How the transfer process is timed and evaluated
Transfer applications open after 1L spring grades are available, since class rank and GPA at your current school typically carry more weight in a transfer decision than your original LSAT score or personal statement did the first time. Confirm each target school's specific transfer deadline and required materials directly, since they vary and move quickly after grades post.
What a transfer student typically gives up
Some schools restrict transfer students from law review and top journal membership, at least in their new school's flagship publication, and scholarship offers from the original school do not transfer with the student. A transfer student also starts 2L year without the year-one peer relationships, faculty recommenders, and campus familiarity that current 2Ls already have.
Weigh the receiving school's brand, bar passage, and employment outcomes against these real, concrete costs before committing to transfer, not against prestige alone.
What the ABA Standards say about credit and transcripts
ABA Standard 505 lets a law school admit a student and grant credit for courses completed at another ABA-approved law school. The courses must have been undertaken as a JD student. Its one-third cap on credit hours applies to three other kinds of credit. Those are credit from unapproved U.S. law schools, credit from law schools outside the United States, and post-JD credit earned by graduates of foreign law schools. It does not apply to credit from an approved school under that first provision. Standard 311 says credit for a JD degree can otherwise be given only for coursework taken after the student matriculated.
Standard 502 says the official transcripts for a transfer student must include verification of any academic credits taken at other law schools attended. Standard 509 requires every school to publish its transfer of credit policy, including its criteria and any articulation agreements, and to disclose transfer attrition among its enrollment data. Ask before you commit.
What LSAC says about transfer applications
LSAC's member schools' Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices describes transfers as JD students at other law schools applying as second-year students. The decision is typically based on first-year academic performance. It says schools should state clearly their transfer policies, deadlines, required documents, courses accepted for credit and course equivalency. Schools should also explain the programmatic implications of transferring before requiring a commitment.
LSAC's CAS page says transfer applicants should check with each school for its LSAC report requirements. Some schools accept the record from your current law school in lieu of a CAS Law School Report. The statement is voluntary, so what a specific school promises is what it publishes. Read the receiving school's policy.
How many students actually transfer: the ABA's 2025 counts
The 2025 reports list 1,091 incoming transfer students and 921 first-year students who transferred out, across 196 schools. The middle school took 2 transfers and lost 3. 46 schools took none.
The inflow is concentrated. The school with the most incoming transfers, Georgetown University, took 120, more than the 90th-percentile school's 13. The school losing the most first-years, American University, lost 51. Transferring up is possible, but the counts show only a small group of schools taking many transfers.
| Law school | Transfers in | First-year transfers out |
|---|---|---|
| Georgetown University | 120 | 1 |
| Columbia University | 50 | 4 |
| The George Washington University | 46 | 33 |
| University of California-Berkeley | 44 | 10 |
| New York University | 42 | 1 |
| Northwestern University | 38 | 4 |
Common questions
How much credit can I transfer between ABA-approved law schools?+
ABA Standard 505(a) allows a school to grant credit for JD courses at another ABA-approved school, and the one-third cap covers unapproved-school, foreign-school and foreign-graduate LLM credit, so ask the receiving school its own limit.
Does the ABA cap transfer credit at one-third of the degree?+
Only for credit from unapproved U.S. schools, schools outside the United States and post-JD credit earned by foreign-school graduates under Standard 505, not for approved-school credit under 505(a).
What must a transfer student's official transcript show?+
ABA Standard 502 says it must include verification of any academic credits undertaken at any other law school attended.
Must a law school publish its transfer-of-credit policy?+
Yes. Standard 509 requires its criteria for credit from other institutions and a list of institutions with articulation agreements, and requires disclosure of transfer attrition.
Should a transfer applicant use LSAC's CAS?+
Check with each school. LSAC says some schools accept the record from your current law school instead of a CAS Law School Report.
What should a school tell me before I commit to transferring?+
LSAC's voluntary statement says schools should state policies, deadlines, documents, courses accepted for credit and equivalency, and explain the programmatic implications of transferring before requiring a commitment.
When do law schools evaluate transfer applications?+
After first-year grades post, typically based on 1L academic performance, according to LSAC's statement.
Can I keep my scholarship if I transfer?+
Scholarship offers from the original school do not transfer with the student, and LSAC's statement says schools should state scholarship retention requirements and consequences if you transfer.
What to do next
- 1
Confirm each target school's transfer deadline and required materials as soon as 1L grades post.
- 2
Ask the receiving school directly about journal eligibility and OCI participation for transfer students.
- 3
Compare bar passage and employment outcomes at the receiving school against your current one.
- 4
Decide before applying whether losing a full year's scholarship and network is worth the move.