You know what bugs me?

So I was talking to one of my friends that is planning on attending law school this upcoming year like me. As we were chatting, she casually mentioned that she will probably be transferring to the T14 (or at least a seriously higher ranked school than where she will be going, which is ranked between 60 and 95). I asked her why she felt this way, and she said that with her grades in undergrad she couldn't have gotten into the schools she "deserved" to be in, but that after finishing in the top 10% of her class, she'll most likely be able to get into at least Cornell or Northwestern, probably even Penn or Michigan.

I'll confess, I almost did a spit take. Look, if you have lofty aspirations, that's fine. That's good, actually. Those goals and dreams will help drive you to work harder, and you're more likely to be more disciplined if you have a specific goal in mind. 

But expecting that you'll be in the top 10% of your class just because you're you and you're smart? Puh-lease.

Look, pretty much every law school, even down to Cooley, will have at least a few seriously smart kids. Smarter than you. (Just putting that out there.) And the higher up in rankings you go, the smarter your classmates will be, and the more competition you'll face for a spot in the top 10% of your class. 90% of the people you go to school with won't be in the top 10%. 

Odds-wise, I'd say it's much more reasonable to expect to be in the bottom 90% than in the top 10%. It's a numbers game, after all. And if you are in the top 10% -- good for you! That will open a lot of doors for you! You're more likely to get a good SA position and more likely to be able to transfer, if you so desire.

But don't go to one law school planning on outscoring the dummies who went there only because they couldn't get in anywhere higher ranked and then transferring to a top ranked school. It's just not going to happen that way. You're setting yourself up for failure and disappointment if you choose this path, and then two years down the road you'll be stuck at a school you don't want to go to, with debt you won't be able to pay off because you were too busy trying to transfer to make any valuable networking connections.

Work hard to be in the top 10%. Be diligent and disciplined, because natural ability will only take you so far. But don't put all of your eggs in that basket, or you'll end up with a not-so-delicious omelet.