Suggestion for 0Ls Forum

[ENGINEERD]

Something I did not consider (but wish i did) when choosing a law school is the way in which grades are calculated.

At my school there is no mandated curve. There are also no sections. In a system like this it is possible to receive the average grade in each of your classes and end up with a GPA that is significantly below the class average. The reason being, 1L profs curve to anywhere from a B+ to a B-. If you receive a schedule of profs who all curve to a B- but the class average rounds out to a B/B+ you are at a considerable disadvantage. Although you will likely tell yourself that you will be above the curve and the small deviations between class curves will not affect you, law school is a strange beast and if you find yourself near the middle of your class you will wish you had considered this...

The point of this rant - take 5 mins and look at the grading systems of the schools your considering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... GPA_curves

1 more thing: some schools grade legal research/writing and some give pass/fail grades. When your pulling an all-nighter for a 1 unit legal research final you might wish you chose that school that graded pass/fail.

Of course there are much more important considerations when choosing a school, but it doesn't hurt to research this stuff!

[09042014]

What school has no curve?

[RPK34]

What school has no curve?

His school has a curve. It just is up to the professor to decide where he sets the median. A professor could set a curve at B+ or a B-.

If your school uses that grade to calculate a grade, and then doesn't adjust the grade based on the professor's curve, that's possibly the worst system I've ever heard.

[3ThrowAway99]

My school's grading system I think is pretty questionable- no pluses or minus. But the curve is generous so I prob really shouldn't complain. They are changing the system next year. This is something that may be wise for a 0L to research about each school though, especially if some of the schools being examined have particularly harsh curves (low medians) or other imprecisions.

[09042014]

What school has no curve?

His school has a curve. It just is up to the professor to decide where he sets the median. A professor could set a curve at B+ or a B-.

If your school uses that grade to calculate a grade, and then doesn't adjust the grade based on the professor's curve, that's possibly the worst system I've ever heard.

Oh my school is like that too. If a professor is a dick he can make median a B. But it's rare.

[ENGINEERD]

What school has no curve?

His school has a curve. It just is up to the professor to decide where he sets the median. A professor could set a curve at B+ or a B-.

If your school uses that grade to calculate a grade, and then doesn't adjust the grade based on the professor's curve, that's possibly the worst system I've ever heard.

Ya sorry if that was unclear, my school does curve but it is up to the prof to decide where he sets the median. For example (I am not 100% on this but it seems to be the case) the curve for one Criminal Law Prof was a B+ while the other prof curved his class to a B-. Furthermore, the grade you get is not adjusted or normalized to any standard curve.

[09042014]

What school has no curve?

His school has a curve. It just is up to the professor to decide where he sets the median. A professor could set a curve at B+ or a B-.

If your school uses that grade to calculate a grade, and then doesn't adjust the grade based on the professor's curve, that's possibly the worst system I've ever heard.

Ya sorry if that was unclear, my school does curve but it is up to the prof to decide where he sets the median. For example (I am not 100% on this but it seems to be the case) the curve for one Criminal Law Prof was a B+ while the other prof curved his class to a B-. Furthermore, the grade you get is not adjusted or normalized to any standard curve.

B+ to B- is a rough difference. Is there any control? Like a certain percent A's a certain percent Bs?

[DeeCee]

So is this post telling 0Ls to go to a school with a high curve? Like the ones listed with 3.3s?

[risktaker]

Does anyone know what the curve is like for UCLA or Santa Clara?

[09042014]

So is this post telling 0Ls to go to a school with a high curve? Like the ones listed with 3.3s?

He's telling them not to go to a law school with different curves per section.

[DeeCee]

So is this post telling 0Ls to go to a school with a high curve? Like the ones listed with 3.3s?

He's telling them not to go to a law school with different curves per section.

OK that makes more sense. However, I am not sure how I would get that info from the Wiki page. I like Northeastern's grading system (no grades but written evals instead) but I feel that they are so lowly ranked that this system could hurt their students because they have no grades to compare against other candidates applying for jobs.

[ENGINEERD]

What school has no curve?

His school has a curve. It just is up to the professor to decide where he sets the median. A professor could set a curve at B+ or a B-.

If your school uses that grade to calculate a grade, and then doesn't adjust the grade based on the professor's curve, that's possibly the worst system I've ever heard.

Ya sorry if that was unclear, my school does curve but it is up to the prof to decide where he sets the median. For example (I am not 100% on this but it seems to be the case) the curve for one Criminal Law Prof was a B+ while the other prof curved his class to a B-. Furthermore, the grade you get is not adjusted or normalized to any standard curve.

B+ to B- is a rough difference. Is there any control? Like a certain percent A's a certain percent Bs?

@ Desert Fox: As far as I know there is no control over this. It is possible that there is some behind the scenes quota but that info is not available to the students.


@ DeeCee: The general point to this post is to be aware that different school use different grading systems. Some, like mine, can put students at a disadvantage. The wiki link lists curves as well as the schools that use unusual grading schemes. Although I think it might be a good idea to choose a school that has a generous curve, that is not the point of this post.

[DeeCee]

@ Desert Fox: As far as I know there is no control over this. It is possible that there is some behind the scenes quota but that info is not available to the students.


@ DeeCee: The general point to this post is to be aware that different school use different grading systems. Some, like mine, can put students at a disadvantage. The wiki link lists curves as well as the schools that use unusual grading schemes. Although I think it might be a good idea to choose a school that has a generous curve, that is not the point of this post.

Well, thanks for the info!! This is further proof that going to a T4 is a bad idea--look at the low, strict curves of NCCU and others.