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Hi all,

I am a 1L at BU. I did pretty well the first semester, and I have a feeling I'll probably end up somewhere in the top 20% after the first year. But I feel TOTALLY unprepared because I feel like I've made practically no connections and haven't really networked. I'm not originally from a big city, but I want to work in a big city.

What should I do for my 1L summer? I've been told that anything legal is all that matters, and I kind of just want to go back home (kind of a small town) and intern for a small law firm. Will finishing in the top 20% of my class be enough to give me some offers my 2L year? Or should I try to scramble to network now?

Thank you for any advice.

I don't really understand the question. You can't really spend your 1L summer "networking". If you did a judicial internship in Boston and then later worked in Boston, I guess that might count as networking, and in general you're more likely to make contacts if you work in the area you plan on being in long-term. BUT, there's no guarantee that just b/c you work in Boston or NYC or something it's going to be this great networking opportunity. A job is a job. If you've got an offer from a small firm in your hometown, I'd go ahead and do that, considering it's probably your last summer to do something relatively laid back and not directly related to your full-time job (assuming you go the traditional route of 2L summer associate -> full-time offer).

~Clueless 1L