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At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

lol at your inadequacy issues.

Everyone seems smart, but it's hard to tell. So much of what people perceive as intelligence is just communication ability.

I guess this question would depend on your interpretation of "smart".

I believe that almost everyone at my school is "book smart" - I mean it would be EXTREMELY difficult to get into any top rated law school without being able to take in and regurgitate information.

However, I have run into a few people who lack "street smarts" - aka COMMON SENSE. But, I guess there are people like this everywhere.

Desert Fox wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

lol at your inadequacy issues.

Everyone seems smart, but it's hard to tell. So much of what people perceive as intelligence is just communication ability.

agreed.

There are a lot of people that seem smart when they speak in class (at first) until you realize 1) they have read relevant sections in hornbooks and are making the hornbook author's points, or 2) upon further reflection, their opinions are not all that intelligent

I am yet to meet anyone dumb in my section...though I see some people that are probably smart but just cant communicate their thoughts as well as others

As an ignorant 0L, I'd say the only way to tell whether someone is "smart" is to find out what their class rank is for 1L. Intelligence is subjective, and for law school, the only thing that matters is getting as high a class rank as possible.

But everyone gives everyone else the impression that they are smart?

Desert Fox wrote: lol at your inadequacy issues.

haha, seriously. You're not gonna find too many dummies at top schools. But have a little confidence in yourself, keep up with your reading/outlining, learn how to take an exam, and go from there. You were accepted into your top school just as everyone else was. And gosh darnit, people like you!

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social skills are pretty funny

I've met some people I wish were stupid, because then I could hate them more.

I'm finding a lot of my peers resemble the casebook...full of shit dicta.

There are the few that i find truly amazing intellectually. The rest just talk a good game.

That isn't to say that anyone is stupid...this is law school after all.

goosey wrote:There are a lot of people that seem smart when they speak in class (at first) until you realize 1) they have read relevant sections in hornbooks and are making the hornbook author's points

...or are quoting directly from a previous semester's outline.

dissonance1848 wrote:As an ignorant 0L, I'd say the only way to tell whether someone is "smart" is to find out what their class rank is for 1L. Intelligence is subjective, and for law school, the only thing that matters is getting as high a class rank as possible.

Law school exams are far from intelligence tests. There are a lot more factors to doing well on a law school exam than intelligence.

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

Amy wineBerry wrote:I'm finding a lot of my peers resemble the casebook...full of shit dicta.

There are the few that i find truly amazing intellectually. The rest just talk a good game.

That isn't to say that anyone is stupid...this is law school after all.

talking a good game is really what's important

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

Here's a classic example of mistaking a random bit of knowledge for smarts. Do you think that he knows no words that you do not know?

delusional wrote:

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

Here's a classic example of mistaking a random bit of knowledge for smarts. Do you think that he knows no words that you do not know?

exactly

lol dumbass 2L...

OP, you aren't as dumb as you think. I never gave myself credit for anything. I've always been very humble to the point of irrationally brushing off success as nothing but good luck. This lead me to have little confidence in myself despite my success. So when I came to law school, I had very little confidence in my ability to do well because everyone seemed to much smarter than me. I felt like the dumbest person in the room (and I sure sounded like it at times). Even after exams, I told myself there is no way I distinguished myself from my classmates, and I'm likely going to be a victim of the curve. Yet I'm in the top 10% of my class. So deep down I know I never did and probably never will give myself enough credit. You too are likely much smarter than you give yourself credit for. They admitted you because they feel that you can succeed there. No reason for you to think otherwise.

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

This is right up there with the most poorly-drawn conclusions people make on this site.

dakatz wrote:

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

This is right up there with the most poorly-drawn conclusions people make on this site.

+1. Dude sounds like he must have a lot of friends.

dakatz wrote:

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

This is right up there with the most poorly-drawn conclusions people make on this site.

That was an anecdote, not a conclusion. I just thought that story was funny.

I am not going to repeat the full conversation to you all but he made it clear he had little knowledge of current events, pop culture, or politics. I am sure he was great at studying and taking law exams but that does not make him intelligent. But I guess he could have just been terrible at communication (as someone suggested above).

I think there are a great deal of law students who have above average studying skills and can write well but have below average intelligence. The fact that you can study for tests and regurgitate information does not prove you have critical thinking or reasoning skills.

To answer the question, yes.

powerlawyer06 wrote:

dakatz wrote:

powerlawyer06 wrote:

FiveSermon wrote:At a good law school (Upper T1 at least) met any stupid or not so smart kids? Everyone talks about how law school is hard because everyone is as smart as you if not smarter but there must be a few people you run into who aren't that smart. I don't think I'm smart and I will probably be attending at least a t25 school.

I went to an ASW type of event at a T20 a week ago. A 2L and I were talking about Haiti and I used the term "Francophone". He asked if I was referring to an instrument. You would think context clues alone would have given him a better guess.

They are not all smart.

This is right up there with the most poorly-drawn conclusions people make on this site.

That was an anecdote, not a conclusion. I just thought that story was funny.

I am not going to repeat the full conversation to you all but he made it clear he had little knowledge of current events, pop culture, or politics. I am sure he was great at studying and taking law exams but that does not make him intelligent. But I guess he could have just been terrible at communication (as someone suggested above).

I think there are a great deal of law students who have above average studying skills and can write well but have below average intelligence. The fact that you can study for tests and regurgitate information does not prove you have critical thinking or reasoning skills.

Sure seemed like a conclusion supported by an unfunny anecdote to me.

powerlawyer06 wrote:I am not going to repeat the full conversation to you all but he made it clear he had little knowledge of current events, pop culture, or politics. I am sure he was great at studying and taking law exams but that does not make him intelligent. But I guess he could have just been terrible at communication (as someone suggested above).

Knowledge of pop culture and politics doesn't make you intelligent, it just means you read Yahoo news.

powerlawyer06 wrote:I think there are a great deal of law students who have above average studying skills and can write well but have below average intelligence. The fact that you can study for tests and regurgitate information does not prove you have critical thinking or reasoning skills.

Are you in law school? Law schools test require critical thinking and reasoning, not regurgitation of facts.

powerlawyer06 wrote: I think there are a great deal of law students who have above average studying skills and can write well but have below average intelligence. The fact that you can study for tests and regurgitate information does not prove you have critical thinking or reasoning skills.

boy will law school exams surprise you

Who uses 'francophone' in regular conversation anyway? You must have come off as someone trying really hard to impress.