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how bad does it look if my grades range from A to B- at a T2? ugh.

yadayadayada wrote:how bad does it look if my grades range from A to B- at a T2? ugh.

that's not all over the place, and I have a feeling you know that.

rbgrocio wrote:

yadayadayada wrote:how bad does it look if my grades range from A to B- at a T2? ugh.

that's not all over the place, and I have a feeling you know that.

That could easily be top 10% in one class and bottom 10% in another, depending on curve.

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yadayadayada wrote:how bad does it look if my grades range from A to B- at a T2? ugh.

I'm pretty sure that's fairly common. Just be happy you got an A in a course -- that's very impressive. It sounds like your grades will average to a medium 3.x, which should put you at a respectable percentile at nearly any school (I don't know how many B+ curves are actually out there.)

I don't think it looks bad at all -- just not completely exceptional, which you may have been aiming to be. However, as previously stated, getting multiple A's might land you in the top 10 %, even with one slip-up B-.

I'd call that all over the place. However, it is a good all over the place. But what has already been said is right--it depends on where the other grades fall. One B- is very forgivable, but a single A amongst a multiplicity of B-s is probably not a savior.

FWIW, I'd rather my grades show up with two A and two B- rather than four B+. It would suggest I am at least capable of top performance. Straight B+ would sap a lot of motivation from me.

thesealocust wrote:It means you are smart and capable, but you didn't nail down precisely how to prepare for and write exams. Fix it!

This. Find out what you did right in the classes you got good grades, and do that more.

JSUVA2012 wrote:FWIW, I'd rather my grades show up with two A and two B- rather than four B+. It would suggest I am at least capable of top performance. Straight B+ would sap a lot of motivation from me.

+1. Congrats OP.

Hypothetically (ahem), if you pull off a witkin in one class fall of 1L, but due to the weight of the classes a really mediocre grade (lets say..a C) in another class brings your GPA down substantially due to it being worth almost twice as many credits.

So lets say you are in the bottom half of the rankings but you got a witkin...does this make you look like a slacker or do you use this to your advantage as much as possible?

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thesealocust wrote:

eth3n wrote:Hypothetically (ahem), if you pull off a witkin in one class fall of 1L, but due to the weight of the classes a really mediocre grade (lets say..a C) in another class brings your GPA down substantially due to it being worth almost twice as many credits.

So lets say you are in the bottom half of the rankings but you got a witkin...does this make you look like a slacker or do you use this to your advantage as much as possible?

What the fuck is a witkin? It sounds like a peace loving forest creature form Star Wars or something.

I'm assuming it's like a CALI award, but just for Cali.

http://www.witkin.com/index.html

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Lots and lots of people never get a single A.

I'm in a similar boat: Got an A in Torts and Contracts, and the highest grade possible in legal writing, but a B- in Professional Responsibility and Criminal Law. Thankfully, I'm still better than the median, and fortunately, the classes I did well in were 4 credit classes.

I appreciate knowing im not the only one, im glad you could break median though!

Honestly, as I KNOW I won't break top 10% (i basically answered a cascading joinder question completely wrong by failing the initial joinder issue and sabotaging the rest of my answers) I will most likely use my crim top grade alone on my job apps. Maybe some employers will assume that if I got a top grade in a class I couldnt have gotten a C in another (little do they know >:D).

I am planning on leading off with the high grade at this point, and not mentioning GPA in cover letters at all (not even really an issue since ive only gotten the one grade back lol). It may not help me when it comes to civil firms, but its all ive got, at least until I see my other grades.

I had a streak of A and A-s, and my last grade was a B. I'm still top 8%-ish, give or take a few percentiles. I actually asked a professor that I'm a bit closer with if she had any insight about how this B will affect my ability to get summer jobs, since it's pretty incongruous with the rest of my grades. She said most people won't even think once about it, and if they think twice, they'll think "Oh, she must have had more time to study for the other exams." This seems to be the conventional wisdom, so I wouldn't worry about it too much (so long as the distribution is even and, like the others said, you have more As than Bs). But it seems your class rank is much more important anyway, and you can still be up there even with a B-.

Seriously, no one gets straight As. I got 3As and 2 B+s and my average is 3.78, still good enough for top 5% at my school. SO yeah , be happy that you have any As at all, and resolve to do even better next term!

im in a similar boat. Range from A to B. Possible CALI award to median class performance.

wiseowl wrote:Lots and lots of people never get a single A.

This, even with relaxed upper level curves, most of your classmates will never even sniff an A.

I got 2 B's, in addition to all A's and A-'s. It has basically completely fucked me over at OCI (despite a transfer to a T10). Try not to let this happen. B-, on a B+ curve, is absolutely putrid.

ITE?

Kohinoor wrote:ITE?

In the economy that is this. While next year should be better, if you aren't at a T14 (17?), you have pretty much zero breathing room if your goal is to get a biglaw job.

Bankhead wrote:
In the economy that is this. While next year should be better, if you aren't at a T14 (17?), you have pretty much zero breathing room if your goal is to get a biglaw job.

Just a curious question. Say your school is ranked 19 (or was it 20th? eh, I don't remember). What if you really don't want to get into biglaw?

Bankhead wrote:

Kohinoor wrote:ITE?

In the economy that is this. While next year should be better, if you aren't at a T14 (17?)YLS, you have pretty much zero breathing room if your goal is to get a biglaw job.

FTFY.