WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[sublime]

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[hoos89]

Sections C and D are the only ones who don't have him, since E and F have him his semester. Yay. Watch the top 5% be exclusively C and D.

Don't worry. Maybe he'll overcorrect and make the exam this semester absurdly difficult.

[KunAgnis]

Yeah that's pretty ridiculous. I guess it's possible that no exams separated themselves from the pack (and that a higher score could have been obtained), but that's the lowest Cali I've ever heard of so it seems weird regardless.

Bit late on this-but I was in that section (A and B had the same prof). And let me tell you, that exam was ridiculously easy; objectively easy since we had 10 CALI's. This prof completely screwed over A and B's scores compared to the rest of the 1L class.

I'll be interested to see the grade distribution. Those 10 people, I feel, have something of a gripe, but the section at large should be fine, since a CALI set that low means everyone should be pretty clustered right around that 3.55 mark. No one got a super high grade, sure, but because of that no one should make a super low one, either.

There's no way that one class should have 10 CALIs.

But yea, it sucks for anybody shooting for top 10% or better. Especially first semester, those sections are at a disadvantage for those types of grades compared to other sections where you had the opportunity to get a 4.0+ in every class.

If the Property class had a more spread out distribution and I placed in a similar place again, I would've ended up in top 10%; obviously it's hard to know how the distribution would have looked like if it was harder (or if I would have done well) but honestly, I got an A in one 4 credit class and CALI in another, and feel my performance in Property was absurdly different from those grades. Just my two cents.

[georgej]

Holy shit that's an unconscionably low spot for Cali's to be dished out at. Especially when you add in the fact that certain other professors routinely drop at least a couple 4.24+ grades each semester. Like, a tight curve is one thing, but come on. If that's allowed they need to abolish grades over 4.0 across the board. You could still get grade differentiation if you let profs give grades in .1 increments instead of .6's.

[hoos89]

Holy shit that's an unconscionably low spot for Cali's to be dished out at. Especially when you add in the fact that certain other professors routinely drop at least a couple 4.24+ grades each semester. Like, a tight curve is one thing, but come on. If that's allowed they need to abolish grades over 4.0 across the board. You could still get grade differentiation if you let profs give grades in .1 increments instead of .6's.

If they didn't change the grade range, then you'd just be reducing the number of gradation points, which would probably cause more clumping/less differentiation. Also lopping off all grades above 4.3 would do the same thing and prevent people at the top from really getting rewarded. It would also be ridiculous to just give people who didn't really differentiate themselves really high grades. The problem with that class is just (apparently) that the exam was too easy, and nothing could be done to the grading system to fix that. You could make it a DIFFERENT problem by changing the grading scale to a more typical letter grade system because you'd be rewarding a bunch of people A's for doing well on a super easy exam, whereas their peers in other sections had to perform well on a difficult exam.

[georgej]

Holy shit that's an unconscionably low spot for Cali's to be dished out at. Especially when you add in the fact that certain other professors routinely drop at least a couple 4.24+ grades each semester. Like, a tight curve is one thing, but come on. If that's allowed they need to abolish grades over 4.0 across the board. You could still get grade differentiation if you let profs give grades in .1 increments instead of .6's.

If they didn't change the grade range, then you'd just be reducing the number of gradation points, which would probably cause more clumping/less differentiation. Also lopping off all grades above 4.3 would do the same thing and prevent people at the top from really getting rewarded. It would also be ridiculous to just give people who didn't really differentiate themselves really high grades. The problem with that class is just (apparently) that the exam was too easy, and nothing could be done to the grading system to fix that. You could make it a DIFFERENT problem by changing the grading scale to a more typical letter grade system because you'd be rewarding a bunch of people A's for doing well on a super easy exam, whereas their peers in other sections had to perform well on a difficult exam.

I guess what I meant is that lopping off the scale above 4.0 would prevent the problem of an overly easy test from being exacerbated because in comparison to those in the other sections, the people getting 3.76's wouldn't be as disadvantaged (i.e. they'd only be .24 lower than them, not .54 lower). The top people in the other sections would still be at the very top, tho.

[hoos89]

Yeah but being at the very top in a class still wouldn't reward you as much. Also this is the only time this has happened in a 1L doctrinal possibly ever so probably not something that needs a systemic fix. Just teach that prof how to write an exam or get rid of him.

[PeanutsNJam]

Just lol. this 3.76 professor? On the syllabus, for the semester, he has literally assigned pages 75-1009 in the casebook. He has skipped ~100 pages. What kind of law professor assigns that much material. It's guaranteed he can't get through all of it. I asked a classmate if he has a policy where if he doesn't talk about it, it's not on the exam. Nope.

Things he doesn't address in class may be on the exam.

Seriously what is this guy.

[hoos89]

That's like 20 pages a night. Really not that crazy.

[Jay2716]

Yeah that doesn't seem like a rediculous workload. I've had at least one class a semester with that much reading.

[Sprout]

I'm filling out the registration online for Out-of-Town Externships next year, and there is a space/box called "Statement Of Interest in the Chosen Clinic". Jw if anyone has experience with this, how long should it be? Do I really need to write something thorough or is it more of a brief sort of thing? Obviously don't want to slack on it and have that be a reason for not getting the externship, but I also feel like if they wanted us to write a thorough statement there would be an Upload File feature as opposed to a tiny little box for text.

[LET'S GET IT]

I'm filling out the registration online for Out-of-Town Externships next year, and there is a space/box called "Statement Of Interest in the Chosen Clinic". Jw if anyone has experience with this, how long should it be? Do I really need to write something thorough or is it more of a brief sort of thing? Obviously don't want to slack on it and have that be a reason for not getting the externship, but I also feel like if they wanted us to write a thorough statement there would be an Upload File feature as opposed to a tiny little box for text.

Wrote two paragraphs. Got first choice clinic.

[Sprout]

I'm filling out the registration online for Out-of-Town Externships next year, and there is a space/box called "Statement Of Interest in the Chosen Clinic". Jw if anyone has experience with this, how long should it be? Do I really need to write something thorough or is it more of a brief sort of thing? Obviously don't want to slack on it and have that be a reason for not getting the externship, but I also feel like if they wanted us to write a thorough statement there would be an Upload File feature as opposed to a tiny little box for text.

Wrote two paragraphs. Got first choice clinic.

Wasn't sure what the baseline for this was. Thanks!

[sublime]

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[chingwoo]

Fuck. Why do 2ls like to talk in class so much.

Keeps me awake.

[PeanutsNJam]

2ls go to class?

[monceau]

Question from a 0L who's currently waitlisted: is there any discernible advantage for me to go to WUSTL over schools with comparable employment stats like BU/BC/GW/Fordham? $ isn't an object (parents) , and I ultimately want to end up in NYC/DC/maybe Boston

[Fiero85]

Question from a 0L who's currently waitlisted: is there any discernible advantage for me to go to WUSTL over schools with comparable employment stats like BU/BC/GW/Fordham? $ isn't an object (parents) , and I ultimately want to end up in NYC/DC/maybe Boston

If money isn't an issue and your GPA is 3.7+: retake, T6.

If money isn't an issue and your GPA is 3.3+: retake, T14

If money isn't an issue and your GPA is bad, then WUSTL might make sense. But probably not the best option otherwise.

Edit to add: BC/BU are probably better for Boston than WUSTL, Fordham is mayyybe better for NYC than WUSTL. GW is probably better for DC than WUSTL. But that's not the point. "Money not being an issue" means you should be aiming for Cornell or GULC or higher, considering your NY/DC/Boston goals.

[PeanutsNJam]

Yeah, if you're waitlisted at WUSTL, please retake. At least come here with a fully scholly, and ask your parents to cover COL, a nice car, and a ton of nice clothes. They'll be saving tons of money, you'll be living in luxury for at least 3 years, win win.

[MtheG]

2L here, can anyone give TIPs/Advice about Badawi corps exam, Rosenzweig IBT, or Jackson complex lit?

[hoos89]

My memory of that exam is that it's part MC, part essay (can't remember the exact proportion, maybe 1/3 MC). The MC are tough, but they're not like Rosen's where he'll literally put 2 correct answers. I think he said that the top scorer only got about 2/3 of them correct so bear that in mind. Read them carefully, but don't let the MC cut into your essay time. The word count on the essay is meaningful: be judicious with your words. I know for his contracts exam there was a very well buried issue, but I think the corporations exam was more straightforward, and I'm guessing that is more because of the relative lack to go on. I remember feeling like I was missing a lot, but it turned out that the exam just wasn't quite as deep as I expected (based on my experience with his contracts exam).

Also if he said that something won't be tested on the essay portion, don't spend any space talking about that thing on the essay. He won't give you points for it, and you'll make it tougher to fit in everything else within the word count.

[RareExports]

Question from a 0L who's currently waitlisted: is there any discernible advantage for me to go to WUSTL over schools with comparable employment stats like BU/BC/GW/Fordham? $ isn't an object (parents) , and I ultimately want to end up in NYC/DC/maybe Boston

No. The only advantage (particularly if you want NYC/DC/Boston) WUSTL has over those schools is $ and a) you won't get any/much off of the waitlist and b) money doesn't seem like an issue for you anyway.

[PeanutsNJam]

do I have to stop using the oxford comma

[hoos89]

Question from a 0L who's currently waitlisted: is there any discernible advantage for me to go to WUSTL over schools with comparable employment stats like BU/BC/GW/Fordham? $ isn't an object (parents) , and I ultimately want to end up in NYC/DC/maybe Boston

No. The only advantage (particularly if you want NYC/DC/Boston) WUSTL has over those schools is $ and a) you won't get any/much off of the waitlist and b) money doesn't seem like an issue for you anyway.

I've heard of some pretty solid scholarships off the waitlist in past cycles, but otherwise I agree. That said, unless your parents are just bursting at the seams with cash I still think money should enter your consideration at least somewhat. If they're delaying or jeopardizing their retirement for you to go to law school then money is an object.

[mjs289]

0L here for a question. Got admission with full scholly (Dean's Fellowship), so I'm considering WUSTL as an option. I've skimmed through this thread and seems like many are not recommending WUSTL for big law. I'm uncertain of employment prospects, so would like some words.

My background & goal are...
Background:
- Have citizenship, but international; no ties to St.Louis whatsoever.
- Engineering major(non-EE), but have MS degree
- Parents say they will fund for law school, but obviously they will have to burn their retirement savings. I'm not happy with it, so money is an issue.

Goal:
- IP law, patent in particular. Plan to pass Patent Bar while in school.
- Preference in order: IP BL/big IP boutiques - IP department in (non-IP)BL - mid IP firms/boutiques - IP department in (non-IP)mid firms
- Transferring to Asia (primary reason for preferring BL; they are likely to have a branch in Asia). Willing to work in the States for several years, with no strong regional preference. Probably won't like NY, but think any locations (like CA, D.C., Chicago etc.) will be fine. St. Louis will be fine as well, it's just I'll need to make a transfer to another firm to achieve my goal.

Given above circumstances, would you recommend choosing WUSTL?? I know even though it is difficult to get into BL from WUSTL, but given my IP eligibility and the fact that my BL preference is IP BL, I want to see how my future prospects will be by heading to WUSTL. Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks!