Place 200 type A personalities into a small, enclosed space for at least 20 hrs a week, and
viola!
you have high school all over again.
It's an accepted fact that we were all pretty much near 'the top of the class' ever since any of us could remember. Some of us got here by trying, some of us just coasted by on natural intelligence, but the fact of the matter is we're all equal in terms of academic ability. Our LSAT band is relatively narrow, GPA scores are almost worthless in measuring TRUE intelligence (and even then THAT band is narrow as well!) and I'm positive at least 95% of us are convinced we'll be in the top 10%.
So where does that leave us, not even one month in? Basically, we attempt to jockey for 'positioning' in the class. The way I see it, there are three types of Vanderbilt law students:
The Princeton/Yale/Harvard undergrads - Those poor saps. I can only imagine what is going on in their minds. Receiving law school rejection letter after rejection letter, from February to April, desperately clinging onto the hope that their attempts to rejoin the Ivy League had not failed (please, oh please Cornell… don’t fail me now!). It’s almost enough to make me approach each of them and say “So, Vanderbilt…. Kind of a drop in prestige for you, don’t you think?” The soothing balm of being at “The Friendliest Law School in the world (nay, the universe)” doesn’t quite ease the sting of knowing all your classmates are at Harvard, Yale and Stanford (Jesus even PENN).
The Third Tier State School undergrads – Massive chip on the shoulder. MASSIVE. Yes, we get it, your LSAT score was just as good as ours, probably a bit better since you came here for the scholarships (As you so faithfully remind us at every opportunity). We understand your need to explain the fact that you are ‘just as smart’ as the rest of us (wait, let me guess – you went to a state school to minimize your debt too? Impressive – none of us got scholarships anywhere, which is why we were unfortunate enough to attend Columbia), but the fact of the matter is you don’t even know how to write.
The Vanderbilt undergrad alumns – Go double ‘Dores! Your ‘love’ of Nashville masks the desperation you feel at being forced to spend yet another three miserable years in the South. What’s worse, is that you think that despite your accomplishments you could have ‘done better’ – as it is, you came out barely mediocre both in undergrad and law school, and can’t help but shake the feeling that you could have been able to do better, if only you were granted just a bit more intelligence. Seeing all your friends go on to get actual worthwhile degrees and greater job satisfaction just twists the knife in deeper. Quietly, you wonder if you should have just taken the full-ride and George Washington.
And that’s our class, or about 195 of us. I’ll hedge my bets – I’m sure at least 5 of us are somewhat well adjusted individuals… right?
