Does everyone go to law school thinking they will be #1?

[Anonymous]

I have a family member going off to law school in the fall. She is convinced she will be #1 in her class. Is this common for incoming law students? I'm guessing most were top of their classes in undergrad. Just preparing for the possibility of a crash. She suffers from bipolar and is being treated but we worry. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

No, but if you get into a top 5 school you might decide to take a free ride to a second-tier school thinking you'll be #1 there. For most students you try to get into a school that's good enough that class rank is less important (somebody in the 50th percentile at Harvard still has better job prospects than #5 at GMU, for example).

[Anonymous]

I never thought I would be #1 but I had no idea how badly I would get crushed by the curve. It was a humbling experience to go from being top 10% in undergrad to what I like to call the "top of the bottom third" in law school at UVA. Everyone in law school works hard so you just have to accept that some people are smarter than you.

[Anonymous]

One of my parents was #1 in law school class. I didn't go to law school thinking I'd be #1 and it didn't really concern me at all (and my parents didn't have that expectation either). I ended up in the top 15%, which was plenty good for me. I worked my butt off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, but if you get into a top 5 school you might decide to take a free ride to a second-tier school thinking you'll be #1 there. For most students you try to get into a school that's good enough that class rank is less important (somebody in the 50th percentile at Harvard still has better job prospects than #5 at GMU, for example).

Not necessarily. I went to a second tier school, and those at the top of our class had prospects just as good if not better than the unranked at the tier 1 schools.

[Anonymous]

Good for her. I wish I had her foresight and drive. I was too naive and trusting with my competitive peers in law school, but nonetheless everything worked out for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never thought I would be #1 but I had no idea how badly I would get crushed by the curve. It was a humbling experience to go from being top 10% in undergrad to what I like to call the "top of the bottom third" in law school at UVA. Everyone in law school works hard so you just have to accept that some people are smarter than you.

My dh had the exact same experience, also at UVA Law.

[Anonymous]

If she is bipolar then she is likely going to suffer extreme depression, especially if she is K-JD. I saw some incredible flameouts and mental breakdowns 1L year when otherwise intelligent people ended up with a C+ in a major course and I doubt they had any underlying mental illness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a family member going off to law school in the fall. She is convinced she will be #1 in her class. Is this common for incoming law students? I'm guessing most were top of their classes in undergrad. Just preparing for the possibility of a crash. She suffers from bipolar and is being treated but we worry. Thanks.

No harm aiming to be #1 at anything unless it causes you to behave like a dick or be totally let down at being number 2 or 200....

Law school and med school class rank actually matters.

[Anonymous]

Yes. All of them!

[Anonymous]

No, absolutely not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she is bipolar then she is likely going to suffer extreme depression, especially if she is K-JD. I saw some incredible flameouts and mental breakdowns 1L year when otherwise intelligent people ended up with a C+ in a major course and I doubt they had any underlying mental illness.

Accurate

[Anonymous]

Yes, this is very common. People who have done well in the past don't realize it's going to be a more competitive pond. I know I thought I would be kicking ass and clerking for RBG: came out with a B+ average.

This is why people go to low ranked schools where 30% fail out and only the top few get jobs: they think they will be at the top.

[Anonymous]

No way, but the fact that she is part of this generation where everyone gets an award and everyone gets high grades because mommy complains to the professor that Johnny has anxiety, I can see why she would think this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is bipolar then she is likely going to suffer extreme depression, especially if she is K-JD. I saw some incredible flameouts and mental breakdowns 1L year when otherwise intelligent people ended up with a C+ in a major course and I doubt they had any underlying mental illness.

Accurate

Yes the bipolar kid in my class had to be institutionalized second semester and dropped out. Law is not a good field for the mentally unstable. I am a stolid rock sort and it has taken its toll on me.

Most students do think they are the ones who will be #1 and get Supreme Court clerkships and everything. The reset is actually a good thing for most of us B+ students -- you learn to be an average fish in a competitive pond and not to take yourself so seriously. Wouldn't recommend it for bipolar though.