UIUC VS CU-Boulder Forum

[lobolawyer]

You think the people at median and below just didn't work hard enough? Seriously?

I am not saying that they didnt work hard, I think everyone worked very hard, even the people who ended at the bottom of the class. I am saying that by OUT WORKING people, you have a very good chance of putting yourself at least in the top half. Perhaps first year is the one the one were grades are less receptive to just working hard, but 2L and 3L year, hard work pays off more. And since we are talking about just graduating in the top half, OCI is out of the picture. If you know you are bad at regular law school exams, which you are forced to take during 1L year, you can be strategic and take more paper based classes where time/effort has more of an effect on your grade.

This is laughable. Are you a 0L? Out working people doesn't give you a better chance of anything other than having outworked others and possibly knowing the subject better - which does not necessarily translate into top half of the class. Much of grading comes down to spending the right amount of time on a particular issue, typing quickly, and writing well. There is also a random subjective element. And by what measure will you know if you've outworked your classmates?

[lobolawyer]

Outworking people cannot get you to the top of the class, but it can at least take you to the top half. (in my humble opinion).

I actually agree with you, but I bet it depends on the school you attend. Everyone I know that attends tipity top schools works their ass off whether they are top 5% or top 80%, but at other schools where so many people aren't gunning for clerkships or big law, I do agree that if you kill yourself you are very, very likely to be top 50%.

I disagree. People at lower ranked schools have much more incentive to work their asses off. But, we have no objective way of proving who is right here.

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

Outworking people cannot get you to the top of the class, but it can at least take you to the top half. (in my humble opinion).

I actually agree with you, but I bet it depends on the school you attend. Everyone I know that attends tipity top schools works their ass off whether they are top 5% or top 80%, but at other schools where so many people aren't gunning for clerkships or big law, I do agree that if you kill yourself you are very, very likely to be top 50%.

I disagree. People at lower ranked schools have much more incentive to work their asses off. But, we have no objective way of proving who is right here.

Yeah this could be just my school, I guess, but I have some buddies at other T1's who don't work so hard as well. There are certainly many people here who gun the entire year, though, for other reasons than getting big law or clerkships, but we also our fair share of people who don't start looking around until about 10 or 12 days before finals. They get Bs or B+s and graduate with everyone else..

Also I'd say that if many of the people here had the work ethic to begin with, they would have gone to much higher ranked schools.