1L at NYU OCI chances Forum

[bigapple1L]

URM at NYU. I did ok last semester (A-, A-, B+), but got already have a B- in class this semester. Not really sure what happened there and it will forever haunt me. My other grade so far is an A-.

Any NYU students know what my chances are at a top 30 firm? Not necessarily after the "name," but I also understand that names can foster opportunities later on in life.

[axel.foley]

Also at NYU. Did you attend the OCS event where they discussed GPA cutoffs? I would wait for your final grade, calculate your GPA, base your bid list on those cutoffs, and then submit to OCS to review (I think the deadline is next week, it's in the email sent earlier today). That should give you a good idea of where you stand. From what I know, you should be OK for lower half of Top 30 and definitely firms outside that. URM will definitely help. Maybe also start looking at firms further down the rankings but that are well respected in your desired practice area?

[bigapple1L]

Also at NYU. Did you attend the OCS event where they discussed GPA cutoffs? I would wait for your final grade, calculate your GPA, base your bid list on those cutoffs, and then submit to OCS to review (I think the deadline is next week, it's in the email sent earlier today). That should give you a good idea of where you stand. From what I know, you should be OK for lower half of Top 30 and definitely firms outside that. URM will definitely help. Maybe also start looking at firms further down the rankings but that are well respected in your desired practice area?

Thanks so much for your reply! Very helpful. I didn't finish my bid list in time for the review, so kind of screwed there. My final grades for second semester were: A-, B, B-. So it was sharp drop from first semester and my grades are all over the place. Hoping to get in somewhere!

[VyingDestiny]

Firms do not think of you as a 'URM'. That is a law school thing. You will find that some firms care more about minority recruitment and retention than others. You will also find that some firms care more about recruiting certain minorities than others. Anyway, looking at your grades, be prepared to discuss the B-, but otherwise, you're above the cutoff for most firms. You're above median; you will do fine.

And because I'm just exhausted from seeing people misapply the URM tag, I'll say this: if you're black, and you interview well, you'll be raining in offers. If you're not black, bid slightly conservatively, work on your interviewing, and you will be raining in offers.