Top Law Schools

I know that in the old days, they used to list 3.48 on the transcripts. Since the grade change however, it appears that top 1/4 after three semesters is 3.58. That said, I remember reading about how at Cornell (which uses a similar grading mechanism) grades tend to peak after the third semester and drop a little by graduation. My (purely speculative) guess, is that top 1/4 is around 3.53-55, but I would appreciate it if anyone could substantiate it.

As an aside, I understand why UVA doesn't release class rank, but it doesn't make sense that they don't release relative percentiles, as this would be helpful when applying to judges who directly ask "where does this put you in your class."

Thoughts?

As a matter of fact, yes. See here.

ETA: leaked 2014 data gives you a pretty good ideal of entire distribution as well.

TheOnePercent wrote:As a matter of fact, yes. See here.

ETA: leaked 2014 data gives you a pretty good ideal of entire distribution as well.

Right, but that was after 3 semesters. Like I said, if Cornell is any indication, grades tend to drop come graduation time

Regression to the mean for the win. It also helps that a lot of people just don't care during 3L and take clinics that give out all B+'s.

TFALAWL wrote:

TheOnePercent wrote:As a matter of fact, yes. See here.

ETA: leaked 2014 data gives you a pretty good ideal of entire distribution as well.

Right, but that was after 3 semesters. Like I said, if Cornell is any indication, grades tend to drop come graduation time

How does that happen? At Northwestern, grades go through the roof after 1L. I would assume it has a lot to do with elective grading policies.