Anyone planning on dropping out if they get bad grades? Forum

[Nietzsche_Addy]

Depends on the curve at your school. Right now your GPA is a 3.5. That still might be in the top part of the class if your school curves to a B- or something, as many lower-ranked schools do.

My school does have around a B- curve.

How does an A+ factor into GPA calculations?

Not sure. I suppose this would be good to look into. I am just really bummed; I started counting my chickens before they hatched I guess.

[Nietzsche_Addy]

At any school other than NU, that's at least top 25%. Nietzsche_Addy: You clearly know how to take law school exams. If you really want to transfer, just make sure you don't get a C next semester and you'll probably be golden. The C itself isn't talismanic or prospect-killing beyond its impact on your overall GPA. And as Rayiner said, if your school's median GPA is a 3 or lower, you are probably already in the tippy-top of the class.

Thanks for the positive response. The optimism is refreshing right now!

[CE2JD]

Depends on the curve at your school. Right now your GPA is a 3.5. That still might be in the top part of the class if your school curves to a B- or something, as many lower-ranked schools do.

My school does have around a B- curve.

Dude... wtf are you worried about. You're guaranteed LR, summa cum laude, etc. with your grades (assuming you keep them up next semester).

[kimber1028]

Depends on the curve at your school. Right now your GPA is a 3.5. That still might be in the top part of the class if your school curves to a B- or something, as many lower-ranked schools do.

My school does have around a B- curve.

Dude... wtf are you worried about. You're guaranteed LR, summa cum laude, etc. with your grades (assuming you keep them up next semester).

Yeah, my school has a B- curve also, and that 3.5 would place you in the top 15%. Congrats!

[samiseaborn]

won't it also matter how many credits that course was? If it was only a 2 credit class, then it's not going to do nearly as much damage to your ranking as a 5 credit class might. Of course, it could also be interpreted as you blowing off the 'easy' class, but mathematically less damaging.

[Nietzsche_Addy]

Dude... wtf are you worried about. You're guaranteed LR, summa cum laude, etc. with your grades (assuming you keep them up next semester).

Yeah, I guess it isn't that bad overall - but a flat C? It's hard to think positively about things right now. I am more concerned about what the C will do to my chances of transferring up. I took the "safe bet" with a scholarship at a lower school and I am regretting it now.

won't it also matter how many credits that course was? If it was only a 2 credit class, then it's not going to do nearly as much damage to your ranking as a 5 credit class might. Of course, it could also be interpreted as you blowing off the 'easy' class, but mathematically less damaging.

The C was in a 3 credit course.

Yeah, my school has a B- curve also, and that 3.5 would place you in the top 15%. Congrats!

Thanks - I guess

[CE2JD]

The C was obviously a fluke. Just go to your prof and ask him/her what's up. Maybe you made one GIANT assumption that screwed up your entire exam. Maybe you misunderstood a key concept. Or maybe somebody switched blind grading numbers with you somehow.

In any case, the weight of statistical evidence points to the fact that you are capable of doing very well in law school. I'd just learn from the mistakes you made on the exam of your C class and try not to repeat them next semester.

Congrats.

[Nietzsche_Addy]

The C was obviously a fluke. Just go to your prof and ask him/her what's up. Maybe you made one GIANT assumption that screwed up your entire exam. Maybe you misunderstood a key concept. Or maybe somebody switched blind grading numbers with you somehow.

In any case, the weight of statistical evidence points to the fact that you are capable of doing very well in law school. I'd just learn from the mistakes you made on the exam of your C class and try not to repeat them next semester.

Congrats.

Thanks. I am going to go have a chat with the prof when he gets back to make sure it wasn't a grading mishap. If it wasn't, I hope he will be kind enough to point out where I went so terribly wrong.

[thesealocust]

Thanks. I am going to go have a chat with the prof when he gets back to make sure it wasn't a grading mishap. If it wasn't, I hope he will be kind enough to point out where I went so terribly wrong.

Good attitude. Seriously, on a B- curve you're set. Well maybe not set... but definitely in the poll position. If you figure out how the A- thru A+ grades came true, and how to avoid repeating the C grade, you will Win at Law School. Which, as CE pointed out, looks fairly probable at this juncture.

[nyclawstu]

Should I drop out?

I am at cardozo law (ranked #49). I need to be in the 33rd percentile or better to keep my scholarship. But I want a firm job, which I don't think I can realistically get unless I am 15th percentile or better at my school.

All of my grades are in except one. Realistically, I will have either:

1) 3.27 gpa, or 39th percentile
2) 3.39 gpa, or 27th percentile

Based on how my school distributes grades, next semester:

if #1, I need a 3.38 to keep my scholarship. I need a 3.68 to have a shot at a firm job.
if #2, I need a 3.31 to keep my scholarship. I need a 3.61 to have a shot a firm job.

If I dropped out I would be 10k in debt. I could probably land a job in advertising, though starting jobs in that industry don't pay much (~ 40k).

Should I drop out? What kinds of questions/information would you seek out to help you with this decision? I am very serious about dropping out.

Thank you.

Chuckwarr - As a Cardozo student who recently had the same dilemma, I just wanted to let you know that if you have a scholarship from the school, I think you may be mistaken about what grades you need to keep the scholarship. To keep the full scholarship, you need a 3.3 (not top 33%). Also, above a 3.2 keeps 75%, and above a 3.1 keeps 50%. Don't know if that makes a difference, but didn't want you to decide to drop out based on wrong info. Hope this helps.

[keg411]

If I dropped out I would be 10k in debt. I could probably land a job in advertising, though starting jobs in that industry don't pay much (~ 40k).

Should I drop out? What kinds of questions/information would you seek out to help you with this decision? I am very serious about dropping out.

Thank you.

Advertising? Try 25k if you are lucky as an entry level. Some are as low as 14k-15k. Have fun with that one (and yes, I work in advertising).

Advertising jobs start at free. They're called internships, and you keep doing them until you meet someone who likes you enough to pay you. Years, possibly.

Not true; not even in BigAdvertising (:lol:). You do get paid something but it's crap (for instance, out of college, I started at a whopping $9/hour in SmallAdvertising. A friend started at 29k in BigAdvertising. But either way -- if you got crappy grades and are dropping out of law school -- don't go into advertising .

[chadwick218]

Pretty bummed here. I officially have all my grades back as of this morning. I go to a lower TT with nearly a full scholarship.

A-
A+
A
C (not even a C+ !!!)

I got the first three grades late last week and early this week and I was really excited; thoughts of transferring dancing around in my head. Then I got the C this morning. I didn't think I did particularly well on that exam, but I didn't even entertain the idea of a C. Class ranks haven't come out yet, but I am sure the C is going to dominate me. Will the flat C kill any chance of transferring to a T14, regardless of how well I do next semester?

Don't worry about this ... yeah, the C is tough, but the A's even out things out. Most lower TT schools curve to a C+ / B- ... you are still well above the curve!

[wpc1532]

Pretty bummed here. I officially have all my grades back as of this morning. I go to a lower TT with nearly a full scholarship.

A-
A+
A
C (not even a C+ !!!)

I got the first three grades late last week and early this week and I was really excited; thoughts of transferring dancing around in my head. Then I got the C this morning. I didn't think I did particularly well on that exam, but I didn't even entertain the idea of a C. Class ranks haven't come out yet, but I am sure the C is going to dominate me. Will the flat C kill any chance of transferring to a T14, regardless of how well I do next semester?

Don't worry about this ... yeah, the C is tough, but the A's even out things out. Most lower TT schools curve to a C+ / B- ... you are still well above the curve!

Ok, so I'm a bit confused: is the curve the median grade or the very-best grade?

[chadwick218]

Ok, so I'm a bit confused: is the curve the median grade or the very-best grade?

It depends on the school. Some schools use will use a median, other schools an average, while other schools will simply provide a min/max % that may be allocated each each bucket.