Fall 2L classes and OCI Forum

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Does it make sense to take fewer credits Fall 2L year, and then make it up in the spring? I'm thinking of taking three 4 credit classes and one 2 credit class, and the reason is because I will be putting a ton of effort into OCI and interviews, and would rather catch up on credits later (we need 90 credits to graduate, average of 15 per semester). The only downside I can think of is that it will look lazy to an employer, but I will also be a TA, moot court, and a journal (hopefully law review) at the same time.

[buddingjd]

Does it make sense to take fewer credits Fall 2L year, and then make it up in the spring? I'm thinking of taking three 4 credit classes and one 2 credit class, and the reason is because I will be putting a ton of effort into OCI and interviews, and would rather catch up on credits later (we need 90 credits to graduate, average of 15 per semester). The only downside I can think of is that it will look lazy to an employer, but I will also be a TA, moot court, and a journal (hopefully law review) at the same time.

If you plan to do all of that, yes, underloading is probably a good idea. With that said, I recommend not doing moot court and journal at the same time.

[KidStuddi]

Does it make sense to take fewer credits Fall 2L year, and then make it up in the spring? I'm thinking of taking three 4 credit classes and one 2 credit class, and the reason is because I will be putting a ton of effort into OCI and interviews, and would rather catch up on credits later (we need 90 credits to graduate, average of 15 per semester). The only downside I can think of is that it will look lazy to an employer, but I will also be a TA, moot court, and a journal (hopefully law review) at the same time.

You don't get credit for law review, moot court, or being a TA at your school?
Journal and moot court are each 1 credit a semester here and TAing would probably be 2.
It actually sounds like you're actually overloading if you're doing 4 normal classes and then all of those, no one is going to think you're lazy.

OCI is usually done by mid september for most people. The effort you put in is mostly during the summer. If you're just starting to apply to places during the fall semester, you've done it wrong. If you're targeting a city far away, the travel might be a concern, but you can read on a plane / train and in a hotel. Even if you do very well at OCI, you really don't need to go on more than 10 callbacks max. Even if you get offered more, you'll pretty quickly start eliminating firms just based on having better options (or at least you should). Ultimately though, 2L is a joke. I'd rather be "two weeks behind" on a normal course load, then deal with an overload for an entire semester.

[andythefir]

My school offers an intensive trial advocacy class that meets every day for the week before class then once a week for the rest of the semester for 2 hours/week and gets you 4 credits pass/fail. Best decision I ever made, while my peers were hopelessly overwhelmed by journal stuff and/or flying around the country I was taking it slow with a 4 credit class and 2 3 credit classes. Awesome grades. 1st semester 2L most people load up on impossible classes while also signing up for impossible commitments. Great time to get a strategic advantage.