Really Bad Grades 1st Semester Forum

[TheSpanishMain]

Oh I get that. I just thought you were suggesting that I shouldn't take this job because I can get something substantially better because of my undergrad prestige. If that's true, then I won't take this, but I don't know why it'd be true. I just feel that my options are limited with a B.A. in history.

I'm not trying to kick you when you're down, but I'm just sort of surprised that you're this lost. You went to an elite undergrad, so you're presumably a smart person. Off the top of my head: go teach. Apply to every entry-level corporate job you can find. Apply to a bunch of GS-7 federal jobs. Reach out to your friends from undergrad and ask them for help/connections. Join the French Foreign Legion. Seriously, how are you capable of hacking an Ivy League yet unable to get your head around the idea of a job search?

[cheesy143]

Also don't stay because you think you can get a LRAP qualified public interest job. Although low paying they are very competitive and hiring people will see right through you if you apply to one with no background in PI or PI classes

[Troubled1L]

Also don't stay because you think you can get a LRAP qualified public interest job. Although low paying they are very competitive and hiring people will see right through you if you apply to one with no background in PI or PI classes

Do they care about grades. PI summer internship, PI classes, and an interest in PI good enough? I'm glad the one user said the car rental is dead end because I can't abandon my friends right now.

[BigZuck]

What, if anything, makes you qualified to opine on the quality of Zuck's advice?

When someone gives that poor of advice someone should interfere whether qualified or not.

What makes you qualified to evaluate the advice as poor?

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3#p9069793

[cheesy143]

Also don't stay because you think you can get a LRAP qualified public interest job. Although low paying they are very competitive and hiring people will see right through you if you apply to one with no background in PI or PI classes

Do they care about grades. PI summer internship, PI classes, and an interest in PI good enough? I'm glad the one user said the car rental is dead end because I can't abandon my friends right now.

Grades are less of a factor. They look for the stuff you listed. But if you dont have a passion for public interest I would recommend getting a non law job because you'll be getting about the same Pay but for a lot less work

[ronanOgara]

Also don't stay because you think you can get a LRAP qualified public interest job. Although low paying they are very competitive and hiring people will see right through you if you apply to one with no background in PI or PI classes

Do they care about grades. PI summer internship, PI classes, and an interest in PI good enough? I'm glad the one user said the car rental is dead end because I can't abandon my friends right now.

I don't get this. Why can't you "abandon" your classmates? You got bad grades, you have low career prospects in the legal field (either because of your poor grades or because you simply seem to just be "meh" about it). You leaving school isn't "abandoning" your friends; it's an economically responsible choice.

I didn't say the car rental idea is a dead-end to justify you staying in law school to hang out with people--I meant it as a way to encourage you to look for other employment opportunities.

[TheSpanishMain]

I don't get this.

I'm really starting to doubt the whole Ivy undergrad thing. The syntax combined with the reasoning is real shaky.

[ronanOgara]

I don't get this.

I'm really starting to doubt the whole Ivy undergrad thing. The syntax combined with the reasoning is real shaky.

Yeah OP I'm really baffled at your lack of direction, especially if you did graduate from one the country's most prestigious universities.

[totesTheGoat]

I don't get this.

I'm really starting to doubt the whole Ivy undergrad thing. The syntax combined with the reasoning is real shaky.

Yeah OP I'm really baffled at your lack of direction, especially if you did graduate from one the country's most prestigious universities.

I'm not as surprised. I've seen it from certain types of students at prestigious and not so prestigious universities. When your foresight extends 6" in front of your toes, you don't really know what's coming. I've known some very smart people who got some very prestigious, but unemployable, degrees because they were making decisions with a 5-month plan instead of a 5-year plan. It works out for those people as they're moving up the academic ladder, but then the floor falls out.

It sounds like OP may be similar. Smart enough to go Ivy out of high school. Smart enough to do well at said Ivy, and probably smart enough to coast through the history curriculum without a Herculean effort. However, OP probably has never had a need to have direction or career goals. Making it to the next round of education was the goal.

Like I said, I've met quite a few people like that, and most of them have had a real hard time adjusting to post-educational life.

[trebekismyhero]

OP, drop out. You don't want to be a lawyer, it is pretty obvious and that will come through in interviews. Add to that your grades and staying in law school would be a terrible mistake.

The rental car gig isn't terrible, but you probably could do better if you networked and cast a wider net.

Do what SpanishMain recommended. Work for at least the next two years or so and figure out what you want to do with your life.

[JCougar]

Dropping out is good advice. If you drop out after 1 year, you avoid the scourge and scarlet letter that a JD puts on your resume when looking at non-JD jobs.

I can no longer get jobs in my old career path, because when non-law firms see my resume, they think: 1) either this person is super over-qualified for this job, in which case, if there's nothing wrong with him, he'll quit within 6 months when he finds something that pays better, or 2) there must be something wrong with him if he has a law degree but he's applying to this shitty job, in which case, we don't want a problem worker.

The general public, despite all of the Law School Transparency, has still yet to catch on to how terrible the job market is for JDs, and how desperate most law grads are for any semblance of a career beyond temp work. So getting the full JD would make you over-qualified for jobs that you would normally get.

The safest bet if you're going to strike out at OCI (which you surely will), let alone lose your scholarship and obtain a 2.xx GPA at a Tier 2 school, is to just drop out immediately and look for any sort of career-track job paying $40K or higher.

[BigZuck]

The "not going to stress" part may have been poorly worded by the OP or misinterpreted by the hive (which is kind of what I think happened) but if the OP means what it sounds like then the OP should definitely cut his/her losses now

I think it comes down to the strength of the OP's THIRST for JUSTICE and how much the OP just NEEDS to be a lawyer, and the OP's debt level. If the OP is like the other 97% of law students who are just kind of doing the law school thing cuz "Meh, whatever, what else do you want me to do, get a job?" then the OP should drop out. Or, if the OP is going like 100K in debt (decently likely if not on a full ride) for some middling to bad-ish school (decently likely when the school has scholly stips) then the OP should drop out (unless maybe that THIRST is simply UNQUENCHABLE I guess).

If that was me, knowing what I know now (which is impossible of course because how could 0L me know what 3L me knows?) then I would drop out.

this is shitty advice. do not listen to this advice. it has nothing to do with your grades. it is just unabashedly shitty advice. thirst for justice has nothing to do with hiring. "meh" is THE worst attitude anyone has towards legal hiring. the thirst is real regardless of T14 or not,

This post needs to be explained and/or needs more love

It's kind of beautiful on a lot of levels

[ronanOgara]

The "not going to stress" part may have been poorly worded by the OP or misinterpreted by the hive (which is kind of what I think happened) but if the OP means what it sounds like then the OP should definitely cut his/her losses now

I think it comes down to the strength of the OP's THIRST for JUSTICE and how much the OP just NEEDS to be a lawyer, and the OP's debt level. If the OP is like the other 97% of law students who are just kind of doing the law school thing cuz "Meh, whatever, what else do you want me to do, get a job?" then the OP should drop out. Or, if the OP is going like 100K in debt (decently likely if not on a full ride) for some middling to bad-ish school (decently likely when the school has scholly stips) then the OP should drop out (unless maybe that THIRST is simply UNQUENCHABLE I guess).

If that was me, knowing what I know now (which is impossible of course because how could 0L me know what 3L me knows?) then I would drop out.

this is shitty advice. do not listen to this advice. it has nothing to do with your grades. it is just unabashedly shitty advice. thirst for justice has nothing to do with hiring. "meh" is THE worst attitude anyone has towards legal hiring. the thirst is real regardless of T14 or not,

This post needs to be explained and/or needs more love

It's kind of beautiful on a lot of levels

Idk, Zuck...you've kinda been disqualified for ever giving advice/posting again. So I'm gonna just pretend that you didn't post in the first place.

[BigZuck]

The "not going to stress" part may have been poorly worded by the OP or misinterpreted by the hive (which is kind of what I think happened) but if the OP means what it sounds like then the OP should definitely cut his/her losses now

I think it comes down to the strength of the OP's THIRST for JUSTICE and how much the OP just NEEDS to be a lawyer, and the OP's debt level. If the OP is like the other 97% of law students who are just kind of doing the law school thing cuz "Meh, whatever, what else do you want me to do, get a job?" then the OP should drop out. Or, if the OP is going like 100K in debt (decently likely if not on a full ride) for some middling to bad-ish school (decently likely when the school has scholly stips) then the OP should drop out (unless maybe that THIRST is simply UNQUENCHABLE I guess).

If that was me, knowing what I know now (which is impossible of course because how could 0L me know what 3L me knows?) then I would drop out.

this is shitty advice. do not listen to this advice. it has nothing to do with your grades. it is just unabashedly shitty advice. thirst for justice has nothing to do with hiring. "meh" is THE worst attitude anyone has towards legal hiring. the thirst is real regardless of T14 or not,

This post needs to be explained and/or needs more love

It's kind of beautiful on a lot of levels

Idk, Zuck...you've kinda been disqualified for ever giving advice/posting again. So I'm gonna just pretend that you didn't post in the first place.

True, true

I just love that comma at the end though, it's like his rant just trails off. Can't tell if it's trolling, or drunken posting, or an inadvertent whooshing, or just poor reading comprehension.

The whole post is a work of art IMO

[pancakes3]

4 am on a Saturday/Sunday during break - you can safely assume that it was an epic drunken whoosh.

[Phil Brooks]

Oh I get that. I just thought you were suggesting that I shouldn't take this job because I can get something substantially better because of my undergrad prestige. If that's true, then I won't take this, but I don't know why it'd be true. I just feel that my options are limited with a B.A. in history.

I'm not trying to kick you when you're down, but I'm just sort of surprised that you're this lost. You went to an elite undergrad, so you're presumably a smart person. Off the top of my head: go teach. Apply to every entry-level corporate job you can find. Apply to a bunch of GS-7 federal jobs. Reach out to your friends from undergrad and ask them for help/connections. Join the French Foreign Legion. Seriously, how are you capable of hacking an Ivy League yet unable to get your head around the idea of a job search?

Don't be so impressed by an Ivy League education. I say this as someone who got a 4.0 from Columbia. Grade inflation in the soft degrees is rampant; kids from the richest 1% of families make up a majority of students in the Ivy League; and the best predictor of one's SAT scores is the income level of one's parents.

[Troubled1L]

Stopped going to class. Should I formally drop out or just never show up again?

I got a decent job that'll pay ~40k/year. It took a while, but I kept applying. My school's finals are going on right now and I heard that because I didn't drop out, I'll get automatic F's in every class this semester. I'm hoping that doesn't hurt me when I apply to a master's program in a field that interests me, but maybe they have addendums to explain that, just like there were GPA addendums in the LS application process?

[A. Nony Mouse]

For god's sake at least tell the school you're dropping out and see if you can withdraw rather than get a raft of Fs - it is not that much effort to look at least a little like a responsible adult.

[ronanOgara]

Stopped going to class. Should I formally drop out or just never show up again?

I got a decent job that'll pay ~40k/year. It took a while, but I kept applying. My school's finals are going on right now and I heard that because I didn't drop out, I'll get automatic F's in every class this semester. I'm hoping that doesn't hurt me when I apply to a master's program in a field that interests me, but maybe they have addendums to explain that, just like there were GPA addendums in the LS application process?

This isn't smart. Formally drop out before you get straight Fs and can never go to grad school again. I think grad school should be off your radar anyway...

[TheSpanishMain]

Nah bro just take the Fs, they'll kick you out, and you'll save yourself the trouble of dropping out

There's no way OP is real

[Troubled1L]

I'll see if I can withdraw and avoid the F's, but I believe it's too late now.
Why would this even matter for admission to a master's program?

[A. Nony Mouse]

I'll see if I can withdraw and avoid the F's, but I believe it's too late now.
Why would this even matter for admission to a master's program?

Because it makes you look irresponsible and flakey to get a string of Fs because you were too lazy/apathetic to withdraw properly.

[asdfdfdfadfas]

I'll see if I can withdraw and avoid the F's, but I believe it's too late now.
Why would this even matter for admission to a master's program?

Because it makes you look irresponsible and flakey to get a string of Fs because you were too lazy/apathetic to withdraw properly.

This. They did provide you scholarship money.

Although, you really don't owe them anything, as really law school shouldn't be as expensive as it is anyways, it just becomes a question of your character.

I still can't believe the attitude hasn't shifted partially in the way of not looking up to academia as if they are hollier than though and calling it like it is. They are making a guaranteed profit off of people by subsidizing their own salaries with cheap government financing while leaving thousands of people holding trillions of dollars of student loans and no job prospects. They don't seem to eager to tie costs to outcomes, do they? For the vast majority of people it is literally a scam.

Plus, I am sure law school is the same, but the education isn't even within the context of your future job so typically you are just jumping through hoops learning theories you don't need to know for literally no reason that you are going to forget in a semester and have to relearn in the context of your job on the slim chance you do find work in your field.

The whole thing is ridiculous, outdated, and way more difficult than it needs to be. Take the 40k job, and figure out what you want to do with your life in the mean time OP.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Plus, I am sure law school is the same, but the education isn't even within the context of your future job so typically you are just jumping through hoops learning theories you don't need to know for literally no reason that you are going to forget in a semester and have to relearn in the context of your job on the slim chance you do find work in your field.

Law school is a professional program so the above definitely applies there, but education is about more than getting a job.

[asdfdfdfadfas]

Plus, I am sure law school is the same, but the education isn't even within the context of your future job so typically you are just jumping through hoops learning theories you don't need to know for literally no reason that you are going to forget in a semester and have to relearn in the context of your job on the slim chance you do find work in your field.

Law school is a professional program so the above definitely applies there, but education is about more than getting a job.

Right....Let's use Accounting because I can't talk about it in the context of law school because I am not attending one. You have to sit through cost Accounting, intermediate Accounting, Financial Accounting etc. etc. etc. Well, if I know before taking Accounting I am going into Tax, then really Cost Accounting is a complete waste of time. I don't want to be a Cost Accountant, I don't care about Cost Accounting, I will never do Cost Accounting. Also by taking Cost Accounting, it isn't as if I remember any of the BS that they are teaching some 7 years later nor will it ever be relevant to my life again outside of taking that class. Nor does taking cost accounting make me a more "well rounded" individual.

It's an excuse to prolong the process, suck up money from people, encourage collectivism, and make them more easily controllable by making them indentured servants. You can't hide behind the guise of education is more than just getting a job. If you want an education, you can literally download whatever you are interested in from the internet and read those books for 1/100th of the cost. Every college could just post on a bulletin board somewhere the top 100 books to read if you are interested in X. Most professors now a days don't add additional value to the class room it is just an exit option from the real world to go pontificate to a bunch of kids. I mean that is what supposedly justify the costs right, the additional value the teacher provides over just reading a book?

I am sure the above applies the exact same to law school. You shouldn't have to sit through classes that aren't relevant to what you want to be if you don't want to in order to desperately compete with your fellow students to see who can inch out your GPA based on the subjective analysis of your 50 year old professor.