I was top of my class at a T14 last year. However, I got a couple bad grades 2L year, and my GPA dropped quite a bit. I'm still in the top ~10% of my class or so (GPA around an 3.83), but my GPA's much lower than it was. I was going to try for DOJ Honors after the end of my clerkship. I have a good amount of public service pro bono work on my resume, and I'm working in the component as a SLIP intern this summer that I want to apply to for DOJ Honors. I've got the federal clerkship lined up already.
The rest of my resume is good, basically, but I'm not sure how competitive DOJ honors is, especially in this component (it's in Civil, so I know that's really competitive). I've searched around the site, but it's tough to find GPA advice for DOJ Honors, which might just mean there's no info out there on it, but I thought I'd check anyway.
Thanks for your help.
2L grade drop and DOJ Honors Forum
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Re: 2L grade drop and DOJ Honors
Your GPA should be more than sufficient. I got an offer (different component) with a slightly lower GPA from a top 10 school. The fact that you are clerking is also great. These days the mostly only hire people from clerkships. COA is preferable, though, and if yours is District you may want to follow it up on the COA. The SLIP and public interest resume are also exactly what you need. You've obviously done your homework and are well-positioned.
However, hiring has gotten unbelievably difficult with DOJ honors. In previous years, when Civil was hiring 20-30 spots, I would have said you were close to a shoe-in assuming you interviewed well. Last year they hired 3. No matter how good you are, there's a decent chance that Civil will get 3 top school, top grades, top LR position, feeder COA clerk applicants. Or alternately they might just click really well in interviews with three other people. If the numbers for your year are like they were last year, it's going to be ugly.
I think you're doing everything right. Try to get your grades back up next year. If you're not doing a COA clerkship, try to get one for your second year out. Hopefully by the time you apply federal hiring will be more sane than it is now. Good luck!
However, hiring has gotten unbelievably difficult with DOJ honors. In previous years, when Civil was hiring 20-30 spots, I would have said you were close to a shoe-in assuming you interviewed well. Last year they hired 3. No matter how good you are, there's a decent chance that Civil will get 3 top school, top grades, top LR position, feeder COA clerk applicants. Or alternately they might just click really well in interviews with three other people. If the numbers for your year are like they were last year, it's going to be ugly.
I think you're doing everything right. Try to get your grades back up next year. If you're not doing a COA clerkship, try to get one for your second year out. Hopefully by the time you apply federal hiring will be more sane than it is now. Good luck!
