3L with return offer: W or low grade? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Current 3L paranoid about losing return offer because of one class this semester. Which of the following would you do?

[CLS2023A]

Also a current 3LOL. Can you not cram enough to get a B? Idk what your school's ranking is, but at mine you have to actively try to get a B- or C as those are below the standard curve distribution. People usually get a B even when fully checked out. How common are B- and C grades at your school?

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, I received multiple C/B- grades during my 2L year and it provided no issue whatsoever in receiving a return offer to my NY V100.

[Anonymous User]

I wouldn't worry much about it. FWIW, I had a C and 2 B-s my 2L year and had to send my transcript before the return offer was extended and I still got it. I'd only worry if you were at risk of academic probation (someone in the summer class before me didn't get an offer this way)

[TigerIsBack]

I agree that if you're at a higher ranked school, it's pretty hard to get a B- or worse. I think at my school in order to give a grad of C+ or worse the professor had to justify the low grade in writing to the dean.

That said, if you think it's likely that you'll have that low of a grade, a W may be better long term. I doubt either would hurt your return offer, but with an otherwise strong GPA, the low grade could bring that down some and there are firms that continue to be grade selective down the road to the extent you decide to lateral in a couple years. Ex: historically Gibson has continued to be strict on grade cutoffs and I heard a rumor that they turned away an otherwise qualified partner lateral based on LS grades. Can't confirm that though.