What is the Median at Your LS? Forum

[Pate]

Topic Title pretty much says it all. Would ask if you noted/posted your school ― that would be helpful. If your LS does not divulge its median, take your best guess.

If your best guess turns out wrong, you can repost.

(Not every possibility is listed, come as close as you can). Thanks.

[rinkrat19]

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

[Pate]

Thanks. I wonder how old that info is. Doesn't the median change every grading period?

[rinkrat19]

The median is chosen by the school. Grades are curved to result in that median (at least approximately. I don't know how exact it is.)

That's not to say that schools can't decide to change their chosen median for some reason, so the list could still be out of date.

[Bildungsroman]

177

Also, the poll options don't go high enough to allow Cornell students to accurately answer.

[Pate]

The median is chosen by the school. Grades are curved to result in that median (at least approximately. I don't know how exact it is.)

Again, thanks.

Pardon my naïveté, but can you explain the logic?

[shock259]

The easiest way to understand it is that most students will get the median grade, some students will get a little above or below the median, and a very select group will get far above or below the median.

Because all school's do different things with their medians (and many schools have raised theirs significantly to make it look like their students all get B+s), employers look exclusively to your class rank, as a percentage.

[Pate]

The easiest way to understand it is that most students will get the median grade, some students will get a little above or below the median, and a very select group will get far above or below the median.

Because all school's do different things with their medians (and many schools have raised theirs significantly to make it look like their students all get B+s), employers look exclusively to your class rank, as a percentage.

Problem is, some schools do not divulge class rank, or GPA for that matter, so median becomes the barometer. An OCI interviewer (on another thread) says he has to estimate median from the grades.

177

Also, the poll options don't go high enough to allow Cornell students to accurately answer.

According to the above posted link, Cornell 3.35.

[Bildungsroman]

177

Also, the poll options don't go high enough to allow Cornell students to accurately answer.

According to the above posted link, Cornell 3.35.

lol, 3.35 may be what employers think but I'm told recent grading changes make the median almost 3.5

[de5igual]

the link is the median that's suggested for each class/course. the overall median for a class year may be higher or lower and can shift from year to year.

For example, UT curves to a 3.3, but the 1L median is usually around a 3.35, by 2L, it goes to 3.4, and by 3L, it moves to 3.45.

[kalvano]

LOL at some of the medians in this thread. The median for my class at SMU right now is 3.092.

[Pate]

Less than 24 hours to participate. Thanks.

[jurisx]

I love how some law schools make in virtually impossible to fail even if you show up in a coma. Good stuff.

[rayiner]

The median is chosen by the school. Grades are curved to result in that median (at least approximately. I don't know how exact it is.)

Again, thanks.

Pardon my naïveté, but can you explain the logic?

So the median # of sexual partners of students in a law school class is something the school has no control over. It'll change every year depending on the makeup of the student body.

The median GPA, however, is entirely up to the school. That's because grades are defined relative to the median. There is no such thing as an "A" exam or a "B" exam, that has inherent "A"-ness or "B"-ness. Your professors will grade your exam relative to your classmates' exams. So if the school has a B+ median, the professor will take all the middle of the pack exams and give them a B+. He will take the exams that are a bit worse than that and give them a B. He will take the exams that are a bit better than that and give them an A-, etc. If the school had a B median, the professor would take those exact same exams and give them a B, give the exams below that group a B-, the exams above that group a B+, etc.

The median ends up being the school's target median because professors assign grades to meet that target median.

[Bildungsroman]

"A"-ness

Say this out loud.

[jess]

.

[shock259]

I love how some law schools make in virtually impossible to fail even if you show up in a coma. Good stuff.

Then they can milk your money for another two years and tell you that you are a special little flower and that you'll find a job if you just try hard enough.

[Pate]

Last chance to participate. . .

[jurisx]

Last chance to participate. . .

Really, Really,........wow I better hurry up........

why even give it a time limit?

[Perseus_I]

At my school, the median for each course is 3.3. But the composite median rises from about 3.35 after the first year to about 3.4 at graduation. The top quarter actually drops slightly to about 3.6 by graduation. The point is the use of language on this thread needs to be more precise. The important number is not the individual course median given by Wikipedia but the overall median. At 3.34, you may think you're above median, but maybe you're really not.

At the higher levels, the gap grows. Getting an A- in a class means you're only in the top 3rd in that class but having a 3.7 gpa is top 15% according to our CSO. I'm sure these sorts of things happen at every school.

[jurisx]

At my school, the median for each course is 3.3. But the composite median rises from about 3.35 after the first year to about 3.4 at graduation. The top quarter actually drops slightly to about 3.6 by graduation. The point is the use of language on this thread needs to be more precise. The important number is not the individual course median given by Wikipedia but the overall median. At 3.34, you may think you're above median, but maybe you're really not.

At the higher levels, the gap grows. Getting an A- in a class means you're only in the top 3rd in that class but having a 3.7 gpa is top 15% according to our CSO. I'm sure these sorts of things happen at every school.

top third is an A-? Dang that means I can get a B with a brain injury and a seizure mid exam. Awsome.

[Perseus_I]

At my school, the median for each course is 3.3. But the composite median rises from about 3.35 after the first year to about 3.4 at graduation. The top quarter actually drops slightly to about 3.6 by graduation. The point is the use of language on this thread needs to be more precise. The important number is not the individual course median given by Wikipedia but the overall median. At 3.34, you may think you're above median, but maybe you're really not.

At the higher levels, the gap grows. Getting an A- in a class means you're only in the top 3rd in that class but having a 3.7 gpa is top 15% according to our CSO. I'm sure these sorts of things happen at every school.

top third is an A-? Dang that means I can get a B with a brain injury and a seizure mid exam. Awsome.

Pretty much. It can be hard to break out of the B+ pile, however, since nearly 40-50% of each class gets a B+. Contrary to popular belief, only some UT students are stupid. Anyone at median is fairly smart, though the bottom of the class is full of idiots (like the guy who got 2/300 on Torts last year, writing only one paragraph).

We ought to have a saying along the lines of "The top of the class is Harvard [we have our share of Supreme Court clerks and Cravath associates], but the bottom of the class is McDonalds [we have our share of those too]." When people say "you CAN do very well coming from UT," they really mean that we are so big, we have the entire spectrum of U.S. News rankings encapsulated in one school.

[ninereal]

"A"-ness

Say this out loud.

At Harvard and Yale, it'd be inherent "P"-ness.

[Pate]

Thanks for participating in this little poll. As somewhat anticipated, 3.3 is the leading median cell. 55% of median is under 3.3. Dozens of ways to slice n’ dice the findings, including 24% at 3.0, or under.

[jurisx]

3.3 ..........NASA CONSPIRACY......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........