Comments
Interpreting Stanford’s Grades Stanford Law School imposes strict limitations on the percentage of Honors grades that professors may award. These vary a bit depending on the type of class, but employers should expect to see approximately a third of students receive honors in any exam class and approximately 2/5th in other classes. This means that students who, under the former numerical system, would have received a grade on the mandatory mean (3.4), or even a 3.5 or 3.6, would receive a Pass under the current grading system. It is not unusual, especially if looking at students only after the first year, for someone in the middle of the class, or even in the top 40%, to have all P’s on his or her transcript. We, thus, strongly encourage employers who use grades as part of their hiring criteria to set standards specifically for Stanford students. Grading policies vary significantly from school to school. Other schools that have a similar system impose no limits on the number of Honors grades that can be awarded in all or in certain categories of classes, and it is not uncommon at those schools for over 70 or 80 percent of a class to receive Honors. Students, in turn, often select classes for precisely this reason: to load up the number of H’s on their transcript (which is why Stanford enforces strict limits on all classes). As a result, imposing the same grade requirements on Stanford students as is used on candidates from other schools may result in the inadvertent elimination of highly-qualified Stanford candidates. Grades should be considered in the context of other information about a candidate, such as faculty recommendations, pre-law school academic and professional experience, law school activities, and an interviewer's own impressions of the individual.