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Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:34 am
by shredderrrrrr
Man, they are releasing one per day at midnight it looks like.

I am on a roller coaster of emotion so far. A then B- then A. Halfway there.

I can live with that B- so long as it is an outlier. Any more of those, however, and I am in serious trouble.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:39 am
by Blessedassurance
Doorkeeper wrote: I saw multiple model answers for my classes at around 1800-2200 words.

It's all about what the individual professor wants. Some of mine wanted word vomit, but some wanted a streamlined and cogent analysis.
what classes were those in?

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:41 am
by Richie Tenenbaum
thesealocust wrote:
Randomnumbers wrote:
Blessedassurance wrote:Since most have grades back, can people contribute to the correlation between typing speed and grades debate?
I typed really fast, and I got really good grades. If you are just as good at analysis as me, and know the rules just as well as me, but I type twice as fast - how can you possibly compete in applying law to fact? (Unless, of course, I just run out of stuff to type.)
A prof once blogged about the statistical analysis and found that abnormally short exams (like bottom 10% shortest?) got disproportionately poor grades, but that there was no positive correlation between long exams and grade.

Apparently many people ramble. Obviously you'd rather type quickly than slowly, but it's very much over-hyped on TLS.
I most definitely do not write the most on exams, and I have been able to do well. That said, I think it is a pretty big advantage to be able to provide cogent analysis at a fast rate. One of my 1L exams was pretty time pressured and I felt like I was typing pretty consistently throughout the time (though I'm sure I paused multiple times to collect my thoughts--I just don't think very fast on my feet). I got an A in the class and when I looked over my test it was about 8 to 9 pages long. The professor also provided access to copies of the two A+'s in the class for students to look at: They were both over 18 pages long. I just don't think I'm capable of spitting out analysis that fast. While both of the A+ tests occasionally went on tangents that the professor marked as irrelevant or incorrect more than I did, both the tests simply crushed my test with the total amount of analysis. Now, if you spew garbage for 18 pages, that's not going to lead to a good grade, but if you are able to do really fast analysis and put that analysis to paper really fast, that's got to be an advantage. I've been able to do well on essay tests despite being a bit slower on them than some of the people in the class, but I still prefer multiple choice (thank you LSAT prep for making me a lot faster on these types of tests).

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:43 am
by uvabro
Richie Tenenbaum wrote:
thesealocust wrote:
Randomnumbers wrote:
Blessedassurance wrote:Since most have grades back, can people contribute to the correlation between typing speed and grades debate?
I typed really fast, and I got really good grades. If you are just as good at analysis as me, and know the rules just as well as me, but I type twice as fast - how can you possibly compete in applying law to fact? (Unless, of course, I just run out of stuff to type.)
A prof once blogged about the statistical analysis and found that abnormally short exams (like bottom 10% shortest?) got disproportionately poor grades, but that there was no positive correlation between long exams and grade.

Apparently many people ramble. Obviously you'd rather type quickly than slowly, but it's very much over-hyped on TLS.
I most definitely do not write the most on exams, and I have been able to do well. That said, I think it is a pretty big advantage to be able to provide cogent analysis at a fast rate. One of my 1L exams was pretty time pressured and I felt like I was typing pretty consistently throughout the time (though I'm sure I paused multiple times to collect my thoughts--I just don't think very fast on my feet). I got an A in the class and when I looked over my test it was about 8 to 9 pages long. The professor also provided access to copies of the two A+'s in the class for students to look at: They were both over 18 pages long. I just don't think I'm capable of spitting out analysis that fast. While both of the A+ tests occasionally went on tangents that the professor marked as irrelevant or incorrect more than I did, both the tests simply crushed my test with the total amount of analysis. Now, if you spew garbage for 18 pages, that's not going to lead to a good grade, but if you are able to do really fast analysis and put that analysis to paper really fast, that's got to be an advantage. I've been able to do well on essay tests despite being a bit slower on them than some of the people in the class, but I still prefer multiple choice (thank you LSAT prep for making me a lot faster on these types of tests).
i accept your challenge.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:50 am
by redbullvodka
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Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:56 am
by soj
Most profs who insist they want concise analyses are just saying that because they're sick of reading terrible writing. I bet a lot of them don't grade any differently--the checklist system is easy.

Kind of like profs who foam at the mouths about how their exams aren't type races because admitting it seems to undermine the validity of the exam, but then give you three hours to do 5 fact patterns. :roll:

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:24 am
by Blessedassurance
Doorkeeper wrote:I saw multiple model answers for my classes at around 1800-2200 words.

It's all about what the individual professor wants. Some of mine wanted word vomit, but some wanted a streamlined and cogent analysis.
also, i think this might be an H thing. hell, more than half of my 1l classes have an all-day take home exams, some (if not most) with word limits...

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:29 am
by manofjustice
jack duluoz wrote:3L here...

Don't stress too much, guys. To some extent law school grades are bullshit and arbitrary. You should definitely analyze your performance to improve next semester, but understand that sometimes a Professor just won't like your analysis when another Professor might have -- at least to the extent that one Prof would give you a B, while the other gives you the dreaded B- and singlehandedly ruins your gpa for a semester.

My theory after analyzing 5 semesters of grades is this: (my school has a B curve)

Generally speaking, the top 5% of the class just gets it and can consistently bang out A grades with the occasional B+.

Outside that small five percent, there's a group of students around the top 10% - 30% who are really solid but will find themselves generally getting good grades i.e. few As, lots of A-s and B+s, but with the random B- for whatever reason.

Then there's the median group who just kind of show up to class, read, but don't really worry about figuring out how to do really well.

Finally, there's the people below median who really just don't give an honest shit.

If you try hard and attempt to understand how to do well on a law school exam, it is likely that you'll fall in that 10%-30% category. It just sucks that employers think there's something magical about the student that squeaked into the top 10% compared to the student who didn't catch any breaks and landed in the top 25%, when in reality there's really not a big difference in the ability of the students.

Just look at it this way: When you graduate, you'll be working at Target or you won't :lol:
I love this analysis.

Question: what is it?

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:39 am
by K Rock
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Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:11 am
by UVAIce
Blessedassurance wrote:
Doorkeeper wrote:I saw multiple model answers for my classes at around 1800-2200 words.

It's all about what the individual professor wants. Some of mine wanted word vomit, but some wanted a streamlined and cogent analysis.
also, i think this might be an H thing. hell, more than half of my 1l classes have an all-day take home exams, some (if not most) with word limits...
I think it's much more of an "exam" thing. If your professor is just asking a straight policy question then you may not have to write all that much to make a strong argument. However, if your professor gives you a 2 page fact pattern and tells you "gotta catch um all" then a longer exam has a stronger chance of a high grade.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:29 am
by hyakku
First day of classes start and first email we get is from one of our Deans announcing a new head of our registrar becoming active today! We didn't have a long break for you to do this, no, no, let's wait until school starts!

I'm not even mad anymore, I'm 100% convinced the administration is trolling. My response is to assume I did well and do nothing in class these next few weeks. The alternative is to work harder, which is lolworthy atm.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:36 am
by stillwater
hyakku wrote: I'm not even mad anymore, I'm 100% convinced the administration is trolling. My response is to assume I did well and do nothing in class these next few weeks. The alternative is to work harder, which is lolworthy atm.
This is what I've been doing. It is also somewhat unsatisfactory but seems to be the best course of action.

Registrars be trollin'

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:06 am
by hoos89
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Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:42 am
by somewhatwayward
jack duluoz wrote:3L here...

Don't stress too much, guys. To some extent law school grades are bullshit and arbitrary. You should definitely analyze your performance to improve next semester, but understand that sometimes a Professor just won't like your analysis when another Professor might have -- at least to the extent that one Prof would give you a B, while the other gives you the dreaded B- and singlehandedly ruins your gpa for a semester.

My theory after analyzing 5 semesters of grades is this: (my school has a B curve)

Generally speaking, the top 5% of the class just gets it and can consistently bang out A grades with the occasional B+.

Outside that small five percent, there's a group of students around the top 10% - 30% who are really solid but will find themselves generally getting good grades i.e. few As, lots of A-s and B+s, but with the random B- for whatever reason.

Then there's the median group who just kind of show up to class, read, but don't really worry about figuring out how to do really well.

Finally, there's the people below median who really just don't give an honest shit.

If you try hard and attempt to understand how to do well on a law school exam, it is likely that you'll fall in that 10%-30% category. It just sucks that employers think there's something magical about the student that squeaked into the top 10% compared to the student who didn't catch any breaks and landed in the top 25%, when in reality there's really not a big difference in the ability of the students.

Just look at it this way: When you graduate, you'll be working at Target or you won't :lol:
Also a 3L...I agree with you that the top of the class does get it and collects a disproportionate amount of the As, but at my school that amounts to a lot more than 5% of the class....probably more like 20-30%. Then comes the next 60-70% of the class who are all trying really hard with varying degrees of success. Only about 10% of the class (or less) are people who don't care. At my school, the vast majority of people below median are people who do care and are trying....so I disagree that below median people "don't give an honest shit." The ones who don't care are probably depressed or distracted by personal problems. This is CLS which is obviously not representative. But the students who get below median here already feel shitty so they don't need to hear more about how they don't give a shit when most of them did. The good news is that you have a good shot at a job even if you are below median. Also I am not below median so I am not saying this out of defensiveness. The smugness that drives people with good grades to conclude that people below median are inferior bothers me, though.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:46 am
by UnamSanctam
hyakku wrote:First day of classes start and first email we get is from one of our Deans announcing a new head of our registrar becoming active today! We didn't have a long break for you to do this, no, no, let's wait until school starts!

I'm not even mad anymore, I'm 100% convinced the administration is trolling. My response is to assume I did well and do nothing in class these next few weeks. The alternative is to work harder, which is lolworthy atm.
Yeah, I'm displeased.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:32 pm
by JamMasterJ
Doorkeeper wrote:
JamMasterJ wrote:
thesealocust wrote:

A prof once blogged about the statistical analysis and found that abnormally short exams (like bottom 10% shortest?) got disproportionately poor grades, but that there was no positive correlation between long exams and grade.

Apparently many people ramble. Obviously you'd rather type quickly than slowly, but it's very much over-hyped on TLS.
Pretty much every four hour model I've read was between 5500 and 6500 words, which I can generally hit with my 65 wpm, so I tend to agree.
I saw multiple model answers for my classes at around 1800-2200 words.

It's all about what the individual professor wants. Some of mine wanted word vomit, but some wanted a streamlined and cogent analysis.
My point was that 5500 really isn't a huge number of words

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:17 pm
by Bronck
Nothing today :(

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:40 pm
by Bronck
Passed legal writing. Yippee. Now give me real grades.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:49 pm
by HellOnHeels
i really wish they'd post the rest of my grades so i could stop stressing if they're good enough to make up for my crappy grade. come on already!!! :evil:

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:58 pm
by uvabro
how long do they spend on the average test? is the delay because of the time commitment, or because of personal lives and daytime soap operas on the telemundo network?

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:00 pm
by Gorki
uvabro wrote:how long do they spend on the average test? is the delay because of the time commitment, or because of personal lives and daytime soap operas on the telemundo network?
2L Disclaimer: It really varies. We had one prof who would give each exam a read through, generally sort them by quality, then read through again and move some around.... We had another prof who seriously read them once through the weekend before a Monday grade deadline.... Overall, more tilted towards watching daytime soaps, less tilted towards them reading the exams thoroughly.

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:10 pm
by Nova
All my grades come out either tomorrow or Friday :shock:

Fuuuuuuuck

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:15 pm
by hoos89
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Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:46 pm
by stillwater
Nova wrote:All my grades come out either tomorrow or Friday :shock:

Fuuuuuuuck
ditto

Re: PANIC!! 1L Fall Grade Waiting Thread - 2012

Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:03 pm
by minnbills
Nova wrote:All my grades come out either tomorrow or Friday :shock:

Fuuuuuuuck
+1 I am feeling the pressure now. FML