Summer Programs Before Law School Forum

[socraticmethodman]

I want to start a thread where people can discuss programs that students can do the summer before they begin law school. I know that CLEO and SEO are discussed a lot on TLS, but I'm sure that there are others.

[random5483]

I want to start a thread where people can discuss programs that students can do the summer before they begin law school. I know that CLEO and SEO are discussed a lot on TLS, but I'm sure that there are others.

I would recommend a vacation or something fun. The last thing you want to do is blow your last summer of freedom (for most people) on work that has little impact on your grades.

[uwb09]

please, for the love of god, and your own sanity, don't do ANYTHING law school related the summer before

go travel, go sleep in the sun 24/7, go camping, hiking, drive along the coast, fly to a random city you've never been to before

this is literally your last multiple month stretch of freedom you will probably have till the day you retire, don't squander it on useless "prepping for law school" crap

[StudentAthlete]

please, for the love of god, and your own sanity, don't do ANYTHING law school related the summer before

go travel, go sleep in the sun 24/7, go camping, hiking, drive along the coast, fly to a random city you've never been to before

this is literally your last multiple month stretch of freedom you will probably have till the day you retire, don't squander it on useless "prepping for law school" crap

[seriousstudenttt]

I managed to take law preview over the summer and one of the professors that taught it was also one of my 1l professors. Aced that class and would defintely recommend you take law preview if you know one of your professors is teaching it (basically got the checklist for the final exam by taking the law preview class).

[littlepiggie818]

My school offered a legal summer writing course and offered it to me for free. I am so glad I took that class because it made the first semester of LAWS much easier.

[TigerBeer]

please, for the love of god, and your own sanity, don't do ANYTHING law school related the summer before

go travel, go sleep in the sun 24/7, go camping, hiking, drive along the coast, fly to a random city you've never been to before

this is literally your last multiple month stretch of freedom you will probably have till the day you retire, don't squander it on useless "prepping for law school" crap

but will doing this improve my class rank?

[random5483]

please, for the love of god, and your own sanity, don't do ANYTHING law school related the summer before

go travel, go sleep in the sun 24/7, go camping, hiking, drive along the coast, fly to a random city you've never been to before

this is literally your last multiple month stretch of freedom you will probably have till the day you retire, don't squander it on useless "prepping for law school" crap

but will doing this improve my class rank?

Highly unlikely.

Having some fun now will probably have the best effect on your class rank. At least, if you have fun, you can think back to it and maybe motivate yourself to study more the last few weeks before finals.

I cannot definitively tell you that the programs won't help you, but I did not go to any program, I had fun over the summer, and I ranked at the top of my class. My experience alone is not sufficient to draw a conclusion, but most TLS posters (and most law school friends of mine) do not view the summer before law school programs as helpful.


Have fun. Go travel, spend time with your family/significant other, play games, and do just about anything you enjoy. My summer before law school was spent with family and friends. I also relaxed by reading novels and playing some games. Overall, I had fun, did not spend a lot of money, and was ready to tackle law school. If you really want to do something, you could read "Getting to Maybe." I read the book before law school. It did not help much, but for someone who does not instinctively argue both sides of an argument, the book has some decent pointers.


Should you enroll in a program? Maybe. If you are lacking confidence and think a program might give you confidence, maybe you should enroll in one. However, nothing substantive that you learn will help you. Law school exams are tailored to the professor. Most law professors will admit that they will likely do badly in another law professor's exam (even if they teach the subject), because of the specific details each professor looks for. Studying in law school is studying to answer YOUR professors exam and not studying to answer with a generic answer from a supplement or another professor's outline (which will get you a C).

[abudaba]

1L here - I averaged an A- for first semester grades and think it was largely related to 0L prep

I was super excited to start law school and really wanted to start prepping as a 0L. As a result I did my own sort of summer program/prep:

1. Read books on how to succeed/what to expect in law school:
- Law School Confidential
- Law School Without Fear
- Law School Labyrinth
- Planet Law School II (in parts - watch, out his cynical tone was not the mind frame you want going in to first semester)


2. From the books above I discovered how exams are the end all, be all of LS. To learn more about exam-taking I read:
- Getting To Maybe (will not be helpful to its full potential until you have about 3 months of law school under your belt, but definitely gives you an idea of the analytical process LS requires)

- LEEWS audio tapes (same as above - personally did not end up using it but still picked up some helpful tips and started me focusing on exams from day 1)


3. After I finished all the above I still wanted more so picked up a Torts E&E supplement. Got through the first chapter, and soon after, our first day assignments were posted. It seems like its been non-stop since then on (I think the timing was a blessing in disguise cause the E&E would have been a HUGE waste of time imo)


I know of people who did law preview and ended up median. I also know people who did our schools summer prep the week before classes and said it was a ton of work, unrelated to classes, who also ended up median (I'm sure other schools may differ though)

As others have said - have fun as a 0L. I never felt like I was working while reading this stuff. I listened to LEEWS half assed while I drove to meet friends to get drunk and read Getting to Maybe at the beach. Prep if you feel like it, dont if you dont, but either way, take advantage of your free time before its gone.

Edit: also trolled TLS compulsively for info. It was helpful then, and it is helpful now.

[JCougar]

There's no reason to 0L prep. There really isn't. Read GTM, buy some E&E supplements and skim the first chapter or two just to ease some anxiety, buy Delaney's Legal Reasoning. But you can read all that over two or three weekends if you're bored. Doing any more than that won't make any sense.

But all this only covers the basics. There's plenty of time during the semester to learn the law and practice applying it. Learning the law is actually pretty simple...easier than most graduate-level programs. The challenge is applying it, and that takes practice, but you don't have to kill yourself doing it. You are either naturally good at it or you aren't. And if you're not naturally good at it you can learn it, but you really have to learn from a graded exam first. Every exam that I could have done better in wasn't because I didn't spend enough time studying. It is because I didn't realize exactly how you rack up points. Comparing your practice exam answers to model answers simply isn't enough. If you can get your hands on an answer checksheet, that's really the best way to learn.

[StudentAthlete]

1L prep is futile.... Not to mention its the start of an inevitable burnout

[ShakeDemHatersOff]

no 0L prep

never read GTM

never looked at E&E's

still finished top 10% at CLS



I guess you can do 0L prep if you like wasting time and money...

[Doritos]

Don't do 0L prep. You need to key your studying to your professor and your class. You will know neither until school starts. The only thing I would recommend is read the how to succeed at law school threads and realize that you are not in undergrad anymore and all that matters is that final exam.