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Hi folks.

In my final semester of 3L in spring 2017, I failed a 5 credit class. I have no idea what happened. Totally dumbfounded. This F was a complete aberration compared to my other grades-prior to this my lowest grade at the law school was a B (which is what my school curves to). Devastated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. A couple months ago, I reached out to the professor who failed me via email asking to meet for constructive criticism of my exam and she didn't respond.

Because of the F, I did not meet graduation requirements, and therefore could not sit for the July 2017 bar which I registered for. I had to retake the class this summer, and I passed with a B-. Unfortunately, that did not replace the F on my transcript, and I graduated this summer with a cumulative 2.87 GPA. I was so depressed that I didn't go to commencement. I feel like graduating with such a crappy GPA is not an accomplishment to celebrate.

I am currently working as a Judicial Law Clerk. I have to take the bar for the first time in February 2018, which will suck immensely because I'm also juggling a full-time job. I'm also exceedingly anxious because February bar passage rates are historically much lower than July. To add to the anxiety, people who graduate at the bottom of the class are more likely to fail the bar exam.

Can I salvage my career and bounce back from this? I had a pretty strong GPA before spring grades came in.

Disputing your grade would have been the right thing to do. If the professor did not answer then an email or call to whoever is above her would have been the right next step. I would have never accepted an F without explanation. Unless you literally did not take the exam F’s are rare in law school. professors do make mistakes on exams.

Anonymous User wrote:Disputing your grade would have been the right thing to do. If the professor did not answer then an email or call to whoever is above her would have been the right next step. I would have never accepted an F without explanation. Unless you literally did not take the exam F’s are rare in law school. professors do make mistakes on exams.

I made a good faith effort on the exam, and typed for almost the full six hours allotted. The Dean of Students said that the grade was justified (i.e. there wasn't a glitch or clerical error). In any case, I already obtained my JD, so there's nothing I can do to change the grade.

Just wanted to know what to do going forward in terms of my career, which seems really bleak.

well, at least you have a job. there are ppl that don't have f's on their transcript that are jobless, so that's a win.

the point about disputing the grades is to get a somewhat plausible justification for the F because as it stands right now, you have no idea why you got the F. in interviews, the employer will inevitably ask you about the F, and you don't have an answer.

pancakes3 wrote:well, at least you have a job. there are ppl that don't have f's on their transcript that are jobless, so that's a win.

the point about disputing the grades is to get a somewhat plausible justification for the F because as it stands right now, you have no idea why you got the F. in interviews, the employer will inevitably ask you about the F, and you don't have an answer.

I emailed the professor over the summer and she didn't respond. I guess I'll reach out again, if only for the sake of closure.

Is my career toast? Do I still have a shot at employment after my clerkship?

mexicayotl wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:well, at least you have a job. there are ppl that don't have f's on their transcript that are jobless, so that's a win.

the point about disputing the grades is to get a somewhat plausible justification for the F because as it stands right now, you have no idea why you got the F. in interviews, the employer will inevitably ask you about the F, and you don't have an answer.

I emailed the professor over the summer and she didn't respond. I guess I'll reach out again, if only for the sake of closure.

Is my career toast? Do I still have a shot at employment after my clerkship?

I don't think your career is toast because of the F. But honestly, your explanation for the "F" is weird? If I was an employer asking you about your transcript and got that explanation, I would think you cheated on your exam. If you did cheat, then that's a different story and you should own up to it and move on. If you didn't cheat and the story is truly as you say it is, then as an employer I wouldn't want to hire someone who succumbs to defeat so easily without closure. (Especially if your job is to be an advocate)

I'm not trying to make you feel bad, sorry if it's coming across that way. I'm trying to say that an F is not really a scarlet letter. But how you explain the situation might be.

I'd recommend against speculating as to your career's "bleakness." It can become never-ending.

Your top priorities right now are: (1) study smartly for the Feb. 2018 bar exam; (2) pass the Feb. 2018 bar exam; and (3) produce high quality work for your judge.

No one can accurately predict how your post-clerkship job searching will go. Tackle the priorities that are in front of you right now.

estefanchanning wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:well, at least you have a job. there are ppl that don't have f's on their transcript that are jobless, so that's a win.

the point about disputing the grades is to get a somewhat plausible justification for the F because as it stands right now, you have no idea why you got the F. in interviews, the employer will inevitably ask you about the F, and you don't have an answer.

I emailed the professor over the summer and she didn't respond. I guess I'll reach out again, if only for the sake of closure.

Is my career toast? Do I still have a shot at employment after my clerkship?

I don't think your career is toast because of the F. But honestly, your explanation for the "F" is weird? If I was an employer asking you about your transcript and got that explanation, I would think you cheated on your exam. If you did cheat, then that's a different story and you should own up to it and move on. If you didn't cheat and the story is truly as you say it is, then as an employer I wouldn't want to hire someone who succumbs to defeat so easily without closure. (Especially if your job is to be an advocate)

I'm not trying to make you feel bad, sorry if it's coming across that way. I'm trying to say that an F is not really a scarlet letter. But how you explain the situation might be.

I didn't cheat on the exam.

I'm curious what the course was that you failed.

kellyfrost wrote:I'm curious what the course was that you failed.

I don't want to out myself as there are not many in my predicament. I'll just say that it was an MBE subject.

mexicayotl wrote:Hi folks.

In my final semester of 3L in spring 2017, I failed a 5 credit class. I have no idea what happened. Totally dumbfounded. This F was a complete aberration compared to my other grades-prior to this my lowest grade at the law school was a B (which is what my school curves to). Devastated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. A couple months ago, I reached out to the professor who failed me via email asking to meet for constructive criticism of my exam and she didn't respond.

Because of the F, I did not meet graduation requirements, and therefore could not sit for the July 2017 bar which I registered for. I had to retake the class this summer, and I passed with a B-. Unfortunately, that did not replace the F on my transcript, and I graduated this summer with a cumulative 2.87 GPA. I was so depressed that I didn't go to commencement. I feel like graduating with such a crappy GPA is not an accomplishment to celebrate.

I am currently working as a Judicial Law Clerk. I have to take the bar for the first time in February 2018, which will suck immensely because I'm also juggling a full-time job. I'm also exceedingly anxious because February bar passage rates are historically much lower than July. To add to the anxiety, people who graduate at the bottom of the class are more likely to fail the bar exam.

Can I salvage my career and bounce back from this? I had a pretty strong GPA before spring grades came in.

Not sure if serious.

mexicayotl wrote:

kellyfrost wrote:I'm curious what the course was that you failed.

I don't want to out myself as there are not many in my predicament. I'll just say that it was an MBE subject.

Understandable but thanks for the info. I was curious if it was some type of elective type course or an actual substantive type class.

cfcm wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:Hi folks.

In my final semester of 3L in spring 2017, I failed a 5 credit class. I have no idea what happened. Totally dumbfounded. This F was a complete aberration compared to my other grades-prior to this my lowest grade at the law school was a B (which is what my school curves to). Devastated doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. A couple months ago, I reached out to the professor who failed me via email asking to meet for constructive criticism of my exam and she didn't respond.

Because of the F, I did not meet graduation requirements, and therefore could not sit for the July 2017 bar which I registered for. I had to retake the class this summer, and I passed with a B-. Unfortunately, that did not replace the F on my transcript, and I graduated this summer with a cumulative 2.87 GPA. I was so depressed that I didn't go to commencement. I feel like graduating with such a crappy GPA is not an accomplishment to celebrate.

I am currently working as a Judicial Law Clerk. I have to take the bar for the first time in February 2018, which will suck immensely because I'm also juggling a full-time job. I'm also exceedingly anxious because February bar passage rates are historically much lower than July. To add to the anxiety, people who graduate at the bottom of the class are more likely to fail the bar exam.

Can I salvage my career and bounce back from this? I had a pretty strong GPA before spring grades came in.

Not sure if serious.

It's a true statement. Look up the pass rates for February vs. July. Only 40% passed in February in my state last February.

Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

The point the other poster is making is that this shouldn't make you nervous because you are only taking the February test due to an aberration.

More generally, you can't really apply the aggregate statistic to you as an individual test-taker. You're in control of whether or not you pass the bar.

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Exactly. Your concern here doesn't make any sense.

I've gotta say, it makes no sense at all that you haven't been beating down your professor's door to see what happened. You emailed and didn't get a response back, and that's it?

OP, there is either some aspect of this that you are not letting on about, or you should be spending less time on TLS and more time trying to track down that professor.

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

Obtaining an "F" as a 3L is next to impossible, unless you went to a TTTT. Did you?

sanjola wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

Obtaining an "F" as a 3L is next to impossible, unless you went to a TTTT. Did you?

I didn't attend a 4th tier school, but I don't want to get more specific than that because I don't want to out myself (there can't be more than a handful of people in my situation). The rest of my grades that semester were fine.

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

I have never seen a law school exam graded like that. It's curved, so if you were below the lowest you should still pass. I would have escalated and had in person meetings and demanded to go over the exam. It affected you from taking the bar on time, which most law schools do not want to mess with. There is more to this story and the fact that you didn't pull our every stop to figure out what happened speaks loudly.

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

I have never seen a law school exam graded like that. It's curved, so if you were below the lowest you should still pass. I would have escalated and had in person meetings and demanded to go over the exam. It affected you from taking the bar on time, which most law schools do not want to mess with. There is more to this story and the fact that you didn't pull our every stop to figure out what happened speaks loudly.

What's done is done. All I need to know now is how to stop the bleeding.

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

I have never seen a law school exam graded like that. It's curved, so if you were below the lowest you should still pass. I would have escalated and had in person meetings and demanded to go over the exam. It affected you from taking the bar on time, which most law schools do not want to mess with. There is more to this story and the fact that you didn't pull our every stop to figure out what happened speaks loudly.

What's done is done. All I need to know now is how to stop the bleeding.

We can't help you stop the bleeding unless we know the truth

Anonymous User wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

IExistedOnceBefore wrote:

mexicayotl wrote:

cfcm wrote:Right but it's not like the test itself is harder.

Right, but February exam takers are a self-selected group that is more likely to fail.

Yes, because a lot of them are re-takers, who are more likely to fail.

The bar should be fine. If you were going to pass it in July, you'll pass it in February.


I agree with others though, something is missing in your story. Law schools don't want to give Fs to students. It looks bad on them; since it affects career prospects and everything. Giving a C is bad enough. Why were you told it was justified?

I attended class, I didn't cheat, showed up for the exam and made a good faith effort. The Dean said that I didn't earn enough points to pass the exam according to the grading rubric. Must've not spotted enough issues.

I have never seen a law school exam graded like that. It's curved, so if you were below the lowest you should still pass. I would have escalated and had in person meetings and demanded to go over the exam. It affected you from taking the bar on time, which most law schools do not want to mess with. There is more to this story and the fact that you didn't pull our every stop to figure out what happened speaks loudly.

What's done is done. All I need to know now is how to stop the bleeding.

We can't help you stop the bleeding unless we know the truth

I said I'll reach out to the prof again. I'm nowhere near my school, so an in-person meeting is out of the question.