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Many, or perhaps most, law schools in the United States grade on a norm-referenced grading curve. The process generally works within each class, where the instructor grades each exam, and then ranks the exams against each other, adding to and subtracting from the initial grades so that the overall grade distribution matches the school's specified curve (usually a bell curve). "The curve" is the permitted range of each letter grade that can be awarded, for example, 0–3% A+, 3–7% A, etc. Curves vary between different law schools, as do the rules for when the curve is mandatory versus suggestive. It is common for the curve to be mandatory for first-year ("1L") courses, and for classes above a certain size.
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Grading on a curve contributes to the notoriously competitive atmosphere within law schools. "The main source of this competition is the mandatory curve you will likely encounter once you enter law school. The curve affects the class rank, affects the chances of making law review, affects the chances of scoring that big job/externship."[1] Some law schools set their curve lower to retain scholarship funding; others set their curve higher to make their students more competitive in the job market.
The following list shows where law schools set the 50% mark for an individual class subject to the curve. Because not all classes are curved and because professors still have discretion within the curve's ranges, where a law school sets its curve is not necessarily revealing of that school's average student GPA (whether after 1L or upon graduation).
Law school | GPA curve |
---|---|
University of Akron School of Law | 3.0 first year, 3.1 upper years.[2] |
University of Alabama School of Law | 3.20[3] |
Albany Law School | 3.0[4] |
American University Washington College of Law | No mandatory curve; 3.1 to 3.3 mean for 1L courses, except First-Year Rhetoric. 3.25 to 3.45 mean for most upper-level courses.[5] |
Appalachian School of Law | 2.50–2.67[6] |
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School | 2.00–2.34 (1L) [7] |
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law | 3.29[8] |
Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law | 3.30[9] |
University of Arkansas School of Law | 2.67 (most 1L course) 2.67 or 3.0 (in most other courses)[10] |
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law | 2.9–3.1[11] |
Ave Maria School of Law | 2.67[12] |
University of Baltimore School of Law | 2.67–3.0 (1L courses), 3.0–3.5 (upper-level courses)[13] |
Barry University, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law | 2.5[14] |
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law | 3.10 and 3.20 (all first-year courses)[15] |
Boston College Law School | 3.2[16] |
Boston University School of Law | Not reported (top-third: 3.51)[17] |
Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School | 3.30[18] |
Brooklyn Law School | 3.25[19] |
Capital University Law School | 2.6 to 2.75 (first-year classes)[20] |
Case Western Reserve University School of Law | 3.0 (3.1 median)[21] for 1Ls, varies from (3.2–3.67) for 2L/3Ls |
UCLA School of Law | Maximum median 3.3[22] |
UC Davis School of Law | 3.25–3.35[23] |
Chapman University School of Law | 2.8 (first-year courses) 3.0 (all other courses)[24] |
Charleston School of Law | 2.3 to 2.7 (first-year courses)[25] |
Chicago-Kent College of Law | 3.0 (mandatory for all required courses except legal writing; recommended for most other courses)[26] |
University of Cincinnati College of Law | 3.0 in first-year courses; 3.3 median in most upper-division courses[27] |
Columbus School of Law | 3.00–3.30 (4.33 scale)[28] |
University of Connecticut School of Law | 3.0 median[29] |
Cornell Law School | 3.35[30] |
University of Dayton School of Law | Beginning in the Fall of 2024, first-year courses on Grading Option A, other than Legal Profession I and II, shall be subject to the following grade distribution: 5-25% of the class shall receive A+, A, A-, or B+ grades; 35-65% of the class shall receive B, B-, C+, or C grades; 15-40% of the class shall receive C-, D+, D, or F grades. The mean GPA for the class shall not exceed 2.85.[31] |
University of Denver Sturm College of Law | 3.00 (median); 2.85–3.15 (mean)[32] |
DePaul University | For each first-year course and all JD courses with 50 or more students, the faculty suggests that 12%–17% of the grades be A, 20%–30% of the grades be A− and/or B+, 20%–30% of the grades be B, 20%–30% of the grades be B− and/or C+, and 10%–15% of the grades be C or below.[33] |
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law | All required courses, whether first year or upper year, are graded to a mean of 2.8–3.0. All elective courses are graded to a mean of 3.0–3.4.[34] |
Drexel University Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law | 3.–3.10[35] |
Duke University School of Law | 3.30 for 1L classes and all others with 50 or more people, 3.50 for all classes with between 10 and 49 people, and no median for classes with fewer than 10 [36] |
Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University | For first-year courses: Tier 1 (A+, A, A−) between 14% and 22% of all grades, with a target of 18%; Tier 2 (B+, B, B−) between 36% and 54% of all grades, with a target of 45%; Tier 3 (C+, C, C−) between 24% and 36% of all grades, with a target of 30%; Tier 4 (D+, D, F) between 0% and 10% of all grades, with a target of 7%. Upper-level courses with 30 or more students have a slightly modified distribution. Upper-level courses with fewer than 30 students are not bound by any distribution.[37] |
Elon University School of Law | 2.67 or 3.00 (based on a scale where 2.8 was equivalent to C and 4.3 was highest A)[38] |
Emory University School of Law | 3.30[39] |
Florida Coastal School of Law | 2.50 (1L mean); 2.70 (2L/3L mean)[40] |
University of Florida Levin College of Law | 3.25–3.35[41] |
Fordham University School of Law | 3.15–3.50[42] |
George Mason University School of Law | 3.00–3.20[43] |
The George Washington University Law School | 3.25–3.35 (1L) 3.15–3.45 (2L–3L)[44] |
Georgetown University Law Center | 3.33[45] |
University of Georgia School of Law | 2.90–3.20[46] |
Georgia State University College of Law | 2.9–3.1 (4.3 scale)[47] |
Gonzaga University School of Law | 2.60–2.90[48] |
Thomas Jefferson School of Law | 2.7[49] |
University of Houston Law Center | 3.20–3.40[50] |
University of Idaho College of Law | 2.70[51] |
University of Illinois College of Law | No mandatory curve, recommend curve for 1L courses 3.2[52] |
University of Kansas School of Law | 2.80–3.00 (1L mean), 2.9–3.1 (2L/3L required courses mean), 2.8–3.4 (all other mean)[53] |
University of Kentucky College of Law | 2.9–3.1[54] |
Lewis & Clark Law School | 3.3 (1L and classes with more than 20 students); 3.5 expected maximum (all other courses)[55] |
Lincoln Memorial University – Duncan School of Law | 2.3–2.7 (1L) 2.6–3.0 (2L)[56] |
Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center | 3.0 median, ±.1 (1L and all classes with more than 50 students); 3.0 median and mean, ±.2 (2L/3L Classes with less than 50 but more than 20 students)[57] |
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law | 3.017[58] |
University of Maine School of Law | 3.00–3.10 for 1L classes; 3.15–3.25 for 2L/3L classes with 16 or more students |
University of Massachusetts School of Law | 1.9–2.3[59] |
Massachusetts School of Law | 2.0[60] |
University of Memphis – Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law | 2.67[61] |
University of Miami School of Law | 3.2 |
University of Michigan Law School | 3.25–3.4[62] |
University of Minnesota Law School | 3.20–3.33[63] |
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law | 2.942 (median grade – grading guidelines vary by year in school and type of course)[64] |
Mississippi College School of Law | 2.50–2.79(1L)[65] |
University of Nevada, Las Vegas: William S. Boyd School of Law | 3.0[66] |
University of New Hampshire School of Law | 3.0[67] |
University of New Mexico School of Law | None currently listed.[68] |
North Carolina Central University School of Law | 1.67–2.33[69] |
Northwestern University School of Law | 3.35 for required 1L courses, 3.55 for elective 1L courses and upper-level doctrinal courses, no curve for other upper-level courses[70] |
Nova Southeastern University – Shepard Broad College of Law | 2.9–3.1[71] |
Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law | 2.33 (L1) – 2.66 (L2/L3)[72] |
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law | 3.30[73] |
Oklahoma City University School of Law | 2.5-2.835 for "fixed required courses" other than Legal Research and Writing. Between 10% and 35% of students must receive a C or lower in fixed required courses other than LRW. "Fixed required courses" includes all 1L doctrinal courses, as well as Evidence, Legal Profession, and Constitutional Law I and II.[74] |
University of Oklahoma College of Law | Mandatory mean between 8.1–8.5 on a 12 point scale (1L only) (between B and B+); no mandatory curve for 2L and 3L[75] |
University of Oregon School of Law | 2.67–2.75[76] |
Pace University School of Law | 2.3–2.5 1L; 2.3–2.7 2/3L[77] |
Pennsylvania State University – Dickinson School of Law | 2.90–3.10[78] |
Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law | 3.0 (1L); 3.33 (upper-level)[79] |
University of Pittsburgh School of Law | 3.00[80] |
Quinnipiac University School of Law | 3.02[81] |
University of Richmond School of Law | 3.20–3.40[82] |
Roger Williams University School of Law | 2.65–2.85 1L; 2.80–3.1 2L[83] |
Rutgers School of Law | 2.95–3.1 (mean) 1L; 3.1–3.4 (mean) upperclass courses[84] |
St. John's University School of Law | 2.95–3.05 (mean)[85] |
Saint Louis University School of Law | 1L: 2.7–2.9; 2/3L: 2.75–3.25 (large class); 2.65–3.4 (small class)[86] |
University of St. Thomas School of Law | 2.70–3.10[87] |
University of San Diego School of Law | 2.95–3.05[88] |
University of San Francisco School of Law | 2.73–2.99[citation needed] |
Seattle University School of Law | 3.1–3.2[89] |
Seton Hall University School of Law | 3.0[90] |
University of La Verne College of Law | 2.50[91] |
University of South Carolina School of Law | 2.75–3.0 (1L mean) |
University of Southern California School of Law | 3.30[92] |
South Texas College of Law Houston | 2.85–3.15[93] |
Southern Illinois University School of Law | 2.55–2.80[94] |
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law | 3.093 1L/2E; 3.090 2L/3E; 3.198 3L/4E (graduating)[95] |
Southwestern Law School | 2.80 (1L mean); 3.00 (2L/3L mean)[96] |
St. Mary's University School of Law | B- median (1L); B or B+ median depending on the course (2L or 3L). Between 10% and 25% of grades must be C- or lower. Between 10% and 15% of grades must be B+ or higher.[97] |
Suffolk University Law School | 3.02 (1L); 3.16 (2L/3L)[98] |
Syracuse University College of Law | ~3.0 (1L)[99] |
Temple University Beasley School of Law | 3.05[100] |
University of Tennessee College of Law | 3.1[101] |
University of Texas School of Law | 3.25–3.35. Various exceptions exist. 30-40% of grades in most 1L classes must be A- or higher, with 15% B- or lower.[102] |
Texas A&M University School of Law | 3.20[103] |
Thomas M. Cooley Law School | 2.00–2.40[104] |
Tulane University Law School | 3.20–3.30[105] |
University of Tulsa College of Law | 2.50–2.67[106] |
University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law | 3.38[107] |
Valparaiso University School of Law | 2.50–2.70[citation needed] |
Vanderbilt University Law School | 3.17[citation needed] |
Vermont Law School | 2.70–3.00[citation needed] |
Villanova University School of Law | 3.1[108] |
Washington and Lee University School of Law | 3.330[109] |
University of Washington School of Law | 3.40[110] |
Wake Forest University School of Law | 3.33 mandatory grading curve; 3.50 for legal writing courses[111] |
West Virginia University College of Law | 2.95–3.05 first-year doctrinal courses, 3.15–3.25 upper-level courses[112] |
Whittier Law School | 2.50–2.75 (1L); 2.50–2.88 (2L/3L)[113] |
Widener University School of Law | 2.30–2.75 (1L), 2.50–2.85 (upper level required), 2.50–3.10 (upper level elective, >20 students), 2.50–3.40 (upper level elective, ≤20 students) |
William Mitchell College of Law | 1L classes-2.9 upper level (non-1L) classes, mean between 2.7 and 3.3[114] |
University of Wisconsin Law School | 3.2–3.4 on the 4.3 scale[115] |
University of Wyoming College of Law | 2.60–3.00[citation needed] |
The following law schools have adopted a grading system which does not allow for the calculation of a comparable median GPA on a 4.0 scale, if any GPA is recorded at all:
Class of 2015 | Class of 2016 | Class of 2017 | Class of 2018 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Top 5% | 90.69 | 91.12 | ||
Top 10% | 89 | 89.41 | 89.65 | |
Top 15% | 88.14 | 88.55 | ||
Top 20% | 87.03 | 87.91 | ||
Top 25% | 86.21 | 87.20 | ||
Top 33% | 85.34 | 85.92 | ||
Top 50% | 82.10 | 83.71 |
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