summer employment as a 1L Forum

[iamgeorgebush]

how does one apply on December 1 when grades haven't come out? my school's exam period ends on December 17, so i imagine grades won't be out till late December.

I'm currently in my 1L summer (rising 2L) at a BgFed agency and pretty much got it because I applied Dec. 1st. They didn't even have my grades when I was offered the position three weeks after applying.

yeah but does that work for biglaw SA positions too?

[banjo]

You don't have to apply to 1L SAs on December 1, especially if you need the time to study for finals. I applied closer to the end of January (not ideal) and still had a safe number of callbacks. If you do apply in early December, you don't need grades. Firms will still interview people and ask them to send grades as they're posted.

Don't be discouraged if you don't get an SA. It takes a good deal of luck.

[Nebby]

how does one apply on December 1 when grades haven't come out? my school's exam period ends on December 17, so i imagine grades won't be out till late December.

I'm currently in my 1L summer (rising 2L) at a BgFed agency and pretty much got it because I applied Dec. 1st. They didn't even have my grades when I was offered the position three weeks after applying.

yeah but does that work for biglaw SA positions too?

No.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I thought people had posted here about getting SAs before getting their grades (though also many places will request your grades once you get them). I don't know how many it is, though, if I'm not remembering incorrectly to begin with. But it is clear that lots of people apply before grades come out and then send grades in later.

[ymmv]

I thought people had posted here about getting SAs before getting their grades (though also many places will request your grades once you get them). I don't know how many it is, though, if I'm not remembering incorrectly to begin with. But it is clear that lots of people apply before grades come out and then send grades in later.

They do. As usual, Nebby is talking out of his/her ass. Several people in my class got SAs before grades were posted. Granted, some of them were at firms they had paralegaled for, and others had serious connections, but not all of them.

[iamgeorgebush]

You don't have to apply to 1L SAs on December 1, especially if you need the time to study for finals. I applied closer to the end of January (not ideal) and still had a safe number of callbacks. If you do apply in early December, you don't need grades. Firms will still interview people and ask them to send grades as they're posted.

Don't be discouraged if you don't get an SA. It takes a good deal of luck.

I thought people had posted here about getting SAs before getting their grades (though also many places will request your grades once you get them). I don't know how many it is, though, if I'm not remembering incorrectly to begin with. But it is clear that lots of people apply before grades come out and then send grades in later.

I thought people had posted here about getting SAs before getting their grades (though also many places will request your grades once you get them). I don't know how many it is, though, if I'm not remembering incorrectly to begin with. But it is clear that lots of people apply before grades come out and then send grades in later.

They do. As usual, Nebby is talking out of his/her ass. Several people in my class got SAs before grades were posted. Granted, some of them were at firms they had paralegaled for, and others had serious connections, but not all of them.

thanks! it's nice to receive real answers.

[ph14]

I had a 1L SA and got it on the strength of my first semester grades. If you're nothing special in terms of connections, work experience, etc. like me then they will probably want to see your fall grades before they make a hiring decision. That was my experience, at least.

I applied after finals were over, sometime in January I think (I can't remember if I applied before grades and then updated or just waited for grades). I received lots of interest from multiple firms that still had spots open when grades finally came out in late January.

[hellojd]

I had a few 1L SA's to choose from. I got interviews at a couple of them before grades were all out, but I didn't get offers until my grades were all in.

In terms of timeline, I really wouldn't worry about it until after your exams. Doing even marginally better on your exams is 100% more important than getting the apps in December 1st versus December 20th. I only began apps around then and it turned out fine - most (all?) of the people at my CCN only interviewed for these SA positions after New Years.