If I could do my first semester over again... Forum

[jd20132013]

reading the E and Es as a way to supplement my outline has been great, at least for civ pro and torts

[northwood]

relax a bit more, do a bit less work early in the semester, get a good solid support network ( did this around midterm time and it made school a whole lot more fun) dont get blackout drunk and make a fool of yourself at bar review every thursday, have all outlines up to date before thanksgiving, work on the memo a little bit from the day it is assigned to you ( news flash its a major time trap) and put it all in perspective- while its a marathon, and its very streessful at times, you dont have to worry about being hurt on the job, or killed, or maimed.
Dont expect to get As or B+, be prepared for medianville, but prepare as though you need that A,

and dont take things personally..... and stay away from the rumor mills

[TheFutureLawyer]

i wouldn't read the E&E's until the end of the semester. The cool part about E&e's IMO is that they crystalize/summarize/put into easy terms the concepts of the class for you--- after the semester is over they are a great study tool or use a chapter to fill in something where you missed class, but reading them before seems gunnerish and a waste of time.

if i could do 1L first semester over again, i wouldn't. hahah

I was thinking the exact same thing, but it has it's drawbacks too. I feel like EEs helped me better understand the material during the semester, which allowed me to absorb more from class and the casebook.

Yeah I didn't do that stuff at all, and I think it really hurt me in not understanding the material (mostly just for civ pro and Ks though, torts and crim are pretty straight forward). My plan for next semester: get the EEs for all classes, and go though it at the end of each topic or subtopic within each class (usually something like 4 classes). And then after that, write that topic into my outline.

Most definitely, finish all the readings a full 4 weeks before your first exam (along with your outline - anything you need to add/edit after going to class will probably be minimal). You can then spend a straight 2 weeks memorizing the material at a comfortable pace while finishing classes, and get to doing practice exams for the next two weeks again at a comfortable pace.

Also, probably the single most important thing you can do as a 0L is get your typing speed up from wherever it's at (unless you're already like 150+ or something). I'm type around 45 wpm, and I could tell during the exam just looking up every once in a while that others were crushing my word count, and I'm sure they weren't just typing bullshit either. Less time you spend typing, the more time you can use doing issue spotting and analysis (and it's pretty much impossible, depending on your professor, to hit every issue with a deep analysis).

[bport hopeful]

Buy supplements sooner.

Work a little harder early on.

Totally agree about starting the Memo sooner.

Take better notes.

Build up more Lexis points.

Pay attention in class.

Lock my facebook between the hours of 9 and 4.

[Sandro]

Focus on MEMORIZING the material for the classes that are closed book exams - 2 or 3 days of studying right before the exam just isnt enough time to get all the info memorized for me.

Spend more time reading the supplements than the cases - the cases are worthless for the most part.

Do my outline after we finish each small subtopic/chapter - I heard a lot of advice from people to not start outlining until late oct/nov. Cool advice, was overloaded with my memo at the end of october and basically had zero time to outline.

Practice typing out exam answers midway through the semester - so you dont even have to think and can just start typing on the final.

[crossarmant]

Not treat LRW like the red-headed step-child and then rush to work on it.

[dreakol]

hopefully learning how to type fast pays off

if it doesn't, i probably wouldn't have spent so much time practicing it

[ilovesf]

i would've read the e&es during the semester, not save them until a week before the exam. they're totally helpful, but reading them now is limiting my time to take practice tests. i also would have started outlining ~1 month into school instead of ~1 month before the exam. i also want to figure out a way to go to office hours more - i can just never think of any questions to ask.. next semester i might try to start practice tests earlier during the semester and bring them to office hours.

[crossarmant]

i would've read the e&es during the semester, not save them until a week before the exam. they're totally helpful, but reading them now is limiting my time to take practice tests. i also would have started outlining ~1 month into school instead of ~1 month before the exam. i also want to figure out a way to go to office hours more - i can just never think of any questions to ask.. next semester i might try to start practice tests earlier during the semester and bring them to office hours.

This. I want to go to office hours, I feel that it could be beneficial. But the one time I did for CivPro, I felt like I was interrupting the professor's time and his explanation of things just muddied my understanding even more. I can never really think of legit questions because I felt like I understood the subject matter okay and that going to office hours was really just wasting the professor's time.

[gaud]

tag

[ilovesf]

i would've read the e&es during the semester, not save them until a week before the exam. they're totally helpful, but reading them now is limiting my time to take practice tests. i also would have started outlining ~1 month into school instead of ~1 month before the exam. i also want to figure out a way to go to office hours more - i can just never think of any questions to ask.. next semester i might try to start practice tests earlier during the semester and bring them to office hours.

This. I want to go to office hours, I feel that it could be beneficial. But the one time I did for CivPro, I felt like I was interrupting the professor's time and his explanation of things just muddied my understanding even more. I can never really think of legit questions because I felt like I understood the subject matter okay and that going to office hours was really just wasting the professor's time.

I tried to go twice, and both times another student was in the office for ~30 minutes so I left. I don't know what the protocol is for how long you have with a professor, but apparently people in my section have no problem staying there forever.

[005618502]

Very informative, Thanks

[spleenworship]

Quit in the first week and done something else.

[kentuckylaw]

Same
- Had a great time over the summer, only reading through GTM and Law School Confidential
- Go to office hours
- Work through all of the E&E's throughout the semester, and again closer to exam time
- Do CALI lessons when I don't understand a topic
- Practice typing BLL in the day or 2 leading up to the exam
- Spend 30 minutes or so after each class reviewing/typing/organizing notes
- Regular exercise
- Read for/attend every class, but don't worry about getting called on
- Sleep 7-8 hours per night
- Have fun with it...it's not all bad

Different:
- Don't bitch about law school to non-law school friends - no one cares
- Work on resume/cover letters early in the semester or over the summer
- Don't buy any books for LRW
- No Facebook 9-5

[alicrimson]

Same:
Go to every class
Regular working-out
Keep up with readings
Make friends with smart upperclassmen+obtain outlines
Begin studying in October
Practice exams out the whazoo
LEEWs in September
Go to office hours and hound professors about exam stylings/ questions on material that come up. They will come up.
Talk to said upperclassmen friends and find out which supplements are a waste and which are not. Also, find out teacher's personal preferences when it comes to test writing.
Working Fridays.

Different:
Stay consistent with one supplement.
Do the work in LRW from day one.
Relax. Its just law school.
Not cry to my boyfriend after every exam, thereby making him master consoler.
Actually do coverletters and resume early. Don't just think about it. Be proactive.

[20130312]

Tag, this thread seems pretty useful.

[knickerbocker]

Would you guys please post Amazon links to the E&E books 0L's should read over the summer?
Thank you.

[alicrimson]

Would you guys please post Amazon links to the E&E books 0L's should read over the summer?
Thank you.

"Should"? I'm not sure I would, to be honest. I know I did no 0L prep and was perfectly fine. I think reading the E&E's too soon has the potential danger of skewing one's thinking in a direction your professor is not going. I liked LEEWs more or less because it gets you thinking from an early point in the semester just how to write a law exam, which is the most critical skill to pick up before test day. I would just read for enjoyment and maybe check out LEEWs. I did it in September and greatly benefited. Information you pick up from the E&E will likely not stick with you.

*This was the approach I took and, while 1L prep might be fantastic for some, I think 1L prep might be a tad overrated. If you really want to do the whole read all of the books before you know exactly where you're going, by all means go for it. I just know in my experience that the E&E covered a lot more and in more depth than was necessary for my classes. Also, I straight up did not think the E&E was helpful in some classes but that is a whole other can of worms. Good luck! I think your desire to get ahead and do well in school this early is admirable.

[Confused&Pissed]

taggers

[Bildungsroman]

If I could do my first semester over I'd make my own outlines and do more than 1 practice test total. Oh well, live and learn.

[STLMizzou]

Tag, this thread seems pretty useful.

[Michaela]

relax a bit more, do a bit less work early in the semester, get a good solid support network ( did this around midterm time and it made school a whole lot more fun) dont get blackout drunk and make a fool of yourself at bar review every thursday, have all outlines up to date before thanksgiving, work on the memo a little bit from the day it is assigned to you ( news flash its a major time trap) and put it all in perspective- while its a marathon, and its very streessful at times, you dont have to worry about being hurt on the job, or killed, or maimed.
Dont expect to get As or B+, be prepared for medianville, but prepare as though you need that A,

and dont take things personally..... and stay away from the rumor mills

All of this.

[Geetar Man]

Tag!

[TB12]

Would you guys please post Amazon links to the E&E books 0L's should read over the summer?
Thank you.

Don't do 0L prep. I didn't do it at all and ended top in my class. Doing prep for contracts would have been a disaster because my prof did not teach the law the way most do. Even GTM would have been horrible because he hates that whole excessive arguing over details. I wrote about 2k words in a four hour exam and aced it. Property focused on things most courses didn't and he focused on the same things every exam. Also he taught easements and covenants differently than many of the supplements. Also, he didn't dislike the GTM style, but he definitely was looking for particular answers and didn't really care about making tons of arguments and forks in the law and facts.

Point is 0L prep is pointless at best and harmful at worst.

[nucky thompson]

Would you guys please post Amazon links to the E&E books 0L's should read over the summer?
Thank you.

Don't do 0L prep. I didn't do it at all and ended top in my class. Doing prep for contracts would have been a disaster because my prof did not teach the law the way most do. Even GTM would have been horrible because he hates that whole excessive arguing over details. I wrote about 2k words in a four hour exam and aced it. Property focused on things most courses didn't and he focused on the same things every exam. Also he taught easements and covenants differently than many of the supplements. Also, he didn't dislike the GTM style, but he definitely was looking for particular answers and didn't really care about making tons of arguments and forks in the law and facts.

Point is 0L prep is pointless at best and harmful at worst.

Unwarranted assumptions regarding best outcome of 0L prep: a) everyone has the same learning style as you b) no one will gain a single advantage from 0L prep, regardless of how much/strategy


If you want to help, try keeping your opinions/advice confined to your own anecdotal evidence, opposed to all encompassing rules... It did not/would not work for you does not equate "0L prep is pointless at best"