Basically, we discussed several options, all of which involve assigning a rank to the top 33%. After that, there would be percentile notations. One option would divide the percentiles into top 1/3, middle 1/3, and bottom 1/3. Another would add percentiles at top 10%, 25%, 33% and 50%, and then bottom 50%. Another option would do away with percentile rankings altogether. I'm actually in favor of the latter. Rank the top third and then let the grade point do the talking beyond that. What was interesting was that CU is one of only a handful of schools that ranks its entire class.
The other interesting thing we learned is that DU has a higher median that CU, and also Dean Trujillo and another 1L who apparently worked for a Denver firm said that among Denver firms DU is considered the *better* school ?? Are we screwing ourselves over? How and why?
I know DU has a huge alumni network, and ostensibly a more "practical" curriculum, but the incoming credentials of CU vs. DU students, as well as bar passage rates, tell a different story. Honestly, this is the first I've heard this, so it blew me away.
Fortunately, in one of my rejection letters for summer jobs I was encouraged to interview with that firm at DU's Fall OCI.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Ah, the rankings debate. This got pretty heated last year. (I believe Buffs mentioned the TWEN page brawl.)
Yes, DU does have a higher average median, but all that means is that their GPA's look better than ours.
I've never heard that Denver firms generally think DU is better. Even if they do think so, I think many attorneys would agree that the *students* at CU are generally better.
Either way, though, why would this come up at the rankings meeting? I doubt that changing our rankings system will really change the way Denver firms view CU.
Don't you think it's somewhat significant that DU's grades look better than ours? Do you really think firms care to compare the medians? Not that it matters, because Dean Trujillo told my friend the faculty would never approve an increase in the median.
The DU is better comment, at least in my experience, comes from mostly DU grads. I've never heard a CU grad or a grad from another school make the same claim. So I think it just depends what alumni you are around. The bar passage rate and the employment rates say a lot about a school.
I've only ever heard CU students say this. All the DU people I've met have been incredibly complimentary of CU.
And I'll add that all the major Denver firms see to disagree with Dean Trujillo, at least based on summer associate #s.
I think you need to consider who made the comments, and their basis for that opinion. Trujillo's probably got a better perspective, but a 1L? I don't know the person who made the comment, but a year's worth of experience in a single firm does not a solid opinion make.
I think, however, the comment was made by a 1L with more than a couple years experience - but I did not ask her to quantify the experience.
Alumni networking skills are different then perception of legal skills. I still haven't seen a DU grad who claims generally DU students are better prepared. It may be in the indiivdual case, but not the general.
i'll slap every DU student right in the mouth.
The "CU grads leave CO" comment conflicts with statistics. Last I checked, 80% of our grads remain in CO after graduation.
As for whether DU grads are better regarded than CU grads, again, look at the numbers. DU's classes are ~150% larger than CU's, so there's bound to be some good attorneys in there. Are their professors better than ours? Who knows. Do their students pay more than ours? Absolutely. Is there greater demand for spots at CU given the smaller class sizes, lower tuition, and 50% in-state admissions requirement? You bet your bippy. Nonetheless, by volume, it might even out.
[JQET, insert "Objection! Leading!" here]
In my mind, we need to bury the CU/DU comparisons. Employers and our administration disserve us by comparing CU with DU. Kirsten Dueck has it right: the better comparison is with NYU which, 25 years ago, exhibited many of the same characteristics as CU. That, to me, gives us something to strive for, and a better benchmark.
At the town hall mtg they said it would affect 1Ls and 2Ls.
Post a Comment