What does my B mean DAMNIT!?

[nealric]

I feel like crap, particularly at the prospects that this B is really a C or a C- perhaps.
 

How could it "really" be anything else than what it is?


Unlike a math test, there is no perfect answer out there to a question. Your grade means nothing on an absolute scale- it's just a comparison to the rest of the class and nothing more.

[mason123]

In the sense that when I got a C+ in college, I knew that it was a C+ and I knew that I was NOT supposed to be happy about that grade.

In law school, I'm not sure how to feel about a B... should I feel the same as if it were that C+ in college?

I hope I'm making sense, if not... it is my loss I guess.

[Big Time Lawyer]

I took a quick look at the grading scheme.  Does 5-15% of the class have to fall within the D+/D/F category?  If so, wow.

[Tetris]

I took a quick look at the grading scheme.  Does 5-15% of the class have to fall within the D+/D/F category?  If so, wow.

That's what I was thinking.  Harsh.  Now if it was Harvard, then so what.  They'd still get a good job.  But man.  I think the bottom 15% end up with C+ or B- at Michigan.

[NYCLawTutor]

The curve is a guideline, not a requirement.  Sometimes the admin will put a firm rule, like no more than 3% get A+.  But beyond that, they can't really enforce the %s as rules.

No matter what the curve says, very few students get Ds or Fs, assuming they show up and try to write something competent.  Where I went to school, there was a 5-10% guideline, and yet it was unheard of to get below a C.  One professor sometimes gave a few Ds or Fs and he was a mean SOB, definitely an exception.  Nobody else gave below a C.

A B in law school is very much like a C+ in college.  Maybe a C+/B-.  It's important to be realistic about your grades and what they mean, before it's too late.  One grade is never a disaster.  The A- in civ pro is encouraging.  By the way, most students think that civ pro is their worst subject first semester subject, when that can only be true for about 1/3 of them.

[Miss P]

The curve is a guideline, not a requirement.  Sometimes the admin will put a firm rule, like no more than 3% get A+.  But beyond that, they can't really enforce the %s as rules.

This is not true.  It is a a "mandatory" curve at SHU.  At my school, the registrar simply refuses to enter grades that do not line up with the curve.

No matter what the curve says, very few students get Ds or Fs, assuming they show up and try to write something competent.  Where I went to school, there was a 5-10% guideline, and yet it was unheard of to get below a C.  One professor sometimes gave a few Ds or Fs and he was a mean SOB, definitely an exception.  Nobody else gave below a C.

Yes, but you went to Columbia, right?  If you want to tutor law students, you need to understand that there is a big difference between grading schemes at elite schools and mandatory curves at lower-ranked schools.

A B in law school is very much like a C+ in college.  Maybe a C+/B-.  It's important to be realistic about your grades and what they mean, before it's too late.  One grade is never a disaster.  The A- in civ pro is encouraging.  By the way, most students think that civ pro is their worst subject first semester subject, when that can only be true for about 1/3 of them.

This is also not true.  Civpro can be everyone's worst subject.  A third of them will still get good grades due to the curve, but they may still understand it, enjoy it, and retain it much less than their other subjects.

[nealric]

A B in law school is very much like a C+ in college.  Maybe a C+/B-.

I'm not sure where you went to college, but where I went a C+ was reserved for very few people. Most professors never ever gave them unless the person in question was actively trying not to  do well. Someone with a C+ average would have been in the bottom 10% of the class easily. From what I understand this is becoming par for the course in most lib-arts type  majors.


A "B" at many law schools is at or above the median.

[NYCLawTutor]

I am in contact with several friends and former colleagues who are on law faculty at various schools.  All of them report that mandatory curves are far less than they are made out to be.  It's possible they all teach at schools that are not as rigid about their grading systems.  Only one of them is at a top 10 type school yet.

It's mostly a discussion point as far as I am concerned.  The important thing is to get the best grades you are capable of getting.  My students almost always improve their grades when they work with me.  We don't talk about the grading curve.

Few students like Civ Pro, that's true.  I was merely talking about grade expectations, that students fear they will get bad grades in Civ Pro more than their other classes.  I sure did. 

[mason123]

Summer Job Prospects:

Alright, taking into consideration our "mandatory" curve, what summer job prospects are not out of reach with my A-, B?

Can I still be a janitor?

[Miss P]

Summer Job Prospects:

Alright, taking into consideration our "mandatory" curve, what summer job prospects are not out of reach with my A-, B?

Can I still be a janitor?

You're very likely going to work in a non-profit or government job this summer, regardless of how good (or bad) your grades are, unless you have a strong connection at a small firm that will pay you or you have previous work experience that locks you into a particular internship (e.g., librarian). It has nothing to do with your grades; this is just the reality for most 1Ls and certainly for 1Ls at schools like ours.  The question is, what do you want to do?