UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[Br3v]

Do we not get the email about grades being posted anymore? Or was that just a 1L thing? Also, re: professors who also taught a 1L course, is it safe to assume our grades will come back later b/c they turn in the 1L grades before an earlier deadline?

[Yardbird]

Do we not get the email about grades being posted anymore? Or was that just a 1L thing? Also, re: professors who also taught a 1L course, is it safe to assume our grades will come back later b/c they turn in the 1L grades before an earlier deadline?

One of my grade notifications came the day it posted to SIS at 10:00 AM EST. The other grade notification came today at around 3:15 PM EST for a grade that posted to SIS 3 days ago. From what I can see, the grade notification email only comes when the course evaluations are posted, but grades might be up earlier (as much as 3 days early in my case).

[sprezz]

balnave PR grades are in and i just want to echo all the wonderful things that have been said about this class. what a delightful experience! 11/10 would take every semester if they let me. FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS TAKE COHEN

[envisciguy]

balnave PR grades are in and i just want to echo all the wonderful things that have been said about this class. what a delightful experience! 11/10 would take every semester if they let me. FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS TAKE COHEN

After seeing my grade I'll echo that sentiment. Another tip though: DO NOT BUY THE BOOK.

I wasted around $200 on the book and stopped reading after the first day. Went to class, took fewer notes and paid less attention than any class I've taken in law school and somehow still did well. I'm convinced you could get a B+ even if you never show up to class.

Made all the sweeter by listening to my friends in Cohen's and Stone's classes complain about the securities cases they covered in class.

[Chrysogonus]

if you like abraham you're fine; if you don't like abraham or are gunning for a 4.0 get out of both of them

Hypothetically, if you are gunning for a 4.0, what are some classes you should be taking (that don't have a heavy B+ curve)?

[daleearnhardt123]

if you like abraham you're fine; if you don't like abraham or are gunning for a 4.0 get out of both of them

Hypothetically, if you are gunning for a 4.0, what are some classes you should be taking (that don't have a heavy B+ curve)?

Ignore all the drivel the B+ chasers are spewing about Balnave.

[sprezz]

actually, i'd take balnave if i were gunning for max grades (in the long term) because the floor is 2 credits of a 3.3 with zero effort outside of the final itself and there's still upside to hit a 3.7 with that same zero effort. the difference between 2 credits @ 3.3 and those same 2 credits @ 4.0 is nothing on your cumulative gpa -- it's the difference between a cumulative 4.0 and a 3.9825 at graduation, or a 3.95 at the end of 1L spring. and that's pure ceiling vs pure floor. you have to take PR credits at some point; i'd rather capture that floor and reallocate that time to other classes.

to the actual question, i'd focus less on curves given the new inflation policy and more on picking a strategy for each semester and executing it. your 1L fall grades were amazing? keep taking exam courses. you've got years of competitive public speaking experience? get in the oral argument-y classes. your LRW teacher told you you're hot shit? get in the classes that have you write a brief as a final. philosophy major? schauer/simmons. etcetcetc

[cfr1225]

if you like abraham you're fine; if you don't like abraham or are gunning for a 4.0 get out of both of them

Hypothetically, if you are gunning for a 4.0, what are some classes you should be taking (that don't have a heavy B+ curve)?

You might be interested in these courses: http://hls.harvard.edu/academics/curric ... index.html

(Half joking)

[daleearnhardt123]

actually, i'd take balnave if i were gunning for max grades (in the long term) because the floor is 2 credits of a 3.3 with zero effort outside of the final itself and there's still upside to hit a 3.7 with that same zero effort. the difference between 2 credits @ 3.3 and those same 2 credits @ 4.0 is nothing on your cumulative gpa -- it's the difference between a cumulative 4.0 and a 3.9825 at graduation, or a 3.95 at the end of 1L spring. and that's pure ceiling vs pure floor. you have to take PR credits at some point; i'd rather capture that floor and reallocate that time to other classes.

Balnave best case scenario: 2 credits A-. Worst case: 2 credits B+.
Cohen best case scenario: 3 credits A+. Worse case: 3 credits A- (and, if you're doing what you're supposed to do, even an A- is pushing it as a worst case). How Balnave is the appropriate choice for someone gunning for top grades is a mystery.

The only thing I can understand your argument to suggest is that you can, maybe, skate by in Balnave's with no effort and get an A-. You'll have done no work, and this way you can devote your attention to other classes in which you can more easily make As. But the problem with this argument is that no gunner punts on one class to do better in the others. That's antithetical to the whole idea of gunning. An A- (or, a 3.7) is beneath the cut-off required to make Law Review. What gunner is going to willingly accept an A-?

[Lions1913]

..

[Br3v]

Balnave best case scenario: 2 credits A-. Worst case: 2 credits B+.
Cohen best case scenario: 3 credits A+. Worse case: 3 credits A- (and, if you're doing what you're supposed to do, even an A- is pushing it as a worst case). How Balnave is the appropriate choice for someone gunning for top grades is a mystery.

Wait, how is a worse case scenario an A-?

[5ky]

If you want/need a 4.0 for scotus/feeder purposes, taking a heavy B+ course is a bad idea. For private practice purposes, it doesn't matter, esp as a 2L/3L.

But if you're scotus gunning, by this point you likely should have lined up several mentors to better guide you through the process than TLS

Personally, I took PR with Hylton and got an A with relatively little work compared to my other classes. I'm sure I way overdid it compared to my peers, though. Not that I was clerkship gunning or anything, though

[sprezz]

to pivot off the point i made above and say something more generally helpful: heavy b+ curves here aren't the same that they were even 3 years ago.

you'd expect the median grade in any given elective class to sit right around 3.4 now. the teacher can give nearly 2 a- for every 5 b+'s now, where under the old policy going 1/7 a- required 1/7 flat b (or a lower proportion with worse grades). so not only does this flip old b's into a-'s, the average teacher is going to be more willing to spend those 2/7 on above curve grades because there's no downside... they don't need to offset them with below curve grades.

conventional wisdom of avoiding b+ heavy classes if you need to raise your grades didn't come from distributions of <5% below median, ~70% median, and ~30% above median. but that's how a rational teacher would allocate a "heavy" curve in an elective now. and while anecdotal evidence on any specific class will be weak this early into the process, the ruth mason precinct has submitted some damn strong support that this is exactly what's going on

unless you have been christened into the preftigious clerk development program (and i thought that happened at the end of 1L spring?), there's no need to avoid these classes just because you're trying to improve your grades.

[5ky]

I keep forgetting you guys have that new median for each class based on GPA thing.

[sprezz]

i don't

[chem]

Hi all,
I know the answer will differ for each person, but on average, how much of 2L SA salaries do people put towards debt? Assume an NYC or other major market salary.

0. And I'm paying sticker.

[Lions1913]

.

[chem]

Hi all,
I know the answer will differ for each person, but on average, how much of 2L SA salaries do people put towards debt? Assume an NYC or other major market salary.

0. And I'm paying sticker.

Why 0? Don't you make something like 30k?

20k after taxes. I'm going to go on the PAYE system, so above a certain number my debt level really just means that 10% of my income is going away. In 20 years, when its forgiven, that 20k will be 37k in taxes. Assuming that there is absolutely no inflation, I am borrowing that money at 3 percent. 20k now goes a lot farther in improving my quality of life than I assume it will when Im in my 40s. So I spend it now

[santoki]

Post removed.

[chem]

cross-posted from the c/o18 thread, but can any current students speak to the perceived/mythical advantage of being a VA resident + applying ED as far as admissions go?

e.g. <25 GPA + median LSAT + instate + ED = ?

There are some people in my class who have that make-up

[sundance95]

Balnave best case scenario: 2 credits A-. Worst case: 2 credits B+.
Cohen best case scenario: 3 credits A+. Worse case: 3 credits A- (and, if you're doing what you're supposed to do, even an A- is pushing it as a worst case). How Balnave is the appropriate choice for someone gunning for top grades is a mystery.

Wait, how is a worse case scenario an A-?

I think this is gunner logic--idea being that if you handle your shit you won't end up in the bottom half of the class. Thing is, I think this is actually pretty valid. Even despite Cohen's notoriety, folks still treat it like a standard PR class and get pwned.

Thing is, studying for that exam just sucks. Definitely the hardest exam I took in law school.

[sprezz]

there are students like that, but they've cut ~50 1L slots since they let my class in. odds aren't in favor of that hypo student getting in now, i think. just having watched my friends from UG apply to UVA the last few cycles, i don't think there's much of an instate bonus

[olive16]

Is it possible to get above a B+ in a trial ad course? Any particular profs that give out As/A-s

[sundance95]

Is it possible to get above a B+ in a trial ad course? Any particular profs that give out As/A-s

Can confirm that Kavanaugh has.

[sundance95]

Still wouldn't expect it though.