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2L spring grade drop, how bad is it?
Posted: Fri May 29, 2026 11:07 pm
by Anonymous User
basically: just finished 2L at a "lower" T14 (not HYSCCN), came into this semester with a 4.0 and top ~2% in class, but got mid grades in the spring and dropped to a 3.93, top ~5%. I can't tell how big an impact this will actually have on my clerkship chances. I am on law review (but not EIC or articles), did moot court (but didn't make it out of the first round), etc. . . . I worry that, without a flashy GPA to help me stand out, I'm a boring candidate. Is this typical law student neurosis or am I actually cooked?
Re: 2L spring grade drop, how bad is it?
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2026 9:38 pm
by Anonymous User
I clerked in a major metropolitan district. Top 5% versus top 2% wouldn't have mattered much to us at all, as we mostly used grades or class rank as a cutoff to give your application a close read. If an application was in the ballpark on grades, we cared much more about what the letters said, or if there was anything else interesting or notable on the resume.
Maybe there would be a slight plus to an application from like someone who graduated summa or was on track to be number one in their class, but (1) we would only really understand that about a 2L application if a professor said it in a letter, and (2) that probably wouldn't be an independent reason to give someone an interview.
Re: 2L spring grade drop, how bad is it?
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 5:24 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2026 9:38 pm
I clerked in a major metropolitan district. Top 5% versus top 2% wouldn't have mattered much to us at all, as we mostly used grades or class rank as a cutoff to give your application a close read. If an application was in the ballpark on grades, we cared much more about what the letters said, or if there was anything else interesting or notable on the resume.
Maybe there would be a slight plus to an application from like someone who graduated summa or was on track to be number one in their class, but (1) we would only really understand that about a 2L application if a professor said it in a letter, and (2) that probably wouldn't be an independent reason to give someone an interview.
Thanks for the reply! I guess my fear is that I will be directly compared against all the other people from my school who are also applying to clerkships, and if I have a 3.93 and someone else who applies to the same judge has, say, a 3.97 or something, I'm cooked (even if our resumes both say "top 5%").
Re: 2L spring grade drop, how bad is it?
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2026 9:39 am
by Anonymous User
3.93 is still elite. You'll be fine.