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I just got one of these. What is its significance? It looks like it was printed on someone's ink-jet. Should I just chuck it in the trash?

It means you got the highest grade in that class. Put that info on your resume. What you do with the certificate is your choice

i don't think it's a coincidence that most people who get cali awards have no idea what they are...

CALI awards, in my experience, do look good on resumes, but refer to them by their full name "CALI Excellence for the Future Award," ... when i started doing this, employers started asking about it.

Jones, Dow wrote:i don't think it's a coincidence that most people who get cali awards have no idea what they are...

I actually do find it surprising. I would think that if your school does CALI awards, then other law students would talk about it. It's definitely something people talk about at my school, because everyone is semi-competitive and wants to know who got the highest grade in the class. For some reason I highly doubt this is just my school.

Schools call these awards different things, but a lot of schools seem to have an equivalent--whether it's CALI Award, Book Award, or AmJur Award.

I describe it on the resume as follows:
"CALI Award (highest grade in class)"

This way there is no ambiguity about what it means.

overheard in the bathroom:

"I don't know what the hell it is. I guess I must have done really well on those Cali exercises."

dude probably threw it away and never though about it again...

Our CSO says to put CALI awards on a resume like this: "CALI Award for Highest Grade in Class: Torts" or whatever the subjecti s

I've never heard of this... Is it a west coast specific award or something?

Unemployed wrote:I've never heard of this... Is it a west coast specific award or something?

I never heard of this either, is there a list of what schools do it somewhere? I'm all for adding random stuff to resumes

--LinkRemoved--

Interesting, apparently my school does it, but im pretty sure they havnt been given out yet.

arhmcpo wrote:

Unemployed wrote:I've never heard of this... Is it a west coast specific award or something?

I never heard of this either, is there a list of what schools do it somewhere? I'm all for adding random stuff to resumes

As that link shows, no it is not specific to any coast - I CALI'd two classes my first semester in Illinois and there are tons of other states - just depends on the school I suppose.

So people actually put these things on resumes? Why? Why would an employer even care? They are given out for the highest grade in one semester. Isn't it possible to do well in one semester and then bomb the next?

How prevalent is the practice of putting one of these on a resume?

GrapeApe wrote:So people actually put these things on resumes? Why? Why would an employer even care? They are given out for the highest grade in one semester. Isn't it possible to do well in one semester and then bomb the next?

How prevalent is putting this on a resume?

Because many people can bomb a particular class, but very few actually get to have the highest grade in their class even once. It is an indicator of success; if you're smart and dedicated enough to get the highest grade in your class at least once, that says something about you. This is especially true if they ask you about it and you can comment that it was a big class (like, 60 or 90 people). A lot of you in there and only one of you got the CALI award.

Plus some people rack them up. Imagine getting three or four of these things and putting that on your resume; that would really impress someone.

GrapeApe wrote:So people actually put these things on resumes? Why? Why would an employer even care? They are given out for the highest grade in one semester. Isn't it possible to do well in one semester and then bomb the next?

How prevalent is the practice of putting one of these on a resume?

Although overall rank is more important, some employers will value a significant showing in a particular class. It can help shape your resume--make it more targeted for particular employers--(e.g., "Hey judge, look at my top grade in federal courts!" or "Hey IRS, look at my top grade in tax!").

ggocat wrote:

GrapeApe wrote:So people actually put these things on resumes? Why? Why would an employer even care? They are given out for the highest grade in one semester. Isn't it possible to do well in one semester and then bomb the next?

How prevalent is the practice of putting one of these on a resume?

Although overall rank is more important, some employers will value a significant showing in a particular class. It can help shape your resume--make it more targeted for particular employers--(e.g., "Hey judge, look at my top grade in federal courts!" or "Hey IRS, look at my top grade in tax!").

Also, when applying to certain places (big firms) you will wind up infront of people who have a copy of your resume but not a copy of your transcript. Having a pile of CALIs will garner you favor, because for better or for worse law school grades are like fucking catnip to attorneys.

Just to clarify, even if 4 people in a class of 80 get an A, only 1 will get the CALI, right?

dreman510 wrote:Just to clarify, even if 4 people in a class of 80 get an A, only 1 will get the CALI, right?

Correct, only one CALI award per class.

vanwinkle wrote:

dreman510 wrote:Just to clarify, even if 4 people in a class of 80 get an A, only 1 will get the CALI, right?

Correct, only one CALI award per class.

Got it, thanks

dreman510 wrote:Just to clarify, even if 4 people in a class of 80 get an A, only 1 will get the CALI, right?

unless there's a tie points wise

apper123 wrote:

dreman510 wrote:Just to clarify, even if 4 people in a class of 80 get an A, only 1 will get the CALI, right?

unless there's a tie points wise

This may depend on the school. At mine, the profs seem to only choose one. Even though two students can get the same grade (on a 35-point scale), the top two tests always seem to have different raw scores.

CALI can be a tie (as in where final is 100% of the grade if two ppl get same raw or something both get awards)
All other ripoffs (witkin, etc) only have 1 per class even if there is a tie, professor has to decide (why? I do not know.)

And while it may not help your class rank, it has been mentioned at every interview I've done, even in firms (it was in crim).

Especially as a 1L, when you don't really have any law school accolades to mention, it can be a great talking point and might make a difference.

GrapeApe wrote:So people actually put these things on resumes? Why? Why would an employer even care? They are given out for the highest grade in one semester. Isn't it possible to do well in one semester and then bomb the next?

How prevalent is the practice of putting one of these on a resume?

This has to be the funniest question I've ever read. It basically means "why would an employer even care about grades, you could just get bad grades later in life so why does it even matter if someone got good grades so far"? Why WOULDN'T an employer care. Like has been said, its between 90-120 in a class and ONE person gets the overall highest grade. If that doesn't make you stand out in your class, I have no idea what would, especially as a 1L.

eth3n wrote:Especially as a 1L, when you don't really have any law school accolades to mention, it can be a great talking point and might make a difference.

Of course in order to help they would actually have to issue them, and it seems like my school and a lot of others are lagging on this. What good is a Cali when they take half a year to send them out...ughs