First Semester Law School Grades

This post is for whoever found my site searching for "bad grades first semester law school". My first semester grades were disappointing. I did not even make Dean's List my first semester and my class rank was decidedly unexciting. By second semester I had graded onto law review (for what that was worth -- more later on why law review was not my bag) and I got all the job offers I cared about (an interviewer teased me about my Torts grade once, but we laughed about it together and moved on). Now my school was very small and I happened to do very well second semester but the message is, everyone's just figuring all this stuff out, and so how you prepared for, took, and scored on first semester exams is not an accurate predictor of how you are going to do in law school or in life. It just isn't. Now you have a clue about what to do and how to study and what to expect -- you didn't before. So quit freaking out and turn your attention to the fascinating and baffling topics they're asking you to learn THIS semester. You are just as smart and full of potential as you were in September. Smarter, in fact. Go learn.

(It is 4:30 AM and I am going to board a plane for Phoenix soon.)

Comments

[John P.]

I agree 100% and would add one further piece of advice: If you got any bad grades, get a copy of the exams you wrote and go talk to the professor about what you did wrong. Fortunately for me, one of my professors took the time to bug me to come see her (I got a very low B minus on her half of a team-taught class), and her advice enabled me to do a complete turnaround gradewise.

[Hoosac]

What do you think about a school that doesn't give you your first semester grades till a WEEK AND A HALF into second semester (Which, by the way, is AFTER the window for full tuition reimbursement for withdrawal!)?

[Carolyn Elefant]

I'd agree that grades are not an accurate predictor of success in law - not modest success like law firm partnership or a federal judgeship but rather, outrageous, amazing, self-made success a la like Johnnie Cochran.
What I take issue with regarding law school grades is why it's so difficult to figure out the answers. Why should a student need to go through a whole procedure to get an exam back and then track down a professor to discuss grades? Every professor should be required to post old exams with model answers either on a website or in a readily accessible spot. I never saw a model exam answer until I studied for the NY bar (where the bar review books gave model answers). For me, all it took was a model for me to do well. The Maryland bar also posts answers to its exams which helps students prepare. Shrouding the grading process in secrecy does not promote the educational process, rather, it just ensures that those who figure out the game firm keep their places at the top of the heap.

[Laura]

We have old exams with model answers (some by students, some by professors) posted online here at Penn, which seem quite helpful in studying. However, our professors have warned us against taking them as Gospel, because there is more than one way to write a good answer. It's possible that even with model answers, grading remains something of a mystery - after all, everyone has access to them...

[Allison]

One of my professors suggested (?jokingly?) that grades area assigned by throwing exams down the stairs, and whichever ones land on the bottom step get Cs, the next step up gets you a B, etc.

I think that's probably the closest thing to a good system of grading as I'll ever find in law school!

[A. Khan]

Hello all,
I just got my first semester grades and needless to say, I'm horrified. Any guidance from anyone will be appreciated. How likely is it that I will be able to move up from my present position? I guess I just need some helpful words of guidance from some of you who have been there. I do want to continue with law school. Unlike a lot of the people there, it has been my ambition since highschool. I guess that is what bothers me most...I always thought I would be good at this!! Help, please!!!!

[syn]

I think the whole law school grading system is unfair. Why are students thrown into a classroom for 14 weeks then given a final exam without any type of guidance in between? The grade you get will stay with you throughout your legal career, and no matter what others may say of its affect later on in your profession, it is something you do have to live with for the rest of your life. It is marked in stone, unable to be changed by professors (even if admittedly unfair) because of faculty policy. Without any opportunity for feedback from professors throughout the year, i.e. scored practice exams for each class, it is highly likely that a single exam at the end of the year will produce results totally unreflective of a student's abilities.

[Squiggy]

I'm about to begin my 3rd year in law school. My GPA currently sits at 2.8. While I'm not particularly satisfied, I've accepted that I don't have the very specific skills needed to make the top grades in law school.
That said, I'm sure I'll become a very capable attorney. I've clerked with a firm for the last 15 months, and the experience has been invaluable. I'm the house brief writer. Motions, memoranda, briefs: I've written them all and have had great success. My arguments have been central to quite a few victories for our clients.
Law grades may be arbitrary and are definitely subjective. They probably tell very little about a student's particular propensity for practicing law. Law requires both intellectual and interpersonal skills. Grades utterly fail to reflect such concerns and, thus, offer only a glimpse as to anyone's likelihood of success after law school as an attorney.
Grades do have their place, however, as they do tend to flush out a group's legal scholars. It's no coincidence that the top grade getters tend to remain in academia.

[Erin]

I started my first year of law school with a lot of enthusiasm. I worked hard and felt good about my final exams. Moreover, all first-year, first-semester students were told not to worry about grades by the Dean of the Law School because the first semester of the first year was pass or fail. I was certain I had not failed any classes although I believed I was probably not in the top ten percent. In January, while in line to register for the second semester I was told I could not proceed into the spring semester because I failed to achieve a 2.0 GPA. I was shocked. I had not failed any classes, yet I was prevented from matriculating because although the school's policy is "pass or fail" grades are calculated into GPA, and this GPA determines whether or not a student may matriculate. When I questioned the school on why we were mislead into believing the policy was pass or fail, I was told that students are told this to prevent first-year anxiety! How ridiculous! I guess being dismissed from law school after one semester is an anxiety-free experience. Needless to say, students who were dismissed were told they had to start all over the following year. This time around, any student who is "restarted" must achieve a 2.3 every semester or be immediately and permanently dismissed from the JD program. Now who's concerned about anxiety??

In my school we get no second chances. Anyone who finishes the year under a 2.3 (C+?) is dismissed. While this school isn't Harvard, it is a Tier 1 school which, up until a few years ago (when they added some factors in the rankings, like how much money was allocated per student or something like that) was Top 20. The one exception is if you get notes from doctors and psychiatrists that your poor performance was either because of a family illness or your own illness. Even this is not guaranteed. Being that I ran out of time on 2 of my exams and only answered half the questions, and guessed completely on the other two, I'm CONVINCED that I will be kicked out of law school. Meanwhile, I have to listen to all of my law school "friends" whine about getting B's. I am devastated and don't know what to do. My lease is running out on my apartment and I want to move out of this godforsaken city if I can't go to law school here anymore. I've always been a smart person (went to an ivy league school blah blah boring) but have never been good at jobs, have spent the past five years between college and law school playing music. so i don't know what to do. i just know i'm not meant to be a starving artist, and have just learned that i'm not meant to be a lawyer either. Unless I can somehow conjure up a team of doctors who can convince the dean that i had a terrible disease all year. Not likely.

[RJ]

God, this is depressing: does anyone know of anyone who has managed to survive getting kicked out for low grades? At my school it's called special action, and I am afraid that I'll never get it. I'd like to hear from others who have had this experience or a similar one. I would also like to hear from those who were not granted "Special Action" or whatever your school calls it. BobJFromTheNorth@yahoo.com

[KB]

I don't know what to do. I'm trying to stay calm and tell myself that I am more than my GPA. I know that I am but it frustrates me when I feel that my grades don't reflect what I actually know. What is the trick? It doesn't seem to matter how much I do or don't study, I'm still a C student. Maybe I could do better if I actually knew what a good exam answer looked like. I don't mean those stupid model answers that the Profs. put together and then tell you that noone could actually give in the time alloted. I mean post the two or three exams that got the best grades. Anyway, I'm very frustrated since I know that my grades will determine where I will be able to work in the future. I'm really considering not being a lawyer at all.

[LRJH]

I spent 10 - 12 hours a day studying for my final exams. I have a background in law enforcement and still received the lowest grade in the class for Criminal Law. I don't have all of my grades in yet for first semester but I doubt they will be any better than the 2.0 and 2.7 I have already received. I am a non traditional student who has asked my family to sacrifice my income with the promise that my future income will make it worthwhile. Now I am afraid that I will not be able to get a job making anymore than I had before law school. Does anyone have advice?

[FeelYourPain]

I understand what everyone is going through - is all this hassel really worth this stress and constant feeling of failure. I am currently a 2L, first semester I did pretty well (just inside the top 15%), but 2nd semester my grades dropped down to the median (lowering my ranking to top 33%). I now I have 2 grades back for my third semester and it looks as though I am heading again towards the median. I go to a crappy school that pretty much only places in its near vicinity. I hate law school and would strongly consider quiting if I was not already half-way through the process. My biggest concern is the fact that I worked with a firm last summer (got the job when ranked much higher) - the firm will ask for an updated resume and with my grades their is no way I belong in their hiring criteria.

[IPLaw]

I am glad that I am not the only one suffering from bad grades syndrome. I just got my first semester grades and was shocked. Like all of you my future depends on these stupid grades. I am currently working at a top law firm practicing patent law and going to school in the evening. An employment offer from this firm depends entirely on my grades despite the fact that I would have worked there for 5 years at the time of graduation doing the same thing an associate does. I have seen quite a few summer associates go through this firm and have even guided them during their stay here. But again everything boils down to the grades. This clearly shows the importance of grades in obtaining a position with a ranked law firm. I was wondering if anyone here has succeeded in improving their grades and if yes could you enlighten us on how to do so. Perhaps the lady who hosts this site could help us. Thanks in advance. Good luck to all of you.

you dont have to work for a vault 100 firm you know. But whats really amazing these days is that ambulance chase firms want top 1/3 as well. Its crazy. The real problem is an oversupply of lawyers. Deal with it. The truth is a lot of sub-160 lsat people should not have been allowed in law school to begin with the ABA really needs to curb the flow of people into the profession thats the only reason they exist. If they dont soon even top 10% will be working for peanuts. If you really think about it big law doesnt even pay that much considering the work you put in and this is all because of an oversupply of JD's. In the old days simply graduating got you a good job, but those days are over. Honesyly I have no intention of even practicing law with my JD. It isnt worth the headache its a lousy profession. It took 2 years of law school for me to figure this out. I only wish I could get those 2 years and my 60k back.

[Yo-yo]

I have gotten some pretty mediocre grades this first semester. The one thing that bothers me is that the only people who say that grades don't matter and that they are not a reflection of your knowledge, etc. are those with the mediocre/bad ones. Do such people really believe they know just as much as the person with the highest grade? Let's be realistic. They did something or saw something you didn't. And if you knew it but couldn't articulate that you knew it, that's a pretty big problem too isn't it (in law school or in practice).

[TB]

I just finished my first semester of law school, with a lousy 2.6 GPA at a school that is not stellar. I thought I would be good at this, but even more so I thought I would like it. Grades aside, I like the intellectual stimulation, but not the subject matter of most of the courses. I am seriously considering getting out before I rack up anymore debt. Just wanted to know if this is normal first year stress or if I should do some more soul-searching.

[squirl]

Amazing...I DID run a search almost identical to the one listed in the top blog (I used the word "lousy," though). I'm in the first week of the second semester and still tapping my foot and waiting for two more grades. According to my approximations, the worst I can end up with is a 2.3 (knock on wood). Which is not just lousy, but super-lousy. I got an A in my writing class. I am a very strong writer, which I understand is a great asset in getting a summer job. So, how do I play up a skill when it's buried until a crummy GPA? Now that I've been through the first semester, I understand what I need to do differently this semester to make my grades better. But I won't have a chance to bring up my GPA until after summer hiring, which everyone projects as the maker/breaker. I just feel like shredding something.

Even though my dismal GPA should be all the incentive I need to get myself into gear for this second semester, I just can't seem to get into it. I suppose this is a result of how my first semester finals turned out - the class I prepared for to the extreme (120+pages of notes, thorough outline, read everything, took practice exams and reviewed model answer) I did rather poorly on and the test I did not prepare as well for (used an old outline, only spend a few hours preparing), I did well on. I just feel very discouraged and skeptical. I am ashamed of my GPA - 3.17 (median GPA is 3.2). I am hoping to get over this - and hoping to find a summer job that doesn't focus on grades.

[Bodacious]

You're discouraged because you made a 3.17?

Get a life. You have no right to complain. You must not even have a clue what a "bad grade" in law school is.

It's called last semester, and I got decimated.

Quit your complaining.

[googifer]

You think you all have a problem? I go to an OK law school that is completely pass/ fail. We don't get grades, we don't get ranked. We get "evaluated". And we don't get them until we're halfway through our second semester. So if we screwed up last semester, we're still screwing up this semester and there isn't a lot of time to turn things around. This has to be worse. Not only do employers not have any grades to go on, which I am just now understanding is pretty important when trying to get a job, but we have documents saying exactly how horrible we are. One of my evaluations said I barely understood the material and should reconsider taking the class, I barely passed. This comment goes into my permanent record for employers to look at. Luckily I didn't go to law school to practice law, I went for the background so I could get into a political job but still, how embarrassing is that? I know I'm a smart person, I just can't get myself motivated in this field.

GPA means everything in law school but not necessarily everything to employers. Just make sure that you stay above the minimum GPA of what the law school requires and you will all be okay. Should you be put on academic probation, then is the time to seriously consider if you really want to stay in school and be 100% sure that you can get off of probation. At my school there are "advisors" but they are under no duty to assit you academically so be careful what your law school "advisors" policies are and make sure as hell that you know what it takes to stay off of probation becuase thats a good indicator that it's all downhill from there.

[zulayka]

The thing I find most disturbing about law school grades is that they affect the self-esteem of bright, capable students. My best grades my first semester surprised me; one was in Criminal Law, a class I barely outlined and reviewed maybe a day before the exam. I took several practice exams in Torts and thought I had mastered the material, and ended up with my worst grade in that class. I tried to learn from mistakes I think I made first semester, and am hoping that I have done better second semester. However, I no longer have much confidence that hard work equals a great grade. I work hard to understand the material, but I never feel confident that my grade will truly reflect what I know about a subject.

[chris]

Okay, maybe this will make someone feel better.
I had a scholarship to 2nd tier school
and a 162 LSAT score.
I had dreamed of being a lawyer for a combined total of 15 minutes or so.
This may not be a surprise, but I did terribly. One semester and out. I had the admissions dean tell me it normally takes a poor-performing student one YEAR to get the grades I did.
So, I took a test for my aptitudes and I scored off the charts for music. Go figure.

One story amoung many others.