Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[Lavitz]

Will we ever find out what the actual curve was for 1L Fall Semester?

They publish a book with each class's grade distribution. There's not actually a unified curve, because not everyone has the same professors. That said, it's almost certainly something like a 3.48

You think 40% of the class is within .29 of each other?

Explain what you mean?

He means because the difference between 3.48 (proposed median) and 3.77(top 10%) is .29.

Personally, I don't find it too far-fetched if the majority of the grades given out are A- and B+.

[Arbiter213]

He means because the difference between 3.48 (proposed median) and 3.77(top 10%) is .29.

Personally, I don't find it too far-fetched if the majority of the grades given out are A- and B+.

Oh, then yes, absolutely. Something like a third of the class is clustered tightly around median. That's how a bell curve works.

[CR2012]

Applying to judges. One judge goes by an initial for his first name. EX: "S. Bill Stevenson" (not his name). I have discovered his first name.

When addressing my cover letter/envelope, should I simply use the initial, or his first name.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Arbiter213]

Applying to judges. One judge goes by an initial for his first name. EX: "S. Bill Stevenson" (not his name). I have discovered his first name.

When addressing my cover letter/envelope, should I simply use the initial, or his first name.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Are you serious?

[CR2012]

Applying to judges. One judge goes by an initial for his first name. EX: "S. Bill Stevenson" (not his name). I have discovered his first name.

When addressing my cover letter/envelope, should I simply use the initial, or his first name.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Are you serious?

Yup.

[Arbiter213]

Applying to judges. One judge goes by an initial for his first name. EX: "S. Bill Stevenson" (not his name). I have discovered his first name.

When addressing my cover letter/envelope, should I simply use the initial, or his first name.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Are you serious?

Yup.

Address the letter properly, e.g.,

The Honorable S. Bill Stevenson
S. Bill Stevenson Federal Building and Courthouse
123 Court House Lane
Courtsville, NY 12345

The letter should start:

Dear Judge Stevenson,

[jwD13]

anybody know when 2L/3L GPA information/class rank is supposed to come out? They must have it by now right?

[CR2012]

Applying to judges. One judge goes by an initial for his first name. EX: "S. Bill Stevenson" (not his name). I have discovered his first name.

When addressing my cover letter/envelope, should I simply use the initial, or his first name.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Are you serious?

Yup.

Address the letter properly, e.g.,

The Honorable S. Bill Stevenson
S. Bill Stevenson Federal Building and Courthouse
123 Court House Lane
Courtsville, NY 12345

The letter should start:

Dear Judge Stevenson,

Thanks, Arbiter!

[hephaestus]

anybody know when 2L/3L GPA information/class rank is supposed to come out? They must have it by now right?

Early February. As for why it takes this long, I have no idea.

[newbienew]

anybody know when 2L/3L GPA information/class rank is supposed to come out? They must have it by now right?

Early February. As for why it takes this long, I have no idea.

https://support.law.cornell.edu/student ... y_2014.pdf

[Lavitz]

anybody know when 2L/3L GPA information/class rank is supposed to come out? They must have it by now right?

Early February. As for why it takes this long, I have no idea.

https://support.law.cornell.edu/student ... y_2014.pdf

Interesting that the 10% cutoff dropped across the board, and 5% cutoff went up.

[Otunga]

Anybody looking to get Boston biglaw from your class or that you know of from the 2Ls and 3Ls? Or more generally speaking, have you come across many New Englanders looking to get back to the region from Cornell? I'm particularly interested in hearing about possible stories of people ranking below median and getting back to the Boston area for biglaw. I would think there isn't much competition at the school for such positions, given that many are going for NYC, but of course there is plenty of competition at the other t14s and places like BU/BC. Thanks!

[hephaestus]

Anybody looking to get Boston biglaw from your class or that you know of from the 2Ls and 3Ls? Or more generally speaking, have you come across many New Englanders looking to get back to the region from Cornell? I'm particularly interested in hearing about possible stories of people ranking below median and getting back to the Boston area for biglaw. I would think there isn't much competition at the school for such positions, given that many are going for NYC, but of course there is plenty of competition at the other t14s and places like BU/BC. Thanks!

So Cornell has two major recruiting events that can give you access to Boston, our standard OCI (what we call AJF) and the Boston Job fair. At OCI, the top Boston firms (e.g. Ropes, WilmerHale) all come and generally require good to very good grades (independent of ties, as I know several current students that got callbacks with no ties whatsoever). At the Boston job fair (which is held at a hotel in Boston), the rest of the Boston firms come, and are generally more tie-sensitive. From data I have, at least 3 of these firms frequently callback students that are below median here.

What I would take from this data is this: Boston is an accessible market at Cornell for those with ties, and an option for those without ties but that have good grades. Feel free to PM any more specific questions.

[toothbrush]

I know 2L spring externship only takes ~20 people. I've heard it's more "competitive" than the 3L fall program. What criteria is looked at to choose who gets into the spring externship?

[Miss_Sunshine]

Does anyone know roughly how many 2Ls typically choose to summer in biglaw DC firms? It seems to be a much more rare choice than NY or even CA.

[052220151]

What is the easiest way to get to Ithaca if one has to fly to New York.

[anyriotgirl]

What is the easiest way to get to Ithaca if one has to fly to New York.

airplane

[052220151]

What is the easiest way to get to Ithaca if one has to fly to New York.

airplane

Ok, let me rephrase. Is it best to fly to ithaca's airport or fly to a larger regional airport and bus/train in? If so, what are the options?

[hephaestus]

What is the easiest way to get to Ithaca if one has to fly to New York.

airplane

Ok, let me rephrase. Is it best to fly to ithaca's airport or fly to a larger regional airport and bus/train in? If so, what are the options?

Depending on where you are coming from, it'll likely be cheapest to fly into JFK/EWR/LGA and take a bus to Ithaca. The cheapest bus option is the Shortline (http://www.coachusa.com/shortline/). You may also have luck flying into Syracuse and taking a bus from there (it is only about an hour drive from Syracuse-Ithaca), which would take less time. I would be shocked if flying into Ithaca were cheaper than either of these options.

[anyriotgirl]

What is the easiest way to get to Ithaca if one has to fly to New York.

airplane

Ok, let me rephrase. Is it best to fly to ithaca's airport or fly to a larger regional airport and bus/train in? If so, what are the options?

Depending on where you are coming from, it'll likely be cheapest to fly into JFK/EWR/LGA and take a bus to Ithaca. The cheapest bus option is the Shortline (http://www.coachusa.com/shortline/). You may also have luck flying into Syracuse and taking a bus from there (it is only about an hour drive from Syracuse-Ithaca), which would take less time. I would be shocked if flying into Ithaca were cheaper than either of these options.

Do not do either of these things. The bus from NYC is pretty expensive and takes forever, because Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere. The Syracuse option is less bad, but you probably wouldn't be saving enough money to sign up for all the aggravation. Usually people fly into Philly and transfer on to one of those tiny planes to Ithaca airport.

[Arbiter213]

Do not do either of these things. The bus from NYC is pretty expensive and takes forever, because Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere. The Syracuse option is less bad, but you probably wouldn't be saving enough money to sign up for all the aggravation. Usually people fly into Philly and transfer on to one of those tiny planes to Ithaca airport.

This. For a money/time compromise, though, flying into NYC and taking the Campus to Campus bus from Midtown to Ithaca is a great option.

[anyriotgirl]

Do not do either of these things. The bus from NYC is pretty expensive and takes forever, because Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere. The Syracuse option is less bad, but you probably wouldn't be saving enough money to sign up for all the aggravation. Usually people fly into Philly and transfer on to one of those tiny planes to Ithaca airport.

This. For a money/time compromise, though, flying into NYC and taking the Campus to Campus bus from Midtown to Ithaca is a great option.

I wouldn't even recommend that. Round trip c2c will run you about $165, and you still have to get from whatever airport to midtown, which takes time and money. Just fly into Ithaca. Trying to get around it just invites all sorts of complications that aren't worth the $50 or whatever that you would save.

[052220151]

Thanks for the info bros. One last question, how much is the cab to Cornell from the airport or is the a better option (e.g., shuttle)?

[Arbiter213]

Thanks for the info bros. One last question, how much is the cab to Cornell from the airport or is the a better option (e.g., shuttle)?

There's a TCAT bus if you're talking about Ithaca airport, but the Cab wouldn't be too bad.

[anyriotgirl]

A cab is like $20. I think the TCAT (the bus) goes there, but I'm not sure. Most people I knew just conned a friend into picking them up.