Oh where to begin. I’ll start by saying I go to a top 50 school in the states. I get a lot of question about what my typical day looks like as a 1L and for more info about that you can follow me on snapchat @sarahelizabetch. I promise it’s not weird but it is a lot of me complaining about studying.
Orientation week and making friends
Orientation week was.. a lot. It seemed like a ton of information that could have been sent in an email but it was mostly helpful. You’ll soon realize that lawyers have some of the highest rates of alcoholism and depression because you’ll be told repeatedly over the course of orientation. But then after orientation you all go out drinking together. Making friends came pretty easily, actually. My advise: when there is a social event before the semester starts, you should for sure go for it. Be social, dumdum. Being a lawyer (mostly) you’re expected to be able to actually talk to people. Put yourself out there. Law school is hard enough and you need friends. That being said, there will be assholes. Do not befriend the assholes.
Yup. They cold call. And yeah, it kinda sucks. Not all professors will cold call but most do. Do yourself a favor and brief before class incase you’re the unlucky asshole the next day that gets called on, you have an answer. Do the reading before class. Try to actually understand it. Fucking go on Quimbee and look at a summary because that website is damn helpful. Go to class. You would be surprised how many people skip. Don’t be that asshole. Go to class or suffer later.
To prepare for class I briefed (you’ll learn how to do this in orientation) my cases and tried to summarize the other parts of the readings. There will be a shit ton of reading to do. Probably too much. Still do it.
Only ask a question in class if you GENUINELY believe it will either clarify information for you or the rest of the class. Off the wall hypothetical situations that would never fucking happen do not help anyone and you will forever be labeled as a dick if you do this repeatedly.
Go to office hours if you don’t want to ask questions in class. This is a godsend. Go to TA hours if the class has a TA. Try to answer your questions yourself first, though. Professors don’t want you to walk in their office and be like “yeah hi i don’t know things”. Come with specific questions.
I have mixed opinions of study groups. For reading your case book and stuff like that, obviously just do that by yourself. I do recommend getting a study group together with 2-3 other people in your small section (that you don’t hate and are actually smart) and having a weekly review session. Here, add to your outline for your end of semester exams and ask questions over your notes and gets some clarity.
So my schedule got weird and it might not work for you. This is because I woke up at 5 am every day and got to campus by 6 am to study before my first class which was at 8:30 am. I know that I’m a morning person so this worked for me to review before class. Basically, you need to plan out your entire week before hand or else your life goes to shit reallyyyy fast. Use whatever planner you think works best for you. Put in all your classes. Then schedule in when you eat, wakeup, shower, stuff like that. Schedule in when you workout, or else you will NOT do it, i promise. Fill in the gaps with studying. You might have to spend less time getting ready or less time working out. If you need to study, you need to study but studying should not be your entire life. That being said, treat yo self. I schedule a night out of the week (usually Friday night) where I go out with my friends or just hang out with them. Drinking is big in law school, ngl. Keep your shit together, but go have some fun because wow life is too short to drive yourself crazy over law school. Find a way to relax.
In general, law school is difficult but not impossible. I’ve met so many amazing friends and people I hope to work for later down the line. Make all the struggle of law school worth it.
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