CALI's Pre-Law Blog

10 Jan, 2007

As many of the you get your first grades back, it's important to understand that you cannot look at law school grades the way that you looked at undergraduate grades. Especially if, like me, you come from an undergraduate school that has pretty high grade inflation and almost all uncurved classes. Read more about law school grades below...

Two things to keep in mind if your grades seem lower than what they were in undergrad:

First, your school likely has a mandatory curve in place. That means there must be students who get A's, B's, C's and maybe even D's depending on your school's curve.

Really, the more telling sign in law school is ranking or percentile, both of which you may not know exactly for awhile.

Second, most everyone in law school for the most part, if the admissions office did its job well, is equally motivated, hard-working, and intelligent as you. That is to say, if in the past you were normally the star in most undergraduate classes, you now are in a school filled with people who are your academic equals.

So A's are going to be harder to come by for most people.

With those two thoughts in mind, do not panic at the sight of your first grades (that is, unless you are consistently scoring at the bottom of the curve, the school informs you that you are on probation, or the like). Letter grades are not enough for you to know where you reall stand.

Law School Academic Support Blog has The Five Steps of Grade Acceptance Plan that you may want to read as well.