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Anyone have any guesses about where (roughly) the top 10% cutoff is at the end of 1L year? If I had to bet, I'd go with 8Hs (out of 13-14 possible), but I'm curious to hear what other SLS students think.

I have 3 Hs and a P so far (still waiting on 1 grade...damn one notoriously slow prof...) and was told that about 8 Hs was top 10% for the end of the year. Right now, I am fairly certain I'm top 20% for the term, and possibly top 10-15%.

The person who told me about the curve (a professor/administration) said that there is definitely variation, though. It could be that 7 Hs is top 10% (if tons of students have 1-2 Hs) and that 10 Hs could be top 10% (if there is a very select group at the top). There's also the problem with non-curved classes (mandatory pass) and with the increased number of Hs given in spring term classes, which is 40% in seminars rather than 30% for 1L courses)

It's important to remember that top 10% is only 18 students, a pretty marginal number. I will say I know one person with straight Hs and two folks with 4 Hs, though, so there is a small set of people who have grades at the very high end.

3L here. Don't forget about book prizes. Those are a big factor.

How do you find out about Book Prizes? Do they post to your transcript somewhere in particular?

Anonymous User wrote:How do you find out about Book Prizes? Do they post to your transcript somewhere in particular?

I think the professors email you.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:How do you find out about Book Prizes? Do they post to your transcript somewhere in particular?

I think the professors email you.

This is true. It will also show up on your transcript.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Book Prizes generally only apply to those within the top 10% or so? I can't imagine there are very many students with <50% Hs who have Book Prizes. I can see Book Prizes affecting class standing unofficially within the top 10%, but not so much outside of that range.

3L here. Book prizes are awarded to 1/15 of each class (so ~6.5%). There are students with very few Hs who nevertheless earn book prizes in the classes they really care about (I know several people who fit this description). There are also people with all Hs (or maybe one P per year) who have tons of book prizes. That kind of transcript isn't necessary for most firms, of course. It only really matters to certain elite COA judges (and the Justices, of course).

As far as how book prizes alter class standing, I wouldn't say they are any less official than Hs and Ps. We don't have class rankings or GPAs, so it's all the same. If a would-be employer looks at your transcript and sees an H and a book prize, it's going to come across as something akin to an A+.

How grade distribution works isn't really legal employment related...