Yes, those professors who are taking their time to turn in your grades are quite annoying. Waiting to see your fate in law school can be nerve-racking. We are here to help!

Here are tips on what to do if your grades were lower than what you wanted:

Stay calm! Regardless of whether you did well in school or if you received Cs or Ds, telling people can cause them to make assumptions about you, and gossip. Try to avoid having people feel jealous or inferior. A good way to do this is to keep to yourself regarding this discussion. And just because someone said they received high grades does not mean they are telling the truth. The true truth barometer comes out when students have been announced for law journals that only allow those with high grades to join. Until then, do not just believe what everyone tells you.

Do not keep any shame, self-pity, or denial in your head. Instead, take proactive steps:

1. Review your Exams in Detail

Some schools do not give exams back to students, but if your school does, take advantage of this resource. No matter your grades, you should always review your finals and consider any comments your professors have made. This is the best way to understand what you did right and wrong. Some professors simply write “Wrong,” “Redo,” or “Fantastic!” And this is where we come in. We test students and get them more pointed feedback with an explanation as to why you received poor grades.

2. Make an Appointment with Your Professor

Even if you will never have this professor again—but especially if you will—schedule some time with him or her to go over your exam together. You will have a hard time fixing low grades in law school if you do not know what to fix. Find out where you went wrong. And this will help you in the future – these are things you will need to work on for your current classes and for the bar exam.

3. Critique Yourself

Was your one bad grade an isolated incident, or are you dealing with a pattern? Review how your grades were compared to last semester. It is important to know exactly what happened so that you can fix your circumstances.

For law students who must explain to others why their grades were low, they should learn how to avoid using excuses or personal drama. Students who are honest, thoughtful, and politically correct usually fair well. However, they must be prepared to discuss what happened and the steps they have taken to ameliorate their situation.

4. Get Help

Law students may wonder why law schools never tell them how to master law school. However, there is a system for getting high grades in law school. To get good grades in law school, contact us! We help students all the time. After all, it is very difficult for a 1L to find an orientation that tells them how to play the game.

5. It Is All About You

The game of getting high grades in law school is a process and it is not simple. Wanting the As is not good enough, nor is working hard. I see a lot of well-meaning students who come to us disappointed after working incredibly hard, but either working on the wrong things or going about them in a less-than-desirable way. The way to break this cycle is to get help.

Ask yourself: How can I improve? Is there a more efficient way I can accomplish these tasks? Am I actually using the feedback I am getting from LST – Law School Tutor or just brushing it aside? Am I doing the heavy lifting on my own or waiting for good grades to be handed to me?

The law students I see who succeed are the ones who drive themselves. The know they are in charge of receiving and using the benefit of every piece of feedback from their law tutor.

6. Stop Doing the Things that Do Not Work

Look at what you are doing every day and how you are preparing for your law exams. Bad grades in law school can be devastating. However, students can move on when they face the fact that this was not a freak accident.

Law students must give themselves some tough love at some point. This is your GPA and it is up to you to fix it. No one can do it for you. Help is out there if you need it, but you have to get over the shame or pride or whatever other hang-ups you may have about this and really listen to and follow that advice. Whatever you did to earn these grades you are not happy with is not working. Find an alternative plan early, and commit to doing the hard work it will take to try again. It is not impossible – remember, someone out there in your class is doing well. It may as well be you. You can do it!

LST – Law School Tutor assists students in achieving high grades during law school, in order to ensure that they have better academic opportunities during law school and better job opportunities after law school.

For more information, please contact LST at info@law-school-tutor.com