Below Median at a T2 Forum

CaptainCarrot · Post by **CaptainCarrot** » Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:11 am

Hi guys

Finally got my grades back at a T2 (60s) and I'm at a 2.8, below median (3.0).

I have a summer internship lined up, so I'm really more worried with recalibrating my game plan to get above a 3.0 this semester. I followed TLS wisdom to a T (at least I thought I did), and students who studied using typical first semester 1L study habits (spending way too much time briefing, using gigantic disorganized outlines, etc.) actually did better than me. That makes me doubt my abilities a lot.

Any advice? Should I consider dropping out? I have no debt and will likely graduate with only about ~20k of debt, if that helps.

BeeTeeZ · Post by **BeeTeeZ** » Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:22 pm

CaptainCarrot wrote:Hi guys

Finally got my grades back at a T2 (60s) and I'm at a 2.8, below median (3.0).

I have a summer internship lined up, so I'm really more worried with recalibrating my game plan to get above a 3.0 this semester. I followed TLS wisdom to a T (at least I thought I did), and students who studied using typical first semester 1L study habits (spending way too much time briefing, using gigantic disorganized outlines, etc.) actually did better than me. That makes me doubt my abilities a lot.

Any advice? Should I consider dropping out? I have no debt and will likely graduate with only about ~20k of debt, if that helps.

Key question: do you think the "TLS wisdom" you followed enabled you to master the material, refine your exam-taking skills, and perform your best on exam day?

beforethelaw · Post by **beforethelaw** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:32 am

CaptainCarrot wrote:Hi guys

Finally got my grades back at a T2 (60s) and I'm at a 2.8, below median (3.0).

I have a summer internship lined up, so I'm really more worried with recalibrating my game plan to get above a 3.0 this semester. I followed TLS wisdom to a T (at least I thought I did), and students who studied using typical first semester 1L study habits (spending way too much time briefing, using gigantic disorganized outlines, etc.) actually did better than me. That makes me doubt my abilities a lot.

Any advice? Should I consider dropping out? I have no debt and will likely graduate with only about ~20k of debt, if that helps.

My two cents:

People are too quick to dismiss the value of combing through facts in cases. If you're actually reading carefully and questioning why, given the fact pattern, the court made XYZ legal decisions, you're training yourself to (as annoying as this phrase is) "think like a lawyer," which is essential to making arguments on exams. And moreover, a lot of profs will borrow from fact patterns in the cases and throw a little twist onto them in the exam. I think careful reading of cases (combined with tracking the kinds of hypos your prof asks in class) is a good use of time.

Desert Fox · Post by **Desert Fox** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:05 pm

Honestly, I'd drop out. You tried, but your career options are already limited. Hope you aren't paying for it.

beforethelaw · Post by **beforethelaw** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:31 pm

Desert Fox wrote:Honestly, I'd drop out. You tried, but your career options are already limited. Hope you aren't paying for it.

Given OP's lack of debt, this seems premature...

OP, only drop out if your other available options offer a higher degree of certainty of landing a satisfying career than staying in law school. Other options that meet those criteria at this point will probably only exist if you have other skills/experience you could quickly parlay into another line of work, like a CS degree. If you don't have another good option, then only drop out now if your school places around 50% or less of its students into full-time, JD-required jobs. Go to law lawschooltransparency.com to find those stats. If your school's numbers are that bleak, you'd have a ton of work ahead of you to get into a comfortable area (not to mention that you'd need to be lucky). If your school's job placement stats are a little more forgiving, apply yourself this semester and see if you can pull things together. A lot of people see a lot of growth between fall and spring semester.

CanadianWolf · Post by **CanadianWolf** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:34 pm

What type of summer internship ?

CaptainCarrot · Post by **CaptainCarrot** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:20 pm

These replies were actually pretty encouraging. I hope I'm not naive/stupid.

I had checked lawschooltransparency before and they had my school pegged around 70% for full-time JD jobs, while my school's own stats came out to more like 80%. I was a little skeptical of that and assumed that the lower percentage was more accurate. I'm certainly going to review the exams - I think not fully knowing the law might have been just as big a problem as not writing the exam well.

As for the internship, it's with a state judge.

CanadianWolf · Post by **CanadianWolf** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:24 pm

Consider waiting until after your internship with the state court judge is completed.

vcap180 · Post by **vcap180** » Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:14 pm

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