Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Grades!

So, unlike SB, we have actual grades for the fall semester, and they were released to us last week. Well, I say "actual grades" - I should say "fake grades, but with more options for doing badly than a Yale 1st semester 1L". The new grading system accounts for the fact that most of us, when we got with our grades, reacted with...not fear...not glee...but...confusion. Never before have I looked at my transcripts and not known what to think. The feeling was not universal. Both the kids who got 5 Low Passes and the kids who got 5 High Passes knew what was up. Still, the rest of us had almost no idea.

But, as someone who has gotten some pretty bad grades over the course of her lifetime (I'm not talking about a B, all you college over-achievers out there, I'm talking about bad grades), I'll rejoice in the fact that I appear not to have failed property, and move on. To less confusing pastures, like the job market, where I understand exactly what's going on - lots of rejection. Hopefully, employers will share in the general befuddlement over grades, and hire me on the spot, thinking I'm going to be valedictorian.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Cat,

Being a prospective HLS student myself, I'm pretty interested in the grading policy. Do you know what the previous grade cutoffs were for some V100 firms (specific examples would be great)? Has anyone said how that may translate with the new grading policy?

SB said...

So far, all I know grade-wise is that I passed Contracts. Woot!

Cat said...

Hi Writer,

Congratulations! I'm not looking for a firm job this summer, so I don't have that much good information for you. I had heard that it really helped to have a couple of As on your transcripts to make it to a firm your 1L summer, but because of the economy this year, almost no firms are hiring. And I'm sure no one knows how the new grading policy will affect things, since a lot of people believe that the new grades are pretty much solely to confuse firms, not make things clearer. I would call up the HLS admissions office (they're super friendly and helpful) to see if they can put you in contact with a student who knows more about this question than I.

Cat said...

Woot for not failing things, SB!

Cutwolf said...

How do latin honors (summa, magna, etc) work with the new grades? Any idea?

Cat said...

Hi Cutwolf,

I've heard (from other students) that the latin honors will still be awarded. I don't know if that's true, but it's not like there isn't any different between us - people still seemed to get a range of grades under the new system.