First of all, regardless of your final grade, you can be happy that you passed your Abitur. Congratulations on that! You have shown that you are basically capable of studying at a German university – you are “university ready”. You probably decided to study law while you were still in high school or even after graduating from high school. In the following article, I would like to explain to you what meaning your specific high school grades will have for your law studies and beyond.
The average rating Abitur: your door opener!
1. The application process
In Germany you can study law (degree: first legal exam[1]) at public and private universities. There are a number of reasons why recent graduates choose a very specific university location. For example, law schools located in urban areas – think Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, for example – are often flooded with applications. But also university rankings such as B. that of LTO career it can be instrumental in the particular popularity of a university and its law school. In these cases, the large number of candidates often encounter a limited number of study places. With what you surely know Block number (NC) the respective universities then try to draw an adequate “limit” to the number of places to study.[2] So this is where your high school grades first get a special meaning: one door opener function – to. The following applies: the better your baccalaureate average, the greater the chance that you will be offered a place in your desired study location. But do not worry: there are also the faculties of law without NC (eg Bayreuth, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Frankfurt on the Oder, Greifswald, Halle-Wittenberg, Jena, Leipzig, Mainz, Marburg, Osnabrück, Passau, Regensburg, Trier, Würzburg).
You will find a different situation in private universities[3] – the so-called law schools – first. According to the universities themselves, Abitur grades are not regularly at the heart of the application process for a place at the university. This is also repeatedly pointed out on their respective websites:
“We believe there is more to a capable lawyer than good school grades. Your personal suitability is the only thing that matters to us. To determine this, we rely on our individual selection process ”. (EBS University of Economics and Law, Wiesbaden) [4]
“At Bucerius Law School, we are convinced that anyone with a knack for the law can successfully complete their studies with us. Therefore, in our selection process, the focus is on the suitability of candidates for the subject of law, not on the Abitur degree. “ (Bucerius School of Law, Hamburg)[5]
In principle, there is the possibility of a place at the university even without the highest marks in the Abitur. The problem, however, may be the financing of your studies. You will have to pay high semester fees at private universities, which are many times higher than at public universities.[6]
Result of the study: There is a connection between school grades and exam success!
2. Influence of the high school grade on academic performance
In the form of an empirical study[7] under the direction of prof. Dr. Bernd Dieter Meier in 2002 the connection between school grades and success in the first state exam in law was examined. This led to the following two results:
(1) The result of the examination[8] it is related to the unweighted average of the overall grade of the high school diploma. The better the average mark in the Abitur, the more likely you are to pass the law exam and the higher the average score on the exam.[9]
(2) The exam result is also correlated to the individual partial performances achieved in the advanced level courses. This correlation became particularly evident in relation to the subjects of mathematics and the first foreign language to be continued, as it was not Latin. When it came to choosing Latin as a subject, however, it was not possible to prove any connection between grades in higher-level courses and success in law studies.[10]
Regardless, the following still applies: if you are interested in and possibly also enjoy studying law, you will also be able to achieve good results.
Good Abitur – An indicator of diligence and determination!
3. You work part time during your law studies
Of course, students are always short of money! To keep your financial situation in the best possible balance, you will probably have to go to work during your studies. At best, then combine business with practical – a job where you can expand your legal skills and get information about the practice and also earn money at the same time. HiWi works in particular carry this combination[11] with himself. However, these jobs are few and far between. The classic HiWi positions are attached to the chairs of the faculty of law or in law firms. Whether it’s a job posting or an unsolicited application, professors or law firms often want their baccalaureate certificate and previous academic achievements to be presented during the application process. In most cases, their main focus will be on grades during your studies. Because in HiWi jobs you will be mainly entrusted with solving legal problems or involved in legal projects. An indicator of the possibility of solving such problems with legal tools is more evidence of previous, average or above-average academic achievements.
Your degree of maturity, on the other hand, can underline factors like determination and diligence, but in most cases it will play a subordinate role. Furthermore, however, it shouldn’t go unnoticed that for many employers, grades are not the top priority. Often it is about interpersonal relationships. No one makes money from hiring the best of the year if that person bad vibes presented to the project / work group. The same is true here: your high school grade can be an indicator, but it doesn’t have to be.
The excellent average Abitur: an ace in the hole!
4. The degree of maturity in choosing a career
Even after studying law, your grade point average can become important to you again. If eg. B. would like to become a probation judge in NRW and did not achieve a grade (at least 9 points) in the second state legal exam, you can also be invited for an interview if you have less than 9.00 points, but at least 7.76 points and you are distinguished by special personal qualities. This can eg. B. special results in the Abbitur, in the study or in the first legal status examination.[12] This is a discretionary decision, in which not only the vote of the Abitur counts, but also takes into account the entire academic and professional career, i.e. the vote of the 1st state exam, as well as personal or social commitment. For this reason, there is no specific average rating on the homepage, above which an invitation will certainly always follow. A very good grade in the Abbitur will therefore increase the likelihood of being invited to the selection process in the form of an assessment center.
5. conclusion
As we can see, your high school grades can still be important to you before, during and after your law school. Often this note has a pure door opener function. The better it is, the easier it will be to open some difficult doors in your legal path. But even if you don’t have one a cut reached in high school, you shouldn’t put your head down. You may also be able to move to your desired study location at a later time, during your studies or during your legal internship. Your ability and willingness to perform didn’t even stop at your high school level. With the right learning methods, you can also find joy in solving legal problems during your law studies and thus gradually improve your grades. Ultimately, this can also mean that you are no longer dependent on your maturity degree due to the results of the first and second legal exams.
[1] If you successfully pass the first legal exam, you will earn the title of “Diplom Jurist” or “Magister iuris” in most universities.
[2] You can find an overview of the current NC values (WS 2021/2022) for law studies at: https://www.talentrocket.de/(last found on 06.09.2022).
[3] Private universities aiming to complete the first legal exam include: Bucerius Law School (Hamburg), EBS University of Economics and Law (Wiesbaden), BSP Business and Law School (Berlin).
[4] Available to: https://www.ebs.edu/de/studienprogramm/ (last found on 06.09.2022).
[5] Available to: https://www.law-school.de/ (last found on 06.09.2022).
[6] For an overview of tuition fees in law schools, see: https://www.privathochschulen.net/ (last found on 06.09.2022).
[7] Meier, B..: Is success in law school predictable? Empirical results on the relationship between school grades and performance in the First State Examination in Law, Contributions to University Research, Edition 4, Volume 25, 2003, available at: https://www.bzh.bayern.de/.
[8] Any major studies are not taken into consideration. There was no such thing until the 2004/05 winter semester.
[9] Meier, B.. (Fn. 7), S. 1.
[10] Meier, B.. (Fn. 7), S. 1.
[11] Often referred to as “student assistant” or “student assistant”.
[12] See Requirements for appointment – The requirements for appointment as judge, which can be consulted at: https://www.olg-duesseldorf.nrw.de/(last found on 06.09.2022).
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