Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[Indigo12]

A source just revealed to me that a Prof revealed to him that the maximum allotment of DSes is 6. I thought it was top 2 or 3 in a class of 80. But 6/80 is basically treating it as a "top 10%" grade, rather than tippy top.

Also, of the people I know who had ~2 DSes after the fall, the only common denominator is that they devote much more time & effort into studying, not only come exam time but throughout the semester. Don't go out much, but no one who's the Simpsons' Martin either.

That is, you don't see them much but when you do, you'd never suspect they're different from anyone else. No one really sticks out as "if anyone has more than a couple DSes, I bet it's this person"; rather, it's more "you can tell who really puts in the time and effort."

And it's right that they be rewarded in the end, but at this level, with no real reason to say anyone's more talented than anyone else, does it pretty much just come down to hours put in and level of devotion?

[lawschool22]

A source just revealed to me that a Prof revealed to him that the maximum allotment of DSes is 6. I thought it was top 2 or 3 in a class of 80. But 6/80 is basically treating it as a "top 10%" grade, rather than tippy top.

Also, of the people I know who had ~2 DSes after the fall, the only common denominator is that they devote much more time & effort into studying, not only come exam time but throughout the semester. Don't go out much, but no one who's the Simpsons' Martin either.

That is, you don't see them much but when you do, you'd never suspect they're different from anyone else. No one really sticks out as "if anyone has more than a couple DSes, I bet it's this person"; rather, it's more "you can tell who really puts in the time and effort."

And it's right that they be rewarded in the end, but at this level, with no real reason to say anyone's more talented than anyone else, does it pretty much just come down to hours put in and level of devotion?

I have not been surprised when I find out who has DS's. But that's always in retrospect. There are people without DS's who I could easily see getting them. They're a little fluky, in that you can put in a lot of work and not get one, or put in comparatively less work and get one because you said something the prof particularly liked. I think generally that DS exams are more about writing to your specific prof than they are about working super hard. At the end of the day I don't think they're easy to predict, and it doesn't always come down to hours out in.

[nothingtosee]

It's Thursday. I was told there would be grades.

[tomwatts]

This afternoon. And, again, only necessarily for 3Ls. 2Ls should have some/most but not necessarily all, and 1Ls may have their elective but that is all.

Also, degree audit tends to update before the transcript does, so that's an early (like, a few minutes early) warning if you're sitting on Helios and reloading (which you shouldn't).

[despina]

Also, degree audit tends to update before the transcript does, so that's an early (like, a few minutes early) warning if you're sitting on Helios and reloading (which you shouldn't).

Hmm. My degree audit has updated but no grades yet. Looks like I'm going to graduate!

[nothingtosee]

How's the grade audit work? I have yellow in progress next to three of my courses but a red x next to "upper level elective"

[zor]

How's the grade audit work? I have yellow in progress next to three of my courses but a red x next to "upper level elective"

It's pretty much what it says on the tin--in progress means you're currently enrolled (but have not yet received a grade) for a course that satisfies the requirement. I assume you're a 1L, so if you haven't done any upper level electives (i.e. are not a 2L/3L), they're red.

[lawschool22]

PSA: Some grades are up.

[despina]

Latin Honors are also up: https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/registrar/ ... in-honors/ (login required)

[anon903817]

GRADES OMG OMG OMG...

OK so Lisa Burns's email is confusing as hell to me. it says "we have released all finalized spring grades for UPPER level courses only and will continue to post grades as they are submitted/finalized each day by 3PM." i don't get how the first part of that sentence doesn't contradict the second part. I guess it means "we've released the grades that are 'finalized'"? That's no help since I don't know which of my grades are 'finalized' except by seeing which ones are posted - they might as well say "we've released the grades we've released."

Anyway, does anyone know how long it generally takes for the rest of the upper level grades to be released? Is it in the next few days, or does it drag out for a few weeks?

[bipbip]

Hi all, 3L here, does anyone have a guess as to what the 50th percentile GPA is (approximately)? I am just curious if I finished in the top half of the class (finished with approx a 3.45).

[Searchparty]

GRADES OMG OMG OMG...

OK so Lisa Burns's email is confusing as hell to me. it says "we have released all finalized spring grades for UPPER level courses only and will continue to post grades as they are submitted/finalized each day by 3PM." i don't get how the first part of that sentence doesn't contradict the second part. I guess it means "we've released the grades that are 'finalized'"? That's no help since I don't know which of my grades are 'finalized' except by seeing which ones are posted - they might as well say "we've released the grades we've released."

Anyway, does anyone know how long it generally takes for the rest of the upper level grades to be released? Is it in the next few days, or does it drag out for a few weeks?

Some professors are slower than others. If there's no grade, then they are not finalized. If there's a grade, it's finalized.

[nothingtosee]

BTW what does Upper Level even mean?

[despina]

BTW what does Upper Level even mean?

2L / 3L

[despina]

Hi all, 3L here, does anyone have a guess as to what the 50th percentile GPA is (approximately)? I am just curious if I finished in the top half of the class (finished with approx a 3.45).

Common wisdom seems to be that cum laude cutoff (top 40%) is usually around 3.5 or slightly higher. Don't know much about the distribution beyond that, but it would be plausible that 3.45 is right around the 50th percentile.

[nothingtosee]

BTW what does Upper Level even mean?

2L / 3L

So what about, like Antitrust that has all three years

[despina]

BTW what does Upper Level even mean?

2L / 3L

So what about, like Antitrust that has all three years

Right.

If you take antitrust as your 1L elective, then it counts as your 1L elective.

If you take it as a 2L or 3L, then it counts toward your upper level classroom credits.

[PotenC]

How feasible is Texas biglaw during EIP with no ties at all to the state, but with a compelling reason? Assuming 1L summer is spent elsewhere too.

[TripTrip]

How feasible is Texas biglaw during EIP with no ties at all to the state, but with a compelling reason? Assuming 1L summer is spent elsewhere too.

If you didn't go to Texas for 1L summer it's going to be hard to back up that compelling reason. Most Texas 2L SAs were SAs at a Texas firm during 1L summer.

[TripTrip]

BTW what does Upper Level even mean?

2L / 3L

So what about, like Antitrust that has all three years

"Upper level" in this context (and really all of law school) just refers to your class year, not the class itself.

[tomwatts]

Hi all, 3L here, does anyone have a guess as to what the 50th percentile GPA is (approximately)? I am just curious if I finished in the top half of the class (finished with approx a 3.45).

For various reasons, it is thought that the average 1L grades are around 3-4 H's and the rest P's. It is also thought that the median is somewhat below the average, but not by much. It is also suspected that grades are slightly, but not by much, higher for upper-level years than for 1L year. Put that together with the Latin honors anecdata (cum laude cutoff is near 3.5 or so) and I'd expect the 3-year median to be roughly 3.4. But there's a lot of speculation in that estimate.

[TripTrip]

It is also thought that the median is somewhat below the average, but not by much.

The median is certainly lower than the mean.

Edit months later: I was wrong here. The median is actually higher than the mean.

[bogm2012]

Hi all, 3L here, does anyone have a guess as to what the 50th percentile GPA is (approximately)? I am just curious if I finished in the top half of the class (finished with approx a 3.45).

For various reasons, it is thought that the average 1L grades are around 3-4 H's and the rest P's. It is also thought that the median is somewhat below the average, but not by much. It is also suspected that grades are slightly, but not by much, higher for upper-level years than for 1L year. Put that together with the Latin honors anecdata (cum laude cutoff is near 3.5 or so) and I'd expect the 3-year median to be roughly 3.4. But there's a lot of speculation in that estimate.

Cum laude cutoff is higher than 3.5. Probably at least 3.6. I am a 3L and had a 3.58 and didn't make the cut.

[PaulThePrestigious]

where is magna cum laude/cum laude cut off?

[KaNa1986]

The fact that professors can give up to 6 DS's in each 80-person class doesn't mean professors actually give 6 (especially since the maximum was 2 before the restriction was lifted). What is the median number of DS's graduating 3L's have?