I was lucky, in a sense, to be nearly immune to bad grades by the time I got to law school. I got (wait for it) C's in undergrad. Yes, multiple. And I got into Michigan Law School (now don't take that to mean that it's easy to get in- my school doesn't grade inflate and has a reputation for being brutal). Just remember, for everything there are factors that will surprise you as to how important they are.

I heard a lot of rumors- if you don't have a certain GPA or a journal or moot court or something, you won't get a job. It's just not true. It might make it harder to get a job, but the one thing to do is to NEVER fall into the 1L trap (or 2L OCI trap) of believing what you hear from a law student with little more experience than yourself. Or even career services (especially if you're looking in a market that isn't New York or Chicago)- I mean listen to them, but don't believe every word they say.

In addition, I went out a lot last year during the week. I know this sounds strange, but it wasn't that I would get trashed on a Tuesday- I would just finish my reading by 10 and have a nightcap at a local bar (not a south u bar). It was refreshing, gave me a taste of a non law school world, and got me away from the stress. And the truth is, I went out more second term than first, I studied more for some classes, I attended more classes than others, and my grades were all reasonable and consistent. You hit a point where you know what you are going to know- you have to learn when that point is. After that, it's just who can type faster and think faster and who can add that extra intuition to get the A. A lot of it is just not stressing- things do work out in the end, even if it's not how you planned. And if you think that one more hour reading Chemerinsky would have changed that grade- maybe it would have, but it seems pretty unlikely. Possibly less likely than that extra hour decreasing your sleep and making you less with it on the exam, or a little more crazy and frazzled.

"Being Well-Liked is Much More Important than Being Academically Successful."
-My Mom

So, for those of you with good grades who might be tempted to brag about them - call my mom. She'll put you in your place. For those of you with not so great grades, remember, you're very likeable.

If you're not likeable, I recommend:
Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
It's an old book, but it resonates today.

if you don't like your grades, work harder. or work differently. just work. if that doesn't get you where you want to be, then you'll need to sit down and reassess where you want to be. that's later, though. not yet. keep going.

Don't worry, it only gets worse.

My grades haven't been fantastic since middle school; in law school, they're the little piggy that got drunk, fell off the cliff, bounced on the way down, and landed in a sinking lava pit of procrastination and Wireless access. (You're too young to remember when we ran wild and free over the Web in class. They were beautiful days.)

Five law firms still gave me summer offer. Somebody will give you one, too.

At least you're not a leper, yo.

I don't like grades. I never did, and I try not to look at mine (but it's really hard and I wind up doing it every semester--I once made it two weeks, though, and I was proud of that). There are what?, six or seven grades that they actually give? I've never understood how anyone could reasonably think that a whole semester's worth of experience, learning, mistakes and intellectual breakthroughs could ever be represented in three bits of information. And yet that's what we do.

It's especially strange when the grades are curved. Who sees grades? Law firms and future employers, if they want to. Your parents or spouses, if you show them. It's odd, therefore, (especially with only three bits to work with) that information about other people's grades is built into your grade. A C or a B- doesn't even mean you did poorly--it just means someone did "better." Who cares about them? Who are the interviewers hiring? Who did your spouse marry?

But grades are all employers have to go by, and that means they're really important and you should worry about them a lot or you'll never get a job.

That's not true, either. I know some people with very good grades who got their faces rolled over in interviews. Why? Because they're not very nice. Or they say things that make you want to run away. I know people with middle-line grades that get all kinds of crazy offers from all kinds of amazing places. Why? Because they've got things that aren't represented in that number.

Those things are different for everybody, of course, but you've all got them. You need to hurry and figure out what the hell they are and sell the shit out of them before you let grades really be the only thing anyone has to judge you by.

Not saying grades can't be important. Some people have very good ones, and that's their shine. But, by definition not EVERYONE can have perfect grades--which leaves you free to worry about other things. Like being nice, being happy, and being you.

I received a very low grade last semester with an already below-average gpa and was very worried about my probability of getting a callback during ewi. I targeted prestigious firms that had a reputation for reaching deeper into the class. I remained confident in interviews and emphasized my strengths that were not measured by grades and I received over 10 callbacks. If you give employers a reason to look beyond grades, they will.

and remember, no matter how bad your week was, this guy had a worse one

Steve Croley had this to say to my civ pro class two years ago: "People who get A's become professors, people who get B's become judges, and people who get C's become millionaires."

I got a really low grade my first year. I was really depressed about it for a long time because I thought I would never get a job. Despite that grade, I did end up getting a job I really liked in the city I wanted to be in. I thought about that low grade all during second year, and I channeled the anger and anxiety into my classwork. Now when employers look at my transcript, they see that grade for what it was: an aberration. I'm glad I didn't let it define my law school career. It taught me a lesson; it didn't defeat me.

Hey, 1Ls. I just heard you got your summer grades. I remember being pretty disappointed when I got my first semester grades. They were nothing like I was used to when I was in undergrad, and they were the lowest grades I've ever gotten. It set a bad mood for my second semester, and, consequently, my second semester grades turned out worse than my first semester grades did.

You don't have to work yourself into the ground--in fact, that's generally not worth it. You might be concerned with your self-esteem and/or job prospects, but don't be. It's not true that having Michigan Law on your resume saves the day in most cases, but it's true enough to get you something with a few employers who don't even ask for your transcript upon seeing your school/resume--I am finding this from personal experience as I go through the 2L summer job search.

So keep trying to understand the material but have fun and don't think you're dumb. I have found that generally when people here say they have bad grades, they mean it (um, I got some people to confide in me about their GPAs)...which means you're not alone. And some of those people are giving up (it was week two of this semester and they were already skipping classes on a daily basis!). But think of the grades you have at MICHIGAN vs if you attended a lower-ranked school (then you'd be toe-tuh-lee screwed!). So don't give up!

Of course, if you're happy, or at least complacent, with your grades, HOORAY! OCI won't be a waste of time for you like it was for me and you will be completely unable to relate to people like me, as far as callbacks! ;) Just hang in for the next two semesters, and you're fine! Either way, if you're interested in public interest and not biglaw, I think you're fine. One of the employers who didn't ask for my transcript but gave me a callback was a public interest org I sent my resume to.

Good luck!

Dear Summer Starters,

You'll be fine. I have a less than average G.P.A. and got "call back" offers from seven AmLaw 100 firms.

Q: what do you call the law student that graduates at the bottom of their class?

A: a lawyer.

don't sweat the small stuff!

"The curve,” as Catharine MacKinnon says, “is an evil shape," and for me, it is evil because it is violent. As Foucault artfully discusses in Disciple and Punish, our conception and implementation of violence has changed greatly from the gory dismemberment of Damiens the regicide to the modern prison system, but the core purpose and definition of violence has been historically unwavering: to place people in a hierarchy, to demean some while empowering other, and to do so by painful means.

And this is exactly what the curve does. It holds out some as more intelligent, and others as less. It tells some people they are wrong, and others they are right. It ranks people and does so through a way that is, for many, often quite painful and disheartening. After a semester's worth of grueling work, you are told your work is not good because it was not the same as someone else's.

Not only is the curve violent, but it is the worst kind: that with no rational purpose other than subordination. Sitting in a room for three hours, typing at light speed, writing half-sentences filled with abbreviations, and issue-spotting while not scratching the surface of any substantive legal issues are not the hallmarks of good lawyering. Rather, deep critical thought, artful rhetoric that rearticulates current doctrine, and a sense of fact-intensive human compassion are the key skills of being a (good) lawyer. Thus, the curve ranks people in ways that really bear no relationship to professional success or individual worth. Further, it devalues learning for learning's sake, the same scholarly quest law schools like this one disingenuously promote. In this way, the curve takes its place among (although certainly less harmful than) genocide and domestic violence: those forms of painful subordination meant to oppress the subordinate and empower the dominant.

So what is there to learn from the curve? First, smart people do very stupid things for very stupid reasons. Or, better yet, people will generally act to keep their advantage and privilege despite the merits of their method. Those who create the curve and law school exams are those who have benefited from it the most: law school professors and administration. Discrediting the curve (and other meaningless law school indicators such as the LSAT that privileged many to attend the most elite universities) would also discredit them. In a way, this is what makes the curve painful for many: once comforted by being atop the hierarchy, some find themselves betrayed by a faithful companion. This is, if nothing else, a good lesson regarding the nature of privilege.

More broadly, this should be another strong lesson about how our culture establishes people's value and the reference point used to create that value. That is, the dominant group sets itself as the standard; any variation (moving away from the top of the curve) must mean that a person is less valuable. But we all know (or should know) that this is incredibly silly. Yet, in a culture focused on one's ability to fit in, to fit the dominant standard, to avoid subordination, it is perfectly logical to feel the painful effects of meaningless violence.

I suppose this message is supposed to cheer you up. I regret that my image is not very positive. But, what it means is that you should not feel bad or good about your grades. That is, good grades and bad grades are equally meaningless, at least as far as they comment on your internal worth and your possible contribution to the legal community. (Indeed, I believe, the worse you do one exams, the more creative your thinking, and the greater your potential to contribute.) Even if you are not persuaded that grades are fickle, it may be that the difference between the person at the bottom of the curve and the person at the top is so relatively small as to be insignificant.

So, to be more practical, what can you do? As discussed above, the law school has no incentive to abolish the curve, to end a form of violence that directly benefits it. Thus, my solution was to not look at my grades. If nothing else, it is an exercise in self-control. I strongly believe that I actually did better (according to the law school’s definition) by focusing on learning for learning's sake and polishing my ability to think critically and write well through disregarding my grades till well after my first year ended.

Of course, these opinions and ideas are not popular, as few of my ideas are. They are not right for everyone, and reasonable people can disagree. But, before worrying or even thinking about your grades, remember what my grandmother always asks: "What's it all about?"

It's never as bad as you think it is!

Think back to the worst and best grades you got in undergrad, and recall how you felt when you first saw them. After that, remember that you're at one of the top law schools in the world. The lesson: no matter how you did, you'll be fine.

My summer grades sucked, and I thought it was the end of the world. I felt unemployable. I didn't go to an Ivy League undergrad, so I thought I was just going to get my ass kicked all through law school. But surprisingly, it turns out you do much better in some 1L classes than others, and I pulled my GPA WAY UP in the fall. So cheer up, and have a drink. Life is good.

Don't worry about those B's. Yellow Cab is hiring.

One time, while waiting for the inbound metro in the outskirts of Moscow, I crapped my pants a little bit. But I got on the metro anyway, headed for the Red Square, and finished the job in the public restrooms in the underground mall below red square. It never occurred to me until now, but perhaps that entire experience was like law school, except lonelier, because I didn't have all of these hilarious people around me with whom to share it at the time.

My grades were really, really bad first year. I mean, extremely bad. And I still got a prestigious summer internship. Don't worry (too much) if you didn't do as well as you wanted to and don't become a conceited prick if you did. So congrats to everyone regardless of your grades for making it through your first semester.

Things may seem like they suck, but remember: it could always suck more. If you don't beleive me, call (781) 382-3756.

Seriously, I'm not going to lie - being a 1L can really suck. But, I promise you, it gets SO much better. Really. Hang in there.

I wanted to quit law school. But, really, don't quit law school over two grades. You'll be fine. I promise.

I got decent grades as a 1L. I studied a lot, and never hung out with anyone. Now, I am one of the most social people in the law school, but I'm still not friends with nearly anyone in my class, and I envy their relationships with one another.

If I could do it all over again, I'd have done what many of you have; namely sacrifice some study time (and possibly academic performance) in exchange for some semblance of a social life my 1L year.

To those of you who didn't do as well as you expected, you'll all be fine, and the sooner you realize that final exam grades are basically arbitrary anyway, the sooner you'll start enjoying your classes more, and maybe even take a breath and stop worrying.

...and despite what you may think, upper-classmen are more than happy to talk to you guys about your worries and aspirations. Hit us up!

test

Why are you wasting time reading this!? You need to go study to pick those grades up!

Don't worry, you're still much much cooler than the fall starters. If you feel bad about yourself, just talk down to a fall starter. Oh wait, you do that anyway.

Dear Fabulous and Talented 1L:

Don't get too caught up the law school rat race. We are all lemmings running and running, and I think many of us don't stop to think about where or what we are actually running towards.

Try not to think about how everybody else is doing, or how you did better or worse than others. All you can do is your best, and if you did everything you felt you needed to do, then you were true to yourself.

Grades are grades -- they don't define you, and they won't necessarily shape your entire career. You are still the talented and wonderful person the admissions office knew you were when they accepted you, even if your grades weren't what you expected.

So get out there and kick butt this semester!

yall: it sucks, right? but remember the wise words of amy sedaris:

i cried because i had no shoes,
until i met a man who had no feet.
and then i laughed...REALLY hard.

see, it's not so bad.

You've already achieved a lot, so don't worry! Remember in the famous words of the great Dr. Phil: "Worryin' is like a rockin' chair...you're movin', but you just ain't getting anywhere!" I didn't do very well my first year, but everything worked out. Rock it out and have some fun - see you at Rick's!

Don't forget that grades don't have anything to do with how much you learned or how smart you are, particularly the first term. Law school is a marathon, not a sprint--so hang in there!

I know everyone says that grades don't matter and not to feel bad if you didn't get the grades you were hoping for. That sentiment doesn't really seem to help after you just spend a whole semester studying harder than you ever have in your life and not receiving the grades to show for it. While I can't offer help, I can say I have been there kid. Somehow you find a way to wake up each morning and go on. :)