UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[swinger]

cool story bro

wouldnt bother telling it if it wasnt.

did you guys play a lot of softball too or something? you sound like some pretty sweet bros, maybe I can hang out with you this fall. and you can teach me how to study, too.

doubt it man, thanks for asking though.

[UVAHoo2013]

Although it's awesome that a couple guys studied less than everyone else and did better than everyone else, I doubt this is typical.

My advice would be to work hard but you don't need to work all week from August-December.

[oneforship]

Although it's awesome that a couple guys studied less than everyone else and did better than everyone else, I doubt this is typical.

My advice would be to work hard but you don't need to work all week from August-December.

but I want to be like swinger.

[swinger]

Although it's awesome that a couple guys studied less than everyone else and did better than everyone else, I doubt this is typical.

My advice would be to work hard but you don't need to work all week from August-December.

That was not the point of our posts. We were refuting someone else's position that implied that one needs to work around the clock from Aug-Dec in order to do well.

We never said dont work hard, you're at a top law school, you better work hard as hell. Our point was that "working hard" doesnt necessarily mean crushing books all semester. Locking yourself in the library for the last few weeks is working hard also, its just a different breed and it works better for some people (including me and Jaws).

My advice (which should be given no more weight than anyone else's) would be to determine what works best for you and use that approach. I know plenty of people who tried to "work hard" all semester and many of them were seriously burnt out by finals. I know plenty of people who took it easier during the semester and "worked hard" the last few weeks and did not do as well as they had hoped.

[dgouzoul]

FWIW IMO studying all semester is TCR ITE

[UVAHoo2013]

My advice (which should be given no more weight than anyone else's) would be to determine what works best for you and use that approach. I know plenty of people who tried to "work hard" all semester and many of them were seriously burnt out by finals. I know plenty of people who took it easier during the semester and "worked hard" the last few weeks and did not do as well as they had hoped.

Word, i agree w that. good advice

[swinger]

FWIW IMO studying all semester is TCR ITE

LOL JK OMG LYLAB TTYL

sorry.

[jawsthegreat]

Also, obsessing over the facts of each case and preparing for cold calls and freaking out about minute meaningless details of a case does not equal "working hard." That just means you are working stupid.

Some people find that out the hard way.

Learn what is going to be tested and focus on that. 99% of what happens in class is completely meaningless when it comes to what is going to be on an exam. Including cold calls. I probably have some of the worst cold calls in the 1L class to my name, but they just don't matter in the grand scheme of things, so don't get caught up in the hysteria.

[RVP11]

My total study percentage was probably in the bottom 1% the first 4/5ths of the semester.

What percentage of readings did you do? If more than 25%, you were not in the bottom 1%.

Less than 10%. This can be verified by Swinger.

Congrats, bro. You're a champion.

I stopped doing the reading in a few 1L classes and still did well on the exams, but I never had the balls to just stop reading for every class.

[jawsthegreat]

My total study percentage was probably in the bottom 1% the first 4/5ths of the semester.

What percentage of readings did you do? If more than 25%, you were not in the bottom 1%.

Less than 10%. This can be verified by Swinger.

Congrats, bro. You're a champion.

I stopped doing the reading in a few 1L classes and still did well on the exams, but I never had the balls to just stop reading for every class.

Do you do the readings now? I'm under the impression that by 2L year everyone pretty much stops doing the readings.

[alirod12]

ok--so a trip should be fine....but I am interested in this culture thing.

Do thesealocust and 5ky agree with this fact?

Just an interesting thing to prep for, if that's the case.

Culture of claiming not to work hard but working hard in reality? I've seen that posted on these boards on more than one occasion. I can't say that I've experienced much of that personally, particularly not my group of friends and acquaintances.

I'm sure there are a number of people like that, but I think TLS goes a bit too far the other way in bragging how hard they worked, when in reality, they did not work quite that much.

Besides, even if it were overwhelmingly prevalent, who cares? Work hard, don't get behind, you'll be fine.

Yep the culture of lying about how little you work.

I know that this doesn't necessarily matter, because everyone should just worry about themselves and everyone works differently.

I was just curious about how prevalent it was....no particular reason other then sheer curiosity.

I have definitely experienced this type of draining person. Swinger and Jaws are not that person. But they do exist, and claim not to work that hard however are at the law school early til late every day. Best way to deal with them is smile, nod, and gush on how amazingly efficient they must be.

[Cavalier]

What percentage of readings did you do? If more than 25%, you were not in the bottom 1%.

Less than 10%. This can be verified by Swinger.

Congrats, bro. You're a champion.

I stopped doing the reading in a few 1L classes and still did well on the exams, but I never had the balls to just stop reading for every class.

Do you do the readings now? I'm under the impression that by 2L year everyone pretty much stops doing the readings.

Last semester I read for only half my classes. Generally speaking, if you want to do as well as you can, you should continue doing the readings and making your own outlines (although to be fair, my best grade last semester was in a class that I stopped reading for entirely and never outlined for at all), but once you're experienced with law school exams you can get away with cutting a lot of corners and still ride the median. I wouldn't advise slacking as a 1L though--it's too risky unless you know what you're doing (as in, you know what the gaps in your knowledge are and how to fill them, how exactly to prepare for exams using others' outlines, and so on). I doubt most 2Ls and 3Ls put in anywhere close to the hours they did as 1Ls, although I know of only a few people that stopped reading entirely. Seems like most pick one or two classes to devote a halfway decent effort to and one or two classes to blow off.

[bgdddymtty]

Maybe this is better-suited to the OGI thread, but do employers care (and if so, how much) about what classes we take next semester/year?

[WVUCelticFan]

Since my last question started a much more serious discussion than I planned, time for an easy one.

Does the liquor store nearby have a poor/decent/good/great selection of scotch and bourbon?

[$$$$$$]

Pretty sure I win for the "least reading/time in class" award.....but i'm a genius, so don't try it that way.

[Cavalier]

Maybe this is better-suited to the OGI thread, but do employers care (and if so, how much) about what classes we take next semester/year?

For hiring purposes, basically no. Your 2L fall semester courses shouldn't show up on your transcript that employers have, so you don't have to worry. That said, when you get asked what you plan to take, if you rattle off four courses with names like "Feminist Interpretations of Florida Real Estate Law," your interviewer may form a negative impression of you, which won't help. So you probably want to at least say you plan to take a couple serious courses like Corporations and Evidence. For the purposes of actually being an effective associate, employers will likely want you to take some of the basic courses (Corporations, Evidence, Accounting and Corporate Finance (for some types of work), possibly Securities Regulation or Administrative Law (again, depending on where you're going)), and your transcript will look bad if it's all fluffy seminar courses. But you shouldn't worry too much about that--take what interests you, what the good professors are teaching, etc.

[bertstare]

Relaxing? Nobody said anything about relaxing. I said it wouldn't be a problem to go on a trip until November. That's a fact -- if you can't take a weekend trip in August/September/October somewhere because of time constraints, then you have some serious time-budgeting problems.

Who is "studying around the clock" from August - December, exactly?

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[thesealocust]

Never-ending babbling about how everyone works hard, never doesn't work hard, then lies about it, with a random reference to law review thrown in for good measure

The ultimate tragedy is that inorder to refute your points about how much people study, people are falling into the trap of talking about things they did that weren't studying, which you also rant about at extreme length. It's pretty fucking meta, really.

To repeat for emphasis: Working hard is important, working smart is more important, most of the hard work that is NECESSARY for good grades comes at the end of the semester, you can do well and still have a social life which includes out of state visits, and reading is optional though recommended for young-bloogs.

Maybe this is better-suited to the OGI thread, but do employers care (and if so, how much) about what classes we take next semester/year?

No. I honestly don't even think they appear on the transcripts they see, so I don't think they'll know unless you wind up chatting them up about it.

To that end, as awful of an idea taking corporate finance / accounting is for the most part, it can be a terrific class to DISCUSS taking. It's a universal refrain from f'realsy lawyers that

Since my last question started a much more serious discussion than I planned, time for an easy one.

Does the liquor store nearby have a poor/decent/good/great selection of scotch and bourbon?

It isn't terrible, but liquor sales are nationalize (...stateized?) in Virginia. The liquor stores are all state run, and you can read all of their selection on price info online (it's the Virginia ABC).

[socraticmethodman]

Are there nightclubs (drinking + dancing) in Charlottesville, or are most of the bars "chill" (social drinking)?

[thesealocust]

Are there nightclubs (drinking + dancing) in Charlottesville

The answer to that question is a yes, but it's a yes that a lot of 2Ls/3Ls will snicker at.

Oh, Three. I remember some of the things which have occurred within you.

[Cavalier]

Are there nightclubs (drinking + dancing) in Charlottesville

The answer to that question is a yes, but it's a yes that a lot of 2Ls/3Ls will snicker at.

Oh, Three. I remember some of the things which have occurred within you.

Really? Most things that happen in Three I don't remember.

[thesealocust]

That was the same joke I was making Maybe I should have italicized the 'some'?

*********************************************************************
TLS BRUCEWAYNE NOTICE: As required by TLS, we inform you that any studying or drinking advice contained in this communication (or in any attachment) was not intended or written to be used or referred to, and cannot be used or referred to (i) for the purpose of advocating insufficient studying under Top Law Schools standards, or (ii) in promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in this communication (or in any attachment). Nothing in this message is intended to imply particular levels of studying, drinking, or time in Charlottesville. Past performance does not predict future results. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply.
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[Cavalier]

That was the same joke I was making Maybe I should have italicized the 'some'?

*********************************************************************
TLS BRUCEWAYNE NOTICE: As required by TLS, we inform you that any studying or drinking advice contained in this communication (or in any attachment) was not intended or written to be used or referred to, and cannot be used or referred to (i) for the purpose of advocating insufficient studying under Top Law Schools standards, or (ii) in promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in this communication (or in any attachment).
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rofl

[BruceWayne]

That was the same joke I was making Maybe I should have italicized the 'some'?

*********************************************************************
TLS BRUCEWAYNE NOTICE: As required by TLS, we inform you that any studying or drinking advice contained in this communication (or in any attachment) was not intended or written to be used or referred to, and cannot be used or referred to (i) for the purpose of advocating insufficient studying under Top Law Schools standards, or (ii) in promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in this communication (or in any attachment). Nothing in this message is intended to imply particular levels of studying, drinking, or time in Charlottesville. Past performance does not predict future results. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply.
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LMAO!! Damn you're really sensitive about this!

[uvahooo]

when do they release law review peeps?