Open Thread: How do transfer students fare in on-campus interviewing?

Last month’s open thread on transfer students proved very popular. It generated surprisingly substantive commentary, full of helpful advice (and the usual law student status anxiety).
Since then, we’ve received several requests for more coverage of this constituency. So we thought we’d revisit the subject of transfer students and transfer applications.
With on-campus interviewing (OCI) fast approaching, it’s a timely topic. A transfer-student tipster tells us:

The beginning to middle of August would be a good time [to talk about transfer applications]. Transfer applicants are either going to find out soon or will just have, so stress will be high for them. OCI bids will either have just gone in or will be going in, so the “legitimate” students (my name for kids that do well on the LSAT) will chime in with frustration and hatred towards transfers.

C’mon, guys — don’t hate, appreciate!
Do the “legitimate” students hate transfers out of fear? Let’s explore this theory.


Everyone knows that fall 2009 is going to be one of the most brutal recruiting seasons ever, with several firms having canceled their summer programs, and other firms shrinking their programs dramatically. Are “homegrown” law students worried about the added competition from newly arrived transfers?
A transfer student alumnus, now safely ensconced at an Am Law 100 firm, writes:

You should do a post about how transfers are going to own OCI and kill current T14 student opportunities. This will get your readers riled up.

But another reader dissents, suggesting that transfers will have a tough time in the job search process:

[T]ransfer students are choosing schools and lining up OCI possibly after regular students have chosen their OCI employers, so they might be at a bit of a disadvantage if they are choosing after all the other students have chosen. Especially when many OCIs are starting earlier.

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Readers, what do you think? Are transfer students in the pole position for OCI, thanks to their dazzling 1L grades? Or are transfer students unfairly handicapped in the job hunt, by their late arrival to the party and/or some alleged “stigma” from having entered a top law school “through the back door”?
Feel free to discuss these issues, or other topics related to transfer students and applications, in the comments.
P.S. If you’re looking for help with the on-campus interviewing process, check out the services offered by OCI Advantage (an ATL advertiser; please show support for our advertisers).
Earlier: On Transfer Students: An Open Thread

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