First Year Grades v. Where you Finish Forum

[DwightSchruteFarms]

Hey, first time poster. I was wondering which is more important for landing a job: My 1L grades or where I finish when I graduate? My 1L year was average, finishing just above the median, but I feel that I can improve and hopefully move up.

Any advice helps! Thanks.

[DwightSchruteFarms]

can i have some reasons?

[pocket herc]

Many if not most of the people on this forum are pursuing big-law. Oci is the big-law pipeline. 1L grades determine (for the most part) success at OCI.

[NayBoer]

First, 1L GPA is what you go into OCI with. Also, it's apparently harder to improve grades 2L and 3L because generally:
- fewer classes are curved (more clustering)
- everybody already has a baseline GPA (instead of a blank slate), and
- even though you've gotten better at law school exams so has everybody else

[legalease9]

Many if not most of the people on this forum are pursuing big-law. Oci is the big-law pipeline. 1L grades determine (for the most part) success at OCI.

This. OCI is so important that it is really hard to succeed without a good OCI showing. You won't have that OCI showing without good 1L grades.

That being said, you are torturing yourself needlessly. Your 1L grades are done. There's nothing you can do about that. Work on improving grades and nailing OCI. Don't focus on the past. Focus on the here and now!

And look at the bright side! You didn't finish below median! What school are you attending (makes a BIG difference).