grades advice ...feeling discouraged Forum

[Nicholasnickynic]

sorry for inconveniencing you JazzOne

My bad. I was just harassing you about this:

do I even have the chance to prove that I will be a lawyer or will I be stuck in a government job or some crappy little town firm?

You don't deserve a government job or a crappy little town firm. You anus.

[PomasThynchon]

How much you paying? I feel the same as you, but for totally different reasons (I think this whole profession is laughably stupid).

As bad as it feels, the difference b/t paying $7K/yr. and $41K/yr. is the difference b/t sucking it up and peacein' out.

Are you also at GW?

[anonymcoffee]

I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else is feeling the same ...I don't really see my friends going through this. And I was seeking advice as to what I should do, whether there is any room for improvement/job prospects, and I want the anonymity of the forums. Thanks for everyone's comments, I might take spring break for a re-evaluation/considering my options.

***As for my earlier question, I am not retracting or going back on anything I said. I should have maybe explained better what I wanted ask, but it seems no one understands that people have different outlooks and expectations. I didn't grow up here and my understanding of the legal career is different from yours.

[Rule11]

I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else is feeling the same ...I don't really see my friends going through this. And I was seeking advice as to what I should do, whether there is any room for improvement/job prospects, and I want the anonymity of the forums. Thanks for everyone's comments, I might take spring break for a re-evaluation/considering my options.

***As for my earlier question, I am not retracting or going back on anything I said. I should have maybe explained better what I wanted ask, but it seems no one understands that people have different outlooks and expectations. I didn't grow up here and my understanding of the legal career is different from yours.

I can't figure out why everyone's being such a jerk to you (and I'm a negative jerk in general, so that's got some meaning). You got suckered by law school a bit. Some people here think that means you deserve contempt, but law school is a highly effective scam. Smart people get duped all the time.

That said, your situation isn't so bad.

First, you didn't do horribly your first semester--you have a legitimate chance of ending up top quartile with some luck. Anyway, you're not getting your tuition back anymore, so you may as well finish out the semester and sprint toward the finish line. If you can make top 25%, I say plan on sticking it out, but pay careful attention to how much you enjoy your 1L summer work. If legal work chafes you, then it might make sense to drop out anyway.

Second, the disillusionment and malaise you're feeling right now is completely normal, and I would even go so far as to say pervasive. People at T20 law schools are smart--the average incoming class at GW is made up of people who are almost uniformly better at school (either through smarts or grinding) than most ivy+ undergrads, and you're graded entirely on a curve against them. So, for the majority of law students at a school like that, the first semester of grades can be a bit of a crisis--after having grown used to feeling superior to classmates in undergrad, 67 percent of them are shocked to learn that they're not in the top third. 50 percent are below average, something they probably haven't been (academically) since their last high school gym class. It's hard not to feel at that point like 1) you're not as smart as you thought you were or 2) legal education is a cruel, capricious enterprise, a random distribution of polar opposite outcomes--in short, anything but a meritocracy. Both of these feelings can be soul-crushing, depressing, even in some sense traumatic.

I agree with previous posters that you need to do a personal inventory, and that it might be beneficial to enlist outside help to do so. Dropping out of law school might make sense, and it might not. But, either way: release yourself from the chains of your own success--law school is hard, but you're doing pretty well. You don't have to be at the top of the class to have self-worth. Your situation is not dire.

[MTal]

Drop out now.

[anonymcoffee]

Rule11,

Thank you for the advice. I am extremely disillusioned and it is a shock to see other people doing better, or rather...me not doing as well as I did in undergrad. The circumstances of me leaving my country are related to the schooling part and getting more opportunities - and this has been at expense of leaving family behind and them not supporting my decision...so finding myself in this median situation is terrifying because it just proves me wrong, and everyone else right.

I did work for a lawyer and at a courthouse, and I truly enjoyed it - I found it very exciting and never wanting to leave. But it is March ...and I have not had any interviews for any jobs I applied to (talked to CDO, applied in DC/out of DC, different fields) - I can only assume this is because of my grades.

[Younger Abstention]

If you get your grades up to top third (not so hard from your position), you are looking at a decent chance at an OCI job. There should be your motivation. In fact, a user on these boards from a comparable law school, Blind Melon at BU, had your grades first semester, improved second semester, and got a great job offer. I feel creepy that I know that.

[td6624]

If you get your grades up to top third (not so hard from your position), you are looking at a decent chance at an OCI job.

wait what

is that true

[JazzOne]

If you get your grades up to top third (not so hard from your position), you are looking at a decent chance at an OCI job.

wait what

is that true

decent chance = not completely insane, but still probably no

[anonymcoffee]

would anyone recommend summer classes? I haven't checked with the registrar yet but would taking 2 summer classes help GPA, would they come in on time for OCI, and would employers care they are summer classes?

I feel my better grades were in the 2 classes I devoted most time to with supplements, outlining during semester, taking practice exams, etc. Maybe with a smaller course load like 2 classes I can do better. Any ideas if this will help and if it impacts OCI gpa?

[A'nold]

I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else is feeling the same ...I don't really see my friends going through this. And I was seeking advice as to what I should do, whether there is any room for improvement/job prospects, and I want the anonymity of the forums. Thanks for everyone's comments, I might take spring break for a re-evaluation/considering my options.

***As for my earlier question, I am not retracting or going back on anything I said. I should have maybe explained better what I wanted ask, but it seems no one understands that people have different outlooks and expectations. I didn't grow up here and my understanding of the legal career is different from yours.

I can't figure out why everyone's being such a jerk to you (and I'm a negative jerk in general, so that's got some meaning). You got suckered by law school a bit. Some people here think that means you deserve contempt, but law school is a highly effective scam. Smart people get duped all the time.

That said, your situation isn't so bad.

First, you didn't do horribly your first semester--you have a legitimate chance of ending up top quartile with some luck. Anyway, you're not getting your tuition back anymore, so you may as well finish out the semester and sprint toward the finish line. If you can make top 25%, I say plan on sticking it out, but pay careful attention to how much you enjoy your 1L summer work. If legal work chafes you, then it might make sense to drop out anyway.

Second, the disillusionment and malaise you're feeling right now is completely normal, and I would even go so far as to say pervasive. People at T20 law schools are smart--the average incoming class at GW is made up of people who are almost uniformly better at school (either through smarts or grinding) than most ivy+ undergrads, and you're graded entirely on a curve against them. So, for the majority of law students at a school like that, the first semester of grades can be a bit of a crisis--after having grown used to feeling superior to classmates in undergrad, 67 percent of them are shocked to learn that they're not in the top third. 50 percent are below average, something they probably haven't been (academically) since their last high school gym class. It's hard not to feel at that point like 1) you're not as smart as you thought you were or 2) legal education is a cruel, capricious enterprise, a random distribution of polar opposite outcomes--in short, anything but a meritocracy. Both of these feelings can be soul-crushing, depressing, even in some sense traumatic.

I agree with previous posters that you need to do a personal inventory, and that it might be beneficial to enlist outside help to do so. Dropping out of law school might make sense, and it might not. But, either way: release yourself from the chains of your own success--law school is hard, but you're doing pretty well. You don't have to be at the top of the class to have self-worth. Your situation is not dire.

Bolded: lol. Good thing I was always top 5% in gym, eh? At least I'm not your typical law school nerd.

[RUQRU]

If you feel you have to stay in law school (reminder: you don't) {emphasis added}

...

Thanks! I took your advice and quit! Best thing I ever did!

Good luck all...

really?

Really!