One H at Berkeley after 1st semester Forum

[Anonymous User]

I’m freaking the hell out. Out of 3 graded classes last semester I only got one H. Does anyone know where I stand relatively in the class overall? I’m feeling that I’m slightly below median. I was confident about getting 2 Hs after my finals but well that’s law school for you. Ofc there’s no point in me banking on a 1L SA gig anymore, but is there any reason to apply to more? I just submitted my judicial externship apps for northern district judges, how selective are those? I started my job search kinda late, what else should I do at this point? So far I’ve applied to like 5 firms and 10 or so judges, will do research jobs and state court jobs tonight

[Anonymous User]

Berkeley 2L, anon because post history

The beauty and the curse of Berkeley's grading system is that it's hard to figure out where you are standing. You could be the 11th percentile for your H and 41th percentile for both your Ps, or you could be the 40th percentile for your H and 95th percentile for both your Ps. My guess would be somewhere in the 50th-75th percentile, but I could be dead wrong.

You don't need stellar grades for a judicial externship (unlike clerkship). Are you eligible for diversity scholarships? 1L SA is probably difficult but you never know; if you did some networking, connections can go a long way. 1L SA is a crapshoot anyway, and the worst thing that can happen is nothing.

You're not early, but you're not late either on the job search game. The VAST majority of PIPS positions happen through PIPS Day, so attend that. Did you apply to SIP positions? If you're interested in transactional work, in-house positions generally don't even start posting until something like late February. I didn't apply for in-house things, but I have friends who got a job as late as April; that's how that timeline works, apparently.

[Anonymous User]

I heard that 3 Hs is the median after 1L year and the bottom 1/3 of the class has no or close to no Hs, so I’m guessing I’m likely within the 50th to 66th range right now. I’ve scheduled meetings with my professors to see how I can improve, and right now I’m just worried about my performance next semester, because if I can’t improve I likely won’t be able to land a big law job. Do you mind going into more details about what you mean by “connections”? My dad is an in-house lawyer and has partner friends but they don’t practice in my market. Sure they can put in some nice words for me but how useful is that going to be if they are from a different office

[Anonymous User]

I heard that 3 Hs is the median after 1L year and the bottom 1/3 of the class has no or close to no Hs, so I’m guessing I’m likely within the 50th to 66th range right now. I’ve scheduled meetings with my professors to see how I can improve, and right now I’m just worried about my performance next semester, because if I can’t improve I likely won’t be able to land a big law job. Do you mind going into more details about what you mean by “connections”? My dad is an in-house lawyer and has partner friends but they don’t practice in my market. Sure they can put in some nice words for me but how useful is that going to be if they are from a different office

Dude you’re gonna be fine, even with just one H as long as you bid smart and don’t just bid Bay Area firms (since that’s where most people at Boalt want to end up, it’s the most competitive). Most people don’t get 1L SA positions unless they are black, Native American, or have a special connection anyways, so don’t sweat it. Still apply to Texas firms because they have the most 1L positions. Don’t stress too much. I finished 1L with 2 Hs (got robbed of one in civ pro) and did fine. For my classmates, most people got a big law offer. Start networking now to hedge and practice interviewing. Go bears.

Anon: don’t want my school tied to my name.

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

You’ll be fine... trust me. I straight P’d and got a non-diversity 1L summer + many callbacks at OCI.

[Anonymous User]

I heard that 3 Hs is the median after 1L year and the bottom 1/3 of the class has no or close to no Hs, so I’m guessing I’m likely within the 50th to 66th range right now. I’ve scheduled meetings with my professors to see how I can improve, and right now I’m just worried about my performance next semester, because if I can’t improve I likely won’t be able to land a big law job. Do you mind going into more details about what you mean by “connections”? My dad is an in-house lawyer and has partner friends but they don’t practice in my market. Sure they can put in some nice words for me but how useful is that going to be if they are from a different office

Who told you that 3 Hs is median? I have a very hard time believing that this is credible information.
Plenty of straight Ps get Big Law; maybe not Gibson or Munger, but reputable firm(s) that pay market. I'm not just saying this, I know multiple current 3Ls and Class of 2020 who have done that. Obviously you need to network harder, prep your interview more, etc, but it's nowhere near a lost cause.

[tlsguy2020]

You’re fine

[Anonymous User]

I heard that 3 Hs is the median after 1L year and the bottom 1/3 of the class has no or close to no Hs, so I’m guessing I’m likely within the 50th to 66th range right now. I’ve scheduled meetings with my professors to see how I can improve, and right now I’m just worried about my performance next semester, because if I can’t improve I likely won’t be able to land a big law job. Do you mind going into more details about what you mean by “connections”? My dad is an in-house lawyer and has partner friends but they don’t practice in my market. Sure they can put in some nice words for me but how useful is that going to be if they are from a different office

Who told you that 3 Hs is median? I have a very hard time believing that this is credible information.
Plenty of straight Ps get Big Law; maybe not Gibson or Munger, but reputable firm(s) that pay market. I'm not just saying this, I know multiple current 3Ls and Class of 2020 who have done that. Obviously you need to network harder, prep your interview more, etc, but it's nowhere near a lost cause.

This is from another post on TLS that talks about grading at Berkeley. There were a lot of inferences made in that post for sure but the reasoning seemed solid. Basically the conclusion is that 3 Hs is about median and 2.7-2.8 (About 5 Hs and 2 Ps) would be top 25% after 1L.