Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[Nom Sawyer]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

u got a lot longer to wait lol

[nixxers]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

u got a lot longer to wait lol

well yeah but how much longer

[ph14]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

I'd guess last week in June or so? LR Packet said something about the registrar sends over the grades to the LR by the 2nd week in July, and i'd imagine that it takes them a little bit to do that.

[ph14]

So does anyone have any idea at all about the curve?

[englawyer]

So does anyone have any idea at all about the curve?

this has been discussed elsewhere (search function maybe)? but a few datapoints (for the year).

if grades were evenly distributed, median would be 3.7 H (37%). since there is skewing in the data (clusters of H), the median is lower. probably in the vicinity of 2-3 H.

cutoffs for magna have apparently been around 3.9 or 4. if that applies to 1L, it means you need 9 or 10 H for top 10% (DS can cancel out P of course).

[ph14]

So does anyone have any idea at all about the curve?

this has been discussed elsewhere (search function maybe)? but a few datapoints (for the year).

if grades were evenly distributed, median would be 3.7 H (37%). since there is skewing in the data (clusters of H), the median is lower. probably in the vicinity of 2-3 H.

cutoffs for magna have apparently been around 3.9 or 4. if that applies to 1L, it means you need 9 or 10 H for top 10% (DS can cancel out P of course).

Don't people's GPAs generally go up after 2L and 3L though too?

Edit: The implication being that perhaps the top 10% cutoff would be lower than 3.9 or 4.0 after 1L

[tomwatts]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

In the fall, the last exam was on December 19th, and grades came out on January 26. Following the same timing, given that the last spring exam was on May 9th, we'd expect a grade release around June 16th.

Back in the day, grade release dates were on the academic calendar (LinkRemoved), and for an exam period ending on May 15th, expected release was June 17th.

Last year, they apparently came out on June 8th, and earlier in that topic, it was suggested that the year before, they came out on June 7th.

So my call is that this year grades will be released somewhere between June 6th and June 15th, probably earlier in that window (say, June 6th-8th).

[englawyer]

Don't people's GPAs generally go up after 2L and 3L though too?

Edit: The implication being that perhaps the top 10% cutoff would be lower than 3.9 or 4.0 after 1L

that sounds right. more just an estimate/guide...its too bad the registrar/ocs/admin is so secretive about this stuff.

i would not be surprised if its not much lower though. if you are a rockstar/exam-master capable of top 10% , it is unlikely you will fall out of the top 37% on any given exam.

[delusional]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

In the fall, the last exam was on December 19th, and grades came out on January 26. Following the same timing, given that the last spring exam was on May 9th, we'd expect a grade release around June 16th.

Back in the day, grade release dates were on the academic calendar (LinkRemoved), and for an exam period ending on May 15th, expected release was June 17th.

Last year, they apparently came out on June 8th, and earlier in that topic, it was suggested that the year before, they came out on June 7th.

So my call is that this year grades will be released somewhere between June 6th and June 15th, probably earlier in that window (say, June 6th-8th).

Oh wow, I interpreted the LR thing to mean that they wouldn't come out until July. That's awesome!

[delusional]

hey guys, I'm already here (lawl) but does anyone know when we get our spring grades? I've been having shameful gunnery stress dreams and it's only been a week

I had a dream last night that my doctor (GP) was a visiting professor, and he co-taught a class with an actual professor. I bumped into him in the hallway, and asked if he had seen my paper, and perhaps had a chance to grade it. He had not seen it. I opened my laptop, and showed the paper to him. He scanned it briefly, and said, "Yeah, this is, um, what's the third level - not the award one, and not the higher level?" "P?" I asked. "Yeah," he said. "This gets a P." I spent the rest of the dream wondering how I could complain to the actual professor that he had barely perused my paper before giving it a P. I did not arrive at a solution. Well, I suppose it could have been worse.

[echamberlin8]

No, I don't think it's worth it for biglaw. You learn everything on the job. As for non-legal exit options: Moving to consulting or i-banking after starting in biglaw is really difficult, and you shouldn't plan your degree around it. If you want to work at McKinsey, you're much better off summering there and starting after graduation than trying to transition from biglaw (not sure why you would do this anyways, since you would probably make less and work just as hard).

At the end of the day, you need to decide whether you want a career in law or consulting. It will be very difficult to have it both ways.

Thank you for the response. Yeah, I don't think I ultimately want to work in consulting. I probably won't end up going for the JD/MBA, but like others say, it doesn't hurt to apply. I probably will just stick with the plan to focus on law school, but if I do happen to get into a great B-school, consider it.

I appreciate everyone's help in this thread! It's a great resource. I'm going up to visit HLS in the beginning of June, since I will be visiting my brother in Boston. I've been to Harvard several times before, but I've never focused on the law school before. Is it right by the main campus?

[094320]

..

[thederangedwang]

Is it even remotely worth it to bring a car?

[094320]

..

[thederangedwang]

Is it even remotely worth it to bring a car?

The people I know who brought it seem to enjoy it, but also tend to have a significant other who uses it to get to work. I have a parking space up for rent across from the law school if anyone wants it.

how much? and also by your estimation, what % of incoming 1L has a car?

[094320]

..

[concurrent fork]

Is it even remotely worth it to bring a car?

The people I know who brought it seem to enjoy it, but also tend to have a significant other who uses it to get to work. I have a parking space up for rent across from the law school if anyone wants it.

Yeah it really depends on your situation. I brought my car, but I also live with my SO. We cook every night (lots of grocery shopping) and visit friends/family around New England on weekends. If I was a single dude from California I probably wouldn't have my car here.

[delusional]

Is it even remotely worth it to bring a car?

The people I know who brought it seem to enjoy it, but also tend to have a significant other who uses it to get to work. I have a parking space up for rent across from the law school if anyone wants it.

how much? and also by your estimation, what % of incoming 1L has a car?

If I had to guess, I would say 10-15%. And that includes people with families and SOs who commute, etc.

[englawyer]

keep in mind that if you have a Somerville or Cambridge off-campus apartment, you can qualify for residential on street parking for a low annual fee (like $30). this is pretty doable depending on the neighborhood you end up in

[thederangedwang]

keep in mind that if you have a Somerville or Cambridge off-campus apartment, you can qualify for residential on street parking for a low annual fee (like $30). this is pretty doable depending on the neighborhood you end up in

im gonna be in a huh housing complex...does that count? and i guess i need to re-register as a mass resident

[snailio]

So does anyone have any idea at all about the curve?

this has been discussed elsewhere (search function maybe)? but a few datapoints (for the year).

if grades were evenly distributed, median would be 3.7 H (37%). since there is skewing in the data (clusters of H), the median is lower. probably in the vicinity of 2-3 H.

cutoffs for magna have apparently been around 3.9 or 4. if that applies to 1L, it means you need 9 or 10 H for top 10% (DS can cancel out P of course).

Don't people's GPAs generally go up after 2L and 3L though too?

Edit: The implication being that perhaps the top 10% cutoff would be lower than 3.9 or 4.0 after 1L

I would agree that most likely 2L is higher, but for 3L's a lot of people are tired and think the third year is a waste of time and just want to be working. You also have the additional problem of 2L's who are still trying to make things happen, and since you now share some classes they tend to infringe on the curve.

[roranoa]

I'm not sure if this is something you guys (mostly students) can answer
but I'll shoot anyway.

Do you think it matters where someone worked before law school?

I mean, I've heard that people who went to prestigious consulting/investment firms are seen favorably but what about the rest who just had simple office jobs at some place you never heard about. Let's say, a department store at some place or some type of trading company, or maybe a paper company like Dunder Milflin(not real)?

Do you guys think law firms care about the name of the company you worked at before law school? (or even the type of work?)

[concurrent fork]

I'm not sure if this is something you guys (mostly students) can answer
but I'll shoot anyway.

Do you think it matters where someone worked before law school?

I mean, I've heard that people who went to prestigious consulting/investment firms are seen favorably but what about the rest who just had simple office jobs at some place you never heard about. Let's say, a department store at some place or some type of trading company, or maybe a paper company like Dunder Milflin(not real)?

Do you guys think law firms care about the name of the company you worked at before law school? (or even the type of work?)

In my experience, for non-IP biglaw, it's something like:

i-banking >> MBB consulting >>>>>>>>> military >> any other "real" job (most office jobs, paralegal, TFA etc) >>>>>>>>>>>> Starbucks/Macy's >>> K-JD.

So the majority of post-college jobs are seen as roughly equivalent. However, this is a huge generalization and certain firms and practice areas may have their own preferences.

[vanwinkle]

I'm not sure if this is something you guys (mostly students) can answer
but I'll shoot anyway.

Do you think it matters where someone worked before law school?

I mean, I've heard that people who went to prestigious consulting/investment firms are seen favorably but what about the rest who just had simple office jobs at some place you never heard about. Let's say, a department store at some place or some type of trading company, or maybe a paper company like Dunder Milflin(not real)?

Do you guys think law firms care about the name of the company you worked at before law school? (or even the type of work?)

The answer, as it is so often in law, is: It depends. I'll name two factors it frequently depends on, though.

1) It depends on the firm/employer. Some law firms care about hiring people with years of work experience generally, which means that even a couple years of barista experience at Starbucks will give you even a slight edge over someone with the same or even slightly higher grades and no work experience at all. (We're comparing H students here, so "which school you attend" isn't a factor.) Other firms may care more only about financial or management experience, or otherwise let grades or other factors trump work experience. Even among V20 BigLaw firms, there's variation in this.

2) It can vary by job title/description. A shift manager at Starbucks has a better resume line than a barista does, because they can claim to be a "manager" of some sort. Likewise, someone who is an assistant manager or department lead employee at a Dunder Mifflin office will look better than someone who stayed just an entry-level employee in the same department.

[DoubleChecks]

There are also a number of V10 schools that do not care about your prior pre-lawschool work experience (assuming you have SOME sort of work experience like interning at x). Plenty of friends got V10 and V20 jobs with median grades, K-JD. I'd focus some on not being a horrible interviewer. I apologize for the anecdotal evidence -- I just wouldn't start worrying if you don't have real work experience.