Where do the bottom 10% class rank end up?

[TDJD84]

You probably should wait to see how your grades turn out after this semester, if you do well, take a summer course or two, and that might help boost your grades up significantly.  This point in the game, I am sure (unless you have a fat scholarship), that you have racked up some debt, so your in a tough situation.  If you have relatively no debt at this point, and don't do too hot this semester, cut your loss now.  Outside the government and wage labor jobs, who still works only 40 hrs a week?   

[StevePirates]

Out of curiosity, what motivated you to go to law school in the first place?
The 1L curriculum is Law School Boot Camp.  2L and 3L are the years where you get to learn the things that interest you.  If you are still interested in some aspects of law, you might want to stick it out.  On the other hand, if you can't remember why you signed up in the first place, get out now and save yourself the monthly repayment nightmare.

Personally, I would stick it out if I was confident that I would be able to graduate. 

[TDJD84]

well there is something you don't see everyday

[schwing]

Wow.  I haven't seen anything that repulsive since jdjive.com,

[Jalum]

You probably should wait to see how your grades turn out after this semester, if you do well, take a summer course or two, and that might help boost your grades up significantly.  This point in the game, I am sure (unless you have a fat scholarship), that you have racked up some debt, so your in a tough situation.  If you have relatively no debt at this point, and don't do too hot this semester, cut your loss now.  Outside the government and wage labor jobs, who still works only 40 hrs a week?   

I did, in fact, have a fat scholarship, so I will end this year without any debt. 

[Contract2008]

I did, in fact, have a fat scholarship, so I will end this year without any debt. 

Seriously? Going from almost being kicked to getting scholarship? 

[Jalum]

I did, in fact, have a fat scholarship, so I will end this year without any debt. 

Seriously? Going from almost being kicked to getting scholarship? 

Went from almost full scholarship to almost being kicked out, yeah.  But at my school those scholarships are fairly common, and all have the stipulation that you need to land a 3.25 GPA to keep them.  So they dish out a lot of scholarship money the first year, but by the second year they know the maximum that they will have to pay out.  Many of my classmates who I've spoken to are losing their scholarships next year.  Just part of the game.

[amityjo]

Jalum, I read your post and had to respond. I have a friend who is not only in the bottom 10% of her class, but the bottom 1%. She just finished her second year with a 2.09. She has been on academic probation for a year and also lost a scholarship at the end of her first year. She has no intention of quiting school - she told me that the administration would need to use a crow bar to get her out of the school.

The differences between her and you are this:
1) She networks like a mad woman - she has a summer associate position paying her double the weekly salary than most people I know who are at the 50th percentile of her class. How did she get it? She got a list of all of the mid size and solo practitioners who graduated from her school, and called them, told them exactly what her deal was academically and asked their opinions of how she could use her degree even if she graduated with a poor gpa. Five or six of these firms liked her style, the fact that she was ballsy enough to admit her rank and reach out, and offered her an opportunity to interview. She was offered positions at every one of the firms. In other words, because she reached out, she got a job, and a good one at that.

2) She really loves the law, and refuses to be defined by her grades. She truly enjoys the material, even if she sucks at taking tests.

3) She doesn't resent the process. She just acknowledges that there is a disconnect between the Socratic Method and her learning style, and she's doing what she can to get better.

Take that for what it's worth - if you have bad grades, you have to make up for it in another way. Use your past work experience, any networking skills you have, etc. to make yourself more marketable. But I think the key difference here is whether you like the law enough to take the chance. My buddy does - she can't imagine doing anything else with her life, so she's digging in her heels. Will you do the same?

[Runner-up]

I'm told that few people go up significantly after first year, just because first year is worth so much as far as credits.

Which is unfair, because the fact that law school goes on for three years and not just one means you should be given more opportunity to prove yourself, via class rank.

But, many attorneys have told me it's not the case.