Top Law Schools

I'm ranked X according to my school's list from last year. However, the office said that my class was the largest they had yet. Would this raise my rank? I'm guessing it roughly stays the same? I think they enrolled 50-100 more students.

splittermcsplit88 wrote:I'm ranked X according to my school's list from last year. However, the office said that my class was the largest they had yet. Would this raise my rank? I'm guessing it roughly stays the same? I think they enrolled 50-100 more students.

given equal distribution, you'd go down a little (10/200 >> 15/250). However, you can't be certain that the distribution is the same as last year.

Oh, I guess I meant rank percentage. Hmm, seems unfair my percentage would go down just because of a larger class. Better hope everybody did shit lol

If you're ranked #30 in the class, your percentage ranking will vary by class number (e.g. 30/300 = top 10%; 30/150 = top 20%; a bigger class helps you). If you're in the top 10%, your individual ranking will also vary by class number (e.g. top 10% of 300 = you're ranked between #1 and #30; top 10% of 100 = you're ranked between #1 and #10; a bigger class may hurt you). I have no idea which of these you were actually referring to.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:If you're ranked #30 in the class, your percentage ranking will vary by class number (e.g. 30/300 = top 10%; 30/150 = top 20%). If you're in the top 10%, your individual ranking will also vary by class number (e.g. top 10% of 300 = you're ranked between #1 and #30; top 10% of 100 = you're ranked between #1 and #10). I have no idea which of these you were actually referring to.

This.

OP, are you talking about numerical ranking (#X of Y students) or percentage ranking (top X%)?

splittermcsplit88 wrote:Oh, I guess I meant rank percentage. Hmm, seems unfair my percentage would go down just because of a larger class. Better hope everybody did shit lol

percentage would hypothetically be the same. Numerical rank is what I was referring to

Oh, I was referring to percentage. I got my GPA, but not my rank yet. I compared it to last year's class rank list and I turned out to be top 15%. But, registrar said class got bigger, so I'm wondering:

initially = 45/300

but now, it's out of 350 or more. Would my percent drop? I guess it's the same theory JamMaster talked about. All about distribution and how others did?

splittermcsplit88 wrote:Oh, I was referring to percentage. I got my GPA, but not my rank yet. I compared it to last year's class rank list and I turned out to be top 15%. But, registrar said class got bigger, so I'm wondering:

initially = 45/300

but now, it's out of 350 or more. Would my percent drop? I guess it's the same theory JamMaster talked about. All about distribution and how others did?

Assuming equal distribution, someone who was 45/300 should be roughly 52/350 in the larger class. In other words, top 15% before should be top 15% now, if the grading was done the same and the student body still has the same overall makeup. Only if something else changed in the way they admit students, or something about the nature of the curve itself, should there be a significant change in how GPA and rank generally correlate.

There will be some variance, but there's generally a little variance year to year as to what GPA equals what rank anyway. I'd say it's safe to assume you're in the top 10-20% range and wait to see where exactly you land when you get your rank.

Okay, thanks for clearing that up!