Law School Class Rank + Employment Prospects Forum

[ek5dn]

.

[kalvano]

Class rank is about 95% of getting a job. It's essentially all that matters, aside from the school itself.

[chuckbass]

It's the only thing that matters. The lower you get down the food chain, the smaller margin of error you set for yourself.

Granted, your example isn't great (top 10% at WUSTL is generally getting a better firm than median at Cornell), so it'd be more like median at Cornell is probably equal to top quarter at WUSTL.

[ek5dn]

Got it. Thank you! Prepared to buckle down and work my ass off whichever law school I end up at haha

[chuckbass]

Got it. Thank you! Prepared to buckle down and work my ass off whichever law school I end up at haha

Sure, but so is everyone. Go somewhere where the odds are in your favor to get the job you want, and hopefully at a reasonable cost.

[kalvano]

Got it. Thank you! Prepared to buckle down and work my ass off whichever law school I end up at haha

You can work as hard as you can and still be median. Plan on that and go from there.

[TheOnePercent]

Look through the various threads re: employment data (for example, here). "Good" employment outcomes are in the eye of the beholder (may include public interest, hanging up a shingle, etc.); however, BigLaw+Clerkship data is a quick/dirty proxy for high paying jobs (and their placeholders) - which for many defines "good" (by choice or by necessity).

Law school grades/rank create an ordinal ranking of students that is a main driver in recruiting outcomes (though legit prior work experience and interview skills matter more in firm recruiting than in law school admissions). But (generally speaking), the quality of school will dictate - on average - how deep into that ordinal ranking firms/judges will draw.

[ek5dn]

Got it. Thank you! Prepared to buckle down and work my ass off whichever law school I end up at haha

You can work as hard as you can and still be median. Plan on that and go from there.

lmao, I'm aware of that. Trying to stay positive, at least at the outset

[TheOnePercent]

You can work as hard as you can and still be median. Plan on that and go from there.

Definitely this. Was like my mantra when was in your 0L shoes.

[bababang]

.

[TheOnePercent]

How does it work at schools like UC Irvine? From what I understand, they don't rank their students.

I meant ordinal ranking in a proverbial sense - even if a school doesn't officially "rank" (which is common) - grades serve as the primary sorting mechanism for elite firm recruiting/clerk hiring. Will be the yardstick by which you're vetted vs. your peers - at least in the early stages of recruiting (before callback).

[bababang]

.