Anyone who took a law preview course have any advice about it? like does it help enough to justify the price tag? and if you were to take one, how should you approach it to take most advantage? Thanks

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I signed up too. [Cue negative comments]

Guys, do a search and you will find A ZILLION people saying how much of a waste of money they are. Seriously, you will not benefit at all from them. Read Getting to Maybe and relax before school starts.

It should be interesting. Once you've registered, you can see the first names and prospective schools of everyone else who has registered. I was intrigued by the fact that there are quite a few students who will be attending Harvard, Yale and other T14 schools. There are also a few people who are enrolled from T4 schools. A large number are listed as attending that well-renowned school "Undecided," also known as "Wait-list."

(If it's so useless, I wonder why so many students from T14 schools enroll? Oh well, I guess I'll draw my own conclusions, after attending this summer.)

lol im going to a T14 and don't have any more knowledge than you... just because more t14 kids are enrolled doesnt mean its worth anything, it just means we are more neurotic by nature

The best way to prepare for law school is to attach a scalding iron to your forehead. Smell the sizzle, taste the burnt flesh. It approximates the experience.

Waste. of. money.

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QFT!

If you have the money, I think it can help prepare you for the first year, and that is very useful. Especially if you don't have family and friends that are lawyers.

Many 1L's feel like they are lost and clueless - a preview class would have helped them. How much is that worth?

Because they're gunners anxious for any edge. Seriously, the only thing I've heard from 1Ls is that law school prep courses are an astronomical waste of time and money.

Have you taken one or talked to anyone that has taken one? If so, and you still believe they are beneficial, then I won't argue.

I did not take one. I base my entire opinion on (1) how my friends that took them before 1L complained about them being useless; (2) the fact that law school is very easy to pick up without a course showing you how to brief a case - even for someone like me whose educational background is completely unrelated (accounting major); and (3) the fact that those people complaining about the preview courses seemed to do average at best during 1L.

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I have a close friend who took a preview course a couple years ago. He believed it helped him with his first year (very important) and he felt prepared and comfortable. His first semester grades were very good. But he decided to go to law school only one year before he started. I think he would have been a step behind without it. (I think it cost $1000.)

I believe prep courses would generally be a waste of time and money for a student who was already very prepared by reading all the info available, and talking to current and past law students.

Kind of like the LSAT prep courses. You can get all that info from other places. They are worth some time and money, but how much????

I disagree here. I think a LSAT prep course and law preview course are completely different. A LSAT prep course is substantively preparing you for a graded exam. In the law school context, this would more closely resemble a class that taught you Civ Pro or Contracts before your final exam. Instead, a law preview course is designed to teach you how to prepare for the class that prepares you for the exam. All this information can be picked up rather easily in the first few weeks of school - long before you are expected to know anything.

Also, law school is designed to teach you how to do everything and more that you will learn in a law preview course (and law school doesn't pretend like you can learn everything you need in a weekend). In fact, many law schools offer their own law preview type courses during the orientation period. Believe me, learning to brief a case is NOTHING.

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I did not take the Law Preview course. I had no idea it costs over a thousand dollars?

I would much rather invest 1,000 dollars in E and E's, outlines, Siegels, and a gym membership than in a week long "prep" course.

But that's just me.

That would certainly be a grand better spent.

You won't hear any "magic words" in the Prep class that will transform you to the top of your class. But, many 1L's are dazed and confused for the first semester. It's unpleasant and may translate to lower grades. You don't want to walk in the door unprepared and without reasonable expectations of the struggle that lies ahead. A Prep class is one way - though expensive - to help you to get your "mind right".

Bottom line: If you think you are prepared and ready for law school, you probably are.

It's easier to find out what the prep class costs than to find out what it's worth!

Are there other courses? People are referring to taking preview courses as if there are numerous ones on the market. I've only seen the brochures/materials for Law Preview. Its cost is about $1K, not the $3K mentioned above (although you may also have to pay for a hotel and meals for a week). At $200 for a 8+ hours for each class plus being given prep books for each 1L subject (and an additional discount at LawBooksforLess), it doesn't seem exorbitant at all.

Most law school students are confident that they can handle the work and believe that they know what they're getting into. Perhaps the attendees are a little more neurotic about getting whatever real or imaginary edge they can get from the course, or they are using the course to supplement their reading. I agree with Moorman that it's impossible to predict the value of the course to any individual, although the cost is easily identifiable.

I'll be happy to report back after August as to whether in my subjective opinion the $1,000 was well spent. Right now I'm looking forward to going, but I obviously may think differently after sitting in their classes for 8-9 hours a day for six days.

Check this out - save yourself $1000!

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73664

This assumes that the only thing taught by all of these law school professors for 40+ hours is how to brief a case? (Which is already covered in every book out there?) And the poster offering advice that law preview is useless admits he hasn't taken the course personally? The course might be useless, but I wouldn't make a decision based on that topic or advice from anyone who didn't actually experience it.

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