Berkeley 1L: how many days a week do you have to go to class Forum

[Fevsi]

Does anyone have an idea of the approximate schedule of classes for 1L? I am specifically interested if there are classes every day of the week or you can group them into 4 or 3 days. The reason I ask is that I will probably need to keep my pt job in order to finance 1L, which requires at least two mornings a week. Is that doable (in terms of schedule, not workload)? And yes, I know working during 1L is not ideal, so please don't mention this.

[feeblemiles]

You'll have no control over your schedule in your first year. Many students this year (but by no means all) had only one class on Friday (Legal Writing and Research) and it was often cancelled. Generally the law school is very quiet on Fridays. Still, you will more than likely be assigned one class.

Your best bet will be if your job can be flexible and wait until you have your schedule (orientation in August) and plan accordingly from that point. You might try to contact the registrar's office if you feel your situation is unique enough to warrant special treatment, I'd imagine special arrangements are not unprecedented though I don't know from experience.

[feeblemiles]

Didn't the registrar stick most of the moms in one mod to accommodate their schedule?

[Tangerine Gleam]

RE: 1L Friday classes...do they ever extend into the afternoon, or are all 1L Friday classes in the morning?

I have to do some traveling my first weekend of law school and would like to go ahead and book my flight for Friday, but I know I won't get my schedule until orientation. Would it be safe to assume I could get out of town in the early afternoon?

[starstruck393]

Something to keep in mind: It's not only hard to work during a FT (not PT) 1L program, but there are ABA rules prohibitting working more than I think 20 hr/wk. If you can keep it under that, that might be ok, but the problem I forsee you having is in asking the school to accomodate your work, they might flatly tell you no because of the restriction (and I think they can be punished by the ABA if you break the rule, or something like that). --LinkRemoved--

[feeblemiles]

I know the prospect of debt can be harrowing... maybe even downright unacceptable but full time law school is just that. If minimizing your debt is truly your top priority, you might want to consider really focusing on grades your first semester and trying to land a paying gig for your summer. Paid law firm summer gigs can earn you as much as many people make working full time all year. Furthermore, your first year grades are the only ones that employers will be looking at when they decide whether to hire you for your second summer, which is typically your first job out of law school (less so in this economy, but still).

I know you weren't looking for disparaging comments about your decision to work part time, and I do think it is doable if you are focused and keep other extracurriculars to a minimum. A little bit of debt now might pay off in the long run though. Many many of your peers will be/are borrowing a lot of money.

[worldtraveler]

Didn't the registrar stick most of the moms in one mod to accommodate their schedule?

Yup, Mod 8. They were done at 1pm most days I think, and I was very jealous of this schedule. I remember them asking about scheduling conflicts, but I don't think it was as flexible has having 2 mornings free. It could be worth the OP asking the registrar, though.

Mod 8 was 10-3 M-TH and then LRW on Fridays. There was another mod who had an 8-12 thing too.

But to echo everyone else, you don't get to pick your schedule. They will only accommodate for stuff like child care or medical needs. Honestly I think working PT is a bad idea, at least until you're a bit more used to law school and how much time you need. If you need extra money, try something like tutoring the LSAT which is far more flexible. I don't know anyone who had a PT job and I'm guessing there is a reason for that.

Tangerine, it's just one day. Just book the ticket. Almost everybody misses a couple days in the semester and it's not a big deal.

[feeblemiles]

RE: 1L Friday classes...do they ever extend into the afternoon, or are all 1L Friday classes in the morning?

I have to do some traveling my first weekend of law school and would like to go ahead and book my flight for Friday, but I know I won't get my schedule until orientation. Would it be safe to assume I could get out of town in the early afternoon?

I agree with worldtraveler and would just add that I think everyone had a Friday class but that most of them seemed to be scheduled in the morning (and were very often cancelled). If you get a flight out of Oakland anytime after 2 or so you'd have a pretty decent chance of being able to make it (but not a sure thing).

[Fevsi]

Thanks for your responses! It looks like having two mornings free during 1L is unlikely or even unheard of. I am thinking now about moving it to the afternoon, which might be an option.

What I don't understand, though, is that all 1Ls (not only at Berkeley Law) pride themselves in "working hard and playing hard," but at the same time argue that to work part time during 1L is a big no-no. What is the difference, though, in terms of time commitment, between working 8 hrs a week at a really satisfying, really low-stress job, and spending those 8 hrs in a "bar review"? It's an innocent question, please don't go nuclear on me Its just that I really love what I was planning to do, and in terms of relaxation/stimulation it would work better for me than most other activities, and it really does only require 8 hrs a week, which pay very well. So I am kind of reluctant to abandon this idea without concrete evidence. Its not stubbornness, guys, its just that "a lawyer ought to have an inquisitive mind" So any input would be appreciated, in case I'll be able to move my job to some time where it does not coincide with 1L classes. And thanks again for the previous responses!

[thesealocust]

edited

[feeblemiles]

If you job is flexible enough to bend a little towards the end of the semester and can accommodate your schedule when you get it, then I don't think 8 hours a week is an unworkable burden to add on. The way you just put it, it doesn't sound like a burden at all actually. Still, I agree with thesealocust that you should consider the possibility that your perspective will change when you have more reading to do than it is possible to accomplish in 24 hour days and feel like you're way behind.