If you finished 1L year top of your class get in here!! Forum

[Balthy]

tagging. thanks for all the responses.

[flat-fifth]

Thank you all so much for your responses! They have all been quite helpful. My cycle is now over and although I didn't get into my dream school, I am attending a top 20 school. I will surely keep this information in my back pocket.

[WheninLaw]

The people in this thread frighten and confuse me.

OP, to give you the other angle: top 10% at CCN. Did not study 80 hours a week. Paid attention in class, kept up on my outlining, and took practice exams. The most important thing was to talk to upperclassmen about how to write a law school exam. It is a totally different beast and it takes people a solid year to learn. Those that learn it early end up at the top.

[Volake]

What worked for me was seeing how all the different aspects of classes fit together and not just viewing it all isolation. Try studying while listening to music you enjoy, having a few beers, or eating tasty foods. If I'm not enjoying the subject matter, I'm not going to be as effective at learning it. In my two years of experience in law school, there aren't any classes that aren't intriguing and rewarding to study if you have the right attitude.

[Theopliske8711]

Try studying while listening to music you enjoy, having a few beers, or eating tasty foods.

Can't imagine this being a good idea for the vast majority of people. I mean, I have friends who are physics and math majors and like to do equations while downing beers, but they are borderline alcoholics. I feel like what you do to help yourself study because part of your study "thing", and you become conditioned so that you can't study effectively without that thing. In UG, I always had to have a hot coffee or tea to continually sip while doing long translation work. It resulted in pretty bad caffeine addiction and jitters.

[jbagelboy]

Try studying while listening to music you enjoy, having a few beers, or eating tasty foods.

Can't imagine this being a good idea for the vast majority of people. I mean, I have friends who are physics and math majors and like to do equations while downing beers, but they are borderline alcoholics. I feel like what you do to help yourself study because part of your study "thing", and you become conditioned so that you can't study effectively without that thing. In UG, I always had to have a hot coffee or tea to continually sip while doing long translation work. It resulted in pretty bad caffeine addiction and jitters.

If I'm not tipsy for my property reading, it ain't getting done cause that shit is dull.

Jk, but kinda

[buffalo_]

Try studying while listening to music you enjoy, having a few beers, or eating tasty foods.

But then you have to "have a few beers" during the exam too right? Otherwise how will you tap into that previously stored knowledge?

[Volake]

Notice the use of the disjunctive, suggesting that you might put down a few in some sessions, but by no means all or even the majority. Further, a couple wouldn't impair your studying, in fact it may make you more relaxed. I was simply trying to emphasize that if you enjoy studying law, not only will you probably be more likely to stick to the rigorous routine you set out for your yourself, but the quality of study will likely be better as well.

[foundingfather]

In for future reference - thanks everyone

[Pulsar]

80-90 hours/week every week is insane, unhealthy, and unnecessary. Maybe during the three weeks before exams, but otherwise it's important to live something aspiring towards a balanced life. I hate people that do this because I know one day their clones at firms will make the destruction of my life collateral to the wrecking of their own.

Also frankly studying your way into #1 in your class won't work anyway. Maybe you can brute-force grading onto LR, but the people at the top probably get there because of raw intelligence, exam-taking skill, and prior experiences whose benefits probably can't be replicated by an extra 20 hours/week of studying on any other student's part.

[Blumpbeef]

Slept 8 hours a night, save Sunday, where I slept for 10 because I had drinks with friends on Saturday night. Other than that. If I wasn't lifting, eating, or sleeping, I was studying. Probably 80-90 hours a week. Three study groups, read supplements along with lexis notes, generally got 5 outlines from different people and combined them into one along with my own. Gotta work hard.

Don't be modest. You brought your E&E to saturday drinks.

Can't tell if you guys' posts ITT are serious or not

[bjsesq]

Slept 8 hours a night, save Sunday, where I slept for 10 because I had drinks with friends on Saturday night. Other than that. If I wasn't lifting, eating, or sleeping, I was studying. Probably 80-90 hours a week. Three study groups, read supplements along with lexis notes, generally got 5 outlines from different people and combined them into one along with my own. Gotta work hard.

Don't be modest. You brought your E&E to saturday drinks.

Can't tell if you guys' posts ITT are serious or not

Of course they aren't.

[Blumpbeef]

That's what I thought at first, but then I realized that i know people who actually did that shit.

One guy in your class said he studied 12+ hours a day, and made ~80 page outlines for all his classes.

[bjsesq]

That's what I thought at first, but then I realized that i know people who actually did that shit.

One guy in your class said he studied 12+ hours a day, and made ~80 page outlines for all his classes.

He sounds like a fucking toolbox.

[flat-fifth]

.

[jk148706]

Where does one get these practice exams you all speak of?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Where does one get these practice exams you all speak of?

Through your school/professor. Schools usually have banks of previous exams (either officially available - at my school they were available in the library - or through student government/law review/other student organizations). Sometimes profs won't release previous exams, but they'll usually give you one or two in class as the exam approaches.

[jk148706]

Where does one get these practice exams you all speak of?

Through your school/professor. Schools usually have banks of previous exams (either officially available - at my school they were available in the library - or through student government/law review/other student organizations). Sometimes profs won't release previous exams, but they'll usually give you one or two in class as the exam approaches.

Ok thanks. Was worried I was supposed to be buying these things during my 0L summer

[Captain Rodeo]

Brief every case, including note cases*. That's the key. Many times the entire exam is based on them. It takes 80 hours a week but it's worth it.

* Pull them up on lexis.

What's the difference between a case and Lexis Nexus note case? And the entire exam can be based off the former or latter (both?) ?

Great thread by the way

[First Offense]

Brief every case, including note cases*. That's the key. Many times the entire exam is based on them. It takes 80 hours a week but it's worth it.

* Pull them up on lexis.

What's the difference between a case and Lexis Nexus note case? And the entire exam can be based off the former or latter (both?) ?

Great thread by the way

He was certainly joking. Briefing cases is pretty much universally a waste of time no matter your learning style (with a possible, mini-exception for ConLaw). Also, cases in the casebook tend to be edited fairly heavily to eliminate the questions of law that don't really fit with the class/issue being discussed, (doesn't make sense to go over whether a pleading met the Twiqbal requirement in a case talking about Proximate Cause, for instance), while cases in Westlaw/Lexis (the real troll was he said use Lexis instead of Westlaw for anything) are unedited and full of all the procedural questions you will only be really dealing with in one class.

Basically - stop being so damn gullible. Don't do 0L prep for the love of god.

[foundingfather]

I'm going to be trolled into the bottom of the class thanks to this thread

brb 80-90 hours/week of law school

[Captain Rodeo]

Brief every case, including note cases*. That's the key. Many times the entire exam is based on them. It takes 80 hours a week but it's worth it.

* Pull them up on lexis.

What's the difference between a case and Lexis Nexus note case? And the entire exam can be based off the former or latter (both?) ?

Great thread by the way

He was certainly joking. Briefing cases is pretty much universally a waste of time no matter your learning style (with a possible, mini-exception for ConLaw). Also, cases in the casebook tend to be edited fairly heavily to eliminate the questions of law that don't really fit with the class/issue being discussed, (doesn't make sense to go over whether a pleading met the Twiqbal requirement in a case talking about Proximate Cause, for instance), while cases in Westlaw/Lexis (the real troll was he said use Lexis instead of Westlaw for anything) are unedited and full of all the procedural questions you will only be really dealing with in one class.

Basically - stop being so damn gullible. Don't do 0L prep for the love of god.

Haha, thank you. Thanks for taking the time to clear that up. I'm really gullible, and especially with this topic.

[Captain Rodeo]

I'm going to be trolled into the bottom of the class thanks to this thread

brb 80-90 hours/week of law school

I actually laughed out loud. Now I'm suspicious about this whole damn thread

[Abbie Doobie]

I finished 1L top of my pt class. 40-50 hours a week on school and 50+ hours a week on my full-time job as an engineer. Imagine spending half your week trying to master four different types of law while also trying to design and develop power generation systems the other half. Imagine what that does to your brain. Just imagine it.

[foundingfather]

I finished 1L top of my pt class. 40-50 hours a week on school and 50+ hours a week on my full-time job as an engineer. Imagine spending half your week trying to master four different types of law while also trying to design and develop power generation systems the other half. Imagine what that does to your brain. Just imagine it.

Is this a recommendation? because I'll do it if I have to