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I'm starting my 2L year at a lower t-14 school. My GPA is right at the median for my school, and I am on a good journal at my school that is known as a hard journal to get on, but it is not law review. I have a pretty good scholarship at my school but will still graduate with 6 figures of debt if I continue.

At OCI, I had 20 screening interviews, which is about the maximum we could get. I did about 10 interviews with large firms in NYC and then the rest where with more mid-size firms in secondary markets where I have ties. In terms of callbacks, I have had 6 so far. I did get 1 callback with a large NYC firm, but my other 5 callbacks where with the mid-size firms in secondary markets. The NYC firm didn't give me an offer, and 1 of the mid-size firms hasn't given me an offer either. I'm still waiting on results from the other 4, but I am nervous because these mid-size firms have small class sizes and so the chances of getting an offer are low.

People have told me I interview very well and so that isn't my issue. I think that what hurt me in NYC in particular and with the NYC firms I interviewed with is that I am an older, non-traditional student. I had a career before law school and I did very well in it with lots of awards, etc.. By contrast, in law school, I have just done average. I think that the NYC firms looked at my resume and concluded I am past my prime professionally since the results I have achieved in law school don't match my prior career where I was above average. In turn, this is why I think that I was stronger in more secondary markets with more mid-size firms that may not have been as concerned with that.

Anyway, I feel like the outcome of OCI is looking bad for me and there is a real chance I won't get any summer associate position. We have at my school until about the third week of September to withdraw and get around 50% of our tuition back. I am thinking at this point of staying around that long to see if I get an offer but if not I am seriously thinking of withdrawing. However, if I withdraw, I don't really know what I would do. I can't go back into my prior career at all. Plus, I like law school and would like to work at a firm. But I am worried that if I have not done well here at OCI the path to getting a job at a firm, even a more mid-size firm in a secondary market, is not certain at all, and I don't want to graduate without any job prospects and with massive debt.

Any advice would be appreciated.

How much older is older? because based on what you've said, there's no reason to think it has anything to do with you being "past your prime professionally" (why would they think that and why would only NY care?) To the extent that age is an issue, it sounds like your ties are elsewhere it's just as likely that NY may worry that you'll want to start/raise a family elsewhere.

(I say this not to nitpick but to suggest there are other possible reasons to consider, in part b/c thinking something like that about yourself could fuck with your head and case you not to do as well.)

Anyway, look at other posts here about massmailing, and do that.

zyx321 wrote:At OCI ... I did about 10 interviews with large firms in NYC and then the rest where with more mid-size firms in secondary markets where I have ties.

10 NYC screeners isn't nearly enough to be "safe" at median at a lower T14 (esp. if by "lower T14" you mean Georgetown). Absent more info, IMO that's the issue right there, not your age or your interviewing skills.

So nixy's right. Mass mail immediately, focusing on NYC first.