Columbia students taking questions Forum

[kingpin101]

Honestly though, how common is it for professors to blow past the deadline? I'm a 1L and only have a single grade back.

[John_Luther1989]

Honestly though, how common is it for professors to blow past the deadline? I'm a 1L and only have a single grade back.

Very common, unfortunately. There is really no disincentive to it since the punishment - basically a naughty list sent to professors - is laughably inadequate. That said, there is very little you can do to influence bad actors with tenure, or otherwise reasonably secure in their jobs, to be considerate of students.

[GreenEggs]

Does anyone now how many decimals are used in calculating honors? Is an A- just a 3.6, or is it 3.67, 3.6666, etc.?

[John_Luther1989]

Does anyone now how many decimals are used in calculating honors? Is an A- just a 3.6, or is it 3.67, 3.6666, etc.?

Standard plus=.33, minus=.67

I want to also note DO NOT PUT YOUR GPA ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT. I don't care how proud you are. It is against the rules, will get you a conversation with Petal you don't want, and will make you that jerk.

Also, don't do some fuckboy stuff like "Kent Anticipated, 2015-2016." That'll just get you punched.

[jrc223]

lol at "kent anticipated"

we have three grades (well some of us do)

[GreenEggs]

Does anyone now how many decimals are used in calculating honors? Is an A- just a 3.6, or is it 3.67, 3.6666, etc.?

Standard plus=.33, minus=.67

I want to also note DO NOT PUT YOUR GPA ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT. I don't care how proud you are. It is against the rules, will get you a conversation with Petal you don't want, and will make you that jerk.

Also, don't do some fuckboy stuff like "Kent Anticipated, 2015-2016." That'll just get you punched.

Oh of course for both those things. I was honestly just curious, thanks though.

[John_Luther1989]

Sorry, that non GPA calc stuff wasn't aimed at you; just general commentary.

Some of the current 3Ls did the most egregious shit and since I happen to know some recruiters I heard all about it. Made for some awkward hallway conversations.

[GreenEggs]

Sorry, that non GPA calc stuff wasn't aimed at you; just general commentary.

Some of the current 3Ls did the most egregious shit and since I happen to know some recruiters I heard all about it. Made for some awkward hallway conversations.

All good. I'm not surprised to hear that though...

[MCFC]

I want to also note DO NOT PUT YOUR GPA ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT. I don't care how proud you are. It is against the rules, will get you a conversation with Petal you don't want, and will make you that jerk.

I would caveat this with it depends on the market. Like at OCI, obviously not. If mass mailing though, I think it's fair game, especially if non-NYC. I had a few interviews in smaller markets with people who just assumed mine was pretty bad since I left it off.

[John_Luther1989]

Do not put your GPA on your resume. Any firm that comes to EIP should know the situation institutionally regardless of when they get the applications. If you want them to know you're smart, put Columbia Law School in bold. If you want to double confirm it, send your transcript.

I'm not saying this just to say it. I'm Kent, Stone, and on pace for Kent again this year and I don't have my GPA on my resume.

[Tiago Splitter]

Do not put your GPA on your resume. Any firm that comes to EIP should know the situation institutionally regardless of when they get the applications. If you want them to know you're smart, put Columbia Law School in bold. If you want to double confirm it, send your transcript.

I'm not saying this just to say it. I'm Kent, Stone, and on pace for Kent again this year and I don't have my GPA on my resume.

And if they don't come to EIP?

[MCFC]

Right, to be clear, I was talking non EIP.

[RSN]

Do not put your GPA on your resume. Any firm that comes to EIP should know the situation institutionally regardless of when they get the applications. If you want them to know you're smart, put Columbia Law School in bold. If you want to double confirm it, send your transcript.

I'm not saying this just to say it. I'm Kent, Stone, and on pace for Kent again this year and I don't have my GPA on my resume.

So you're saying Kent Anticipated, 2015-2016?

Sorry, couldn't resist

[Nebby]

JL seems like a real winner

[john_brown]

Could somebody explain the taboo re: GPAs on your resume? Not saying I want to do it -- but what's the harm, exactly?

[Nebby]

Could somebody explain the taboo re: GPAs on your resume? Not saying I want to do it -- but what's the harm, exactly?

CSO has some weirdo aversion to it with firms. I decided to follow the rule when looking for a PI job, even though there's really no reason to, and got tons of interviews regardless of the lack of GPA on resume.

[MCFC]

Could somebody explain the taboo re: GPAs on your resume? Not saying I want to do it -- but what's the harm, exactly?

It's more than a taboo; there's an OCS rule that it can't appear on the resume that they send to firms for EIP. They'll email you and tell you to take it off. The idea is that you walk into the EIP interview with the employer having seen your resume, but without knowing your grades. You then hand them your transcript when you walk into the interview.

The idea is to have everyone be on more equal footing, and to be clear, I have no problem with it, and I followed the rule.

My point was just that I know there's a convention that if your GPA is below 3.0, don't put it on your resume. So my worry when mass mailing (one borne out by my experiences) was that someone would quickly open the email, scan the resume, see no GPA, assume it was 2.something, and send it to the trash.

[GoneSouth]

Does anyone know how the upperclass curve compares to the 1L curve?

[jrc223]

also, rough guess as to what gpa is top 20%, 15%, 10%, etc.?

[cheaptilts]

Could somebody explain the taboo re: GPAs on your resume? Not saying I want to do it -- but what's the harm, exactly?

It's more than a taboo; there's an OCS rule that it can't appear on the resume that they send to firms for EIP. They'll email you and tell you to take it off. The idea is that you walk into the EIP interview with the employer having seen your resume, but without knowing your grades. You then hand them your transcript when you walk into the interview.

The idea is to have everyone be on more equal footing, and to be clear, I have no problem with it, and I followed the rule.

My point was just that I know there's a convention that if your GPA is below 3.0, don't put it on your resume. So my worry when mass mailing (one borne out by my experiences) was that someone would quickly open the email, scan the resume, see no GPA, assume it was 2.something, and send it to the trash.

I don't/didn't attend Columbia, so I have no dog in the fight, but isn't this a little strange? Wouldn't this simply give "double-ivies," those with high undergrad GPAs, or those with interesting/prestigious work experience a leg up? If the school's worried about employers not judging someone before they walk in based on law grades, wouldn't employers just pass judgment based on things they can see?

Eh, I'm probably missing something here so the answer doesn't really matter

[jbagelboy]

Could somebody explain the taboo re: GPAs on your resume? Not saying I want to do it -- but what's the harm, exactly?

It's more than a taboo; there's an OCS rule that it can't appear on the resume that they send to firms for EIP. They'll email you and tell you to take it off. The idea is that you walk into the EIP interview with the employer having seen your resume, but without knowing your grades. You then hand them your transcript when you walk into the interview.

The idea is to have everyone be on more equal footing, and to be clear, I have no problem with it, and I followed the rule.

My point was just that I know there's a convention that if your GPA is below 3.0, don't put it on your resume. So my worry when mass mailing (one borne out by my experiences) was that someone would quickly open the email, scan the resume, see no GPA, assume it was 2.something, and send it to the trash.

I don't/didn't attend Columbia, so I have no dog in the fight, but isn't this a little strange? Wouldn't this simply give "double-ivies," those with high undergrad GPAs, or those with interesting/prestigious work experience a leg up? If the school's worried about employers not judging someone before they walk in based on law grades, wouldn't employers just pass judgment based on things they can see?

Eh, I'm probably missing something here so the answer doesn't really matter

Not really. Most CLS students came from elite undergraduate institutions or have something else on their resume to recommend them. Naturally people with more experience and a better profile will have advantages in hiring, as they should. But moreover, whether the GPA is on the resume or just expressed on the transcript is irrelevant since the firms that care about grades will look at your transcript immediately before considering you for hire, and for the rest of them that don't care about grades it wouldn't matter anyway.

If it wasn't clear, you hand your transcript to the EIP interviewer upon entering the room. They have seconds at most to review your resume without having access to your transcript.

[John_Luther1989]

also, rough guess as to what gpa is top 20%, 15%, 10%, etc.?

Not relevant for CLS. You're Kent, Stone, median pwn'd, or nothing.

[smaug]

also, rough guess as to what gpa is top 20%, 15%, 10%, etc.?

Not relevant for CLS. You're Kent, Stone, median pwn'd, or nothing.

There are cut offs between Kent and Stone for firms, but if you're near or at an A- average you've cleared most of them.

[GreenEggs]

I've read somewhere in here that Stone is a good rule of thumb for bidding DC. Is that true?

[John_Luther1989]

I've read somewhere in here that Stone is a good rule of thumb for bidding DC. Is that true?

No. OCS and general chatter makes DC out to be some super hard place to get hired, but it really isn't, even at some of the top shops. Obviously Stone+ is better than not, but even being below median isn't a kiss of death. Be smart about bidding though (i.e. don't do 25 DC and 5 NY if your grades aren't killer). Talk to people who are going to DC. A bunch of 3Ls are headed that way and a decent number of 2Ls as well.