Cramming Guide: Ace Your Exam in 2 Weeks Forum

[Younger Abstention]

I've tried this, and usually get a B/B+. If i put in the work all semester, I get an A or A-. Everyone works differently, so careful (-- especially if you're at a top school this probably won't be enough if you want A's)

[Gotti]

I know you may find this hard to believe but even Xeoh had 4 posts at some point,

OP is MEDIAN. It's better than being below median, no doubt, but hardly something the average TLS'er strives for.

Since I just saw this thread because I have a contracts exam in a week that I know nothing about, I'm going to point out that OP said he was median LSAT and GPA. And like MQ said, 3.4+ is usually top 30%...it's top 20% at Fordham if I'm remembering correctly. ...I'll take top 20% lol

[Gotti]

Btw, cramming totally works for me. I learned property in 2 weeks last semester (might have actually been less) and got one of only a few coveted As. It's not for everyone though and I have a feeling it's going to backfire on me on this contracts exam.

[jess]

.

[tedalbany]

2 weeks? Gunner.

[sundance95]

I have mixed results with this. My two A's were civ pro and contracts. For civ pro, though I didn't really study too much for the final at the end of the semester, I did do practice problems and old exams and went to see the professor with questions throughout the semester. For contracts, I did 0 study because it was my last exam, and I stopped caring. I didn't make an outline or crack any of my supplements, nor did I ever pay attention in class. However, I feel like contracts is a class you can do that in, but crim is not.

Yeah, attempting a one week cram of Civ Pro, with all its moving parts, doesn't sound like a great idea. Torts? Not a problem.

[goodolgil]

2 weeks? Gunner.

Seriously though, aside from not doing the readings this probably what 75%+ of upperclassmen do and a lot of what 1Ls do also. 2 weeks is a shit load of time to prepare for a final

[jjlaw]

There's definitely something here. I find that 3/4 of the semester while we're learning the law, there's really not much you can do to enhance your understanding of the material besides reading, going to class, and taking notes. Once you're in the last 1/4 of the semester, the material all comes together and you start seeing the big picture. Once you can see the big picture and actually work on practice problems without thinking "wtf," then the work is actually productive and quite fun. I did the whole "work through the semester" thing my first semester as well, and I definitely think most of the time was wasted, and I didn't actually "learn" until the last month or so. And by then, I was burnt out. I got median-pwned, of course. I'm hoping that a different approach will reward me this semester, but we'll see.

[Dick Dastardly]

Yeah, attempting a one week cram of Civ Pro, with all its moving parts, doesn't sound like a great idea. Torts? Not a problem.

You can learn Torts I in about a day, honestly. Contracts might take two.

But when I tried that with Civ Pro, things did not go well for me.

[tedalbany]

Yeah, attempting a one week cram of Civ Pro, with all its moving parts, doesn't sound like a great idea. Torts? Not a problem.

You can learn Torts I in about a day, honestly. Contracts might take two.

But when I tried that with Civ Pro, things did not go well for me.

I did it with Civ Pro. Feel OK about it, not great. Will be able to attest for/against it in about 4 weeks.

[TFR]

My thoughts on 1L courses:

Doable: Ks and Torts

Possibly doable if you are a math person: Civ Pro

Probably not doable: Property

Not doable: Conlaw

[Julio_El_Chavo]

From my personal experience: I don't think you could get an above median grade in most classes at a T14 by cramming for a week if you haven't gone to all the classes and done all of the reading. BUT, if you've done all the reading and gone to class and paid attention, it's just a matter of recalling what you supposedly learned and this could be done in 1-3 days depending on how much was covered in class.

[thesteelers]

Yeah, attempting a one week cram of Civ Pro, with all its moving parts, doesn't sound like a great idea. Torts? Not a problem.

You can learn Torts I in about a day, honestly. Contracts might take two.

But when I tried that with Civ Pro, things did not go well for me.

I did it with Civ Pro. Feel OK about it, not great. Will be able to attest for/against it in about 4 weeks.

Did it with Civ Pro too. Convinced I got a C or lower today.

[goodolgil]

My thoughts on 1L courses:

Doable: Ks and Torts

Possibly doable if you are a math person: Civ Pro

Probably not doable: Property

Not doable: Conlaw

What math do you need to know for civ pro?

[Dick Dastardly]

My thoughts on 1L courses:

Doable: Ks and Torts

Possibly doable if you are a math person: Civ Pro

Probably not doable: Property

Not doable: Conlaw

What math do you need to know for civ pro?

I think he means more of the mechanistic, "if A then B, but if C, then D" logical process which is in a lot (but not all) of Civ Pro. Which isn't really math, but it isn't crazy to think of it as math - some of the better Civ Pro responses I've seen looked a hell of a lot like narrated geometry proofs.

[waxecstatic]

Did the OP say he got an A in contracts and went to his professor to go over the exam?

Cramming is studying a day or two before the final. 2 weeks is called preparing.

[Breezin]

.

[Sandro]

How is 2 weeks "cramming"? Cramming is 12 hours.