OCI: I need help, please Forum

[Anonymous User]

Figured I'm really behind and need to get it together whatever way possible, so will post this and hope to get some helpful feedback.

Just got grades back, it didn't go great, but I guess it could be worse. I got two Bs and an A-. The other semester of grades I have was B, B+, A-. I have a 3.267 GPA now (is it appropriate to round to 3.3??). I'm not sure what median is at NYU, but I assume it's around a 3.3. So assuming I'm at/slightly below median, how conservative do I need to play it for bidding.

Am I in a much worse position than I realized? NYU gives us a list of firms that tend to give offers to people with an average of certain GPAs and up so people with below a 3.4 know to only bid on 5-7 or so of those firms. I put 8 in my bid list. But is even that too many? Can I treat any other firm that they didn't provide GPA "cutoffs" for as a fair game target. I'm trying to work in NYC. Don't really have a specific thing in mind- am thinking litigation because I've generally liked all my classes so far and it just seems like a good way to keep doing a variety of things. I also was thinking firms that maybe have international arbitration/int'l law

I just have no idea if I'm completely under-prepared and in a bad situation with my GPA. I feel like they hardly gave me any specific strategy for the bid list other than to not concentrate the reach firms at the top. I just feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. Sorry for any annoyance. Any help or direction you can appoint me in is appreciated. Thanks

[becodalapa]

I have a 3.267 GPA now (is it appropriate to round to 3.3??).

Can't speak to the rest of your post since I didn't go to NYU, but it is definitely not appropriate to round a 3.267 to a 3.3.

[username7283012341]

NYU Law grad here. You'll be just fine. One reason to pay for NYU is so you can be median or much worse than median and still get a job in New York big law. Sure, things are more uncertain now with COVID, but you're in a good position, and there's no reason to panic.

Career services can give you better advice than anyone on here. Set up a call with Irene, she's a walking encyclopedia of this stuff, and she's there to help you. Generally though, I consider OCS advice to be pretty conservative already, so I don't think you need to be any more conservative than they recommend. Picking 8 reach firms out of 50 is fine -- you'll probably only get slots with ~20 firms total (I'm assuming the process is the same). If I were you, I would a) stack my bid list with firms that have large classes, where it's easier to get an offer than at firms that are looking for the 5 people who are the best fit, b) practice practice practice interviewing. Good interviewers outperform their grades.

Best of luck!

[j2ls100]

You're not screwed and as long as you don't whiff the interviews there are plenty of firms that offer to T14 median and below. Your careers people should have a list of them with more detailed information than you mentioned in the post -- ideally 25%, median, and 75% GPAs and number of offers for each firm for the past few years.

[Anonymous User]

I have a 3.267 GPA now (is it appropriate to round to 3.3??).

Can't speak to the rest of your post since I didn't go to NYU, but it is definitely not appropriate to round a 3.267 to a 3.3.

I am at NYU and I'm fairly certain our median is below a 3.3 and closer to 3.2. At any rate: Anon, you are definitely not *below* median. Median at a T6 is an excellent place to be. We all went to NYU because you don't have to be top X percent to get a job. Career Services is conservative in its advice, and it doesn't sound like you're making absurd bidding decisions by any standard. Good luck.

[Anonymous User]

I have a 3.267 GPA now (is it appropriate to round to 3.3??).

Can't speak to the rest of your post since I didn't go to NYU, but it is definitely not appropriate to round a 3.267 to a 3.3.

Anon, I'm also at NYU and almost certain our GPA median is below 3.3 and closer to 3.2. At any rate, you're definitely not *below* median. Median at NYU is a perfectly respectable place to be and most of your classmates are in the same boat. Your strategy sounds completely reasonable to me.

[Anonymous User]

NYU Law grad here. You'll be just fine. One reason to pay for NYU is so you can be median or much worse than median and still get a job in New York big law. Sure, things are more uncertain now with COVID, but you're in a good position, and there's no reason to panic.

Career services can give you better advice than anyone on here. Set up a call with Irene, she's a walking encyclopedia of this stuff, and she's there to help you. Generally though, I consider OCS advice to be pretty conservative already, so I don't think you need to be any more conservative than they recommend. Picking 8 reach firms out of 50 is fine -- you'll probably only get slots with ~20 firms total (I'm assuming the process is the same). If I were you, I would a) stack my bid list with firms that have large classes, where it's easier to get an offer than at firms that are looking for the 5 people who are the best fit, b) practice practice practice interviewing. Good interviewers outperform their grades.

Best of luck!

Thanks for your perspective and reassurance! It can be so hard to know what to expect from all this

[namefromplace]

As far as how to put your GPA on your resume, the custom I have seen is to two decimal points, i.e. 3.27. Any less is misleading and any more is excessive.

[Anonymous User]

3.27 at NYU doesn't look too bad. But it's definitely not a plus. I was around 3.3 at a lower T14. I managed to get a few V50 offers. The key is interview. Do a lot of mock interviews. Many students underestimate the importance of biglaw interviews. For a student with an 3.3 GPA, the interview is the most important factor.

[Anonymous User]

I had this GPA going into OCI at a lower T13, and I got two V50 offers. You're fine.