Graduated 3L here. OP, I am not sure you are still looking for any specific advice, but if you are, feel free to ask.
If you are at median or slightly above median from Michigan, you are still eligible for most big firms that come to OCI. There are obviously some firms that your grades will hold you back from. But you are still eligible for most firms that recruit at Michigan.
The problem is separating yourself from everyone else who is at median. How you perform at OCI will depend on how well you interview, your work experience, whether you are on law review, and to a much lesser degree your undergraduate degree, any other relevant journals or extra curricular, market you are interviewing, ties, etc.
It is always hard to tell how people's performances align with their grades, since you don't know people's grades. But I do know more than a few people with below median grades that landed biglaw. I also know several people at or above median that struck out. I also know several people across the grade range who did not partake in OCI. I hear 2014 had similar if not better results.
Here is my advice on what you should do between now and OCI:
(1) Polish your resume and cover-letter. Have Career Services look at it. Have upper-classmates look at it. Show it to alumni at firms. Develop a few generic template cover letters. I think these should at least demonstrate ties. You can have template ones for market and type of firm (say New York, litigation), that can be modified later on.
(2) Research relevant markets. If you are interested in 2-3 broad areas (antitrust, general commercial litigation, and white collar, for example) and 2-3 markets, New York and New Jersey, research the firms and the market(s). You do not have to have 2-3 general practice areas that you are interested in, but I think it is helpful if you do know. At median you cannot be too particular or choose niche areas. You should still, however, have a sense of what you are interested in and firms' strengths. Make sure you include all the firms in a market that are hiring that you would work at: biglaw, midlaw, smaller firms, boutiques, etc. I would construct a list in Excel where you can keep notes on the various firms. Include at a minimum size, market, and any Michigan GPA information.
(3) Spend time developing a bid list. There is a lot of information here and you can ask for more as the time gets near about what a smart bid list looks like for someone in your position. Keep in mind that people flock to the low GPA firms, so if you only bid low GPA firms, you will get less interviews. You need to balance the bigger firms (with big SA classes, this is where your research comes in), that may have a slightly higher average GPA, but are more GPA flexible (that is have GPA floors that you clear), with the lower GPA average firms.
(4) Mass-mail early and often. Mass-mail firms you know are not coming to OCI (usually a firm's website or NALP) in late July - early August (pre-OCI). Do this before OCI, not at the end of August, if you strike out, because then is almost too late). Your mass mail should be done electronically. Paper is more expensive for you and harder for the firms, since they will need to make multiple copies or scan your application so all the relevant parties can have access to it. The body of your email should be a short blurb, a mini cover letter thing explaining who you are and what you are applying for. You should attach a cover letter, resume, and transcript. You should also let firms know if you plan to physically be in a market for some range of time (since it will make it cheaper for them to interview you).
(5) Try to develop a good writing sample from your summer job. Some firms may ask for a writing sample. If you have a good writing sample, you can generally include this in your mass-mail and bring it with you during OCI. Make sure you get permission to use the writing sample before leaving your 1L summer job and to remove any confidential information about the client.
(6) Practice interviewing! I cannot stress this enough. Do as many practice interviews, with alumni, with career services, fellow classmates, etc., as it takes.
NotMyRealName09 wrote:This is false. Median most certainly excludes you from the most of the V10 and any other very selective firms.
NotMyRealName are you a rising 2L? Because this statement reeks of 1L. First, median at Michigan (or other t10) may be foreclosed from working at Wachtell (Wachtell does not even recruit at Michigan), Cravath, Sullivan and Cromwell, and Kirkland (although Kirkland digs fairly deep into Michigan's class, I doubt they would go to median). Although it would be harder than a top student, a median Michigan student could very well land any of the other v10 depending on the right work experience and interview ability. Second, what reeks the most of 1L is the conflation of the most selective firms with the v10. There are several v100 firms (or not vault ranked firms) that are much more selective than the v10 and some v10 are not very selective (Weil, for example).
Hope that helps. Ask if you more specific questions or need further advice.