After the Exam, How does an A exam feel??

[lincolnsgrandson]

I'm a 3L, and I when think I wrote an A exam, I did.  But I couldn't say I know when you got on A on exam.  Wait until you get your grades and then see how much you trust your own assessment.
By the way, the common wisdom is to not discuss the exam after you take it, but I say f--kit.  Do what feels right to you.  I discussed exams with trusted classmates after my first year, and that did help me know I did well on exam I thought I blew, and that I blew an exam I thought I did okay. 

[T. Durden]

i'm a 1L - "a first year law student" for those of you who are not hip to the lingo

i have taken 2 exams thus far. criminal law and civil procedure. i can say the criminal law final went very well, and i undoubtedly got an A, where as my civil procedure final was challenging, presenting both 35 multiple choice questions and a long essay where we had to evaluate every single rule 12 motion as it pertained to a long, drawn out hypothetical.

Oh yeah, there was some joinder rule stuff in there. in fact, the prof even threw in some some rule 11 *&^% at the very end.

it was a tough, tough exam. but given my extensive history in law school (i've been here since august, and yes, i finally do know how to brief a case) i can confidently say that i got As on both exams.

except there is a problem. my class is chock full of very intelligent people. everyone has been studying like maniacs since day 1. everyone "deserves to be here" and everyone "gets it" - oh wait you say there is a bell curve? yeah, i may be able to evaluate how *i* did, but how am i supposed to evaluate how everyone else did?

oh crap, i might end up with Cs

it happens - because with the bell curve, strangely enough, it's all relative to how you compare with your classmates

C students at harvard law? as bizarre as it sounds, it does happen 

[tacojohn]

I agree with slacker, an A exam feels like whatever emotion you get from seeing the grade.

The only thing you can ask yourself is whether you are satisfied with your performance.  On two of my three finals so far (plus my crim law final in the summer), I felt I did everything I could do to succeed.  On one I made a really dumb mistake, but other than that I feel I did what I could.  That's all you can really ask yourself.  "Did I do the best and I can and put myself in a possible position to get a good grade?"  If yes, then go celebrate and forget about grades until they come back, because it's in the hands of fate now.

[dft]

Just to follow up on this thread:

I was actually correct. I did, in fact, get an "A" on my Torts exam, so my feeling after the exam was correct! This is really funny, considering that I didn't get any other A's in my other classes (my next highest grade was a "B").

First, before, i answer the question, i must address this one issue:

mp - you are a pompous prick. what makes you think you know more than many 2Ls? I hope somebody stabs you in the neck with a pencil. arrogant dunce.

now, onto my answer. An A exam feels like you have just been through war. you should emotionally drained. your head should feel a little "in the clouds". not that its a brain dump, but you should feel as if every single issue you spotted, you analyzed as if your life depended on it. ALSO, you should feel as if u didn't get to every issue. Thats one thing, if u know ur stuff, you will obviously see things that you should address perhaps in passing, although not have time to go back and address it more fully, because your analysis on the other "meatier" issues took up your time. Its kind of hard to explain. some people say that the A's they have gotten, they felt the worst right after the exam because of some issues they didn't address.

[980eQ]

Well, I got an A on one, and really, I felt the same as I did after each one... exhausted and ready to drink a beer in front of sportscenter.. LOL

[J D]

Well, I got an A on one, and really, I felt the same as I did after each one... exhausted and ready to drink a beer in front of sportscenter.. LOL

Yeah, pretty much.  The first week of exams was the worst; I felt like crap after each test (one midterm and one final).  I was certain that on the final I was aiming for a B or B- at best, because I didn't finish the essay portion; on the other test basically the same (I did finish, but my last answers were not great at all).  As it turns out I got an A and an A-.  You just don't know until grades come out.

[tjking82]

Just to follow up on this thread:

I was actually correct. I did, in fact, get an "A" on my Torts exam, so my feeling after the exam was correct! This is really funny, considering that I didn't get any other A's in my other classes (my next highest grade was a "B").

First, before, i answer the question, i must address this one issue:

mp - you are a pompous prick. what makes you think you know more than many 2Ls? I hope somebody stabs you in the neck with a pencil. arrogant dunce.

now, onto my answer. An A exam feels like you have just been through war. you should emotionally drained. your head should feel a little "in the clouds". not that its a brain dump, but you should feel as if every single issue you spotted, you analyzed as if your life depended on it. ALSO, you should feel as if u didn't get to every issue. Thats one thing, if u know ur stuff, you will obviously see things that you should address perhaps in passing, although not have time to go back and address it more fully, because your analysis on the other "meatier" issues took up your time. Its kind of hard to explain. some people say that the A's they have gotten, they felt the worst right after the exam because of some issues they didn't address.

Congrats mp.  You deserve mad props on the Torts grade.  Listening to what you were saying, I was pretty confident that you had done well.  I've found the LEEWS system to be very helpful for myself as well.

Oh, and every 2L who was slamming you is just as much an arrogant prick for assuming they know more than you.

[dft]

Thanks man. Yea, I pretty much killed my Torts exam. As I said, it was my highest grade. I ended up with like a 3.0 though, which isn't outstanding. But this GPA is unofficial because our mid-terms were only 25% of our grade. We're on a 2.67 curve, so this actually would probably put me in the top 35% if our class ranks were released.

I feel confident that I can get my grades up this semester. Since these grades count for much more, I think I actually have a shot at top 10%. I know someone from last year got into the top 5% with a 3.36 GPA, so it's definitely possible.

Just to follow up on this thread:

I was actually correct. I did, in fact, get an "A" on my Torts exam, so my feeling after the exam was correct! This is really funny, considering that I didn't get any other A's in my other classes (my next highest grade was a "B").

First, before, i answer the question, i must address this one issue:

mp - you are a pompous prick. what makes you think you know more than many 2Ls? I hope somebody stabs you in the neck with a pencil. arrogant dunce.

now, onto my answer. An A exam feels like you have just been through war. you should emotionally drained. your head should feel a little "in the clouds". not that its a brain dump, but you should feel as if every single issue you spotted, you analyzed as if your life depended on it. ALSO, you should feel as if u didn't get to every issue. Thats one thing, if u know ur stuff, you will obviously see things that you should address perhaps in passing, although not have time to go back and address it more fully, because your analysis on the other "meatier" issues took up your time. Its kind of hard to explain. some people say that the A's they have gotten, they felt the worst right after the exam because of some issues they didn't address.

Congrats mp.  You deserve mad props on the Torts grade.  Listening to what you were saying, I was pretty confident that you had done well.  I've found the LEEWS system to be very helpful for myself as well.

Oh, and every 2L who was slamming you is just as much an arrogant prick for assuming they know more than you.

[burghblast]

Just wondering what an A exam feels like after an exam..  I'm trying not to think about it, but am so d**mn curious to know how the heck I did..  I have to wait until like Jan. to find out..

Any thoughts???  How do you know if you aced it??

I walked out of my first one thinking, "Damn I NAILED that fucker!"

And I did.

I walked out of my last one feeling almost the same but the result wasn't quite the same.  The other two, I knew an hour into the exams I wasn't going to ace them, and I didn't.

[majorporcupine]

An A exam feels like Jesus popped out of a cloud, took a dump on your face and gave you free Burger King meals for the rest of your life.  Oh, and Overstock.com lady.