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Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for someone going into OCI with a B average. At my school that is below median (I'm at a T20).

I'm mostly looking for information as to what stuff I should bid for and how to get a job. Obviously biglaw would be cushy and nice, but I would not be devastated if I don't get it.

BlueMountain66 wrote:Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for someone going into OCI with a B average. At my school that is below median (I'm at a T20).

I'm mostly looking for information as to what stuff I should bid for and how to get a job. Obviously biglaw would be cushy and nice, but I would not be devastated if I don't get it.

Not to be overly blunt, but it might help to go fully anonymous and identify your school. A B-average gets you vastly different things at Harvard than it does at Boston University.

TripTrip wrote:

BlueMountain66 wrote:Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for someone going into OCI with a B average. At my school that is below median (I'm at a T20).

I'm mostly looking for information as to what stuff I should bid for and how to get a job. Obviously biglaw would be cushy and nice, but I would not be devastated if I don't get it.

Not to be overly blunt, but it might help to go fully anonymous and identify your school. A B-average gets you vastly different things at Harvard than it does at Boston University.

Let's be real though, no one at Harvard or any t14 school would say they were at a "t20." It's WashU, Emory, Vandy, BU etc. Still some variability there, though.

TripTrip wrote:

BlueMountain66 wrote:Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for someone going into OCI with a B average. At my school that is below median (I'm at a T20).

I'm mostly looking for information as to what stuff I should bid for and how to get a job. Obviously biglaw would be cushy and nice, but I would not be devastated if I don't get it.

Not to be overly blunt, but it might help to go fully anonymous and identify your school. A B-average gets you vastly different things at Harvard than it does at Boston University.

I'm not at Harvard. By T20, I mean one of the schools ranked 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. I'm only asking to get a sense of what I could expect to get job wise.

BlueMountain66 wrote:

TripTrip wrote:

BlueMountain66 wrote:Hey everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for someone going into OCI with a B average. At my school that is below median (I'm at a T20).

I'm mostly looking for information as to what stuff I should bid for and how to get a job. Obviously biglaw would be cushy and nice, but I would not be devastated if I don't get it.

Not to be overly blunt, but it might help to go fully anonymous and identify your school. A B-average gets you vastly different things at Harvard than it does at Boston University.

I'm not at Harvard. By T20, I mean one of the schools ranked 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. I'm only asking to get a sense of what I could expect to get job wise.

The point of the question was also that medians vary widely from from T20 to T20. At WUSTL, for example, that's super far below median, where as at other schools, that isn't that far below median. It could make a difference, so it'd be helpful to know the school. Also, bidding advice is going to be difficult without knowing the school. You probably won't get big law, but some T20 schools give you a better chance than others.

No chance at traditional biglaw unless u have something special going on. Work other angles, bigger firms in markets u have ties to, where your school is, government, etc.

ballouttacontrol wrote:No chance at traditional biglaw unless u have something special going on. Work other angles, bigger firms in markets u have ties to, where your school is, government, etc.

Never say never. I had friends with B averages that hustled and got biglaw SAs last year. (@ WUSTL, I might add.)
Advice to OP - hustle, hustle, hustle. And mass mail your absolute brains out.

I have consistently had luck applying for positions where I was below the grade cut-off, sometimes significantly below.

I think it's possible to get past screeners if you're a good writer and have a really good CL, you have connections, you have some other special thing going for you. Once you get a callback, what matters then is how well you interview and how you can present yourself, so make sure you come across as personable and professional.

I think TCR is hustle hustle hustle. One thing that people haven't mentioned yet is trying to set up practice interviews or reaching out to alumni in firms to grab coffee or the like. Doing stuff like that will matter a lot for you. People reaching out to do practice interviews with alumni partners can easily end up getting a job - you've gotten past the grades issue and the conversation will be about fit/culture.