How screwed am I? Forum

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psm11

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How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:37 pm

Took my contracts midterm and screwed up a battle of the forms analysis. Had everything right except my conclusion and stated that the disclaimed warranty would become part of the contract. Correct answer is that it wouldn't and would be replaced with the UCC warranties favoring the buyer. Feel good about everything else, how bad will my screw up hurt my grade?

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sinfiery

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by sinfiery » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:39 pm

I don't think the purpose of law school exams are to get the right conclusion

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brotherdarkness

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by brotherdarkness » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:41 pm

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Last edited by brotherdarkness on Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

psm11

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:42 pm

sinfiery wrote:I don't think the purpose of law school exams are to get the right conclusion
Yes, however, since I concluded that the disclaimed warranties would become part of the contract and that was incorrect, my answer lacked an analysis on how the parties had a contract by conduct and the non-matching terms would be excluded and replaced with the UCC terms favoring the buyer in this scenario. I'm concerned with how much my grade will suffer since I didn't include this in my analysis.
Last edited by psm11 on Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

psm11

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:44 pm

brotherdarkness wrote:Might as well start looking for openings at the local Starbucks.

But seriously, you'll be just fine. The bulk of the points come from the analysis, not the conclusion. Sure, you'll lose a point or two for coming to the wrong conclusion, but if your analysis is on point you'll probably get most of the points. Everyone fucks things up on exams, it's just a matter of fucking up less than the rest of the class.

In any case, it's done. There's nothing you can do about it now. Have a stiff drink and move on with your life.
Thanks. Haha pretty obvious I'm a 1L with a lot to learn. It's just a horrible feeling realizing you screwed up. All I can think about is opening up my contracts grade and seeing a big D or F.

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brotherdarkness

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by brotherdarkness » Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:50 pm

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Last edited by brotherdarkness on Fri Jun 27, 2014 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

psm11

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:10 pm

brotherdarkness wrote:
psm11 wrote:
brotherdarkness wrote:Might as well start looking for openings at the local Starbucks.

But seriously, you'll be just fine. The bulk of the points come from the analysis, not the conclusion. Sure, you'll lose a point or two for coming to the wrong conclusion, but if your analysis is on point you'll probably get most of the points. Everyone fucks things up on exams, it's just a matter of fucking up less than the rest of the class.

In any case, it's done. There's nothing you can do about it now. Have a stiff drink and move on with your life.
Thanks. Haha pretty obvious I'm a 1L with a lot to learn. It's just a horrible feeling realizing you screwed up. All I can think about is opening up my contracts grade and seeing a big D or F.
Getting a D or F requires a lot more than just messing up part of your analysis. Writing about how much you hate law school during you Contracts exam might earn you a D or F, but other than that you'll be okay.

I know how it feels to realize you've screwed up. I get that feeling after every single exam as I think of everything I should have said but didn't. Every single one of your classmates probably feels the same way (though plenty will try to play it off). I've taken three semesters worth of law school exams and only once have I walked out and thought, "damn, I killed that shit."
Well that makes me feel better, thanks for the advice brother.

BigLawer

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by BigLawer » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:19 pm

You took a midterm in December?

Also, you wont be hurt as bad as you think for one wrong issue. Professors often give points based on issues spotted and analysis, but they are NOT going to crush you for one wrong application.

Edit: whoops
Last edited by BigLawer on Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ph14

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by ph14 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:21 pm

Conclusions are largely irrelevant, unless we're talking about an issue that is relatively open and shut. In fact, believe it or not, many issues on the exam don't have a clear answer they're written so that they could come out either way.

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psm11

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:26 pm

BigLawer wrote:You took a midterm in December?

Also, you wont be hurt as bad as you think for one wrong issue. Professors often give points based on issues spotted and analysis, but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Yeah, is that not the norm?

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:30 pm

psm11 wrote:
BigLawer wrote:You took a midterm in December?

Also, you wont be hurt as bad as you think for one wrong issue. Professors often give points based on issues spotted and analysis, but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Yeah, is that not the norm?
I may be using the term "mid-term" wrong. Since the classes are year long, I call the tests we are taking now midterms, as most are worth about 30% percent of our grade.

cslouisck

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by cslouisck » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:35 pm

BigLawer wrote: but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Mind elaborating? Is it better not to discuss something at all than to potentially get it wrong? Not sure what you mean by wrong application.

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brotherdarkness

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by brotherdarkness » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:41 pm

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cslouisck

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by cslouisck » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:47 pm

brotherdarkness wrote:
cslouisck wrote:
BigLawer wrote: but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Mind elaborating? Is it better not to discuss something at all than to potentially get it wrong? Not sure what you mean by wrong application.
Pretty sure (s)he meant that they are not going to crush you for one wrong application.
Thank you. Breathing again. Was about to rethink my strategy for exams.

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ph14

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by ph14 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:51 pm

cslouisck wrote:
brotherdarkness wrote:
cslouisck wrote:
BigLawer wrote: but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Mind elaborating? Is it better not to discuss something at all than to potentially get it wrong? Not sure what you mean by wrong application.
Pretty sure (s)he meant that they are not going to crush you for one wrong application.
Thank you. Breathing again. Was about to rethink my strategy for exams.
It's better to explain the reason why the issue is difficult and why you think it could go either way than to just ignore it or pretend it's an easy issue.

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PepperJack

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by PepperJack » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:51 pm

No one cares what your conclusion is. If your analyzing the wrong stuff that'd screw u over.

BigLawer

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by BigLawer » Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:28 pm

cslouisck wrote:
BigLawer wrote: but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Mind elaborating? Is it better not to discuss something at all than to potentially get it wrong? Not sure what you mean by wrong application.
Wow, that is an awful place to have a typo. I meant NOT GOING to crush....

I mean, he applied the rule to the fact wrong, that is improper application. At least this is what I am reading it to mean. The rule was In X situation Y happens, he put in X situation Y does not happen.

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by odoylerulez » Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:43 pm

Conclusions don't matter much, and thinking in terms of the "right answer" is almost always a bad way to think about a law school exam. Professors and lawyers don't really give a damn about a student's conclusions, when in reality most law students (myself included) know very little about the law in a broad sense. Your ability to think through a fact pattern and recognize the forks in the law is much more crucial both as a law student and as a new attorney.

As others have stated, law school exams are often intentionally written in such a way that there is no right answer. Even with fact patterns that favor one side of an argument over another, the analysis/counter-analysis will still constitute anywhere from 70-90% of the points. Most of the time, getting an A is still possible (maybe even an A+) even if you come to a conclusion that the professor disagrees with.

psm11

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by psm11 » Thu Dec 12, 2013 10:03 pm

BigLawer wrote:
cslouisck wrote:
BigLawer wrote: but they are going to crush you for one wrong application.
Mind elaborating? Is it better not to discuss something at all than to potentially get it wrong? Not sure what you mean by wrong application.
Wow, that is an awful place to have a typo. I meant NOT GOING to crush....

I mean, he applied the rule to the fact wrong, that is improper application. At least this is what I am reading it to mean. The rule was In X situation Y happens, he put in X situation Y does not happen.
Exactly what I did. Rule stated that when you have an acknowledgement that states acceptance is expressly condition on buyers assent to additional terms that makes it a counter offer. I made sure to state this. However I somehow forgot that under UCC 2-207(3) if the party accepts the shipment of the goods they aren't accepting the counter offer they are accepting the original contract. In that case the terms that do not match (disclaimed warranties, etc) do not become part of the contract and are replaced with the UCC warranties favoring the buyer. I, however, said it was a counter offer and since they accepted the goods they, in-turn, accepted the counteroffer and contract is governed under the offerors disclaimed warranties since they are the master of the offer. In other words, I provided analysis on everything except the UCC 2-207(3) part of the problem and concluded that the sellers warranty terms would prevail.

Hoping it won't hurt me too bad. Honestly, felt like I was going to puke today when I realized I missed that. Luckily, our contracts prof. is aware this was the first law school exam we were going to take and said he would factor that into our grade.

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cynthia rose

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by cynthia rose » Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:04 am

I took contracts this summer and effed up the exact same thing - totally missed the 2-207(3) angle. Still made a C+ (and mind you, that was with missed issues in other places). The fact that I fully analyzed what I did talk about is what saved my butt. So don't beat yourself up too badly, you will be fine. Hell, if that is the only thing you got wrong you'll probably swing a B or B+. I'm sure there are at least a few other people who missed it too, so it's not like you're going to stick out like a sore thumb.

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brotherdarkness

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by brotherdarkness » Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:34 pm

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sinfiery

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by sinfiery » Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:35 pm

jesus man that c+ comment scared the fck out of me, for 1 issue? esadasdafhasf

iworkforlsac

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by iworkforlsac » Sat Dec 14, 2013 1:45 pm

lol are u seriously going to condone OP by telling u got a C+ just for missing one issue (and, granted, some more)? hell this just freaked the fck out of me too

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by TLSaul2001 » Sat Dec 14, 2013 2:15 pm

iworkforlsac wrote:lol are u seriously going to condone OP by telling u got a C+ just for missing one issue (and, granted, some more)? hell this just freaked the fck out of me too
You really have to mess a test up to get a C+, my worst test in law school, Civ Pro II which was a complete NIGHTMARE for me only resulted in a B-. And I'm talking open book test that I was completely unprepared for where the outline I had wasn't even any use. I wrote answers knowing full well that they were completely wrong and didn't have any factual support, but soldiered on because it was my last test and I was completely fried w/ the writing competition right around the corner.

Now you can definitely get a C+ on a test, but you usually gotta fall in the bottom 15-20% of the class to do this and really bomb the test. Missing one issue isn't going to result in a C+.

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cynthia rose

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Re: How screwed am I?

Post by cynthia rose » Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:03 pm

Sorry I guess I didn't state my point well. I'm not telling OP he will get a C+ like I did, b/c he very likely won't. My point was that I missed a LOT of stuff on that exam. Analyzed an issue wrong (the same one he missed), completely missed others. Analyzing one issue wrong is a lot less harmful than missing things altogether (I still have the review of my exam and the prof said that the missed issues were where other students picked up points over me). I'm not happy about that C+ trust me. I knew I effed that test up as soon as I left the room though. It was what it was. The tough part is that the C+ is not the end of the world if I do well in everything else, and I think I did well enough to at least be median in my other classes, but I won't know for sure until a month from now.

But to bring it back to OP, he will be fine. OP was worried he was going to get a D or F! You have to fuck up really badly to fail out. If OP only misinterpreted that one issue, just in that he analyzed the wrong angle, everything will be ok. As in, whatever median is at his school, he'll do that or better, though he probably won't be the one who books the class. He's not going to fail, if he's right that he didn't miss anything else he will at the very least be median, and whether median is 'good' or not mostly comes down to the school itself so that much is out of his control.

If he gets anything less than median it will be because he missed more than that one issue. Also I'm at a T25, fwiw.

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