How does the curve usually work? Forum

[lawschoolproblems86]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

[Kabuo]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

This is impossible to answer. Title is a better Q, and answer to that is: (my 1L guesstimate) a bitch.

[leobowski]

look your school up on nalp

[dailygrind]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

To estimate an answer to this question you need to know the median GPA at your school and the ranking of one certain GPA that acts as a data point for estimation. You can figure it out using the calculator stickied in this forum. However, IMO the better idea is to concentrate less on competing with your peers and more on competing with yourself, if that makes sense.

[Amy wineBerry]

How does the curve usually work?

Against you....

But, really, academic services should be able to provide you with some guidelines as to your school's curve and break it down from there.

[bk1]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

To estimate an answer to this question you need to know the median GPA at your school and the ranking of one certain GPA that acts as a data point for estimation. You can figure it out using the calculator stickied in this forum. However, IMO the better idea is to concentrate less on competing with your peers and more on competing with yourself, if that makes sense.

So you're saying that I should be studying for my classes and not trying to sabotage my classmates? If that's the case then I think I've got this whole law school thing backwards...

[rayiner]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

Depends entirely on the school. Here at NU it's something like:

top 10% -> 3.8
top 25% -> 3.65
top 50% -> 3.35

At UVA it's something like:

top 10% -> 3.65
top 25% -> 3.45
top 50% -> 3.30

At some schools top 50% may be as low as 3.0.

[zomginternets]

Forgive my probable math fail, but if most schools curve to 3.0 during 1L, shouldn't 50% be 3.0 (or very close to)?

[5ky]

Forgive my probable math fail, but if most schools curve to 3.0 during 1L, shouldn't 50% be 3.0 (or very close to)?

Yes, but a large portion of schools curve to a 3.3.

[eandy]

The median at UGA last year was 2.89. So as you can tell some schools have medians higher than others; it is very school specific.

[king3780]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... GPA_curves

Here's a list of many schools with their curves. From a cursory look, it seems like higher ranked schools tend to have higher curves. Many Tier 1 schools curve to a 3.3 or thereabouts, while Tier 2 tends to be more like a 3.0 and the TTT and TTTT schools frequently have 2.7 and even lower. I'm curious about the rationale behind this. It seems like the crappy schools are doing themselves a disservice. For example, I go to a school with a 3.0 curve. If I wanted to compete in the greater metro area where my school is, I would face competition from better schools with students who generally have better grades, even if they have a similar ranking to me. Likewise, the market I'm looking to practice in is mostly dominated by a TTT with a 2.7 curve, so my grades look much more impressive to employers there that might not realize my grades are based on a higher curve.

[dreakol]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... GPA_curves

Here's a list of many schools with their curves. From a cursory look, it seems like higher ranked schools tend to have higher curves. Many Tier 1 schools curve to a 3.3 or thereabouts, while Tier 2 tends to be more like a 3.0 and the TTT and TTTT schools frequently have 2.7 and even lower. I'm curious about the rationale behind this. It seems like the crappy schools are doing themselves a disservice. For example, I go to a school with a 3.0 curve. If I wanted to compete in the greater metro area where my school is, I would face competition from better schools with students who generally have better grades, even if they have a similar ranking to me. Likewise, the market I'm looking to practice in is mostly dominated by a TTT with a 2.7 curve, so my grades look much more impressive to employers there that might not realize my grades are based on a higher curve.

lower ranked schools tend to put GPA requirements on their scholarships, which gives them an incentive to curve that harshly

[AreJay711]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... GPA_curves

Here's a list of many schools with their curves. From a cursory look, it seems like higher ranked schools tend to have higher curves. Many Tier 1 schools curve to a 3.3 or thereabouts, while Tier 2 tends to be more like a 3.0 and the TTT and TTTT schools frequently have 2.7 and even lower. I'm curious about the rationale behind this. It seems like the crappy schools are doing themselves a disservice. For example, I go to a school with a 3.0 curve. If I wanted to compete in the greater metro area where my school is, I would face competition from better schools with students who generally have better grades, even if they have a similar ranking to me. Likewise, the market I'm looking to practice in is mostly dominated by a TTT with a 2.7 curve, so my grades look much more impressive to employers there that might not realize my grades are based on a higher curve.

lower ranked schools tend to put GPA requirements on their scholarships, which gives them an incentive to curve that harshly

Also, most employers that care about grades know the break down for different schools so changing the median would only work for a year or two (if at all).

[bdubs]

There are about 150 people in my 1L class. I mean for the most part what kind of GPA would you need to be in the top 10%? Top 25% Top 50%? I'm just starting to feel very intimidated by everyone in my class, in that no matter how good I do, a bunch of people are either going to do just as good or better. I hate law school! :cries:

That is the nature of the curve, you shouldn't let it bother you because you can't do anything about it. Just try your hardest to do well. Every one of your classmates also has to come to grips with this reality.