Study Tips
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:52 pm
When I was a first-year student (1L) at Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law I interviewed several second and third year students about what advice they would give to a 1L for success in law school. Below are the many responses that I received, hopefully they will be helpful to everyone either this year or next.
“Entering students should try hard to always remember two things:
1. What it was that brought them to law school (desire to learn, work for public interest, make $, etc).
2. To do fun things periodically (like go to the movies) to break the monotony and keep their spirits up.”
“I would first advise not to take law school too seriously. At a certain level, you have to remind yourself that this place is a joke. But be proud to be at Boalt. I’m a transfer student and I can tell you Boalt is much better than most law schools (especially for liberals). To students of color and women I advise you not to be discouraged by the predominantly white male structure of law school. Join organizations where you will feel supported and where you can tell people what you are really thinking. Do an internship – get experience in the community and don’t forget public interest. Law schools are primarily firm factories because many students don’t realize they have other viable options. Most of all, we need a 1L/2L mentor program. I’m willing to be involved.”
1. “Outline early
2. Do practice exams with a professor
3. Have a life
4. Ignore over-anxious nerds”
1) “Regarding life: Treat your schoolwork like a job. By this I mean 9-5 Mon-Fri. Regardless of when your classes are. If you can do this you will never be behind, and you can even get most of your evenings and weekends off.
2) Regarding studies: You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s true – brief those cases. It ensures that you actually read rather than skim the material and it is great discipline. Do it even when you are sick of it and don’t fee you are getting anything out of it – that’s like so you should get used to it now.”
“Remain calm and hang out with people outside Boalt!”
“Don’t listen to all the rumors about exams, P-subs, etc. Don’t be intimidated by the lengths of other people’s outlines; never talk about an exam after it’s over; DON’T WORRY – if you weren’t able to succeed, Boalt would never have let you in the door. Enjoy law school; enjoy your colleagues; hang out and have a good time; keep the whole law school thing in perspective.”
“You definitely MUST do your OWN outlines. Fully relying on either an outline done by a previous student or cutting and pasting a classmates into your ‘own’ or relying on ol’ Gilbert’s or Emmanuel’s will get you a fat P!! It really is the process.”
“Set aside time everyday for yourself – even just 10 minutes of chocolate and silence.”
“Don’t listen to those who would tell you not to start outlining until mid-semester. Start outlining 3 or 4 and do it every week or two for each class. It is this process that maximizes learning. Your payoff will be in your grades!”
“Study hard but keep the big picture in mind. You will be living in this world for another 40-50 years, law school is only three years of that time, and being here does not mean you HAVE to be a lawyer. You really do have a choice and you should think hard about what it is you really want to do with your life, and if it really is ‘law.’”
“If you want higher grades, do your own outlines. Don’t underestimate the importance of Legal Research and Writing – good writing skills are essential to exam writing and job performance.”
“Start thinking about jobs early. Don’t hesitate to party a few hours a week.”
“I think the most important thing to do is keep up. For me this means always doing the reading before class and then always going to class. The professors will (via their lectures) tell you what they think is important, and doing the reading in advance helps the lectures make more sense. I also found going over old exams (especially those where the professor provides sample answers) with a small study group to be very helpful. A lot of it is deciding how you study best and sticking to it. And don’t stress too much.”
“Talk to 2Ls and 3Ls about which professors are good teachers and choose your classes accordingly. The subject matter may be less important than the interaction you have with the professor.”
Note that I am starting to write a book about law school success and if anyone else has any success tips or advice to pass on I would greatly appreciate further posts by anyone else.
“Entering students should try hard to always remember two things:
1. What it was that brought them to law school (desire to learn, work for public interest, make $, etc).
2. To do fun things periodically (like go to the movies) to break the monotony and keep their spirits up.”
“I would first advise not to take law school too seriously. At a certain level, you have to remind yourself that this place is a joke. But be proud to be at Boalt. I’m a transfer student and I can tell you Boalt is much better than most law schools (especially for liberals). To students of color and women I advise you not to be discouraged by the predominantly white male structure of law school. Join organizations where you will feel supported and where you can tell people what you are really thinking. Do an internship – get experience in the community and don’t forget public interest. Law schools are primarily firm factories because many students don’t realize they have other viable options. Most of all, we need a 1L/2L mentor program. I’m willing to be involved.”
1. “Outline early
2. Do practice exams with a professor
3. Have a life
4. Ignore over-anxious nerds”
1) “Regarding life: Treat your schoolwork like a job. By this I mean 9-5 Mon-Fri. Regardless of when your classes are. If you can do this you will never be behind, and you can even get most of your evenings and weekends off.
2) Regarding studies: You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s true – brief those cases. It ensures that you actually read rather than skim the material and it is great discipline. Do it even when you are sick of it and don’t fee you are getting anything out of it – that’s like so you should get used to it now.”
“Remain calm and hang out with people outside Boalt!”
“Don’t listen to all the rumors about exams, P-subs, etc. Don’t be intimidated by the lengths of other people’s outlines; never talk about an exam after it’s over; DON’T WORRY – if you weren’t able to succeed, Boalt would never have let you in the door. Enjoy law school; enjoy your colleagues; hang out and have a good time; keep the whole law school thing in perspective.”
“You definitely MUST do your OWN outlines. Fully relying on either an outline done by a previous student or cutting and pasting a classmates into your ‘own’ or relying on ol’ Gilbert’s or Emmanuel’s will get you a fat P!! It really is the process.”
“Set aside time everyday for yourself – even just 10 minutes of chocolate and silence.”
“Don’t listen to those who would tell you not to start outlining until mid-semester. Start outlining 3 or 4 and do it every week or two for each class. It is this process that maximizes learning. Your payoff will be in your grades!”
“Study hard but keep the big picture in mind. You will be living in this world for another 40-50 years, law school is only three years of that time, and being here does not mean you HAVE to be a lawyer. You really do have a choice and you should think hard about what it is you really want to do with your life, and if it really is ‘law.’”
“If you want higher grades, do your own outlines. Don’t underestimate the importance of Legal Research and Writing – good writing skills are essential to exam writing and job performance.”
“Start thinking about jobs early. Don’t hesitate to party a few hours a week.”
“I think the most important thing to do is keep up. For me this means always doing the reading before class and then always going to class. The professors will (via their lectures) tell you what they think is important, and doing the reading in advance helps the lectures make more sense. I also found going over old exams (especially those where the professor provides sample answers) with a small study group to be very helpful. A lot of it is deciding how you study best and sticking to it. And don’t stress too much.”
“Talk to 2Ls and 3Ls about which professors are good teachers and choose your classes accordingly. The subject matter may be less important than the interaction you have with the professor.”
Note that I am starting to write a book about law school success and if anyone else has any success tips or advice to pass on I would greatly appreciate further posts by anyone else.