Ignorant UVA 1L: Average Grades and Employment Forum

[Anonymous User]

The more time I spend at UVA, the more I realize I am entirely average student here. I got a B+ on my practice midterm (the curve here), and I think this is really reflective of how I will perform on my finals in general.

What are the employment implications of being an average student at UVA? Which careers are closed to me, and which remain viable options? How about federal government work? Is it necessary to earn top marks for something like the Honors Program? Please excuse my complete ignorance.

[Grizz]

Nut up and try to get better grades, Jaysus. This thread is moronic.

[Anonymous User]

The more time I spend at UVA, the more I realize I am entirely average student here. I got a B+ on my practice midterm (the curve here), and I think this is really reflective of how I will perform on my finals in general.

What are the employment implications of being an average student at UVA? Which careers are closed to me, and which remain viable options? How about federal government work? Is it necessary to earn top marks for something like the Honors Program? Please excuse my complete ignorance.

There are a lot of students around median at UVA who got firm jobs this year. Just do your best and don't stress out too much. It honestly doesn't help...

[kaiser]

If you concede defeat this early, then there is something wrong. You got a B+ on your first exam. The reaction shouldn't be "well, I guess I will always be a B+ student". Instead, you should be thinking about how you can get ahead of the pack, how can you get an edge, etc. My first grade in law school was a LRW assignment, and I got a B+. That lit a fire under me to improve and distinguish myself, since one grade is in no way an affirmation of where you stand when there are so many opportunities to improve.

[Anonymous User]

There are a lot of people below median at UVA who got firm jobs. This website ridiculous. About two-thirds of the class goes to NLJ250 or clerkships. A number of other students, like myself, go to high-paying, non-NLJ250 firms. As long as you're not socially awkward, you should be OK. Maybe not, but you should be.

[Anonymous User]

So while I agree with people that you can definitely improve from a B+ midterm to even grading on to the Law Review, and that you should continue to work hard, the responses that say something like "what a dumb question" or "you suck for asking" are not going to be helpful to the poster.

So...

Unfortunately the answer is yes, a lot of doors will be closed if you are squarely at median. Not all of them, and the posters above who say you will be able to find a job are correct. But if you want a prestigious government/public interest job like DOJ Honors or you want to work for a top firm in a big city (DC especially), you will almost surely be shut out at median. Even NYC, which is easier than DC, was rough this past year for people who were not well above average. Secondary markets are more likely to be where a median student places (although of course there are exceptions).

[blink]

So while I agree with people that you can definitely improve from a B+ midterm to even grading on to the Law Review, and that you should continue to work hard, the responses that say something like "what a dumb question" or "you suck for asking" are not going to be helpful to the poster.

So...

Unfortunately the answer is yes, a lot of doors will be closed if you are squarely at median. Not all of them, and the posters above who say you will be able to find a job are correct. But if you want a prestigious government/public interest job like DOJ Honors or you want to work for a top firm in a big city (DC especially), you will almost surely be shut out at median. Even NYC, which is easier than DC, was rough this past year for people who were not well above average. Secondary markets are more likely to be where a median student places (although of course there are exceptions).

is this credited?

[Anonymous User]

Got a b+ on my 1L midterm, finished top 10% after the fall. Cowboy up.

[Anonymous User]

Got a b+ on my 1L midterm, finished top 10% after the fall. Cowboy up.

B+ on midterm. B+ for that class. Other three classes -- A, A, A-. Who knows, OP. Midterms, particularly those that don't actually count towards your final grade (for those non-UVA students, every 1L will have at least one class with a midterm, but a high % of those don't actually count for your final grade) are hard from which to draw conclusions.

[Anonymous User]

Got a b+ on my 1L midterm, finished top 10% after the fall. Cowboy up.

B+ on midterm, top 20% after 1L. Also agree on the cowboy up.

[Impending1L]

Nut up and try to get better grades, Jaysus. This thread is moronic.

You really think that's productive? The guy has got a legitimate question, he shouldn't be hesitant to ask it because he's going to get crap in return. There's no reason he can't get better grades, but that's not his question.

[Anonymous User]

I got a B (below median) on my midterm and I ended up around Top 1/3 after 1L. My professor told my section that based on the statistics he'd kept since coming to UVA, there was no correlation between a person's grade on the midterm and grade on the final in his class.

[Anonymous User]

I got a B on my midterm in my small section class and ended up getting an A in the class. You can improve. 99% of doing well on exams is simply executing: typing fast and accurately, teasing out detailed arguments as much as possible without going overboard because of time constraints, and making sure you hit all the main themes of the class (assuming the exam covers them). I know people in the bottom 25% of UVA's LSAT range who ended up near the top of the class. Doing well on exams has little to do with intelligence and A LOT to do with how clever you are in preparing for and taking exams. Now go read Getting to Maybe again and do better on final exams.

[Grizz]

Nut up and try to get better grades, Jaysus. This thread is moronic.

You really think that's productive? The guy has got a legitimate question, he shouldn't be hesitant to ask it because he's going to get crap in return. There's no reason he can't get better grades, but that's not his question.

The way OP asked the question was oh so stupid.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a UVA 3L.

I felt the same as you in the middle of fall semester 1L. I had two practice mid-terms and got B+ on both of them. I went to a crappy UG and have always felt pretty average in terms of intelligence around here. I figured, then, that I would probably end up around median.

I ended up at top ~20% and had no problem in the job market.

So, study. And keep perspective: the difference between a B+ and an A- in any one class, in 1L fall, is not big. Straight A- is a 3.7 (almost LR grade-on GPA) and straight B+ is dead in the middle.

[Anonymous User]

I was below median in a low Top-14 and got a biglaw offer. Grades are not everything. If you end up in the middle or not, I would recommend you to refine your interview skills. 1L's underestimate the importance of doing mock interviews, and getting constructive criticism.