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How should I factor the ratio of bids to interviews (e.g. 100 people bid on a firm that gives 20 interviews), especially if the firm has a relatively low average g.p.a. ? Can I assume that grades are playing a strong gate-keeping role at this stage? Thanks

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I go to UVA

TFALAWL wrote:I go to UVA

UVA rising 3L here. Yes, you should assume that grades are the main gate keeper at the screen stage. I tried to take the ratio you're referring to into account, but you will drive yourself crazy trying to balance that with everything else you are supposed to consider. You should make a prioritized list of factors that are important to you. Mine was something like: 1) GPA range. I didn't bid it if they hire someone with my GPA in recent years. 2) Location (DC, secondaries I have ties to, NY because I didn't want NY but felt compelled to bid it some anyway). I ordered my bid list around market considerations + GPA info (was it a target for me? a reach? Reaches went hire to try to get lotto slots). 3) Class size. I found that most of the firms I could call a "target" had smaller class sizes, and since I didn't want NY where most of the big classes are, I gave this info pretty low consideration. 4) Number of bids last year. I figured I had as good of a chance as anyone. Let the firm worry about who they think is the best. The firms that aren't super selective know that the 3.95 Law Review EIC-to-be who has a scotus clerkship lined up isn't actually bidding them because they are interested; they are just filling bid lists. So, I figured that I should let the firm determine which of the 100 people bidding on them were targets for the firm. Gave this info essentially no consideration.