By Ronelie Smile D. Siervo | The Red Chronicles
Layout by Lou Margaret S. Nebit | The Red Chronicles
AI OVERVIEW: A 75% grade is generally considered a passing grade, but not a good grade, especially in college or university settings. In many grading systems, it falls within the range [of] a C grade, which is considered average or below average.
“Not a good grade.”
This is how AI in Google will describe the impression of having a 75% mark on your card.
In elementary or college days, this grade was synonymous with failure. As if you are already procrastinating when you get this rating.
But for law students, this is a different thing. It is a ticket to the next round. A key to the new door—admission to the next stage.
THE TABOO OF 75%, PASANG-AWA
When you are a law student, your grade will be composed of not entirely written work. You will be required to do your best at every meeting.
If we talk about each subject, the syllabus for each is not just one page. It comprises textbooks, case laws, and conflicting commentaries on legal concepts.
And, before you know it, exam week will surely consume all your energy just before you finish digesting 50 to 100 cases per subject.
Juris Doctor is not just a course. It is a battlefield.
This explains how the 75% becomes a refuge for law students.
Yet for grade-conscious students who have the luck to maintain a skyrocketing grade of 8 or 9, 75% is still a laughable combination of numbers. For them, passing is not enough. 75% do not call for a celebration.
For sure, grade-conscious students also have some pressures from their parents, peers and more often than not, their own obsession with winning.
It is not a problem.
But it becomes one when your fellow students magnify the feeling of being “not good enough” because your aim is just to pass. Your circle becomes smaller. Even if you pass, it seems like you offer little.
“75%, pasang-awa.”
A barometer of how a student did not do well in the exam. Just right in order to pass but not enough. They are not enough.
75% IS NOT 74%
The most common impression of 75%, especially to scholars, is almost always the beginning of the end of their privilege.
But is this really the reckoning point when someone you know might begin to fall?
Well, the answers vary.
“The combination of procedural matters in Remedial law will make you go nuts. Akala mo alam mo na, hindi pa pala. So, yeah, 75 is hands-up,” Some fourth-year students find this grade a solace. For them, it means, “You can already take the bar”.
“Kung sa Taxation mo nakuha, matalino ka pa rin. Pero kung Gender Sensitivity or Legal Ethics, kailangan mo talagang kuwestyunin. The latter subjects are rooted in understanding ethical and dignified conduct. Not as complex as tax or remedial subjects, nor even tricky as commercial law.” A third-year law student shares that the weight of getting 75% depends on the subject.
“Second taker kasi ako sa PFR, first ko naman sa Civpro.’Yung prof ko kilala ring hindi basta namimigay ng 75. Sa tuwa ko, napa-chat ako sa prof. nagpasalamat ako. Kahit 75 lang, proud ako.” a remark from a second-year student who admitted that 75% dramatically changed her law school journey.
“I ended college with latin honor. But in law school, napapakuwestiyon ka kung magaling ka talaga. 20 over 100, .5 grade sa quiz, grade pa ba iyon? That is when 75% becomes an answered prayer.” Statement from a freshman who was humbled by this grade.
What is already flunking to one, is a blessing to the others.
It is a sigh of relief.
“During my law school journey in MLQU, sobrang bobo ko sa Rem, hindi ko naiintindihan kasi hindi naman ‘yan nakukuha lang sa codal. Real application dapat. Sa bar exam nga ‘yan din pinakamababa ko! Pasang-awa. Thankfully, now I own a small notary office, already a retired law professor from Australia, and at 60, I still have clients. My expertise? Demurrer of evidence, that is very Remedial law!” A lawyer who owns a notary public office in Santa Rosa, Laguna, shares his memory of attaining this grade.
Barrista Solution, a well-known page catering to law students, published an article about having 75%, and some of the netizens commented:
“It is not the 75%, it is the context that you learn from the subject.”
“Line 8 or 9 pero natalo ang kliyente, kahit 7 yan or 5 pa! di bale na sa law school ka olats, pero ang kliyente mo panalo!”
“The victory of a warrior cannot be measured by how many injuries he sustained, but by how he survived the blows and assaults of the enemy. In court, the judge will not ask you about your grades in law school nor the results of your Bar exams.”
Mediocrity in law school is not the aim, but in this strict profession, coupled with tons of readings and the routinary Socratic method of recitation, 75% is not just 75%. It is a tap on the back that you still did well.
As of the moment, the attainment of 75% is now a rank higher than the passing grade in the bar exam.
In 2024, a media giant’s headline stated that: “SC lowers bar exam passing rate to 74% to address lawyer shortage in PH.”
“The justices would like to have more lawyers. Ayaw nila na 3,000 lang ang new lawyers, but they want more lawyers.” a statement of Bar chairperson Justice Mario Lopez quoted in the said article.
Suffice it to say, 75% is a humble combination of numbers. It is a grade that has no single impression, as from the mouths of different students, it varies.
And with the recent announcement of the Supreme Court, 75% is not just a passing rate, it is a nationwide point higher than the mark of passing.
75% CUTIE: A law of attraction
The word “cutie” on social media found its way to be trendy back in 2024. It is synonymous with awesomeness that brings good luck.
During competitions or any difficult events, netizens flock to their pages with posts putting the word “cutie” as a sign of manifestation.
Law students are surely familiar when it comes to this.
When you become a law student, you will not just become religious. You will also believe in things that will certainly serve as a lucky charm to ace a good grade.
Truly, this is not an isolated case.
In the 2021 case of Pimentel vs. LEB, even the Court held that the legal profession is a combination of difficulty and luck.
We are all aware that the study of law is not just taking chances. It is becoming adept in the legal world. But still, even the highest court believes that luck still impacts studying law.
Being swamped in mediocrity in this profession cannot be said to be because of lacking in intelligence but because we are a nation of misfits, as stated in the case of Department of Education, Culture and Sports v. San Diego.
You are not unintelligent, rather, you are not in your own tribe. You are finding yourself in a sea of smart, wise, and know-it-all people. But law school is not just about becoming the best. It is also about survival. It is about your grit.
This realization makes the world of law students harsher. They are not just battling for wit, but also to be fit.
As of 2023, there are only 84,236 lawyers in the Supreme Court of the Philippines’ Roll of Attorneys. The additional 3,962 from the recorded 2024 bar passers is still not enough to serve the 30 million population in the country.
This is the reason why we call for allies rather than critics.
We do not need competition. We need colleagues to help us in the legal profession. Instead of viewing grades as a weighing scale on how you will look at a person, treat it as a tool in evaluating your performance, not others.
The next time you hear someone get a 75%, do not think of them as a lesser person who is on the verge of failing. It is still a hard-earned grade.
It is still a win.
NOTE TO THE READERS: Volume XVIII, Issue 2, penned and published by The Red Chronicles, is a Back Issue for the Publication Year 2024-2025. Note that this article aligns with the events relevant to the previous Academic Year 2024-2025. For further viewing of the same, you may view the flipbook version or visit our official website at theredchronicles.net.
SOURCES:
- Getting a 75 in law school: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=795884448450968&id=100194551353298&set=a.123679885671431
- SC lowers bar exam passing rate to 74% to address shortage of lawyers in PH https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/929938/sc-lowers-bar-exam-passing-rate-to-74-to-address-shortage-of-lawyers-in-ph/story/#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20has%20lowered,takers%20passed%20the%20bar%20examination.
- DECS v. San Diego https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/assets/dtSearch/dtSearch_system_files/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getdoc&DocId=37341&Index=%2A4aeb4dbdcceeda9b59b85ae3fb22cec0&HitCount=2&hits=4+10+&SearchForm=C%3A%5Celibrev2%5
- Pimentel v. LEB https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/68044
- CUTIE: Manifestation of Awesomeness https://mentalhealthph.org/12-30-23/
- CUTIE meaning https://www.reddit.com/r/studentsph/comments/pfkiit/anong_meaning_ng_up_cutie_or_ust_cutie_etc/
- The law of attractions: Cutie chronicles https://nylonmanila.com/pop-culture/personalities-who-manifested-their-success-stories/