gregh 2007-01-30 21:57 bar_passage Law_School rank
I've posted the GPA distributions by percentile as of the end of the Fall 2006 semester. The numbers were a lot lower than I expected. That's good news! I slid into the top 10%, while a buddy of mine jumped into the top 5%, helped along by his straight-A semester.
In addition, I've updated the USF bar passage by quintile to include class of 2006. Their performance was not quite up to the class of 2005. Hopefully, the classes of 2007 -- many of whom I started with -- and 2008 will crush them all!
Emily (not verified) 2007-01-31 04:52
Watch that bar passage rate! You might be needing an emergency meeting to talk about why the incredibly important and meaningful U.S. News ranking has dropped. Not that I know of any school where this has occurred.
K (not verified) 2007-02-07 10:47
Why do you think the GPA for 2nd years and part-time 3rd years is so low? Especially compared to the 1st years. 3.6 for top 5% wow!
I'm not sure.
gregh 2007-02-07 11:54
The 1L numbers seemed pretty high, and that's been relayed to me by several folks. I agree; they do seem high. However, I didn't record the numbers for last Fall, so I don't have any idea what they were. Plus, bear in mind that we're talking about one semester, and the first semester. Some people may have simply done very well, while many others will be shocked into action. Others who have done well may become complacent.
I can do a couple of comparisons. My first semester, I had a 3.35. I remember quite clearly that that put me right in the middle of the range between top 10% and top 15%. For Fall 2006, it would have put me near the top of the top 15%. Basically, it looks like it's only the top 5% number that's really high, and that number comes from a very small number of people.
Why does it go down? A handful of the top people will transfer to higher-ranked schools, taking their GPAs with them. Since it's already a small group, it wouldn't take too many to cause some major shifting. As above, some people will rest on their laurels or be caught by those who pick up the pace.
I think we'll know more when we see the end-of-year numbers, at which time it will be easier to judge whether this past semester was an aberration. Or, I suppose, I could go to the registrar's office and see if they've got old copies they'd be willing to show me. (No one at the school has ever mentioned approval or disapproval of my postings.)
One more thing; I fixed the clear error in my numbers for the top 15%.
