The Curve: Competition at its Finest.

Ah yes, I remember the good ole days when grading on a curve meant everyone’s grades went UP! Like when the best kid in the class got a 90%, so they made his grade a 100% and my 80% when up to a 90%. Man, those were great days.

I believe I was the last person in my class to learn that law school is also graded on a curve. The Dean was speaking to use earlier this week when she said “...and the grades are all curved, but that’s no surprise to anyone here” Uh...rewind...seriously?! How am I the only one in that room who was actually surprise?

Law School Curve:

First, We have a 9 point scale.

9 = A+

8 = A

7 = B+

6 = B

5 = C+

4 = C

(however if you have a C average, you flunk out of law school)

And so on.

Now to explain the curve.  For example, only the top 10% of the class can get an A. So I could totally dominate a test, but if 10% double dominate the test, I will get a B.

Let me explain a different way. My classes range from 35 people to 140 people per classroom. That means, in order to get an A in my smaller class, only 3-4 people can do better than me on the test. And in my large class, 14 people can do better than me.  

Or in picture form:

showing off my impressive "paint" skills

This is why law school students are known to be cut throat. That is: hiding books from students in the library, not sharing notes if someone is sick, and studying alone. Its every woman for herself.

However, I have yet to experience that at UNL. Thankfully, we are known for our community and general pleasantness. But I have heard horror stories from other schools about student ripping out pages in books, or just cutting out the citations to prevent others from competing assignments!