Does law school get easier 2L and 3L? Forum

[gradesmatter]

That is, do people stop trying as hard and it gets easier to get A's?

[Blindmelon]

If you take easy classes, yes. If you don't, then no.

If you do law review, 2L is much, much worse than 1L. At least in terms of amount of work.

[Tree]

It depends on what you take.

Some classes will be curved 1L style, and ITE people will gun just as hard for the high grades.

Some classes may be small and not curved. Take those to get "easy As"

[HugerThanSoup]

Yes and no.

For most people, 2L is much more "time consuming" than 1L. With journals, notes, externships, student org. leadership, and a full course load, it can be hard to find time to just relax throughout the year. This is especially true if you have to juggle a job search the entire time. Competition for grades is also pretty high still ; not as much as 1L, but with transfers (many of whom are grade-a-holics), students without jobs, and clerkship-seekers, you still have to put in a lot of energy to get As.

3L is, by all accounts, a cake walk. By then, only the people gunning for clerkships should be studying for the As. A-, B+ might be a different story.

[gradesmatter]

Yes and no.

For most people, 2L is much more "time consuming" than 1L. With journals, notes, externships, student org. leadership, and a full course load, it can be hard to find time to just relax throughout the year. This is especially true if you have to juggle a job search the entire time. Competition for grades is also pretty high still ; not as much as 1L, but with transfers (many of whom are grade-a-holics), students without jobs, and clerkship-seekers, you still have to put in a lot of energy to get As.

3L is, by all accounts, a cake walk. By then, only the people gunning for clerkships should be studying for the As. A-, B+ might be a different story.

so you still have people gunning after 1L?

[HugerThanSoup]

Yes and no.

For most people, 2L is much more "time consuming" than 1L. With journals, notes, externships, student org. leadership, and a full course load, it can be hard to find time to just relax throughout the year. This is especially true if you have to juggle a job search the entire time. Competition for grades is also pretty high still ; not as much as 1L, but with transfers (many of whom are grade-a-holics), students without jobs, and clerkship-seekers, you still have to put in a lot of energy to get As.

3L is, by all accounts, a cake walk. By then, only the people gunning for clerkships should be studying for the As. A-, B+ might be a different story.

so you still have people gunning after 1L?

There are always gunners.

[Borhas]

Yes and no.

For most people, 2L is much more "time consuming" than 1L. With journals, notes, externships, student org. leadership, and a full course load, it can be hard to find time to just relax throughout the year. This is especially true if you have to juggle a job search the entire time. Competition for grades is also pretty high still ; not as much as 1L, but with transfers (many of whom are grade-a-holics), students without jobs, and clerkship-seekers, you still have to put in a lot of energy to get As.

3L is, by all accounts, a cake walk. By then, only the people gunning for clerkships should be studying for the As. A-, B+ might be a different story.

so you still have people gunning after 1L?

I could only imagine the gunning done by the fed clerkship shooters

[BunkMoreland]

If you take easy classes, yes. If you don't, then no.

If you do law review, 2L is much, much worse than 1L. At least in terms of amount of work.

I disagree. By 2L, you've learned the ropes and can pretty much play it by ear. I skipped over half my classes 2L, and did fine.

[vamedic03]

That is, do people stop trying as hard and it gets easier to get A's?

This really depends on the school. A lot of schools, from what I understand from TLS, have different curves for small classes or non-1L classes.

At UVA, all of our classes are curved the same. Every seminar, short course, large lecture, etc. is graded on the same curve. So, the only thing that changes is whether or not other people are still trying to do well. Personally, I think a lot of people still try to do well - it may not be as competitive as 1L, but it is certainly still competitive.

[seriousstudenttt]

--ImageRemoved--

gunners gonna gun--even in 2L.

Admin law is unbearable this semester with all the gunners.

[edcrane]

Classes become easier in some ways. First, if you're at a typical LS (not UVA), you can take seminars that have more generous curves (or no curves at all). Second, many people relax after 1L; so there is generally less competition for A-s and B+s. On the other hand, there's still a significant minority of people who gun for A's. Lastly, there's something to be said for choice. Even if the curve is the same, the workload won't be quite as arduous if you're learning about things that you're interested in.

[BunkMoreland]

^ he's full of shit. It's quite manageable, and I'm on LR, did Moot Court, spent an entire month away for callbacks, etc.

[Pizon]

In terms of classes, post-1L is easier because:

1. You're more experienced at taking law school classes/exams.
2. You're theoretically only taking what interests you.
3. Many classes are based on the fundamental areas of law you learned during 1L (e.g., Public Health Law is Con Law review).
4. There is generally less reading assigned per class, and by now you've learned reading is optional anyway (see #1).
5. In my experience, professors aren't as hard on students after 1L. They rarely call on people, and when they do, and someone says, "I didn't read it," they just keep it moving.
6. People don't try as hard or care as much.

[BobSacamano]

I'm on LR, work half the week, and take a full courseload. I don't find it all that challenging, really. I guess I'm more busy, but not unmanageably so. My LR note would probably be killing me if I was trying at all - I do not care about being published, which likely makes a difference (would actually rather not at this point).

[JazzOne]

I thought first semester of 2L was much harder than 1L. This semester, on the other hand, is a breeze. I think the stress of OCI took a huge toll on me, and now that it's over, I'm enjoying law school again.