I'll start by noting that after a long discussion with two classmates the other day, I think we finally agreed on how to read the tables, what they mean, and that we were actually saying the same thing. The failure was that I always tend to extrapolate and try to figure out where I'm going to have to be the next year.

The GPA ranges represented are cumulative. It would be rather difficult to establish one's position in a class based on year-by-year numbers. Furthermore, I've only posted end-of-year tables. As a result, percentile position is determined based on cumulative GPA at the end of the spring semester.

The bands are a range. To be in the top third of the class, a 1L's first-year cumulative GPA would have to fall between 2.959 and 3.051, inclusive. The student would be in this group if his or her GPA was 2.959 or higher or 3.051 or lower. If the student's GPA is higher than 3.051, the student will be in one of the higher-ranked groups; lower, and the student is in one of the lower-ranked groups.

(Now, obiously, everyone in the top quarter, fifth, 15%, tenth, and twentieth are also in the top third. I'm just simplifying by calling that grouping a "band", suggesting it's a discrete group.)