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Rankings are in and I missed the top 10% mark by a few decimal points.

When this happens, do students typically put top 11%? or Flat put 10.4% or whatever the number may be? The 10.4% looks a hell of a lot nicer than the top 11% IMO... but i don't want it to look funky. Just wondering what the custom is...

Thanks to all!

99.999999% of law schools only allow you to put your official rank on your resume. Thus, if your school ranks 11,12,13%, sure, it's fine. But if your school only ranks the top 5%, 10%, and 25%, you can't do that.

If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

Do you know your individual rank? If so, why not just list 16/150 or whatever?

this happened to me - i just put top 15%. top 11% looks weird as shit.

cheaptilts wrote:If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

This.

Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

totesTheGoat wrote:

cheaptilts wrote:If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

This.

Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

Is this a thing? It looks goofy af to me. You're using like 30 characters to just to hide that you are just saying "11th percentile". If I saw that bullcrap, I'd stare at if for a second, then think to myself "so this person wrote the words "Top 10%" on their resume, but they are actually telling me they are NOT in the Top 10%.....deceptive to me.

Ask your registrar, a lot of schools have formal policies about what you can do and get bitchy if you dont follow them.

NotMyRealName09 wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:

cheaptilts wrote:If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

This.

Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

Is this a thing? It looks goofy af to me. You're using like 30 characters to just to hide that you are just saying "11th percentile". If I saw that bullcrap, I'd stare at if for a second, then think to myself "so this person wrote the words "Top 10%" on their resume, but they are actually telling me they are NOT in the Top 10%.....deceptive to me.

Yeah I wouldn't put both top 10% and top 25% on there. I think it's perfectly fine to just put GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753) or something. It's really not as weird to do this as you are making it out to be, and I think I'd call it good marketing more than outright deceptive. All the correct info is there. And yeah ask registrar or CSO before doing it. My school was fine with it.

hoos89 wrote:

NotMyRealName09 wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:

cheaptilts wrote:If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

This.

Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

Is this a thing? It looks goofy af to me. You're using like 30 characters to just to hide that you are just saying "11th percentile". If I saw that bullcrap, I'd stare at if for a second, then think to myself "so this person wrote the words "Top 10%" on their resume, but they are actually telling me they are NOT in the Top 10%.....deceptive to me.

Yeah I wouldn't put both top 10% and top 25% on there. I think it's perfectly fine to just put GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753) or something. It's really not as weird to do this as you are making it out to be, and I think I'd call it good marketing more than outright deceptive. All the correct info is there. And yeah ask registrar or CSO before doing it. My school was fine with it.

I'm a cynical bastard, which colors my perceptions of the world, but there seem to be a lot of us in this profession, so just trying to provide the perspective of someone who may be reading your resume. I still say don't get cute, if you've got a percentage, just say that as "X percentile", my 2 cents. Again, if you say "GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753", I'd be like.....soooo, you're not in the top 10%--why did this person obfuscate like this? I don't like them.

NotMyRealName09 wrote: I'm a cynical bastard, which colors my perceptions of the world, but there seem to be a lot of us in this profession, so just trying to provide the perspective of someone who may be reading your resume. I still say don't get cute, if you've got a percentage, just say that as "X percentile", my 2 cents. Again, if you say "GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753", I'd be like.....soooo, you're not in the top 10%--why did this person obfuscate like this? I don't like them.

My law school only rank(s)/ed #1-5 in the class, top 5%, 10%, and 25%. If your GPA puts you around top 13% in the class or so, the CSO advises you to let employers know where you stand in relation to the cutoffs without giving an official rank (because they don't give you an official rank). That's how you get "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." I'm sure there are people in the profession that share your profession, but I don't think you're in the majority, and I do think that a person has a higher chance of landing a callback via letting an employer know that they're closer to the top 10% of the class than the top quarter.

NotMyRealName09 wrote:

hoos89 wrote:

NotMyRealName09 wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:

cheaptilts wrote:If you're like .003 away from the top ten percent, you can simply put "GPA: 3.811 | Top 10% = 3.814." It's not abnormal to do so.

This.

Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

Is this a thing? It looks goofy af to me. You're using like 30 characters to just to hide that you are just saying "11th percentile". If I saw that bullcrap, I'd stare at if for a second, then think to myself "so this person wrote the words "Top 10%" on their resume, but they are actually telling me they are NOT in the Top 10%.....deceptive to me.

Yeah I wouldn't put both top 10% and top 25% on there. I think it's perfectly fine to just put GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753) or something. It's really not as weird to do this as you are making it out to be, and I think I'd call it good marketing more than outright deceptive. All the correct info is there. And yeah ask registrar or CSO before doing it. My school was fine with it.

I'm a cynical bastard, which colors my perceptions of the world, but there seem to be a lot of us in this profession, so just trying to provide the perspective of someone who may be reading your resume. I still say don't get cute, if you've got a percentage, just say that as "X percentile", my 2 cents. Again, if you say "GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753", I'd be like.....soooo, you're not in the top 10%--why did this person obfuscate like this? I don't like them.

I don't see it as obfuscation. You are closer to the top 10% cutoff than the next cutoff so it's more informative of where you actually are than putting the lower cutoff. Showing that he's super close to top 10% let's you know that he's probably one or two people below the cutoff, whereas putting that he's 0.15 or whatever above top 25% or whatever the next cutoff is just tells you that he's well above it. Is he top 20%? Top 15%? The closer cutoff is more precise, in my opinion; if you misinterpret it as him saying that he's in the top 10% then that's on you for not actually reading it. The point isn't to HIDE that he's saying top 11%, but to show that he IS top 11% without saying something that he doesn't have enough information to say.

I was in the same position, and I just put my class rank (19/180 for example) and nothing else. If you don't know class rank or for some reason can't use it just put top 15% - any other percentage looks weird.

I don't think there is anything wrong with putting the top 10% cutoff on there to show how close you were, but it could come off negatively and if you have your rank on there it will be obvious how close you are to top 10% if anyone cares enough to calculate it on their own.

I don't get what all the fuss is about. Just put: top 10.xx%. I was within the top 10%, but closer to 5; I just did the math and put "top 6.73%" or whatever it was after first year. I don't think it hurt me in the slightest, and it certainly looks better than just saying "top 10%". In fact, I remember an interviewer (which later extended an offer) saying, "Top 7% huh? Not bad." My guess is that had I only listed "top 10%", then he wouldn't have noticed that it was actually slightly better. So as long as your school gives you your exact rank, then just do the math and list your exact percentage -- you've earned that.

joeant wrote:I don't get what all the fuss is about. Just put: top 10.xx%. I was within the top 10%, but closer to 5; I just did the math and put "top 6.73%" or whatever it was after first year. I don't think it hurt me in the slightest, and it certainly looks better than just saying "top 10%". In fact, I remember an interviewer (which later extended an offer) saying, "Top 7% huh? Not bad." My guess is that had I only listed "top 10%", then he wouldn't have noticed that it was actually slightly better. So as long as your school gives you your exact rank, then just do the math and list your exact percentage -- you've earned that.

You're missing the point. Most schools (almost every T14 for sure) have rules against approximating rank/putting down a rank that the school doesn't officially release. OP and other 1Ls reading this thread should consult with their CSO's office on how to proceed before just taking out a calculator and estimating their own rank.

joeant wrote:I don't get what all the fuss is about. Just put: top 10.xx%. I was within the top 10%, but closer to 5; I just did the math and put "top 6.73%" or whatever it was after first year. I don't think it hurt me in the slightest, and it certainly looks better than just saying "top 10%". In fact, I remember an interviewer (which later extended an offer) saying, "Top 7% huh? Not bad." My guess is that had I only listed "top 10%", then he wouldn't have noticed that it was actually slightly better. So as long as your school gives you your exact rank, then just do the math and list your exact percentage -- you've earned that.

You don't actually get your rank at a lot of schools.

I know grades are important but do firms differentiate within cutoffs? As in, do they care if you're too 11% vs 15%? I spoke with an attorney on a recruiting committee and he said their firm keeps data on grades of applicants so you don't even need to put a cutoff; they'll know your relative position from your GPA.

PeanutsNJam wrote:I know grades are important but do firms differentiate within cutoffs? As in, do they care if you're too 11% vs 15%? I spoke with an attorney on a recruiting committee and he said their firm keeps data on grades of applicants so you don't even need to put a cutoff; they'll know your relative position from your GPA.

some firms have very hard cutoffs for some schools (e.g., Williams & Connolly, Wachtell, Sullivan & Cromwell) where being just outside of a rank won't cut it. Furthermore, many judges filter OSCAR applicants out to the point where they won't even see your application if you're not in a certain percentile. It definitely matters.

Ah, I see. Well if OP's school releases rank, then do the math and put the exact %; if not, then find a way to highlight your performance rather than mention the next-closest arbitrary cutoff that you beat by a lot.

Just do what your CSO tells you to do. If that fails, just list your GPA. If that fails, do the GPA+ (the top X percent in the class is Y) thing that some people are suggesting.

I would say use your best judgment but given some of the suggestions ITT I don't think that everyone's best judgment should be trusted.

NotMyRealName09 wrote: Again, if you say "GPA = 3.750 (top 10% = 3.753", I'd be like.....soooo, you're not in the top 10%--why did this person obfuscate like this? I don't like them.

As mentioned by others, it's because I don't have my exact class rank and I am not allowed to estimate it, per my CSO. However, by giving the employer one or two data points, I'm allowing them to do an estimate without doing one myself.

Grade cutoffs towards the top of the class are tight at every school (the difference between top 5% and top 15% at Ohio State was 1.9% in terms of class averages). So top 15% implies you just missed out on top 10%. Don't get cute about just how close you got. Just do a little better next semester and actually get in the top 10%.

totesTheGoat wrote:Also, I sometimes list the next rank down if my grade is close enough to the better one. "GPA: 3.802 | Top 10% = 3.814; Top 25% = 3.569"

This is exactly what I did, seemed to work out fine. CSO said I couldn't put 10.5%, so I gave all the pertinent information.