflection, evaluation, and motivation. Here’s how these components should be incorporated into your personal statement:

Step One: Reflection

You want to start your transfer statement with a memorable opening. The majority of students begin by introducing an experience that influenced them to either join law school or pursue a particular program.

This reflection should then move into your thought process behind choosing your current school. Even though you ultimately were unsatisfied, there were certainly some redeeming qualities that drew you to your law school.

Some questions to consider as you brainstorm ideas for this component are:

  • What drew you to the legal field to begin with?
  • What influenced your decision to join your current law school?
  • What did you enjoy about your current law school? 
  • Do you have any hesitations about leaving your current law school?

Focus on these positives and ensure you do not bad mouth your law school. Telling the admissions committee you joined your current law school because it was your only option will make you appear less attractive. 

Step Two: Evaluation

Once you’ve explained your interests in law and reasons for joining your current school, you’ll want to share your reasons for leaving. Provide constructive evaluation of your school. Prove that, while it is an excellent law school, it is not the perfect law school for you.

Again, choose your reasons wisely. If you simply didn’t get along with your roommate, had professors that bored you to death in lectures, or you missed being at home with your childhood cat Mr. Whiskers, think of more legitimate reasons for your decision. 

Here are some guiding questions to consider:

  • What aspects, if added to your current school, would make you stay?
  • What aspects of your desired school appeal to you?
  • How have your career plans changed? 
  • What resources do you need to reach your goals?
  • How significant are these setbacks? How do they impact your goals?

As you explain the negative aspects of your current school, it’s important you discuss how you attempted to overcome these setbacks. Law schools want to know you gave your current school a fair shot and didn’t just throw in the towel. As a lawyer, you have to be adaptable and an excellent problem-solver. 

Step Three: Motivation

The final step is to share your motivation to join your desired law school. Explain the faculty, courses, experiences, or other aspects that draw you to your transfer school. 

Simply claiming your transfer school has the resources for you to succeed won’t impress the admissions committee. These committees take transfer applications seriously! After already joining another law school, they want to know you’re dedicated to theirs and won’t want to switch again. 

Keep your conclusion brief. Try to circle back to the ideas you presented in your introduction so your essay has good flow and circularity. Leave no questions unanswered and reiterate your strong desire to join your transfer law school.

Law School Transfer Personal Statement Sample

A person writing

Still feeling stumped? Take a look at this law school transfer personal statement that worked well.

If someone hits you, you get up and hit them right back—is what my mother would always tell me when I came home with teary defeated eyes and scraped knees. The combination of being the smallest kid in class and my large aviator glasses made me an easy target for the kids who made it their mission to find and ridicule any differences. 
My mother’s words always stuck with me. With each scrape and bruise my cautious mother reminded me that no else would fight for me; I had to be my strongest advocate. Those words rang through my mind as I sat in my civil rights lecture at New England Law and thumbed over my scarred knees. As I listened to my professor share more about his proudest cases as a civil rights lawyer the realization struck me. 
As someone who was always the outcasted underdog, I was now taking the steps to fight for the little guys. The ones that are overlooked, discriminated against, and denied equality. I knew civil rights law was the perfect specialty for me but New England Law offered a limited range of courses in the subject. 
After speaking to my academic counselor, I was advised the closest I would get to concentrating in civil rights was pursuing a public interest concentration, in which I would gain some experience in civil rights, but it would not be the focus. 
With my mother’s words etched into my brain, I knew I couldn’t settle for adequate or almost good enough. While New England Law has an excellent public interest program, it cannot equip me with the skills and experience I need to become an excellent civil rights lawyer.
In an attempt to advocate for myself and receive the very best education possible, I’m applying to transfer to The University of California Davis to join its renowned human rights and social justice law concentration.
By joining this program, I hope to continue its mission of using the power of law to achieve a more just society and can guarantee I will keep fighting until I succeed.

How Can I Enhance My Chances of Transferring to a Different Institution During My 1L Year?

A person sitting outside with their laptop

Follow these tips to enhance your chances of transferring to a different institution:

Aim for the Best Grades in Your First Year

Your 1L year will be challenging, but you’ll have to do your best to maintain a high GPA straight off the bat to be considered a competitive applicant at other law schools since they tend to hold transfer students to stricter standards!

Write a Remarkable Personal Statement for Your Transfer

Provide a comprehensive explanation of your motivations for changing law schools and the reasons your preferred institution should accept you. Emphasize your notable attributes, memorable experiences, and your compatibility with the new school environment in your transfer statement for law school .

Explore Law-Related Extracurriculars

Although your grades should be your utmost priority, try to get involved in at least one extracurricular that can give your application an extra boost. You may want to join an internship , school club, or advocacy activity.

Investigate Potential Transfer Law Schools

While you may be set on transferring to only one school, have some backup options that you’d be happy with. Law schools are notoriously challenging to transfer into, so don’t put all of your eggs in one basket! Choose schools that best align with your goals and applicant profile, as this will be your last chance to get into the perfect school!

Make Connections

Don’t burn any bridges just because you know you won’t be at your current law school for long. You’ll need at least one academic letter of recommendation for your application, so form close connections with your professors. Act enthusiastic to be there—even if you aren’t! 

Prove Your Commitment: 

Do thorough research on your school and apply early to prove you’ve carefully considered your options and are committed to your transfer school.

Ensure you also tailor your application materials to each school to present the most compelling case for why you should be admitted!

Ask the Experts

In case you’re still unsure of how to maximize your chances of acceptance as a transfer student, our admissions counselors have got you covered! They'll ensure every part of your application is polished and ready for evaluation.

FAQs: Law School Transfer Personal Statement

In this guide we’ve broken down how to write an effective law school personal statement . For any remaining questions on this application material, read on to find your answers.

1. Do Transfer Applications Have to Write a Personal Statement?

Yes, transfer applicants have to write personal statements as part of the admissions process. This part of the application is intended to give the committee insight into their reason for transferring.

2. How Long Should a Personal Statement Be for Transfer Students?

The length of these statements depends entirely on the schools you’re applying to. However, they typically have a 2-page limit. 

3. How Do You Write a Good Personal Statement for a Transfer?

A good law school transfer personal statement will reflect on your choices to join the legal field and your current school, provide an evaluation of your school to determine the reasons for your transfer and describe your motivations to join the transfer school.

You should also take care to revise your personal statement multiple times to ensure there are no spelling, grammar, or structural errors that could reduce the efficacy of your writing. Your personal statement is also used to assess your writing skills, which are crucial to thrive in any law school.

4. What Should You Not Write in Your Personal Statement

Avoid the following in your personal statement:

  • Sharing highly personal information 
  • Non-academic or career-related reasons for your transfer
  • Badmouthing your current school
  • Trying to evoke pity from the committee to convince them to accept you
  • Making promises to the committee about the extraordinary and unrealistic contributions you’ll make to their school if you’re granted admission
  • Vague reasons for joining your transfer school

Don’t forget to also include explanations of how you tried to make your current school work despite your disappointments!

5. Can I Reuse my Common App Essay for Transfer?

No, your common app essay will not be sufficient to use for your transfer essay. Your college personal statement will have a broader purpose and will likely make no mention of your specific reasons for pursuing law. Your transfer statement must clearly explain why you want to transfer schools and what your future legal goals are. 

6. How Important Are Transfer Personal Statements?

While the committee will weigh your first-year GPA the heaviest in the selection process, your personal statement is the only application material that offers reasoning for your decision to switch schools. Determining whether or not your explanations are legitimate will help the committee come to a decision quicker.

Final Thoughts

Fortunately, law schools understand what a difficult task it is to choose the perfect law school! While they understand not everyone gets it right on their first try, they want to assure the second time's the charm! 

To do this, they will take your law school transfer personal statement into consideration and use it to learn more about you! Follow the suggestions in this guide to ensure your personal statement works in your favor and maximizes your chances of getting into your dream law school!

law school transfer essay

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How To Write A Top-Notch Personal Statement When You’re Looking to Transfer Law Schools

December 29, 2017 By Mihal Ansik 6 Comments

Structuring A Law School Transfer Personal Statement

Be Positive: Talk About What You’ve Gained From Your Current School

Addressing a transfer in an admissions statement will look different depending on why you’re transferring. Sometimes the reason for a transfer can be as straightforward as life events requiring a geographical change. Other times, the motivation can be a bit more complicated to explain; for example, if the first year law school just isn’t a good fit. Often students only start to contemplate transferring once they’ve received some pretty good grades and realize that such a thing would be possible. While every situation may call for a different tack, there is a universal approach that can benefit you under any circumstances: identify what you’re enjoying about your current law school experience, and then talk about how you can build on that experience in the new school.

My mom always used to tell me that “gratitude breeds abundance.” This can be a useful mantra when reflecting on your first year of law school in your personal statement. Yes, it can be difficult to positively spin what many consider to be the most challenging year. But if you’re looking to transfer, it means you’re sticking with law school for the time being and, therefore, you can write about what it is that’s keeping you going. So, instead of writing “I want to go to School B because School A sucks,” you want to strike more of an “I loved X about School A and want even more of X by doing this, this, and this at School B” kind of tone. Even if X is the only thing you loved about School A, that’s what you want to write about.

Particularly if you’re transferring in order to move up a few spots on Newsweek’s law school greatest hits list, the school you’re applying to may get the wrong impression of you as an applicant if you’re spending half of your page limit focusing on law school tiers. The school you hope to transfer to wants to know what kind of law student you are. And, unlike your first round of applications, they’re not going to have to guess based on abstract and arbitrary metrics like the LSAT . All they have to do is look at what kind of student you’ve been for the past year.

Be Proud of Yourself: Talk About How You’ve Engaged Positively With Your Current School (And How That’ll Carry Into Your Next School)

Remember, when you’re writing your transfer admissions statement, think about what has made you a valuable student at your current law school and what your current law school has offered to make that possible. If 1L’s are allowed to engage in clinics and you’ve been working with one, then talk about how great that opportunity was, and how you want to build on the experience at the clinics at the new school. If you built a relationship with a great professor at your current school based on shared interests, then you can write about the value of that relationship and your excitement about expanding your mentorship network by identifying professors at the new school who have also worked in your area of focus. If you took a leadership role in a campus student group, then you can highlight the work of the other school’s chapter or, if they don’t have one, propose starting one yourself.

Structuring the Essay

So where should this paragraph about your current law school be? While there’s no one way to structure a law school essay, for the sake of offering some guidance, let’s assume a general admissions essay structure that looks like this:

Personal narrative → Reasons for going to law school/pre-law school experiences and achievements → How this law school will help you reach those goals and how you will contribute to the law school community.

Adopting this same structure for your transfer essay, it will look something like this:

Personal narrative → Reasons for going to law school/pre-law school experiences and achievements → How your current law school has laid a foundation for you to reach these goals and how you contributed to your current law school community → How the next law school will help you reach those goals and how you will contribute to the law school community.

See? You’ve already got most of your transfer essay written. The only bit that’s left is an opportunity reflect on the year you’ve had, celebrate what went well, and look forward to what awaits you.

To learn more about transferring, and hear more details about my personal transfer experience, you can tune into the Law School Toolbox podcast or email me at [email protected].

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Looking for some help to do your best in law school? Find out about our law school tutoring options.

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About Mihal Ansik

Mihal is a tutor for the Law School Toolbox and Bar Exam Toolbox. Teaching has been integral to Mihal’s work for over a decade. Prior to law school, she led creative workshops and academic classes in prisons, tutored elementary school students struggling with reading comprehension, and spent five years working as a Court Advocate in Brooklyn, NY, where she developed trainings and advocacy tools for incarcerated and system-involved youth.

While at Harvard Law School, Mihal continued incorporating education and mentorship into her law school experience. She was a mentor and team leader with Harvard Defenders, chaired the Community Building Committee for the Prison Legal Assistance Project, and joined a research paper team exploring the context and impact of legal education. Mihal graduated with a Harvard Public Service Venture Fund Fellowship and Berkeley Law Foundation Fellowship, went on to receive an Equal Justice Works Fellowship sponsored by Morrison and Foerster, and currently provides legal services and educational tools to women working to reunify with their children and families after incarceration.

Reader Interactions

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Mihal, I found your article truly insightful. I will put your recommendations into action.

Best, David

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Thank you for your lovely feedback, David – best of luck to you!

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I built great relationships with staff and faculty at my law school, but that’s about it. I literally was focused on grades and staying sane. I was apart of the Business Law Society but only went to 2 meetings. Does that put me at a disadvantage?

Hi Holly – It’s great that you’ve developed such meaningful relationships with faculty and staff at your school, and I encourage you to focus on positives like that. It sounds like you’re on the right track!

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I have scoured the internet trying to find sample transfer personal statements without any luck. Do you have any suggestions?

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We don’t have a specific idea for transfer personal statements, but we do have a podcast all about transferring, and we discuss the application. It might be helpful! https://lawschooltoolbox.com/podcast-episode-122-transfer-law-schools-mihal-ansik/

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Making a first impression twice: a guide to transferring law schools

Maybe you underperformed on the LSAT. Maybe you feel you did not push yourself enough. Or maybe your resume and personal statement were not as impressive as they needed to be. For whatever reason, you did not get accepted to your dream law school. You did, however, do well enough to earn acceptance to a different law school. Rather than waiting another year to apply again, you decide to attend your back-up, accepting the fact that your dream school isn’t going to happen. You begin law school hopeful that you’ll soon realize this is where you were meant to be all along, but that feeling never comes and now you’re stuck in a school you don’t love, still longing for the one that got away. 

If the above scenario is similar to yours, don’t give up hope! This was my story. I didn’t get accepted to my dream school, but had secured a position with Fordham University School of Law and was very excited to attend such a great school! I was married with one kid on the way and did not have the time to wait for the next cycle of applications to go around. So, I accepted my spot at Fordham Law. While I valued all I had learned at Fordham and will always keep with me the friends that I made, Fordham just never felt like home. At the close of my first year, I was in an excellent position to transfer. I took advantage of the opportunity and was accepted to Columbia Law School, where I remain. The process was arduous and complicated. While this is by no means a comprehensive guide, I have outlined the 6 things that every prospective transfer student should know before you apply:

1. Grades matter

While I personally believe that grades alone are an inaccurate assessment of one’s intelligence, grades are imperative to success in the law school system. GPA is the sole basis for many law firms’ employment decision-making, and law school honors and maintaining merit-based scholarships are almost exclusively based on grades. The transfer process is no different. Law schools always publish the average GPA of their transfer class: the higher the number, the more prestigious the school looks. For this reason, grades are the single most important factor when considering transferring. From day one of 1L, you need to be super focused on getting those As so that you can be in a favorable bracket for transferring. 

2. Letters of recommendation

Like all law school admissions, you’ll need at least two letters of recommendation to complete your application. However, the difference between entering 1Ls and transferring 2Ls is that a law school professor must write the letters. When considering if a transfer student will thrive at their new school, schools look to how the student has performed so far in law school. Prior experience becomes more-or-less obsolete. For this reason, it is important to foster relationships with professors early on. Consider going to office hours every now and then, staying after class to chat with them, and emailing them asking for one-on-one meetings to discuss a topic in more depth than you were able to in normal office hours. Be sure you’re not constantly bothering them or meeting just for the sake of meeting, but if you have questions or topics that you feel would lead to insightful conversations, take advantage of the opportunity to get to know your professors. Regardless of whether you consider transferring, law school professors are a wealth of knowledge from whom you can learn more than just your subject material. These relationships will prove invaluable when you begin the transfer process. If you are nervous that your professor will not be supportive of your transfer, fear not! Most law school professors are graduates from top universities, possibly even transfers themselves, and they understand that different schools are right for different students. 

3. Personal statement

Your law school personal statement is your chance to show the admissions board who you are apart from your GPA on a more personal level. If your grades are lower than a school’s median, this statement is your chance for redemption. Remember that your statement should tell the admissions team why you want to be a lawyer and why they should choose you over another applicant. In your transfer personal statement, you should consider focusing on (1) your current law school experience and why you want to transfer, (2) what you hope to accomplish at the school to which you are applying, (3) where you hope to take your career, and (4) how attending this school will help you get there. Be sure you’re placing an emphasis on the substance of your paper, particularly highlighting your interest in that school. 

4. Forget the past

I personally do not believe that the LSAT is a good indicator of intelligence or potential law school success. However, the system is the way it is. Law schools publish their incoming class’ LSAT scores and that average is used as one of the ranking qualifiers to determine the school’s prestige. Obviously then, schools will go out of their way to ensure they’re getting the highest LSAT scores possible from their candidates. For that reason, many law schools will offer merit scholarships to candidates with a high LSAT score, despite the remainder of their application appearing no different than anyone else’s. With transfer students, LSAT scores are not factored into this average. This means that whether you received a 178 or a 149, your LSAT score will not affect the law school’s ranking. Finally, your LSAT score can stop haunting your dreams at night, just be sure you keep your 1L grades up. 

5. The application process

Unlike the initial application, the transfer process is less structured. You should find out when transfer applications open and begin the process as soon as possible. You should be working on your letters of recommendation and your personal statement even before applications formally open, that way when they do you’re already halfway done. You will need to have an official transcript and a letter of good standing sent from each college you attended. In addition, there are several forms that you will need your current law school to submit so be sure to speak with a representative from your current law school right away. Never leave things to the last minute, especially not in law school!   

6. Know if transferring is right for you

Sure ranking and law school prestige have their benefits, but there’s more to attending a school than those factors alone and each candidate should consider whether transferring is actually the right move for themselves. Don’t just transfer so that you can attend a school that is higher on a law school ranking list. Consider what it is that you will be leaving behind: friends and connections you’ve made, your stellar GPA (which does not transfer with you), your class rank, your school-specific scholarship, and an extracurricular groups including journals or competition teams you’ve joined at your current school. You should also consider which school aligns best with your career goals and can place you where you hope to end up post-grad. For example, if you want to go into Big Law in New York City, you maybe better off attending a school like Fordham Law, which is known for placing its students into top Big Law firms, as opposed to transferring to a higher ranked out-of-state law school that lacks the same networking ability and may not place as well in the city and job of your choosing. If you want to get a federal clerkship after school or are more public-interest minded, you may want to consider a school like Georgetown, which is known for placing well in those positions. Either way, talk it over with your loved ones and an admissions counselor to make an informed decision. 

Just remember that this journey is a personal one and while I consider my experience a success, everyone is different. Depending on who you ask, you may receive different answers or advice. That does not mean that one or any of them is wrong, but be sure that at the end of the day, you’re doing what is best for you and for the right reasons. If you are considering transferring and want more guidance, reach out to me through Cambridge Coaching, and I will be more than happy to help you along your transfer journey.

Related Content

Transferring Law Schools? Here’s How to Stand Out

December 7, 2022

James Suzano

With the first round of law school admissions decisions just around the corner, there are inevitably going to be more dissatisfied applicants than successful ones. Only so many spots are available at the top law schools, and even students with strong LSAT scores and high GPAs might find themselves disappointed with their admissions results (Harvard Law School, for example, has an admit rate of only 10%). Nevertheless, some still choose to attend law school. Such JD aspirants might find themselves considering the transfer process , wherein students enter their 1L year at a lower-ranked school and hope to transfer to a higher-ranked school to complete their studies. If you count yourself as one of those applicants, you’re in the right place.

The best advice we at Stratus can give to such an applicant can really be summed up in two words:  start now .

Start Early—Earlier Than You Think

The key to a successful transfer application is, above all else, preparation. An aspiring transfer student essentially consents to putting their  entire 1L year on trial  before the best law schools. It is therefore imperative that such students make the most of their first year of law school. If you’re going into your first year knowing that you intend to transfer, start preparing now. If you’re already in your 1L year and have just now made the decision to transfer, start preparing yesterday.

A successful transfer application consists of four main components: 1L school, 1L grades, recommendations, and personal statement. The rest, such as undergraduate GPA and LSAT score, are ultimately significantly less important than the first four. Of these four components, an aspiring transfer student can begin working on three before their 1L year even starts. The fourth will need to wait until sometime in the second semester—for good reason, which we’ll explain shortly.  

Law School Transfer Timeline

1L Law School

The transfer process ideally begins before an applicant has even committed to their first law school—that is, the law school out of which they want to transfer. It’s not a joke to say that the transfer process begins before the first day of law school. In fact, it begins around April of the year before they want to transfer. It’s around that time that applicants begin receiving rejection letters from their dream law schools and start getting acceptance letters from their “safety schools.” At this point, an eventual transfer applicant faces their first choice: where to begin.

When trying to get into a great law school, it’s best to already be at a good school. It’s easier to get to the top if you’ve already completed 90% of the climb; logically, it follows that it’s easier to get into Yale from Cornell than from Irvine, into Cornell from Irvine than from Emory, and so on. Then, too, for whatever reason, some schools are more likely to accept applicants from the local region—only 25% of law students who transferred to UCLA for the 2021–2022 academic year came from schools outside of California. Some schools might even have other preferences, such as aspirations toward public service or other types of programs.

The price of failure must also be considered. Ultimately, the transfer process is far from a sure bet, and many students who enroll in a lower-ranking law school with the intent to transfer do not succeed in doing so. When considering which law school to attend for their 1L year, a student should always acknowledge that they might end up staying there for good. For instance, if you hate cold weather, don’t go to the University of Wisconsin–Madison—you could be there for longer than the single year that you anticipate.

With the school component out of the way, the next step is to get good grades. Although your 1L GPA isn’t going to single-handedly make a transfer application, it is the component that can most easily break it. Simply put, first-year law students in the top 30% of their class can usually transfer to better schools, and students outside of that subsection generally can’t. The students in the bottom 70% can make a lateral transfer—perhaps they’re unsatisfied with their current school, or a pressing situation is calling them to another part of the country—but will very rarely succeed in transferring to a higher-ranking law school.

Even for the top 30%, though, placement is difficult, and students in the top 10% will obviously have an easier time transferring than students in the 11%–30% range. Transferring law schools is competitive; the top schools are usually just trying to fill any open spots left by 1L students who dropped or failed out. Sometimes that number can be relatively high ( UCLA took on 24 transfers last year) and sometimes it can be low ( Cornell accepted just 4 ,  Yale 12 ). However, the median GPA for transfers to all three of those schools was high: for UCLA, a 3.81; Cornell, also 3.81; and Yale, a whopping 3.96!

All of this is to say that the GPA is an extremely important component of a successful transfer law school application. It is the baseline—the price of admission. Students aspiring to transfer law schools should therefore do everything they can to maximize their GPA. Contrary to what might be students’ first instinct, however, execution of a proper transfer GPA does not begin on the first day of classes, but rather on the first day of summer. Several optional summer preparatory classes  are available to help aspiring transfer students boost their GPA to the right level. Students who take these classes are much less likely to experience 1L shell shock—the look that 1Ls get around halfway through their first semester, when they realize how much studying law school requires. Even more significantly, students who complete prep classes are much more likely to be adequately prepared for their exams.

That said, while the 1L GPA is important, it’s not everything, and it won’t win you a transfer all by itself. Think of your GPA as the absolute minimum required for your application—sort of a ticket to ride. Students with high GPAs are invited to play but then must compete against all the other students with high GPAs. Only the applicants with the best overall applications will be able to successfully transfer law schools. That’s where the next two aspects of your application come into the picture.

Recommendations

Transfer applicants are already familiar with letters of recommendation. They undoubtedly had to provide several when they applied to law school the first time around. They’ve probably also sought a handful of others to apply for jobs or internships. The transfer letter of recommendation is, however, more important.

I often tell clients that the single most important question to answer when writing their applications is “Can I be successful at law school?” Most often, the way to answer that question is to show how you can succeed as an attorney. In the case of a transfer application, though, there is a faster and easier path to the answer the law school admissions committee seeks: ask competent evaluators. There can be no more competent evaluator than a law school professor who has taught an applicant, seen them fail, and seen them succeed. However, there is a significant difference here: the letters that an applicant submitted for their original application were speculative; the recommendations coming from law professors are concrete and dispositive.

The obvious approach to this issue is to begin tackling it when the law school opens its doors for the first day of classes. But the obvious approach is wrong —or at least not as effective. Although classes might be on break over the summer, professors certainly are not. More often than not, a law professor can be found in their office, working on the next piece they intend to publish. An eager incoming 1L student can take this opportunity to schedule meetings with the professors who will be teaching their classes. Doing so will allow the student to get one up on the competition and, more importantly, to establish relationships with the professors who will write those letters of recommendation.  

Although these relationships should begin forming in the summer, recommendation letters should not be written until well into the spring semester. Again, the point of these letters is to evaluate your performance and your ability to succeed as a law student. If you have not yet performed, there is nothing to evaluate yet. Asking professors for their recommendations in January gives them enough time both to evaluate you and to write the letter in anticipation of applications opening in May.

Law School Personal Statement

Spring is not only the right time for an applicant’s professors to evaluate them, but also the time for an applicant to begin self-evaluation. That brings us to the personal statement, for which there is really only one prompt: “How I succeeded in law school.” There could be several permutations—for instance, “What I changed in order to succeed in law school,” “How I reacted to problems in law school,” or “What I did not anticipate about law school and how I resolved the resulting problems”—but the underlying theme will always be the same.

Remember, the goal of an application is to answer the question “Can this applicant succeed in law school?” Much like with letters of recommendation, an applicant’s original law school personal essay is speculative. It attempts to divine the response to a question that can really only be answered in the future. On the other hand, a transfer applicant’s essay is proven by history. A transfer applicant does not need to draw parallels between their previous life and what they imagine law school will be like because they have already experienced law school and know how they performed there.

Although the prompt might seem easy, writing the essay is often tricky, and there are numerous pitfalls that can sink what would be an otherwise successful statement. Demonstrating success while admitting to failures, being frank about the law school experience but not so frank as to turn off admissions committees, and knowing how to discuss your achievements without bragging all represent so many plates of a balancing act. The actual penning of the personal statement should ideally begin sometime in March and end in April. Applications open in May—sometimes right after the last day of school—and it pays to be the first to submit one. At the same time, writing a personal essay while cramming for law school finals is inadvisable. If a lull exists in the 1L year, that lull should be used to write your personal statement.

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The Bells and Whistles

Everything else—the LSAT score, the undergraduate GPA, a TOEFL score (if necessary)—should all already be recorded on the LSAC website. They matter significantly less this time around, however. The LSAT is a tool for predicting an applicant’s future performance in law school, but a law school GPA is a measurement of a student’s actual performance. LSAT scores are speculative, while 1L GPAs are conclusive.

Because law school transfer windows open in May—Harvard’s typically opens in early May, while other schools’ open closer to the middle of the month—everything necessary for the application, with the notable exception of second-semester grades, should be completed by May 1st. At that point, an applicant can send in their application incomplete and follow up later, once grades are released.

Transferring Law Schools: In Summary

Of the four big factors in deciding a successful law school transfer application—school choice, 1L GPA, recommendations, and personal statement—you can and should start working on the first three before your 1L year even starts. Therefore, you should select a target law school as soon as possible, start studying for the 1L year during the summer, and begin developing relationships with professors who can write recommendations before school starts. And even though you ideally should write your personal statement in March and/or April, you should start thinking about what should go into it much sooner.

I really can’t stress this enough: the most competitive law school transfer students often turn to outside help, such as law school admissions consulting firms like Stratus. I don’t say this to brag about our services or to advertise—you’re already on our website, and you’ve already read a lengthy article—but just to highlight a truth. Transferring to a top law school is harder than gaining admission in the first round, and the best of the competition all have professional help. It’s certainly not impossible to go it alone, but it is quite a bit harder.

Time is of the essence. Get to it! And if you think you’re going to need assistance, set up an appointment for a  free chat with a Stratus admissions expert. We’re here to help.

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Transferring Law Schools: How I Jumped Ship

Ashley Kirkwood

Welcome back, Ashely!

“It is going to be nearly impossible to transfer from here to that law school! That is one of the best schools in the city!” I heard this more than once. But I internalized: “It is rare for people to transfer from here to that law school, so you need to strategize.”

Keys to a Successful Law School Transfer Application

Here’s how I transferred in a nutshell: I received exceptional first year (“1L”) grades, applied strategically, connected with the schools I applied to, and assembled a well thought-out application.

You need good 1L grades to transfer to a highly ranked law school.

Grades are the most important factor in determining whether or not you will be accepted as a transfer student.

The higher your 1L grades are, the more options you will have as a transfer student.

Further, some schools use grades to determine the amount of scholarship money a transfer student will receive.

Some schools give transfer students scholarships, some do not.

Everyone says your 1L year is hard, but employers and law schools still expect stellar academic performance. After making the grades, the rest is easy.

I came to law school with a goal. I sought to receive all A’s, and that’s what I earned. I believed that I would get all A’s. That is vital because law students get really down on themselves and can be, well, negative. That doesn’t work for me.

My first year of law school, I wrote my name at the top of a sheet of paper. On that same sheet of paper, I wrote all of my 1L courses and put an A next to each and every one. Why? I needed to literally see myself getting great grades. I did this whenever I felt discouraged. For me, it helped. However, I wasn’t just doodling my name and grades — I studied a lot too.

Stellar grades alone won’t cut it. To increase your chances you need to make yourself the complete package and apply strategically.

Applying Strategically

I had a list of schools that I planned to apply to as a transfer law student.

I chose where I would apply based on a school’s employment numbers and national ranking.

I applied to two schools that I considered safety schools. I classified these schools as safety schools because, when I called their respective admission’s offices they told me that, based on my class rank and GPA, I would receive admittance and scholarships.

I also applied to four reach schools. I classified these schools as reach schools because they were all tier one schools. The rankings of the schools ranged from fourth to fortieth in the nation. Out of the four reach schools, I was denied from two and accepted at two. The schools that denied me were the highest and lowest ranked reach schools that I applied to.

Two of the reach schools interviewed me. Both schools accepted me. In the interviews, I connected with the school representatives and conveyed my dedication to both their institutions and the legal profession.

Overall, four out of the six schools that I applied to as a transfer law student accepted me.

In addition to applying strategically, for my first choice, the school that I now attend, I did a little extra. I made sure the school understood how much I wanted to attend.

Speaking With Admissions

I did not apply anywhere before speaking with the school’s admissions office.

Every school that I applied to knew my application was coming.

I set up appointments with admissions counselors and asked detailed questions, which allowed me to weave in selling points for myself. For example, “ My aunt and uncle both graduated from here and they speak highly of the alumni network. Does the law school have an alumni mentoring program that I, as a transfer student, could take part in ?” I genuinely wanted to know the answer to the question but I also wanted the admissions counselor to know that I have family members who attended the school.

I went to the admissions office often. I called or visited every time that I received new grades or won an award. This showed real interest. Also, speaking with the admissions office allowed me to meet people who would inevitably read my personal statement.

Personal Statement

All of the schools that I applied to requested transfer applicants to include a personal statement. Each personal statement prompt requested that I, as an applicant, address why I decided to transfer. Obviously , I wanted to transfer because attending a higher ranked school would expand my job prospects. Outside of that, I had a few other reasons. But I needed to prove it. So I did some research .

I frequently visited my first choice before being accepted as a transfer student.

While visiting, I got a feel for the school and the students. This helped tremendously. I even went to the school’s law library to study sometimes. Being at the school frequently allowed me to make my personal statement, well, personal .

For instance, if I wanted, I could write that, “ I have visited the school on numerous occasions during my first year of law school and have gotten lost. Each time, students gave me directions and spoke about their magnificent experiences at the law school. Speaking with current students, I realized the supportive environment of the school and I desire to study in an environment like that .”

Outside of just getting personal statement material, visiting the law school allowed me to visualize myself attending the school. Sounds cheesy, but if I can see it I can believe it .

In addition, my personal statement detailed my journey to law school. I wrote about my past academic struggles.

I was transparent because candor matters — especially in the legal profession.

I did not hide my imperfections. I told my story and explained my past decisions by taking responsibility and showing the changes that I made.

I also highlighted my academic accomplishments. I wrote about my law school grades.

The admissions committee had my transcript, but I explained how I got straight A’s.

I wrote about the office hours that I attended. I wrote about the sample exams that I created for myself from past exams. I recounted how my study partner — who also transferred — and I would time ourselves taking practice exams to prepare for finals. If you don’t tell the admissions committee they won’t know .

Think of your personal statement as a math problem. You have to show your work .

Don’t just state conclusions about yourself that you can’t prove.

For example, saying you like a particular program at a school is great, but how would the admissions committee know that you are telling the truth? They won’t . However, you can email a professor who helped create that program. If that professor is still at the school, set up a phone conversation. Learn interesting aspects of the program that are not on the school’s website. Then, write about what you learned from your research.

Taking those extra steps makes you much more credible. That type of initiative proves that you have a real interest in the program. Make your personal statement personal .

Letters of Recommendation

I received letters of recommendation from past employers and professors. I asked my 1L summer associate supervisor for a letter of recommendation and he obliged. If you have a prestigious 1L summer position, it may help to get a letter from your supervisor because they can speak to your ability to work in a legal environment. If not, you can have a former employer write a letter of recommendation — if you left on good terms.

Whether or not you receive a letter of recommendation from a previous employer should depend on what your potential law school values . My current law school values past work experience, which is why I sought letters from past employers. All schools will value grades. Thus, you will definitely need letters from past professors.

Some students are nervous about asking professors for letters of recommendation.

I was not self-conscious about asking professors for letters of recommendation. I knew my professors and worked hard in their classes. When I asked for letters of recommendation, I was direct. I told my professors that I wanted to transfer law schools. After which, I asked for a letter in support of my application.

None of my professors shunned me. If they could write me a letter of recommendation they did. If they couldn’t they didn’t. All of my professors were great. They did not make it awkward. I still talk to many of them to this day. It helped that I was a diligent student and genuinely enjoyed getting to know all of them. Get to know your professors. You may develop lifelong mentors. Further, you never know when you will need them to recommend you.

For transfer admittance, some schools require interviews. I enjoy interviewing so the interview helped me.

I prepared as though it was a job interview.

I showed up early, brought an updated resume — which included my 1L summer associate position — and came with a positive attitude. I addressed all questions in the interview, especially the questions that were not asked.

I am realistic with my abilities and know my strengths and my weaknesses.

When I say weaknesses, I do not mean the weaknesses that you reference in a job interview. I know my real weaknesses, the ones that an admissions committee looking at my complete file would see but may not feel comfortable asking about.

For me, it was my undergraduate GPA. Well, undergrad in general. If you do an admissions interview, and you have anything in your background that you know makes you a weaker candidate, you have to address it in the interview, whether or not it is asked. You cannot hide. They will find out. Be honest. Explain briefly and move on. Your past is just that, your past , but you need to address it. So address it.

You will undoubtedly receive questions about why you decided to transfer. Be gracious in your response. I spoke highly of my previous law school.

When asked why I wanted to leave, I framed it in terms of facts.

For instance, when asked, I would say something like, “ My previous law school focuses heavily on public sector careers, though that is a wonderful career path, I plan to work at a large law firm upon graduation. In fact, the firm that I plan to work for recruits heavily from this law school. ” I kept it factual. I enjoyed my first year of law school but I had to make a career decision. Simple.

The interview process will vary depending on the school. I did two admissions interviews. Both asked about my past. I used the interview as a way to highlight additional accomplishments and explain any inconsistencies within my admissions file. It went well. Both schools that interviewed me accepted me . Both schools are ranked as one of the top twenty-five law schools in the nation.

Different Strokes

People transfer for different reasons. My close friend got into one of the top five law schools in the nation and opted not to attend. She inevitably transferred after deciding that she wanted to work for a large firm upon graduation. Her process was easier. Mainly because she had a different situation than me. She transferred to a school that accepted her straight out of undergrad. Now, not only is she attending a tier one school, but she received a full-tuition scholarship to attend. That being said, there are many roads to the same goal. I am simply writing about my personal experience.

The process is long. Transferring is a challenge because there are many moving pieces. Also, you never know how stiff the competition will be to gain transfer admittance.

Additionally, you have to do all of this while getting exceptional grades during your 1L year. Plan early. Write a good personal statement. Request letters of recommendation in advance. Order transcripts in advance. Plan to complete this process well before finals examinations. Have everything ready to go so that when the school you are applying to begins accepting applications, you are ready.

I used a Vince Lombardi quote in my personal statement so I will leave you with some of his wise words:

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

Do your best and it will all work out.

— – —

Thanks, Ashley! Extremely helpful advice all around. If you missed part one, check it out here .

More about Ashley Ashley Kirkwood graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (“UIUC”) with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. While attending UIUC, she majored in international business. Currently, Ashley attends Northwestern University School of Law. She writes for a law journal at Northwestern and recently accepted a summer associate position with a large Chicago law firm. To contact Ashley, email her at [email protected] . View her LinkedIn profile here .

A few more first-person accounts you might enjoy:

  • Will You Be a Happy Lawyer?
  • Want to Start Marketing Yourself in Law School? Some Great Tips!
  • Nervous About Exams? Get Advice From a Rockstar Tutor

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This article was a breath of fresh air, compared to the other article I’ve read regarding transfers.

I enjoyed the author’s honesty, and the practical strategy she laid out.

I plan to implement some of her strategies during my process.

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Ashley, this is an awesome, incredibly helpful article. Thank you! It’s difficult to find good, informative articles about transferring law schools. Yours is one that I will bookmark and use as a resource for years to come. Thank you so much for all your detailed advice and for being so honest with your tips. Congratulations on transferring to Northwestern Law and I wish you much continued success!

[…] Please welcome back Ashley Kirkwood, with more on the logistics of the law school transfer process. As she explained in her first post, she recently transferred to Northwestern Law — after being rejected from every law school she initially applied to. Welcome back, Ashely! “It is going to be nearly impossible to transfer from here { Continue Reading } […]

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Transfer Applicants

Transfer admissions is an opportunity for rising 2L students to join the Harvard Law School community after completing their 1L year at another law school. We encourage all interested and eligible applicants to apply.

The transfer application typically opens up in early May and the submission deadline is usually in mid-June. We aim to notify transfer applicants of their admission decision in early July.

  • Sign up to receive updates on the transfer admission process

Eligibility

Applicants for transfer admission must meet the following criteria:

  • Applicants have completed one year of full-time study in a J.D. program (or one-third of the total credits required in a part-time program) at a United States law school.
  • Applicants attend a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).

Applicants are not eligible for transfer admission if they have completed more than one-third of the total credits required for the J.D. program in which they are currently enrolled. Students may apply for transfer to begin the second year of J.D. studies in the fall semester only. Additionally, students are required to spend at least two years in residence at HLS.

Current LL.M. (Masters of Laws) students are not eligible to transfer to the J.D. program at HLS. Current and former LL.M. students interested in applying for the J.D. program at HLS should instead apply through the regular J.D. application pathway .

Information Sessions

Join one of our virtual information sessions to learn more about the transfer application process at Harvard Law School. During these Zoom meetings, participants will hear from members of the J.D. Admissions team as we provide a brief overview of the program, answer pre-submitted questions, and address live questions submitted through the Q&A box. For a broad overview of HLS and the admissions process, we encourage participants to view our recorded  J.D. Admissions Information Session  and browse our  Transfer FAQs  before joining a session.

Transfer Application Information Session and Q&A

Tuesday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET

Transferring to HLS: Q&A with Current Students

Friday, May 10 at 12:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, May 14 at 5:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, June 4 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET

Application Timeline

Application OpensSubmission DeadlineDecision Release
Wednesday, May 1, 2024Monday, June 10 @ 12:00 p.m. (Noon)Early July 2024

View Transfer Application Components & Apply

Admissions faqs: transfer applicants.

Application questions? Start with our Transfer Applicant FAQs.

What We Look For

View our Standards for Admission.

Transfer Blog Posts

Hear from current and past students that have transferred to HLS on our blog.

Transfer Cohort

  • View the Complete Transfer Cohort Profile
  • Number of Undergrad Institutions 88
  • Number of 1L Law Schools 53
  • Languages 23

Additional Information

Successful transfer candidates have excelled academically in their 1L year and often place near the top of their first-year law class. All applications are reviewed according to the Harvard Law  Standards for Admission . Given the small number of transfer spaces available and a comparatively large and accomplished transfer applicant pool, some applicants who meet these characterizations cannot be offered admission.  We cannot make estimates of an individual’s chances for admission.

Law courses taken before matriculation at Harvard Law School will be considered part of the transfer student’s first year of J.D. studies and may not be used to meet any Harvard Law School upper-level requirements. Additionally, courses taken during your 1L year will not be included in HLS Latin honors calculations.

Transfer students must satisfy the Law School’s first-year requirements by demonstrating completion of comparable courses at their prior institution or completion of qualifying courses after matriculation at HLS. The Harvard Law School  Office of the Registrar  can advise students on comparable courses.

Law courses taken at HLS by the transfer student–including first-year Law School courses and qualifying courses taken after matriculation to bring the transfer student into compliance with the School’s first-year requirements–may be used toward the upper-level credit requirements. Additionally, such law courses will count in overall performance in the 2L or 3L year according to the rules set forth in the  Harvard Law School Handbook of Academic Policies .

The  Harvard Law Review  encourages transfer applicants to apply for membership on the Review. If you wish to be considered for membership,  you must participate in the Writing Competition at the same time as HLS 1Ls in May . Registration for the competition typically opens in April. Instructions on taking the Writing Competition may be found in  Writing Competition  section of the website.

Prospective 2L transfer students should email [email protected]  with questions.

Recognizing that the competition schedule poses unique challenges to prospective transfer applicants, the  Review  also allows transfer students to take the competition at the end of their 2L year. However, no student may attempt the competition more than once, and this option is only available to transfer students who did not previously take the competition.

All transfer applicants are encouraged to apply to the  Harvard Legal Aid Bureau  (HLAB). To be considered for membership, each transfer applicant is required to submit a modified application and participate in a round of interviews.

Transfer applicants who wish to receive an application should visit the HLAB Application Process webpage .

If admitted to both the law school and the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, each transfer student will be required to attend orientation and training in Cambridge, MA in late August.

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Transferring to HLS: Joining the Harvard Law Review

Thinking about transferring to Harvard Law School (HLS) and interested in writing on to the Harvard Law Review?  Students that transfer to HLS can join the Harvard Law Review either as a rising 2L, or as a rising 3L (although they may only participate in the competition once). Write-On is a six-day competition where students

June 14, 2024

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Transferring to HLS: A Transformative Experience in Legal Aid

By joining the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB), I am doing more hands-on, direct services work as a student than I could be doing anywhere else. When I was considering transferring, one of my biggest concerns was whether I would have the opportunity to get clinical experience in my second year, given the uncertainty about

May 13, 2024

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Student Voices: From Content Moderation to Social Impact–My Path to Harvard Law School

As a third-year, I’ve been reflecting on my path to HLS. In some senses, I’m filled with immense gratitude.

November 13, 2023

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Our Favorite Interview Questions

November officially marks the beginning of interviews for those applying in the 2023–2024 cycle! To help you prepare, we wanted to share some of our favorite interview questions. Before we dive in, here’s some additional context about interviews: If you have been invited for an interview with a member of the J.D. Admissions team, you can

November 2, 2023

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Law School Transfer Essay Forum

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Law School Transfer Essay

Post by Zazelmaf » Fri Apr 29, 2011 5:36 pm

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Re: Law School Transfer Essay

Post by krasivaya » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:42 pm

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Post by vanwinkle » Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:39 pm

Zazelmaf wrote: My wife and I lived in a ten by thirteen foot apartment that was nearly uninhabitable for one, none-the-less, two people.

Post by rose711 » Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:51 pm

Post by Zazelmaf » Mon May 02, 2011 9:16 am

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Post by kublaikahn » Mon May 02, 2011 3:43 pm

Post by Zazelmaf » Mon May 02, 2011 7:17 pm

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Post by JamMasterJ » Tue May 03, 2011 9:43 pm

kublaikahn wrote: To be honest, this piece is disjointed and difficult to read. It does not do much to market you to an NYC school. Zazelmaf wrote: My life has greatly centered on setting goals and reaching for them. I have set and accomplished many goals in my life. Goals that others told me were improbable if not outright impossible. But no matter what, discouragement has never stopped me. I am an intrepid soul. Not because I do not know what I want, but because I am willing to pay the price to make my dreams a reality. I lead a goal-centric life that has made me I am the first in my family to go to finish college, and as such, the first to attend law school . I am also , and the first in my family to leave the United States to travel and live abroad . I have spent considerable time and immersed myself in the cultures of South East Asia, Europe, and Central America. For this I am immensely proud. I succeed, despite the discouragement that often comes from those less adventurous, because I have learned to quickly build a home and join a community wherever I go. I have sacrificed much but gained more than I have ever dreamed of . I left a city I had spent many years in, a city I had grown to love greatly, to accomplish my next great achievement. I was not scared of moving to the east coast, in fact, I was thrilled. [this should be chronological] After I graduated high school I left my home town in rural Montana to live study? in downtown Seattle. And from there I moved to I pursued my career in San Francisco. I have spent considerable time and immersed myself in the cultures of South East Asia, Europe, and Central America. I have always had an affinity for other cultures and a willingness to openly compare and contrast ours with others around the globe. More recently, I left San Francisco, a city I had grown to love, to pursue my passion to practice law in NYC. I was thrilled to move to Massecheusetts to study law. Each morning I would tell myself that I was one step closer to having my JD. As my first year comes to a close, I realize that I am a third of the way there. However, I find myself in nearing a new transition. My dream has always been to practice law in New York City. When deciding on where to begin law school I chose to focus on the east coast . While and though I was not admitted in to a school in New York City, I knew that would not stop me remain committed to that goal . I knew that believed I would end up in the city I dreamed of living in, and it only drove me to excel. As my wife has been accepted into St. John’s in New York to finish obtain her degree in teaching education , I realize there is no time better than now to move closer to my own goal, now is the time to begin the study of law at Fordham University. [Consider removing this paragraph, it may be a net negative to your application] [new paragraph, CONTINUE EDITS HERE] I wish to study at Fordham as it is well known for its international law program as well as its renowned International Law Journal. The campus location, in the center of the greatest city in the world, only makes Fordham more ideal to me. Being a Jesuit University only furthers my interest in Fordham, as I have greatly enjoyed my studies at University of San Francisco, another fine Jesuit institution where I realized it was Law I wanted to pursue. Although I have challenged myself during my first year of law school, I realize that the challenges, and the rewards, have only begun. I have greatly enjoyed everything I have studied and look forward to that realization, in two short years, where I embark on my next goal, as a graduate of Fordham University, to step foot into the outside world and to put to use everything I have learned. I dream of becoming a part of the city of New York, a city that is in many ways, a symbol of the United States. No other institution can help me accomplish my goal as yours. I look forward to the accomplishment of my dream, of being a man of the law, and a proud graduate of Fordham Law School.

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Post by JamMasterJ » Tue May 03, 2011 10:17 pm

Post by Zazelmaf » Wed May 04, 2011 5:07 pm

Post by kublaikahn » Wed May 04, 2011 5:40 pm

Post by Zazelmaf » Thu May 05, 2011 9:16 am

kublaikahn wrote: Zazelmaf wrote: You mentioned removing the paragraph that stated that my wife is attending school in NYC. I would like to mention that in my PS, as I think it's a strong point for me transferring. Is there a better way I could add it? Based on everything I am reading, schools seem to look positively at compelling reasons for transferring than just 'wanting to move up the rankings'. If not in the personal statement, perhaps an addendum?

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law school transfer essay

What You Need to Know About Transferring Law Schools

Some law students consider transferring to a new law school because a change in their personal situation compels them to relocate; others want to transfer in the hope of earning a JD from a higher-tier school, and still others think they might just find a better fit somewhere else. If you fall into one of those categories, we’ve put together a handy cheat sheet of information, written as an FAQ.

What can I do during my 1L year to help me transfer out of this school?

The most important thing you can do to improve your odds of transferring is to achieve the highest possible grades during your first year . Your 1L GPA will determine whether your transfer application is seriously considered.

You should be going to the office hours of a few of your favorite professors, doing all the assigned reading, and asking pithy questions. You need to cultivate good relationships, because you will be asking at least one professor to write you a strong letter of recommendation for your transfer application.

First-year law students are not known to have a lot of free time outside of studying, but if you are thinking of transferring, you should try to engage in some sort of law-related extra-curricular activity such as a club, a school-based legal advocacy group, or a student bar association. You could also shoot for a legal internship/externship during your winter break. Engaging in such activities will allow you to add something new to your résumé, expand your legal network, and possibly provide another opportunity to secure a letter of recommendation.

Research the schools you are considering and prepare a strong “why X” essay . Why is this necessary? Because if your transfer school has three spots available for transfer students and ten applications to choose from, they may be more attracted to the candidates who seem like they really want to be at the transfer school, rather than the candidates who just want to leave their original schools. Write about which academic programs, clinics, professors, and journals interest you. You have one year of law school under your belt. You should be able to clearly discuss what more you want out of your educational experience.

Cast a wide net . Whether or not a school will accept transfer students may have less to do with the quality of the applications than with the internal needs of the law school that particular year. A given law school may take no transfer students one year because the most recent incoming class was unusually large, leaving it unable to accommodate any more students. In another year, the same law school may see a number of 1L students withdraw or drop out for some reason, and the admissions office may be eager to fill those vacated seats with transfer students. Another law school may decide to admit transfer students as a revenue source because it has gone over budget on scholarships. In yet another situation, a high-ranked school may see a large group of transfer applications from the lower-ranked school in town, and because the high-ranked school doesn’t want to poach all the top students from the lower-ranked school, it may only accept one qualified transfer candidate out of ten otherwise strong applications. You can’t predict what factors may affect your application in a given year, so you should avoid putting all your eggs in one basket and consider alternatives as well.

Column AN of this spreadsheet shows you how many transfers every ABA-approved law school accepted in the 2018 first-year class. Column AO shows you the median transfer GPA of each transfer class.

When can I apply to transfer to a different law school?

Generally, a transfer candidate must submit a complete set of grades from the first year of law school before an admissions committee will evaluate a transfer application. If you are seriously considering transferring, you should start researching different programs during the early part of the second semester of your 1L year, as transfer application requirements differ from school to school. The transfer school will want to review and admit applicants in time for the admitted transfer students to participate in recruiting events at the end of the summer, and, maybe, in other summertime academic opportunities. Consider sending the bulk of your transfer application in late spring so that your transfer school just needs to receive your 1L grades in order for your application to be complete.

What are admissions officers looking at in a transfer application?

Each admissions committee approaches transfer applications differently based on the priorities of the particular reader and the particular requirements of the school that year. Below are some general factors that will likely receive strong consideration.

Grades : Your first-year grades will receive the highest consideration. In theory, LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs are effective predictors of first-year law school performance. Transfer applicants will already have their 1L grades, so LSAT results and college GPA are less important during the transfer review process than they are in the main law school admission process. Moreover, transfer students’ LSAT and GPA medians are not calculated for ranking purposes, which gives an admissions officer more leeway to admit below-median transfer applicants.

Letters of recommendation : A transfer school will want to know what law professors think of your performance as a student and your potential to be a lawyer. How did you perform in class? How did you interact with your classmates? How did you process assignments and meet deadlines? How did you face an intellectual, social, or academic challenge? The admissions committee will look for evidence of the quality of the connection you made with your recommender by the strength of the recommendation. Make sure you speak with your recommender about why you want to transfer and what you hope to find at your transfer school.

Résumé : You should pursue some law-related activity during your 1L year other than studying so you can add something to your résumé. This will show the admissions committee that you were actively engaged in your professional growth, not just trying to get through all the readings and survive the cold calls in class.

Your original school : The transfer school will consider the quality of your original law school. If there is too much of a divide between the two schools, the admissions committee may wonder whether the applicant can succeed and thrive in a new learning environment. The transfer school will want to maintain the quality of each class because bar-passage rates and employment statistics are factored into a law school’s ranking.

This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to transfer from a very low-ranked school to a very high-ranked school, only that it’s easier to transfer to a school that’s more proximate in terms of ranking and reputation.

Purpose in the personal statement : The transfer school wants to know that you have well-considered reasons for transferring and a full understanding of what transferring means. You should craft a new personal statement that reflects your first-year experiences, your self-awareness, and your motivation for seeking a different type of legal education. You should articulate what you have to offer your new law school community.

I received a scholarship at my original law school. Will I get the same scholarship as a transfer student?

As you research schools, you should ask admissions officers if a merit scholarship is available to transfer students. Some schools may offer limited funding. Others may expect you to pay sticker price to transfer. If you were the recipient of a significant academic scholarship at your original law school, you might not receive a matching offer from the transfer school, but you should definitely mention the scholarship in your application as evidence of your academic strength.

Am I being too hasty? What are some reasons why I shouldn’t transfer after all?

Transferring after the 1L year can be challenging. You will become an outsider in a community of students who have formed, dissolved, and then reformed study groups, shared outlines, celebrated after exams, been shredded by their moot court experience, and endured the trial of their first year together. You will have missed these shared experiences, and you will have to find your place anew. It’s critical that you do, because your law school colleagues provide support and encouragement, and they will become the foundation of your professional network.

Likewise, you will have to establish new connections and prove yourself to professors and program directors. Faculty and administrators can be great resources when it comes to networking, securing interviews, getting a coveted placement in a clinic, or making an introduction that leads to a job opportunity.

You might be coming from a school where you were one of the strongest, most active, most recognized law students, and transferring to a school where you will be average at best or forgettable at worst. Your confidence may take a hit and you may go through a period where you question your competence. Are you prepared to work through these feelings and fight for every potential opportunity that presents itself?

Ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself whether it’s worthwhile to transfer. Know, though, that getting a job is dependent on much more than the name of the law school on your résumé. Your enthusiasm, personality, social skills, grasp of legal concepts, openness to trying new professional experiences, and a fair amount of luck are also significant factors. Tune out those voices that say you will never get a job or amount to much unless you graduate from a T5/T14/T50 school. Your education is what you what you make of it. Good luck!

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Three Perspectives on Transfer

It’s time to reassess the transfer student pathway, Stephen J. Handel and Eileen L. Strempel write.

By  Stephen J. Handel and Eileen L. Strempel

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In a March 2024 Inside Higher Ed essay , we highlighted—lamented really—the outcomes of a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC), the Aspen Institute, and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC), which concluded that only 16 percent of community college students transferred to a four-year institution and earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. This statistic was lower for minoritized groups. Worse still, the 16 percent figure was largely unchanged from an earlier study conducted on a cohort of students who began college in 2007. We concluded that the transfer pathway between two- and four-year institutions did not serve as a productive pipeline to the bachelor’s degree, especially for underrepresented students, and that our collective efforts to improve the pathway had largely failed.

Our disappointment was less about the 16 percent figure and more about the lost promise of the transfer function. Few avenues in American life allow individuals to ascend into elite, flagship, liberal arts or other four-year colleges and universities regardless of previous academic preparation, income level, or racial, ethnic or religious background. In today’s highly stratified postsecondary educational system, if we fail to improve the productivity of this educational onramp, we will abandon one of postsecondary education’s longest-running and progressive ideals.

Our essay spurred some disagreement from higher education colleagues—and understandably so. Over the past two decades, transfer has captured the interest of the philanthropic community , led to the formation of advocacy and research organizations , and spurred significant state and local policymaking . Calling out transfer’s failures was bound to generate a reaction. Arguments fell into three camps.

Declare Victory and Go Home

This group argues that the low transfer rate is a reasonable outcome given the institutions that actively participate in transfer, such as community colleges, and the students those institutions are most likely to serve. Their logic is persuasive: Community colleges are open-access institutions; anyone can enroll regardless of their previous educational success. As a result, these institutions welcome and serve many students who lack college-going skills. This situation is compounded by the fact that community colleges are often the least well-funded sector of U.S. higher education. As such, they have comparatively modest academic and advising supports to help students meet their transfer goals.

Even more problematic, this group also noted that the current transfer system is inherently complex, reducing the number of students who manage to navigate its considerable rapids. In a highly diffuse postsecondary system, where virtually every college or university operates autonomously, transfers get caught in the maw between sending and receiving institutions. There is no guarantee that a student will be admitted to his or her dream transfer destination. Even if they are, students are often unable to port all their community college credit to the four-year institution.

Our colleagues also stressed that the bachelor’s degree has lost a bit of its luster, especially among younger students drawn by the lure of earning family-sustaining wages directly out of high school rather than the prospect of paying off student loans. Price-sensitive students are frequently drawn to community colleges, and once enrolled, they may decide not to continue onto a four-year institution. Community colleges are in the enviable position of offering a variety of educational credentials that may look more appealing than transferring. In addition to associate degrees, these institutions offer, as a crucial part of their mission, short- and medium-term credentials and licensures that often lead to specific jobs in the local economy.

It might be easy for some to classify the 16 percent figure as the best we will ever achieve. College costs, unmet basic needs, student loan debt and concerns about post-graduation employment play into the worries that both students and their families have about whether going to college is a risk worth taking. Given the fraught and complex transfer pathway, our colleagues believe that we may as well celebrate the 16 percent figure as condemn it.

Wait and See — The Best Is Yet to Come

The ”wait and see” crowd believe that transformative and hard-won higher education reforms are only now beginning to impact students. More time is needed to see how they will influence the transfer rate. They specifically highlight two initiatives.

The first is the widespread reform of developmental (remedial) education , especially at community colleges. These reforms eliminate stand-alone remedial courses, in favor of credit-bearing courses supplemented with tutoring and advising services to help students pass. Earlier institutional practices, which often placed students in remedial courses based on a single high school grade or placement test score, diverted as many as 70 percent of community college students into developmental education courses for which students receive no credit while burning through their limited student aid . Worse, they could not enroll in college courses until they earned their way out of their remedial course placements. Students in this situation—higher education’s version of purgatory—might be stranded there for a year or more if they do not simply leave the institution in despair.

This group’s second hoped-for transformation is the implementation of “ guided pathways .” This approach channels students’ academic interests—which for many are initially inchoate or diffuse—into a limited number of “meta-majors” from which they can further refine their interests in later academic terms. With fewer, yet broader, disciplinary choices, students have a better chance, the theory goes, of enrolling in courses that build toward a specific major. Guided pathways are constructed to be especially helpful to first-generation students or others who lack sufficient college knowledge when they enter higher education. Previously, many such students struggled to make wise course selections, lengthening their time to degree and drawing down their available financial aid.

The reform of developmental education and implementation of guided pathways are both positive movements in higher education and are relatively recent. These reforms, widely supported by both policymakers and academics, nonetheless will take time to blanket the country. Early adopters have taken as many as five years to implement guided pathways on their campuses. Waiting for these initiatives to hit a scaling “tipping point” does little for transfer students in the interim.

The third set of responses come from colleagues who believe that the 16 percent rate confirms the false premise of transfer from its inception. For this group, transfer is a promise that can never be fulfilled. With about 40 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in community colleges and an estimated eight of ten first-time community college students hoping to earn a bachelor’s degree , the enormity of the potential transfer cohort exceeds the admissions capacity of four-year institutions.

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This harsh winnowing process is nothing new; it has been at the heart of the transfer pathway since its beginning more than a century ago. Transfer’s legacy is more about thwarting access than supporting it. The 16 percent figure is the latest empirical verification of sociologist Burton Clark’s often-quoted conclusion from 1960 that the community college transfer pathway serves to “cool out” the overheated aspirations of many community college students. If there is a success to be found, it is that the cooling out function is working better than ever.

Colleagues in this camp argue the traditional transfer pathway between two- and four-year institutions needs more than a refresh. They call for the abandonment of the current transfer pathway in favor of other models that have a better bachelor’s degree completion rate than 16 percent.

Where Does All This Leave Us?

You need not agree with all or any of the arguments from our colleagues and still believe that we can do better than 16 percent. With little evidence of an increasing transfer rate over the past decade—despite significant policymaking, investments and programmatic initiatives in the interim—reasonable people must surely pause to reassess our contemporary transfer pathway.

The key question for us is this: Can we mend transfer, or do we need to start with something new? As we have reviewed the CCRC/Aspen/NSCRC data, as well as reflected on the thoughtful commentaries of our colleagues (and of those who work daily in the transfer trenches), we offer the following:

  • We know and should support those institutions where transfer is working —that is, where significantly higher transfer rates are being documented regularly. Sometimes those outcomes are aided by proximity: Northern Virginia Community College, for example, is just ten minutes from George Mason University. Our nation should further incentivize additional substantive partnerships among neighboring institutions.
  • We should support different forms of credentialing and degree-granting. Today, 24 states allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees . Many four-year institutions hate this idea on its face, but they should not uniformly oppose it given the degree of access it offers to students.
  • We need to shift higher education’s incentive structure. Enrollment is a key element, but persistence, completion and student economic mobility must play a role in institutional funding models. Fiscal sustainability must be directly tied to the student outcomes that we’re seeking.
  • We must solve the credit muddle and make a national commitment to academic credit mobility. This is not a plea for all colleges to accept each other’s courses for degree credit; this isn’t a realistic expectation from an academic or curricular standpoint. What we need is to mandate greater transparency for community college students by clearly showing how credit will transfer from one institution to another prior to their enrollment in four-year institutions. Students will vote with their feet and enroll at those institutions that accept more of their previous academic work toward their degree.

Rather than lament the fact that the transfer pathway has never lived up to its hoped-for potential, we support its rejuvenation in a more strategic fashion. We should strengthen the transfer pathway where it serves students well—by “well,” we mean a partnership between institutions that encompasses the tenets of a transfer-affirming culture and focuses on the needs of 21st century students — through strong advising, sane credit mobility policies, transfer-focused orientations and summer bridge programs, among other things. As noted above, this ideal situation is most likely to happen between two- and four-year institutions that are close to one another. However, where transfer may not serve students, such as in so-called “ education deserts ,” where, say, a community college is the only postsecondary resource available, why not let that institution offer four-year degrees? The reverse would apply to four-year institutions serving as a similarly singular education resource by allowing them to offer sub-baccalaureate degrees and other credentials.

The idea here is not to abandon transfer, wait for innovative solutions to bear fruit or believe that a 16 percent completion rate represents success. The problems that weaken transfer—lack of credit mobility, low completion rates, unmet student basic needs—afflict higher education generally. If we solve those challenges, we’ll solve transfer. In the meantime, rather than focus on special pleading for transfer students, we should advance broader strategies that better serve all students as they pursue their baccalaureate degree dream.

Stephen J. Handel is the strategy director for postsecondary education transformation at ECMC Foundation, a former senior strategist with the College Board and former associate vice president of undergraduate admissions for the University of California system.

Eileen L. Strempel is the inaugural dean of The Herb Alpert School of Music and a professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles.  

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COMMENTS

  1. Standing Out as a Law School Transfer Applicant

    Transfer applications are generally due around May or June, shortly after the spring term ends, although some law schools have an early decision process. The transfer process is highly competitive ...

  2. How to Write a Law School Transfer Personal Statement + Tips

    Learn how to write a law school transfer personal statement. We cover 3 steps to writing an effective transfer personal statement, useful tips, and FAQs! Get in touch: (800) 551-3410. Law School. ... No, your common app essay will not be sufficient to use for your transfer essay. Your college personal statement will have a broader purpose and ...

  3. How To Write A Top-Notch Personal Statement When ...

    If you are reading this and you are currently in law school, then you already know 90% of what you need to know about writing a personal statement for the purpose of transferring law schools. So much of the structure and content of the essay that got you into your current law school stays the same for the transfer essay.

  4. Making a first impression twice: a guide to transferring law schools

    2. Letters of recommendation. Like all law school admissions, you'll need at least two letters of recommendation to complete your application. However, the difference between entering 1Ls and transferring 2Ls is that a law school professor must write the letters. When considering if a transfer student will thrive at their new school, schools ...

  5. What You Need to Know About Transferring Law Schools

    Generally, a transfer candidate must submit a complete set of grades from the first year of law school before an admissions committee will evaluate a transfer application. If you are seriously considering transferring, you should start researching different programs during the early part of the second semester of your 1L year, as transfer ...

  6. 4 Law School Personal Statement Examples

    Overview: This essay was also written by a student with significant work experience prior to applying to law school. As in the other essay by a returning student (Example 1, above), it does an excellent job of explaining what the prior career entailed and how the experiences she gained in that career are what encouraged her desire to be a lawyer working in the field of family law.

  7. Law School Personal Statement: The Ultimate Guide (Examples Included)

    Lastly, a strong set of law school essays demonstrates that you aren't just going to law school by default. Unlike, say, medical school, law school has no undergraduate prerequisites, making it a generic possibility for many students who don't know what to do next but want a respected career. Offering specificity, passion, and context for ...

  8. Mastering the Law School Transfer Application

    A law school transfer application is very similar to a regular law school application. Instead of a personal statement, you usually write a statement of interest in transferring. ... In the transfer essay, however, the admissions committee is specifically interested in understanding your motivations for the transfer.

  9. Transferring Law Schools?

    At the same time, writing a personal essay while cramming for law school finals is inadvisable. If a lull exists in the 1L year, that lull should be used to write your personal statement. ... Because law school transfer windows open in May—Harvard's typically opens in early May, while other schools' open closer to the middle of the month ...

  10. 2 Law School Personal Statements That Succeeded

    The second essay is written by Cameron Dare Clark, a Harvard Law School graduate. Pishko says these two personal statements demonstrate the necessity of sincerity in an admissions essay. "It has ...

  11. Transferring Law Schools: How I Jumped Ship

    Keys to a Successful Law School Transfer Application. Here's how I transferred in a nutshell: I received exceptional first year ("1L") grades, applied strategically, connected with the schools I applied to, and assembled a well thought-out application. Grades. You need good 1L grades to transfer to a highly ranked law school.

  12. How and When to Transfer Law Schools

    In the 2021-2022 academic year, Vanderbilt Law School accepted 15 transfer students from various law schools, including American, Fordham and Ohio State, and the universities of Louisville ...

  13. Tips for transfer application personal statements? : r/LawSchool

    The vast majority of schools don't offer merit based scholarships to transfer students. So the cost of your school has just increased. You may lose your chance at Law Review. While this isn't a huge deal, some schools won't let transfer students on Law Review. Those that do "hold spots" for transfer students hold 1 discretionary spot. The best ...

  14. Transfer Applicants

    Transfer admissions is an opportunity for rising 2L students to join the Harvard Law School community after completing their 1L year at another law school. We encourage all interested and eligible applicants to apply. The transfer application typically opens up in early May and the submission deadline is usually in mid-June.

  15. Personal Statement for Transferring Schools : r/LawSchool

    Personal Statement for Transferring Schools. I am looking to transfer law schools next fall. I have started the application for the school I want to transfer to and want to know if there is any advice you would give for the Personal Statement. I am thinking they are going to want an explanation as to why I want to transfer.

  16. A Guide to Transferring Law Schools

    Typically, completing law school takes three years of full-time study. A law school transfer involves switching from one law school to another while pursuing a JD. In most cases, transfers take place after a student completes their first year of law school, commonly known as their 1L year. It is possible to transfer after your second year, but ...

  17. Law School Transfer Essay Forum

    Re: Law School Transfer Essay Post by kublaikahn » Wed May 04, 2011 10:40 pm Last edited by kublaikahn on Tue May 17, 2011 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

  18. What You Need to Know About Transferring Law Schools

    Your original school: The transfer school will consider the quality of your original law school. If there is too much of a divide between the two schools, the admissions committee may wonder whether the applicant can succeed and thrive in a new learning environment. The transfer school will want to maintain the quality of each class because bar ...

  19. Transfer Applicant Essay? : r/LawSchool

    511K subscribers in the LawSchool community. For current and former Law School Redditors. Ask questions, seek advice, post outlines, etc. This is NOT…

  20. Three perspectives on transfer (opinion)

    It's time to reassess the transfer student pathway, Stephen J. Handel and Eileen L. Strempel write. In a March 2024 Inside Higher Ed essay, we highlighted—lamented really—the outcomes of a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC), the Aspen Institute, and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC), which concluded that only 16 percent of community ...

  21. Transfer Orientation : The Arc of Law School at Michigan Law

    Add to Calendar 2024-08-22 11:00:00 2024-08-22 11:45:00 Transfer Orientation : The Arc of Law School at Michigan Law Dean D'Haene will offer an overview of the important tasks and milestones during your 2L and 3L years at MLaw. University of Michigan Law School [email protected] America/New_York public.

  22. METEOFOR: Weather in Brekhovo for tomorrow, weather forecast for

    Weather in Brekhovo tomorrow, accurate weather forecast for tomorrow for Brekhovo, Solnechnogorsky district, Moscow Oblast, Russia.

  23. Transferring Colleges: 9 Frequently Asked Questions

    Applications for transfer and first-year students are often similar, with schools typically requiring letters of recommendation, an essay, high school or college transcripts and possibly test scores.

  24. SM-BREKHOVO, OOO, Moscow Oblast

    SM-BREKHOVO, OOO - 141544, Moskovskaya Oblast', g Khimki, d Brekhovo, mkr Shkol'nyy, d. K. 8, of. KV. 198 - INN 5044095898 - OGRN 1155044002904 - Extract from EGRUL ...

  25. Brekhovo, Russia: All You Must Know Before You Go (2024)

    Brekhovo Tourism: Tripadvisor has 398 reviews of Brekhovo Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Brekhovo resource.

  26. Tropicana Hotel

    Tropicana Hotel in Brekhovo, Russia: View Tripadvisor's unbiased reviews, photos, and special offers for Tropicana Hotel.