A Most Sincere Middle Finger to Fake ADHD Law Students Forum

[Fiero85]

Law students, apparently in significant numbers, are willing to thoroughly, repeatedly lie about having trouble focusing/exam anxiety/ADD/ADHD (more than the average person) and are rewarded with gobs of extra time on exams. I'm talking like an additional 2 hours on a race horse 1L exam. It's embarrassingly shallow and unfair to both the people who could really have significantly hampering anxiety/ADHD and the honest people who just take their finals as the prof designed (rushed and overwhelmed). This is like the law school version of PEDs.

A shocking or novel story? No. But fuck them none the less. I hope they hate whatever preftigious job they get dishonestly.

ITT: a safe place to vent about this BS and discuss what schools have this problem

(WUSTL def does)

P.S. if the above describes you, at least have the courtesy to transfer out and let the curve readjust for 2L OCI. I'd be forgiving.

[BigZuck]

Like, is this just law student complaining or is this based on, like, reality?

If it is based on reality, what's the evidence?

Also, why just impotently complain about it on TLS instead of taking it up admin's flagpole and/or above the law if you really wanna get silly?

[Fiero85]

1) based on reality, at least at my school

2) [admittedly anecdotal] evidence, but it seems about 10% of the class is getting extra time. 15 out of about 140 on the same Crim law curve. Word on the street but seemingly reliable.

3) currently trying to gauge if this is standard LS practice or worth fighting at WUSTL, but I'll also admit I'm being a tad juvenile and ranting online just because I'm mad and don't wanna post this on FB or whatever.

[star fox]

You should focus on the only person who you can - yourself.

[BasilHallward]

Like, is this just law student complaining or is this based on, like, reality?

If it is based on reality, what's the evidence?

Also, why just impotently complain about it on TLS instead of taking it up admin's flagpole and/or above the law if you really wanna get silly?

[LET'S GET IT]

Like, is this just law student complaining or is this based on, like, reality?

If it is based on reality, what's the evidence?

Also, why just impotently complain about it on TLS instead of taking it up admin's flagpole and/or above the law if you really wanna get silly?

It has been taken up the admin ladder (straight to the dean) by a friend of mine, but to no avail.

[Fiero85]

You should focus on the only person who you can - yourself.

Agreed. Besides not knowing how common this problem is, another reason I didn't even consider bringing this to admin as a 1L: obvious sore loser appearance.

I'm just doing me IRL, this is just an off hand online rant (and attempt to see if this is just my school or what).

[Johann]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

[arklaw13]

I have literally never heard of anyone getting extra time at my school. Our 1L sections were < 60 people and we noticed if anyone was missing (in at least one exa, admins literally asked if anyone was missing so she could call them) and everyone handed in at the same time. I guess it could have happened in another section, but I would think someone would have complained loudly enough for me to hear it.

[LET'S GET IT]

It's easy to say it won't matter. But the people I know of using the extra time never have used it before. That means they did well enough on the LSAT without extra time to get to the same school as me, and now are getting time and a half on an exam where time is a huge issue. It's hard for me to believe it won't make a difference. Call it sour grapes if you want, it seems unfair to me. And I'm speaking of the ones abusing it, not the people with legit ADD/ADHD.

End rant

[Fiero85]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

I agree having ADHD would have a significant hampering effect. I'm addressing strategic liars who do this to get ahead. Part of the contingent of students angry about this are people who legit have anxiety/ADHD and are being lumped in with the fakers who abuse a policy meant for them (the real people).

And I'm chill IRL, this isn't all about me or a personal vendetta of some kind. Just another BS thing about law school to discuss.

[anyriotgirl]

tbh I'm more worked up about llms and transfers counting on our curve

[Poldy]

I don't think these time extensions should be allowed at all for anything short of blindness or something like that

[A. Nony Mouse]

Don't transfers have to give up their 1L grades, though?

[Johann]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

I agree having ADHD would have a significant hampering effect. I'm addressing strategic liars who do this to get ahead. Part of the contingent of students angry about this are people who legit have anxiety/ADHD and are being lumped in with the fakers who abuse a policy meant for them (the real people).

And I'm chill IRL, this isn't all about me or a personal vendetta of some kind. Just another BS thing about law school to discuss.

how do you get a doctor to diagnose you with adhd without adhd? seems weird for 15 people to be doing that. maybe 1 but doubtful.

[smaug]

tbh I'm more worked up about llms and transfers counting on our curve

they help you, not hurt you

[Johann]

tbh I'm more worked up about llms and transfers counting on our curve

how is a transfer or llm student in a 1l class?

[anyriotgirl]

Don't transfers have to give up their 1L grades, though?

we have a weird 1L req that most transfers didn't have at their original school and those fuckers are smart and will do well

[A. Nony Mouse]

Don't transfers have to give up their 1L grades, though?

we have a weird 1L req that most transfers didn't have at their original school and those fuckers are smart and will do well

Oh, I get it. Yeah, we'd get transfers in our Con Law classes because their schools didn't require it until 2L.

[LET'S GET IT]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

I agree having ADHD would have a significant hampering effect. I'm addressing strategic liars who do this to get ahead. Part of the contingent of students angry about this are people who legit have anxiety/ADHD and are being lumped in with the fakers who abuse a policy meant for them (the real people).

And I'm chill IRL, this isn't all about me or a personal vendetta of some kind. Just another BS thing about law school to discuss.

how do you get a doctor to diagnose you with adhd without adhd? seems weird for 15 people to be doing that. maybe 1 but doubtful.

It's not hard at all. Just go to the doctor complaining of having trouble concentrating. That's literally all some of these people are doing. And once word got around, it became a domino effect with more people doing it just to compete.

[Fiero85]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

I agree having ADHD would have a significant hampering effect. I'm addressing strategic liars who do this to get ahead. Part of the contingent of students angry about this are people who legit have anxiety/ADHD and are being lumped in with the fakers who abuse a policy meant for them (the real people).

And I'm chill IRL, this isn't all about me or a personal vendetta of some kind. Just another BS thing about law school to discuss.

how do you get a doctor to diagnose you with adhd without adhd? seems weird for 15 people to be doing that. maybe 1 but doubtful.

Be willing to say the right things on a few separate occasions. Multiple people have done it as late as between the 1L semesters at my school, with nothing of the sort for LSAT or before in terms of medical accommodations.

I'm willing to say I might be off base, but 10% or more of our class having either late-onset or decades-undiagnosed crippling ADHD seems worth questioning.

[BasilHallward]

my friend in law school got time and a half. having adhd is such a curse in a law school setting you could give them 10 hours on a 3 hour exam and it wouldnt matter. most of the problem with adhd is overanalyzing everything and overtyping, which really isnt helped by even more time.
chill and focus on yourself, you're fine.

I agree having ADHD would have a significant hampering effect. I'm addressing strategic liars who do this to get ahead. Part of the contingent of students angry about this are people who legit have anxiety/ADHD and are being lumped in with the fakers who abuse a policy meant for them (the real people).

And I'm chill IRL, this isn't all about me or a personal vendetta of some kind. Just another BS thing about law school to discuss.

how do you get a doctor to diagnose you with adhd without adhd? seems weird for 15 people to be doing that. maybe 1 but doubtful.

It's not hard at all. Just go to the doctor complaining of having trouble concentrating. That's literally all some of these people are doing. And once word got around, it became a domino effect with more people doing it just to compete.

Yeah, in my undergrad experience and other folks I have come across, it seems extremely easy to get diagnosed with ADHD and hence pick up a scrip of Adderall/Vyvanse. Like most things relating to neurology, the psychiatrist has to rely, in some part at least, on your first-person subjective experience.

[star fox]

It's easy to say it won't matter. But the people I know of using the extra time never have used it before. That means they did well enough on the LSAT without extra time to get to the same school as me, and now are getting time and a half on an exam where time is a huge issue. It's hard for me to believe it won't make a difference. Call it sour grapes if you want, it seems unfair to me. And I'm speaking of the ones abusing it, not the people with legit ADD/ADHD.

End rant

But there's nothing you can do about it so going in with bad vibes won't help. So just try and focus on writing the best exam you can and don't worry about anyone else.

[Johann]

if your school is giving this to people after 1st semester, thats pretty fucked.

[bruinfan10]

Wait, people seriously haven't heard of this? There were complaints about this issue in threads all the time when I was in law school a couple years ago.

I had a friend who needed special physical accomodations who sat in the same room as the "extra time" folks. It was a shockingly substantial chunk of the class.