What are the hardest things about law school? Forum

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jchiles

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by jchiles » Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:58 pm

bmathers wrote:Being a 30+ y/o 1L in a small town that really only has the law school, the toughest thing for me is the social aspect. You have a 21-25 y/o crowd that is ok to hang out with sometimes, but not all of the time. Then you have the 50+ crowd. Everyone, say, 28-40 is married, has a family, and commutes to school, so it makes it fairly isolating when there isn't a larger young professional crowd or adjoining graduate school to help offer more potential for others in your situation (I'm at PSU-Dickinson, for the record).

Take away the stress and loneliness from that isolation (when you are not the type who can be happy as an introvert), and the actual school work is not THAT bad.
Start golfing (great cheap golf in carlisle)
Consider moving to Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, or even Lancaster and stack all your classes/activities on 2-3 days to minimize commute time.

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bmathers

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by bmathers » Mon Nov 13, 2017 5:58 pm

jchiles wrote:
bmathers wrote:Being a 30+ y/o 1L in a small town that really only has the law school, the toughest thing for me is the social aspect. You have a 21-25 y/o crowd that is ok to hang out with sometimes, but not all of the time. Then you have the 50+ crowd. Everyone, say, 28-40 is married, has a family, and commutes to school, so it makes it fairly isolating when there isn't a larger young professional crowd or adjoining graduate school to help offer more potential for others in your situation (I'm at PSU-Dickinson, for the record).

Take away the stress and loneliness from that isolation (when you are not the type who can be happy as an introvert), and the actual school work is not THAT bad.
Start golfing (great cheap golf in carlisle)
Consider moving to Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, or even Lancaster and stack all your classes/activities on 2-3 days to minimize commute time.
Thanks - I'm considering Hburg, I've spent some time there recently, but I just have to weigh it all with my dog in mind. I ended up officially taking a personal leave the other day, so I am going through a mini-cycle again. My option to come back here is still on the table (full scholly and stipend intact), but I also may apply to Penn State Law again and also USC (South Caro) Law in Columbia -- if they offer me a full, I will seriously consider making the move to Columbia. Columbia seems like a very interesting medium-sized city for young professionals.

helplawstudents

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by helplawstudents » Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:15 pm

bmathers wrote:
psu2016 wrote:
Ferrisjso wrote:
bmathers wrote:Being a 30+ y/o 1L in a small town that really only has the law school, the toughest thing for me is the social aspect. You have a 21-25 y/o crowd that is ok to hang out with sometimes, but not all of the time. Then you have the 50+ crowd. Everyone, say, 28-40 is married, has a family, and commutes to school, so it makes it fairly isolating when there isn't a larger young professional crowd or adjoining graduate school to help offer more potential for others in your situation (I'm at PSU-Dickinson, for the record).

Take away the stress and loneliness from that isolation (when you are not the type who can be happy as an introvert), and the actual school work is not THAT bad.
This is my experience almost word for word(I'm 22 not 30+). What are your ways of coping?
I went to PSU Dickinson and had similar feelings. I moved to D.C. for 3L and commuted one semester (stacking my classes to t/r only) and then did the semester in DC program for the second semester. No regrets.
Hey, mind if I PM You?
Thank you very much to bmathers for starting this thread and for all who offered suggestions.

muscleboundlaw

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by muscleboundlaw » Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:53 am

I think the most difficult part has been juggling an hour commute, every day, and the ability to show up to class. I have skipped about 5 classes per course. That's not horrible, but I still feel guilty about it.

hunt godlink

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by hunt godlink » Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:45 am

The hardest thing about law school is being graded on a forced curve against your classmates who are, for the most part, similarly situated.

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muscleboundlaw

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by muscleboundlaw » Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:49 am

hunt godlink wrote:The hardest thing about law school is being graded on a forced curve against your classmates who are, for the most part, similarly situated.
Oh man. This is the one. It forces you to be competitive which, if you have a naturally relaxed composure, can mess with you.

SomewhatLearnedHand

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by SomewhatLearnedHand » Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:56 pm

Dealing with the hordes of mouth breathers and generally insufferable people.

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by OneShot2009 » Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:33 pm

Hardest thing about law school for me has been having an entire semester's worth of time and effort be evaluated by a 3/4 hour exam.

A close second is the idea anytime I do well it could be at the expense of someone I care about. 1L year with bigger doctrinal classes, it didn't matter so much. But in smaller classes as a 2L and 3L I know I am actively competing against close friends to get the few top grades available.
Last edited by OneShot2009 on Tue Nov 21, 2017 3:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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brinicolec

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by brinicolec » Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:00 am

Reminding myself that 1L doctrinals aren't a good representation of the work I'd be doing so the fact that I don't enjoy them doesn't mean I'm completely doomed to hating the profession and have made a huge mistake.


But also potentially being completely doomed.

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airwrecka

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by airwrecka » Thu Nov 30, 2017 7:43 pm

Far and away, now that finals are near, dealing with other people's stress. Being surrounded by stressed out ambitious people all the time is exhausting. Thank god I can come home to escape it. It's still annoying though. Comparing yourself to everyone and worrying about whether you're doing the "right" things and not really having a clue since we won't get grades until January :shock:

I go back and forth between thinking "I am fine, I've totally got this" and "I am doomed/I'll be at the bottom of my class" every day.

muscleboundlaw

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by muscleboundlaw » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:58 pm

airwrecka wrote:Far and away, now that finals are near, dealing with other people's stress. Being surrounded by stressed out ambitious people all the time is exhausting. Thank god I can come home to escape it. It's still annoying though. Comparing yourself to everyone and worrying about whether you're doing the "right" things and not really having a clue since we won't get grades until January :shock:

I go back and forth between thinking "I am fine, I've totally got this" and "I am doomed/I'll be at the bottom of my class" every day.
As a 1L taking his first finals, this is exactly how I feel. I have three more days to iron out contracts, then three days to iron out civ pro, then four for property, and three for torts.

The rational part of me knows that I have outlines, and that I have practice material for each course, but I am still questioning myself.

I do what you do, though. Go home immediately. I haven't hung around school after class for a solid month now. Don't want to hear people complain or stress.

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Aergia

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by Aergia » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:55 am

jingosaur wrote:
heythatslife wrote:staying motivated to do any school work after 1L
This is what was the worst for me. I spent 2 years of my life waiting for law school to be over. Kind of a waste.

Same, except I had this problem 1L too. I find lots of things about law school difficult, but far and away the most difficult thing has been trying to generate even a little intrinsic interest in what I'm spending three years studying. Does kind of feel like a waste.

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tofuspeedstar

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by tofuspeedstar » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:49 am

making friends within my section/other 1L's. (Upperclassman i haven't had a problem..), impostor syndrome.

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Davidbentley

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by Davidbentley » Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:06 am

Being constantly surrounded by people "who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty−one that everything afterward savors of anti−climax."

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cavalier1138

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by cavalier1138 » Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:52 am

Davidbentley wrote:Being constantly surrounded by people "who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty−one that everything afterward savors of anti−climax."
What about students who unironically quote Fitzgerald in an effort to belittle their classmates?

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by Davidbentley » Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:40 pm

cavalier1138 wrote:
Davidbentley wrote:Being constantly surrounded by people "who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty−one that everything afterward savors of anti−climax."
What about students who unironically quote Fitzgerald in an effort to belittle their classmates?
Nah, never bothered me.

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by pricon » Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:06 pm

cavalier1138 wrote:
Davidbentley wrote:Being constantly surrounded by people "who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty−one that everything afterward savors of anti−climax."
What about students who unironically quote Fitzgerald in an effort to belittle their classmates?
Or use an en dash where they should use a hyphen?

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by Wakhancorridor » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:23 pm

One slightly tough part for me is actively having to tone myself down. I came straight in from undergrad where I had a very tight group of friends and same thing in high school. In both places I could get away with acting like an arrogant jackass without repercussions. In law school, most people are older, everybody is just as driven and intelligent, and its a far more professional environment. As a result, I have to frequently be careful with how I'm acting or what I'm saying or tell myself not to raise my hand too much etc

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floatie

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by floatie » Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:01 am

muscleboundlaw wrote:
hunt godlink wrote:The hardest thing about law school is being graded on a forced curve against your classmates who are, for the most part, similarly situated.
Oh man. This is the one. It forces you to be competitive which, if you have a naturally relaxed composure, can mess with you.
This - for me at least. I'm one of those chill, non-confrontational people that likes to keep to themselves. It wasn't as much of a challenge to fit in with my classmates at the beginning of the semester before the competition/reality of the curve set in, but the last month of school was rough. Even the friendliest people were making passive-aggressive remarks about what "extra" things they were doing to get ahead and stuff. I know that's it's just the imposter syndrome talking but it was still irritating. I made the mistake of telling one of my roommates (a fellow 1L in a different section) that I had an interview with a pretty prestigious place and by the next day, word spread and I was being shunned by some people, and weirdly sucked up to by other people. Fortunately, all of the 2Ls and 3Ls I've met have been nothing but kind and helpful, so I'm hoping that my class chills out soon.

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Re: What are the hardest things about law school?

Post by dabigchina » Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:42 am

paying for a year of school that you don't want or need.

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