It is easier to be near the top at higher-ranked schools because people generally aren't as competitive since more people get the best outcomes. I transferred up after 1L, and I can say that competition was exponentially less at the school I transferred to than at my original school... basically, everyone who wanted big law at the school I transferred to got it, and that wasn't the case at my original school at all, and all the students knew that and acted accordingly. Pretty much everyone in my transfer class actually improved their grades/class rank at our new school because we were used to the cutthroat nature of our original schools, while the people who were already at the school we transferred to were just cruising and focusing more on bar review and bar golf than their class rank.