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Rising 2L. Just got my grades. Dove from top 10% first semester to probably just below top third for the year at BC (based on looking at grade distribution charts for other class years here). I really want big law and am guessing getting a job at a decent firm in Boston at OCI is probably out of reach now. Will big firms even really consider me if I do cold applications with this class rank? We don't find out if we've made journals for another 3 weeks or so, but I would be shocked if I made our flagship law review and might even have missed the boat on a secondary journal with this GPA. I do have prior work experience, but I've heard that only makes a marginal amount of difference; I don't have a science/engineering background or anything super impressive along those lines. I'm planning to start networking harder, but I don't have family ties or anything like that to help me get into one of the firms I'd like (Ropes, Bingham, Choate, Goodwin, Foley & Lardner, etc).

If I don't get a big firm job for next summer but I manage to pull my GPA up is there any hope for getting something after graduation via 3L OCI? Maybe I should just drop out and become a paralegal (I'm paying sticker price). I guess I'm just looking for general advice, strategies, shared experiences, etc.

Top 1/3rd still has a shot at biglaw from OCI. Wouldn't give up hope yet.

WorriedBCStudent wrote:Rising 2L. Just got my grades. Dove from top 10% first semester to probably just below top third for the year at BC (based on looking at grade distribution charts for other class years here). I really want big law and am guessing getting a job at a decent firm in Boston at OCI is probably out of reach now. Will big firms even really consider me if I do cold applications with this class rank? We don't find out if we've made journals for another 3 weeks or so, but I would be shocked if I made our flagship law review and might even have missed the boat on a secondary journal with this GPA. I do have prior work experience, but I've heard that only makes a marginal amount of difference; I don't have a science/engineering background or anything super impressive along those lines. I'm planning to start networking harder, but I don't have family ties or anything like that to help me get into one of the firms I'd like (Ropes, Bingham, Choate, Goodwin, Foley & Lardner, etc).

If I don't get a big firm job for next summer but I manage to pull my GPA up is there any hope for getting something after graduation via 3L OCI? Maybe I should just drop out and become a paralegal (I'm paying sticker price). I guess I'm just looking for general advice, strategies, shared experiences, etc.

I wouldn't give up on a journal just yet. They said at the informational meeting that most people that wanted a journal got one. My numbers might be off, but it was something like out of 180 write ons there were 130 spots last year. And with a top 1/3 GPA, you should be ok because GPA counts for 50% for the write-on.

Rising 2L at BC here, squarely at median. I really hope you're not SOL bro, because then I definitely would be.

I know some guys from our school who got firm offers with median GPAs...hope they weren't a huge exception.

thesteelers, I hope you're right. I know people in the top 20% of their class at BC who struck out at OCI, so I guess that's why I'm worried.

thesteelers wrote:Rising 2L at BC here, squarely at median. I really hope you're not SOL bro, because then I definitely would be.

I know some guys from our school who got firm offers with median GPAs...hope they weren't a huge exception.

I'm right there with ya buddy. I didn't get to know a lot of upperclassmen this year... where did they get offers from? Any ray of hope is appreciated at this point.

WorriedBCStudent wrote:If I don't get a big firm job for next summer but I manage to pull my GPA up is there any hope for getting something after graduation via 3L OCI? Maybe I should just drop out and become a paralegal (I'm paying sticker price). I guess I'm just looking for general advice, strategies, shared experiences, etc.

Don't be a drama queen. First of all, top 1/3 at BC is still solid, and for many Boston firms that is enough. Would be tougher if you wanted DC or NY. Second, yes, you can also blindly apply to firms that either don't come to OCI or that you don't interview with at OCI. Again, I think you'll have better luck with Boston firms (because there are so many BC alumni and other attorneys who just want to hire from Boston). Finally, 3L OCI is a legit option, especially these few years while firms are still figuring out how large their summer classes should be.

It is also worth noting that some of the less competitive Massachusetts clerkships (e.g., with Mass Appeals Court judges) can help get your foot in the door a year out of law school. Not sure what kind of grades you need for that, but by the time you apply for clerkships (or for 3L OCI) you will have had a chance to boost your GPA anyway.

1L summer is a daunting time because the only information you have about your 3-year-long law school experience is the buzzkill of 1L year. Just remember that you have 2 much easier years ahead of you!

bostonlawchick wrote:

thesteelers wrote:Rising 2L at BC here, squarely at median. I really hope you're not SOL bro, because then I definitely would be.

I know some guys from our school who got firm offers with median GPAs...hope they weren't a huge exception.

I'm right there with ya buddy. I didn't get to know a lot of upperclassmen this year... where did they get offers from? Any ray of hope is appreciated at this point.

I'll give you the range of firms instead of the actual firm names because sometimes I think I'm too close to outing myself. One guy got an offer from a firm in the Nixon Peabody range, because the partner of the firm had become his BFF during is 1L year (the kid's a people person).

The other one got an offer from a Massachusetts firm, i.e. a firm with a main Boston office and some other offices in MA towns. It still pays market though and I think he got that because of his Boston roots and good networking ability.

how SOL is median at BC/BU? Any chance with OCI? What about for the off campus program for NYC?