June 18, 2018

How to Save Your Law School GPA

What to do after a bad semester in law school and 4 strategies for if you're failing out of law school. How to get better grades in law school. Law school grades tips. 4 ways to raise your law school GPA. How to raise your grades as a a 1L. How to raise your grades as a 2L. What to do if you're failing law school. law school blog. law student blogger | brazenandbrunette.com

Surprise haha! I plan on doing a post about graduation and several posts about what I learned from my internship and about Bar prep, but today I'm taking a quick study break to write this because I feel like I need to say this now so here it is. 

Okay so look, literally EVERYONE in law school will have *that one semester* where they didn't do so hot (even yours truly). Even if you're on academic probation, I want you to remind yourself of that! Law school is hard and sometimes it can be too much at once and your grades can suffer, but that doesn't mean that you should drop out (unless you truly hate it). So here's some ideas to help you get back in the game and raise that GPA.

Related: How to mentally bounce back from bad grades


Take the professor, not the class

This was some advice that one of my 1L professors gave our class and he was so right. If you find a professor that you click with and did well with, take that professor again as much as possible. Each time you retake him, you're starting out a little bit ahead because you already know what to expect in class and on exams. This little edge can help you get repeat good grades to cushion your GPA. And, usually if you retake a professor a lot you get to know them and then wow look at you having a go-to person for scholarship or job rec letters or other opportunities. Even if you don't necessarily need these classes, take them if your schedule will allow it.


Take summer classes

I'm a huuuuge proponent of summer classes in law school. Not only are they normally cheaper than regular law school classes (so you're getting credits at a discounted rate and taking out less loans), you also are getting ahead on your credits so you can take less classes in during the regular year. This will help your grade during the regular year because you can take less classes so you'll be less overworked and will have less to study during finals and more time to study for your other classes. 

Anyways besides all this, the summer classes that I've taken are usually easier because you are taking only one or two classes at a time and generally the classes aren't as intense as regular law classes because they're shorter. Now a warning that summer classes are usually smaller and you know how that's not fun with the curve so try extra hard in these classes! I mean after all, it's a lot easier to take one class and throw yourself in to it and then put yourself in a position to beat the curve  than treat this like a regular class. Don't worry if you're working during the summer or gone, because you can still take advantage of this if there's some flexibility with your schedule.


Take the easy A

Now, there's some debate on whether this is sabotaging you with the Bar if you are taking pointless classes that aren't covered on the Bar or are taking Bar-covered classes but not really learning anything. I took an easy Wills class and while some of this stuff is new to me I don't really feel all that behind my classmates who took the harder Wills professor and learned more than me, because the Bar prep companies do a good job of catching you up. If your grades are fine then maybe you don't need to risk this, but I think if you're on the edge then it's worth it to chase the grade. I mean, after all, being prepared for the Bar is useless if you failed out of law school right? 

Try a new study style 

Each year of law school, I ended up having a totally different study style. Not because one was bad so I had to do another but just because I had to adjust to my circumstances and also I guess I wanted to experiment for the purpose of weighing in my opinion (just like Carrie Bradshaw's dating life right? haha). Anyways, here's some different styles for you to explore:

Breaking your day down into sections

If you were working or were in extracurriculars, then maybe it's time to cut back on those or even stop. I know you're probably trying to set yourself up to get a job, but again remember that you're not going to get a post-graduation job if you don't graduate. Also, it might be worth the investment to look in to getting some supplements to help you review and make sure that you're understanding the material like you need to be.


This is a short post, but I just wanted to give some of y'all out there some motivation and ideas to get you started on saving your GPA! If you got bad grades because you realized that you hated law school, then I totally support your decision to drop out (I mean hey at least you tried and now you know). But if you don't hate law school, don't think just that one bad semester or a few less-than-mediocre semesters should make you stop. If you have any other suggestions of how to help that GPA creep back up, leave a comment below (even if it's anonymous!) and pass on the knowledge. 
let's be friends!


7 comments:

  1. By instilling the strict discipline to never accept just "ok" work and continuing to strive for perfection, you GPA will be constantly at the top of the class.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi... I am going to be starting law school next month in India and I have read almost all your posts to get some insight as to how to go about law school. In fact I have started my own site to document the journey. I would love for you to check it out and give me some advice.
    Desi Legal Diaries
    desilegaldiaries.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Damini and welcome to the law school blogging world :) I love your blog and added it to my post of law school blogs! Good luck this year!

      Delete
  3. Great advice. Law school GPAs are... fickle. I really like the idea of selecting classes just for the professor. I think that alone could make a big difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Blakely! I've retaken several professors and each time received at least the same, if not a better grade and I'm so grateful for those little boosts!

      Delete
  4. Once again, greattt advice! I'm a rising 3L and I had my "less-than-great" semester last fall... my grades were just "OK" but any law student knows how sucky it is to work really hard and get "OK" grades. YUCK! Anyways, this summer, in an effort to figure out how to raise my GPA so I can graduate with honors, I read a few books. I've read "Deep Work" by Cal Newport, "How To Become A Straight-A Student" by Cal Newport, and "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. They have all been very informative. I plan on implementing what I've learned this fall, but I recommend these books to any student looking to raise their GPA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tips! I might just have to pick those up and do a review blog post over them! Good luck this last year I'm sure you can keep your GPA on the rise!

      Delete