Preparing to Bomb at Carbozo Forum

[FourtyFour]

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[Pomeranian]

So, I didn't take the good advice on here and went to Cardozo. I didn't retake the LSAT like I should have. At first it went well, the first semester I got straight A's. But this time I fucked up, on property, and I know I am going to bomb it. No more top 10-15%, no shot at OCI. My grades are not back yet, but I know when I do well and when I bomb...and this one was bad. Like C bad.

Let this serve as proof to anyone not heeding the advice to retake the LSAT and go to a Top-14 where you won't have to worry about this sort of thing.

I was always Biglaw or bust, and what's horrible is I wasted $3,700 a month in taxpayer money from the GI Bill (Even though I served six years to earn it) for living expenses, and free tuition. And I will have thrown it away with one bad grade. I have considered other areas of the law, but none have the pathway to being able to afford where I want to be financially at any point in the future. None of them will ever get me a house in Darien, CT like my brother, for instance.

I blew it, and I see no way out, no way forward. Don't repeat my mistakes.

Straight A's and a C does not sound THAT bad? I'm sure you'll land on your feet.

[FourtyFour]

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[Mad Hatter]

Wait until you get your score back--you can't predict the curve.

[SFSpartan]

Wait until you get your score back--you can't predict the curve.

This is 100% TCR. When I was a 1L, I thought I bombed 2 of my classes. In one of them, I legitimately thought I'd get a D. I got A's in both, and CALI'd one of them. Conversely, I got a B in the only class I was sure I would get an A in.

The curve is never predictable. Doing well first semester suggests you'll do well again. Wait until you get grades, then formulate a gameplan.

[rcharter1978]

So, I didn't take the good advice on here and went to Cardozo. I didn't retake the LSAT like I should have. At first it went well, the first semester I got straight A's. But this time I fucked up, on property, and I know I am going to bomb it. No more top 10-15%, no shot at OCI. My grades are not back yet, but I know when I do well and when I bomb...and this one was bad. Like C bad.

Let this serve as proof to anyone not heeding the advice to retake the LSAT and go to a Top-14 where you won't have to worry about this sort of thing.

I was always Biglaw or bust, and what's horrible is I wasted $3,700 a month in taxpayer money from the GI Bill (Even though I served six years to earn it) for living expenses, and free tuition. And I will have thrown it away with one bad grade. I have considered other areas of the law, but none have the pathway to being able to afford where I want to be financially at any point in the future. None of them will ever get me a house in Darien, CT like my brother, for instance.

I blew it, and I see no way out, no way forward. Don't repeat my mistakes.

I understand the idea that you just know when you did shitty and the disgust when people insist that you may not know. Totally get it.....but maybe it wasn't that bad.

True story -- I assumed I bombed my property final, because I hate property and instead of doing the right thing and giving us a question on RAP, which we all studied, the professor gave us a question about Native American Property Law.

I ended up getting an A in property. I went to pick up my exam, and I got a 98....which I ASSUMED was a 98/100....nope, a 98/150. Basically, everyone did so awful, that my 98 ended up being an A. So...don't count yourself out just yet, if you feel shitty about the exam, it stands to reason that everyone feels shitty about the exam.

And, in the event you get a C, does it really ruin everything? I don't know, I was never really BigLaw or bust.

[FourtyFour]

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[rcharter1978]

So, I didn't take the good advice on here and went to Cardozo. I didn't retake the LSAT like I should have. At first it went well, the first semester I got straight A's. But this time I fucked up, on property, and I know I am going to bomb it. No more top 10-15%, no shot at OCI. My grades are not back yet, but I know when I do well and when I bomb...and this one was bad. Like C bad.

Let this serve as proof to anyone not heeding the advice to retake the LSAT and go to a Top-14 where you won't have to worry about this sort of thing.

I was always Biglaw or bust, and what's horrible is I wasted $3,700 a month in taxpayer money from the GI Bill (Even though I served six years to earn it) for living expenses, and free tuition. And I will have thrown it away with one bad grade. I have considered other areas of the law, but none have the pathway to being able to afford where I want to be financially at any point in the future. None of them will ever get me a house in Darien, CT like my brother, for instance.

I blew it, and I see no way out, no way forward. Don't repeat my mistakes.

I understand the idea that you just know when you did shitty and the disgust when people insist that you may not know. Totally get it.....but maybe it wasn't that bad.

True story -- I assumed I bombed my property final, because I hate property and instead of doing the right thing and giving us a question on RAP, which we all studied, the professor gave us a question about Native American Property Law.

I ended up getting an A in property. I went to pick up my exam, and I got a 98....which I ASSUMED was a 98/100....nope, a 98/150. Basically, everyone did so awful, that my 98 ended up being an A. So...don't count yourself out just yet, if you feel shitty about the exam, it stands to reason that everyone feels shitty about the exam.

And, in the event you get a C, does it really ruin everything? I don't know, I was never really BigLaw or bust.

I agree, I have to wait for grades, to be honest it's nice to have my fate out of my hands now...I worked my ass off, and there's no shame in losing the fight of life when you fought like hell. But yes, it's very lock-step. Top 15% at my school for OCI interviews, and from previous class rankings that C would put me out of that range.

If you worked your ass off in the class, than there is a good chance that you understood more than the average bear. And if you're also able to write at a level that routinely gets you A's I think there is a good chance you at least did okay.

But yes, wait for grades and like you said, just know its out of your hands. But it doesn't mean that you can't end up in a much better house than the one your brother has!

[FourtyFour]

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[RaceJudicata]

If you worked your ass off in the class, than there is a good chance that you understood more than the average bear. And if you're also able to write at a level that routinely gets you A's I think there is a good chance you at least did okay.

But yes, wait for grades and like you said, just know its out of your hands. But it doesn't mean that you can't end up in a much better house than the one your brother has!

Yeah, well my brother did smart right thing and got an MBA at Wharton, so I doubt it.

But lets face it, there's a bimodal distribution. People who make Biglaw make 160K, people who don't get 40-80K at best. The Biglaw people see an increase in salary over time, especially of they make partner, the others will likely never break 100K a year in their life. It's just reality, your future depends on your 1L grades. I'm not going to be able to afford to live and start a family in the community where I grew up, and that's incredibly depressing.

I'm not saying this in a negative/judgmental/condescending way whatsoever, so PLEASE do not take it that way. But you should seriously consider talking to a professional about this. 1L grades -- even if you FAIL -- are not the end of the world. Your future does not depend on 1L grades, and not even close. Do not let making or not making biglaw define your life. Its just a job, and nothing more. Plus, plenty of attorneys make $$$ starting their careers at "lesser" firms or jobs, while conversely, plenty of those who "made biglaw" don't have a pot to piss in.

Oh, and wait for your grades to come out... you never know, they might surprise you.

[mornincounselor]

If you worked your ass off in the class, than there is a good chance that you understood more than the average bear. And if you're also able to write at a level that routinely gets you A's I think there is a good chance you at least did okay.

But yes, wait for grades and like you said, just know its out of your hands. But it doesn't mean that you can't end up in a much better house than the one your brother has!

Yeah, well my brother did smart right thing and got an MBA at Wharton, so I doubt it.

But lets face it, there's a bimodal distribution. People who make Biglaw make 160K, people who don't get 40-80K at best. The Biglaw people see an increase in salary over time, especially of they make partner, the others will likely never break 100K a year in their life. It's just reality, your future depends on your 1L grades. I'm not going to be able to afford to live and start a family in the community where I grew up, and that's incredibly depressing.

I'm not sure how true this is. On this site we like to emphasize the immediate - 5 year down the line outcomes. Those are easier to find information about. But, I'm sure everyone on this site knows of people who started out at lower paying jobs and eventually started their own small firms making six-figures.

It's certainly bimodal right out of law school, but 10 years out? Who knows. I've never seen good information on that, if it's even around. $2,500 divorces, $5,000 retainers . . . call me naive but it doesn't seem all that hard to hit 100k once you have experience and quality word of mouth advertisement.

[Mad Hatter]

I used to think like you.

Now I'm in biglaw and every couple weeks someone in my office happily leaves to go take a job at a place that they wouldn't have even considered working their 1L summer at.

[lavarman84]

If you worked your ass off in the class, than there is a good chance that you understood more than the average bear. And if you're also able to write at a level that routinely gets you A's I think there is a good chance you at least did okay.

But yes, wait for grades and like you said, just know its out of your hands. But it doesn't mean that you can't end up in a much better house than the one your brother has!

Yeah, well my brother did smart right thing and got an MBA at Wharton, so I doubt it.

But lets face it, there's a bimodal distribution. People who make Biglaw make 160K, people who don't get 40-80K at best. The Biglaw people see an increase in salary over time, especially of they make partner, the others will likely never break 100K a year in their life. It's just reality, your future depends on your 1L grades. I'm not going to be able to afford to live and start a family in the community where I grew up, and that's incredibly depressing.

Enough of the woe is me crap, dude. Your life is your own. You may have done well. You may get biglaw. And like most people here, you may hate it. Or you may have messed up that exam and not done as well. You may not get biglaw. You may end up elsewhere. You may love it. You may hate it. But your life is your own. Not getting biglaw doesn't end your life. A family member of mine started out making $50k a year at his out of law school job and he now makes more than many biglaw partners doing something he's passionate about.

Life isn't over because you don't make it to biglaw. You can still make money in law outside of biglaw and you might even enjoy it more.(that's assuming that money is a top priority for you) Suck it up. Your life isn't over. Based on your post, it sounds like you're going to Cardozo for free (GI Bill) so you'll have options and you won't be weighed down by debt.