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Hi all, in short: "ADVICE PLEASE!"

NYU rising 2L here.
- KJD
- GPA 3.35
- Only applying to NY offices
- Litigation preference

Here's my current list:
1 Proskauer
2 Sidley Austin
3 Ropes & Gray
4 Paul Hastings
5 Baker & McKenzie
6 Simpson Thacher
7 O’Melveny
8 Goodwin
9 Cahill Gordon
10 Morgan Lewis
11 Orrick Herrington
12 Fenwick & West
13 Hogan Lovells
14 Debevoise
15 White & Case
16 Shearman & Sterling
17 K&L Gates
18 Meyer Brown
19 Clifford Chance
20 Milbank
21 Willkie Farr
22 Latham
23 Norton Rose
24 Schulte Roth
25 Weil Gotshal
26 Kirkland & Ellis
27 Skadden
28 Cleary Gottlieb
29 Katten Muchin
30 King & Spalding
31 Alston & Bird
32 Reed Smith
33 Kramer Levin
34 Dechert
35 Gibson Dunn
36 Greenberg Traurig
37 Herbert Smith
38 Troutman Sanders
39 Baker & Hostetler
40 Cadwaladar
41 Winston & Strawn
42 Baker Botts
43 APKS
44 Fried Frank
45 Pillsbury Winthrop
46 Foley & Lardner
47 McDermott Will & Emery
48 Vinson & Elkins
49 Mofo
50 Hunton & Williams

I don't see much wrong with that list. You're probably not going to get some of your V10s that low and with a 3.33 you aren't entirely out of the running for them. Maybe look at which firms have litigation practices you think you would be excited about and strategically bump a few up?

Fenwick is a great firm, but they don't do lit in NYC, only in Mountain View/SF.

I think you need to move Weil way up to get it. At least 4-8 range if I'm remembering correctly?

Skadden and Kirkland also probably need to be higher.

Yeah, you should move Skadden, Kirkland, Gibson Dunn, and Weil up. I think you can move Orrick and Paul Hastings down a little (depending on how many spots they have available for interviews).

3.22 is the 1L median, so you're top 40% or top third.

I recommend reaching out to upperclassmen friends for pointed advice.

Wild Card wrote:3.22 is the 1L median, so you're top 40% or top third.

Could you explain the reasoning behind the bolded statement? Thanks!

I heard it was 3.3

ernie wrote:I heard it was 3.3

Assuming perfect randomization and that professors, on average, hit grade distribution targets, the median should be 3.31. However, it's probably a touch lower since that assumes that nobody gets below a B-, among other reasons. 3.22 sounds a bit low, but maybe Wild Card has info from OCS or something?

cbbinnyc wrote:

ernie wrote:I heard it was 3.3

Assuming perfect randomization and that professors, on average, hit grade distribution targets, the median should be 3.31. However, it's probably a touch lower since that assumes that nobody gets below a B-, among other reasons. 3.22 sounds a bit low, but maybe Wild Card has info from OCS or something?

If that info's legit, it probably means that there were kids who failed the pass/fail LRS class.

Applesauce11 wrote:

cbbinnyc wrote:

ernie wrote:I heard it was 3.3

Assuming perfect randomization and that professors, on average, hit grade distribution targets, the median should be 3.31. However, it's probably a touch lower since that assumes that nobody gets below a B-, among other reasons. 3.22 sounds a bit low, but maybe Wild Card has info from OCS or something?

If that info's legit, it probably means that there were kids who failed the pass/fail LRS class.

P/F classes aren't counted towards GPA, so I don't think they'd count for median calculations. But 3.22 sounds low. The curve is so strict that I have to believe there isn't that much variation between classes, and it wouldn't matter if more people got below a B-. As long as 50%+ of the class is getting higher than a B, that wouldn't affect the median.

cavalier1138 wrote:

Applesauce11 wrote:

cbbinnyc wrote:

ernie wrote:I heard it was 3.3

Assuming perfect randomization and that professors, on average, hit grade distribution targets, the median should be 3.31. However, it's probably a touch lower since that assumes that nobody gets below a B-, among other reasons. 3.22 sounds a bit low, but maybe Wild Card has info from OCS or something?

If that info's legit, it probably means that there were kids who failed the pass/fail LRS class.

P/F classes aren't counted towards GPA, so I don't think they'd count for median calculations. But 3.22 sounds low. The curve is so strict that I have to believe there isn't that much variation between classes, and it wouldn't matter if more people got below a B-. As long as 50%+ of the class is getting higher than a B, that wouldn't affect the median.

It does seem very low. I wonder if any LRS fails were counted though because they said they were keeping the people who chose the option within the curve?

OP here.

Thanks for all who responded! I did make changes based on your advice and feedback from OCS, so I'm really grateful