summer gpa boost worth it? Forum

[37duncan]

fall 1L grades not what I was hoping for
for purposes of biglaw, what is consensus on taking 1 or 2 summer classes to boost gpa pre OCI?
(assuming I can get away for a few hours from volunteer summer internship to attend class)

Thanks

[sundance95]

I'd think not working 1L summer would raise a red flag for firms.

[BEAST_mode]

I'd think not working 1L summer would raise a red flag for firms.

Credited. But maybe check out evening classes if your school offers them during the summer.

[thesealocust]

Not working 1L summer would be a red flag AND you wouldn't even likely have grades back from the courses before the important part of recruiting.

[DrGuano]

No clue what school you're at, but at Fordham the deadline for submitting Early Interview Week material was mid-July - well before any grades come in. The only time your fall grades would help for the Big Law firms are if you get a callback, and at that point, your grades don't matter as much, as you've already made at least one good impression.

With that said, every school is different and may have different opportunities later in the fall semester. Regardless, hiring committees look at your transcript and mediocre grades in core classes are what's given consideration, not an A+in The Business of a Law Firm during the summer.