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kurama20 wrote:

Not observationalist, but I will answer anyway...It isn't random. If you work your ass off you can get that good grade. We have people who are consistently at the top of the class because they really try. However.. the majority of us don't care than much and so the quality of the test and your writing ability make a lot of difference for us. And I could see how those in the middle of the class think that the difference between a B+ and a B- is random, but that is because we are all really smart and there is an incredibly tight curve in the middle.
I got grades ranging from B- to A last semester, but I understand why. I tried in the classes I liked and didn't in the classes I didn't like. This semester I will probably get worse grades because I had a crappy semester in my personal life and so I can't get myself to study for finals. I probably study 4 hours a day for finals, so that is maybe 12-15 hours per test. I'll let you know how it works out, but the point is.. the grades are not random. You get what you work for and if you can write well you will get great grades.
That being said - There is only 1 A+ and maybe 5-10 As in any class of around 90 (i think this is is the distribution at most schools). So they are hard to get. The key to success is staying up on your reading and starting your outlines early enough to have time to study when finals come around. Knowing everything black letter down to the detail and being to spit it out quickly on the test so that you have time for theoretical and alternative arguments is a good way to go.

I am sure others will weigh in.

Thanks I definitely appreciate that info. I'm hearing too many students saying that the grades are random, and that you have not idea what grade you will be getting. It's nice to hear that that isn't really the case.

First rule of summoning me: Don't do so just to ask a question about exams while we are actually in the tortuous process of taking exams. That's just mean!

I'll second JoJo and say the same thing... the B/B+ crowd in a given class probably overlap, and in certain courses there may just be a small difference between an A exam and a B, but the students who consistently pull off As are probably better at being a law student than the ones who consistently end up falling short. As with JoJo, my favorite class 1L year was also my best class gradewise... that's also been true for this year (so far). However, my second-favorite class as a 1L was my lowest grade. It doesn't mean I won't be incorporating what I learned in that class in my legal career, but it does mean I didn't convey what I learned on that exam as well as 40 of the other 45 students in that class. And therein lies the reason so many people with superior undergraduate grades and test scores have such a difficult time coming to terms with how the curve works.

Best bet IMHO is just to focus on knowing what the professor wants you to know and be quick enough applying it on a timed exam that you don't run out of things to say. If you do that, you can walk away at least knowing you did what you could.

Aren't there at least a hundred threads on this topic? And aren't you a 1L somewhere else?

JoJo, g'luck on that last exam... almost done.

Thanks for the reply! In response to the bolded, yes there are a lot of threads on the topic, but most of them do not offer much useful info. You'd be surprised how many threads simply say "law school is hard, studying won't really affect your grade much, and professors grade randomly" That's not really helpful. Oh and I'm definitely not a 1L, at least not until fall 2010. Unfortunately I'm graduating from undergrad a little late as a result of a major change. Thanks again!

jenesaislaw wrote:Who loves finals?!

kurama20 wrote:
Thanks for the reply! In response to the bolded, yes there are a lot of threads on the topic, but most of them do not offer much useful info. You'd be surprised how many threads simply say "law school is hard, studying won't really affect your grade much, and professors grade randomly" That's not really helpful. Oh and I'm definitely not a 1L, at least not until fall 2010. Unfortunately I'm graduating from undergrad a little late as a result of a major change. Thanks again!

1848 wrote:Just got in off the wait list and I'll definitely be in Nashville next year. Can't wait.

observationalist wrote:

jenesaislaw wrote:Who loves finals?!

This Guy

1848 wrote:Just got in off the wait list and I'll definitely be in Nashville next year. Can't wait.

1848 wrote:Just got in off the wait list and I'll definitely be in Nashville next year. Can't wait.

DCDeckard wrote:Does Vandy have an admitted students site?

1848 wrote:Can any current Vandy law students comment on the Bristol on Broadway apartment building? It looks nice, very close to the law school, and is cheaper than the grove.

1848 wrote:Can any current Vandy law students comment on the Bristol on Broadway apartment building? It looks nice, very close to the law school, and is cheaper than the grove.

mvk216 wrote:How is the career services office at Vandy? Anyone have some firsthand knowledge?

rezipsa wrote:

mvk216 wrote:How is the career services office at Vandy? Anyone have some firsthand knowledge?

The reputation is that it's AMAZING. Observationalist's 68% NLJ summer associateship stats seem to corroborate that.

Barring my failing any classes this semester, I'll provide an update as to how well they help me for August's OCI. Not sure if I received any unspoken help from Career Services or if it was just the Vandy name/my decent first semester grades, but I nabbed an internship w/ a pretty reputable judge (among offers from other judges) for this summer...

observationalist wrote:I think it was 64%... don't inflate our stats! And that was for the Class of '09 summer associate gigs... still waiting for Career Services to publish the Recruitment Handbook so we can see how my class did in comparison.

But yeah, they are great at working individually with people to get us the jobs we want and with reaching out to alumni and employers. The same goes for the faculty... the professor with arguably the largest ego is also responsible for netting more summer jobs than any other individual outside of the career services team. He really cares about getting us into places and is often willing to put his own reputation on the line by recommending us. He's sending one of my roommates to Pristina for half the summer and another of my friends is off to the Ukraine working for the ABA. He also got me through to the non-profit I worked at last summer, even though it was in an entirely different field.

Rez, when you say pretty 'reputable' judge, is that just because (s)he made headlines recently?

heather87 wrote:Question for any current students....

How hard is it to find housing really last minute? If I end up going, I probably won't look for housing until August since I'm on a bunch of waitlists. Am I going to end up living out of a car if I don't look for an apartment until classes are starting?