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If you had about a week off in the middle of the semester, what would be the most productive way to utilize the time?

Outline?

A balance of outlining and relaxing/catching up with non-law friends and family.

DCDuck wrote:A balance of outlining and relaxing/catching up with non-law friends and family.

We're allowed to have non-law friends and family? I'm pretty sure there was something in the honor code that said we couldn't.

drinking and netflix

TheFactor wrote:drinking and netflix

This! halfway through the semester (if a 1L) is no time to outline. There probably isnt enough material to really understand what's going on anyway.

Relax/have fun. Come finals you will be glad you did.

I would probably take the week off and relax. If you are backward on any work (reading/notes/etc), then catch up. For the most part, the first 10 weeks of any semester is pretty light, so you should just take it easy. Most 1Ls (me included) work too hard the first 7-10 weeks. They freak out about law school and study more than they should. As long as you keep up with the reading and take notes (and keep them organized), not much else you need to do till the last month or so before finals.

I'm definitely going to relax, but I still am going to have a lot of free time to be productive. So anything else I should think about besides outlining?

I say outline and practice hypotheticals, but don't kill yourself. 3-5 hours/day should be good. I find that outlining helps me memorize the material (something I think you should do in chunks rather than all at the end), and also makes me realize when I don't understand something I thought I did understand. It's better to catch these early on in the semester rather than at the end.

I truly found that the work that you put in at the beginning and middle of the semester directly correlates with your final grade. I outlined and did practice exams/hypos early my first semester and got a 3.92. I left outlining/practice exams until spring break during my second semester, and got a 3.75. You really need to understand the ins and outs of every legal theory that you are learning in order to get the top grades, and (IMO) that just can't be done in the last month alone.

ph14 wrote:If you had about a week off in the middle of the semester, what would be the most productive way to utilize the time?

Look into whether or not it's too late to have your tuition refunded if you drop out. If it's not too late, do that. If it is, then, chill out and relax. It's called a break for a reason.

You should probably open the door, get on the floor...

zomginternets wrote:I say outline and practice hypotheticals, but don't kill yourself. 3-5 hours/day should be good. I find that outlining helps me memorize the material (something I think you should do in chunks rather than all at the end), and also makes me realize when I don't understand something I thought I did understand. It's better to catch these early on in the semester rather than at the end.

I truly found that the work that you put in at the beginning and middle of the semester directly correlates with your final grade. I outlined and did practice exams/hypos early my first semester and got a 3.92. I left outlining/practice exams until spring break during my second semester, and got a 3.75. You really need to understand the ins and outs of every legal theory that you are learning in order to get the top grades, and (IMO) that just can't be done in the last month alone.

Any idea where I can get my hand on some hypos or practice exams? I only have a few from my professors and I wanted to save them for later in the semester.

The hypos in the E&E's are pretty good to start off with, and your textbook will often have problems that you could do. do other professors have past exams they would be willing to share? It's really unfortunate that your prof hasn't provided more practice exams.

I would create a thread about it on TLS and rub it in face of those who do not get a mid-semester break.

ilovesf wrote:I would create a thread about it on TLS and rub it in face of those who do not get a mid-semester break.