Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[stuckinthemiddle]

Thanks guys! Ya'll are awesome (and much more helpful than the admissions committee that takes ages to answer any questions).

My grandfather told me he would be willing to contribute 20k to my legal education on the condition that I get into a journal. So this just became all the more necessary. Looks like odds are good so I'm going to stay optimistic about that.

[Lincoln]

Thanks guys! Ya'll are awesome (and much more helpful than the admissions committee that takes ages to answer any questions).

My grandfather told me he would be willing to contribute 20k to my legal education on the condition that I get into a journal. So this just became all the more necessary. Looks like odds are good so I'm going to stay optimistic about that.

You're a 0L? Don't worry about it just yet. Just do your best in 1L and then take the writing competition seriously. Unsurprisingly, people who do well in one tend to do well on the other.

[LFH_intheflesh]

My grandfather told me he would be willing to contribute 20k to my legal education on the condition that I get into a journal.

Well that sounds like a bullshit contracts/property hypo. You'll know what I mean next year. Good luck.

[Lacepiece23]

Look almost exclusively at the GPAs where available. Think about it- would you rather navigate by being told "warmer" and "colder", or with gps coordinates?

would you say that the GPAs were right with the current grade inflation. Moderate at 3.35 makes a lot of sense in past years when that was the median. However, now it might make more sense that a firm is moderate at a 3.5 or so. There are several firms that are in the moderate range with like a 3.4. Just wondering if I should perceive this as a 3.5 and do an implicit gpa bump when bidding or look at the GPA and base solely on that. Arbiter you seem to know a lot about bidding as well as other things I'd appreciate any insite if you see this. I hope how I put it makes sense.

[Arbiter213]

Look almost exclusively at the GPAs where available. Think about it- would you rather navigate by being told "warmer" and "colder", or with gps coordinates?

would you say that the GPAs were right with the current grade inflation. Moderate at 3.35 makes a lot of sense in past years when that was the median. However, now it might make more sense that a firm is moderate at a 3.5 or so. There are several firms that are in the moderate range with like a 3.4. Just wondering if I should perceive this as a 3.5 and do an implicit gpa bump when bidding or look at the GPA and base solely on that. Arbiter you seem to know a lot about bidding as well as other things I'd appreciate any insite if you see this. I hope how I put it makes sense.

Like I said, focus almost exclusively on the the actual GPA data.

To the extent the three categories are important:

Very Grades Oriented = elite firms, best have top GPA, will not bend too far out (though obviously even they will, but assume thats for a URM)
Moderately Grades Oriented = They care about GPA, but it doesn't need to be super high
Flexible = We don't care about GPA really, as long as its above a 3.0

[NYC450]

Does anyone have the top 10 and 30 percent numbers for spring semester for 1ls?

[morally0bese]

Would also like to know this. Also, curious about the median (some saying its 3.42/others 3/5).

[Arbiter213]

No, because those numbers haven't come out yet. Has Rachlinski finally submitted his fucking grades, at least, so the cutoffs can be calculated (and god knows why that's holding up the 2L ones).


ETA: You can call to see if they have them and have posted yet, maybe they'll tell you.

[morally0bese]

Just called. Some serious bs

[buffalobill52086]

What BS did they give you? I emailed and asked and was told that they are "uncertain" at this point when the Rach grades will be submitted.

[morally0bese]

Basically said the same thing. Its just BS that I have bid advising scheduled for early next week and while I can ballpark some ranges with the grades I have, Id like to have a full picture before the appointment

[LFH_intheflesh]

welp thats one thing I can thank hillman for I guess

E: Do tell me if my eyes are getting too big for my stomach here, but what kind of grades does it take to get a federal district clerkship out of Cornell?

[msblaw89]

Rachlinski is killing me

[Lincoln]

welp thats one thing I can thank hillman for I guess

E: Do tell me if my eyes are getting too big for my stomach here, but what kind of grades does it take to get a federal district clerkship out of Cornell?

It depends A LOT. Generally, you'll want to be top 1/3 to have a shot, and even then SDNY is likely out. But journal membership (LR or not?), sr board membership on those journals, publications, recommendations, etc., all matter. PM me for details regarding c/o 2013.

[Arbiter213]

welp thats one thing I can thank hillman for I guess

E: Do tell me if my eyes are getting too big for my stomach here, but what kind of grades does it take to get a federal district clerkship out of Cornell?

It depends A LOT. Generally, you'll want to be top 1/3 to have a shot, and even then SDNY is likely out. But journal membership (LR or not?), sr board membership on those journals, publications, recommendations, etc., all matter. PM me for details regarding c/o 2013.

Yah grades is only a SMALL portion of it. PM me for more details from 2014. But there's a lot more than "merit," traditionally rendered, that goes into getting a clerkship.

[hephaestus]

Any updates re: Rac?

[Arbiter213]

Any updates re: Rac?

Well 2L dean's list has been calculated, which means they must have calculated all the 2L grades. I assume you've been checking your own grades re: Rachcity.

[Lincoln]

Any updates re: Rac?

Well 2L dean's list has been calculated, which means they must have calculated all the 2L grades. I assume you've been checking your own grades re: Rachcity.

Any idea what it was?

[Arbiter213]

Any updates re: Rac?

Well 2L dean's list has been calculated, which means they must have calculated all the 2L grades. I assume you've been checking your own grades re: Rachcity.

Any idea what it was?

Below my GPA. Otherwise no clue.

[msblaw89]

Any updates re: Rac?

On the 2015 Facebook page it seems like someone called and got a response along the lines of Rachlinski being out of contact for an uncertain amount of time due to being in Cancun

[hephaestus]

Any updates re: Rac?

On the 2015 Facebook page it seems like someone called and got a response along the lines of Rachlinski being out of contact for an uncertain amount of time due to being in Cancun

So what does that mean?

[LFH_intheflesh]

Any updates re: Rac?

On the 2015 Facebook page it seems like someone called and got a response along the lines of Rachlinski being out of contact for an uncertain amount of time due to being in Cancun

Lol that was def a joke.

What I've been told by people who had Rach was that he made some mistake on the exam... like one of the questions as a result referred to the wrong party and it made no sense. One friend who had him told me he and others figured out the mistake, and another friend said he suspected there was a mistake but tried to answer the question as written.

If thats true, its probably what is holding up the grading.

[msblaw89]

Any updates re: Rac?

On the 2015 Facebook page it seems like someone called and got a response along the lines of Rachlinski being out of contact for an uncertain amount of time due to being in Cancun

Lol that was def a joke.

What I've been told by people who had Rach was that he made some mistake on the exam... like one of the questions as a result referred to the wrong party and it made no sense. One friend who had him told me he and others figured out the mistake, and another friend said he suspected there was a mistake but tried to answer the question as written.

If thats true, its probably what is holding up the grading.

Question 11 was def a mistake in my opinion. I remember writing on the exam " for the purposes of my analysis I am assuming you meant Paul"...if that was the case it set up a third party beneficiary question I believe. The way it was written made no sense at all. How would a Prof go about fixing this? throwing it out altogether? Or give points based on how people grappled with it?

[hephaestus]

I think the most fair way would probably be to throw out the question and grade it out of 44 instead of 48.
Some answered for the party as written, some for as it should be written and some for both. It doesn't seem fair to penalize people that guessed what he meant wrong.

[msblaw89]

Looks like the real problem may be something close to a death in the family