0L Prep and General Advice After Attending Orientation Forum

[Ryanlee]

Alright guys thanks for your advice.

I'm first generation and coming from a lower class background, I'm determined to do very well.

I do apologize if I came off as brash or arrogant. It's hard to edit the tone and express wording... I'm fairly new to blogging and not a huge text-er or the like.

Everyone of Top-Law-Schools seems very bright and to have done very well, probably all in the top 10%,

Thank you again for the advice, take care,

-ryan

[Icculus]

Hey guys, I'm a 0L and about to start school in 2 weeks,

I've done LEEWS, Read Getting to Maybe, and I've been through Emmanuels of all the first semester (Civ Pro, Torts, Crim Law)
I've also spot read some E&E's and I watched a few of the BarBri video lessons for students taking the bar.

Is this a good route to 0L prep? If you had 2 weeks left would you do anything differently or keep going with the above. My next goal is to practice futher with LEEWS and practice exams while spending more time with E&E's. E&E's are my favorite supplement. I'm starting to wonder if I could just read all the E&E's on my own and then practice with exams in order to ace the final.

I'm determined to Cali. I really think I have a great shot as I've -really- been enjoying learning the material and being back in school.

I'm part of my schools Academic Support Program. (1st generation/minority program) I just finished a three week special intro and orientation to law school. I feel really confident... after being exposed to classes for three weeks, I've been wondering,

Maybe you could answer the following:

1) Is speaking in class important, useful, or in general a good idea?
* It feels like I'm engaged and not falling asleep... yet,
* It's easy to get your ego involved and get creamed, plus
* I'm sort of helping the competition and or just showing off, ... no?

2) Are study groups going to be important?
* Again, it just feels like I'm helping the competition. Only one or two of the people I studied with were helpful, most of the time it feels like I could get more out of my time just studying alone.

3) What do you guys think about the competitive aspect to law school?
* Sometimes I get reminded of a deadline or learn something crucial from my peers, but often I feel myself wanting to hold back because I can tell that I've done more studying/prep and when I speak I am really just tutoring or teaching others what I know. Am I the only one who feels like it would be smart to keep quite and not teach your peers the material? Or, will I benefit from helping others and have a better time if I just give in and act naturally by sharing others all the little nuances and tips I've picked up after doing the above 0L prep and reading through TLS and chatting with 3Ls,

Thanks guys,
-Ryan

Assuming you're not a flame...

R-E-L-A-X

1. Speaking in class is in no way indicative of final performance. You will get called on, answer the questions. If you have something thoughtful to say (that does not begin with "in my prep class...") then feel free to add to the discussion.
2. Study groups - personal choice, but I always find that explaining a concept to someone makes me learn it better. You will not need to form a study group until at least several weeks/months in.
3. I don't know what school you're going to, but it sounds like either you're an asshole or you're getting asshole advice.
4. If you keep this up you will burn yourself out. RELAX.
5. My guess is your three weeks of prep did not actually do much to prepare you for the real thing.
6. This applies to life in general: don't be a dick. Make some friends. Don't turn everything into a competition.
7. Enjoy your last few weeks before 1L. Have some fun.

[hiima3L]

1. Don't talk in class unless you're called on. No one cares. Noooooo one cares.

2. Entirely a personal choice.

3. 1L year, and law school in general, is a very shitty experience. If you want it to be less shitty, make friends. I met some of the greatest people I've ever met at law school. Also, the legal world is extremely small and word gets around. People will remember "that fucking guy" from law school who would throw anyone under the bus to succeed. No one wants to hire or work with those types of people. You have no idea who may be hiring you later on in your career or whose opinion of you may be important.

4. Your 0L prep is not going to help you much, if at all. That said, if anything, I would focus on memorization of rule statements and concepts. Also, everyone else thinks they're going to Cali and has a great shot at it because they're going to work so much harder than everyone else. Don't get your hopes up.

[kaiser]

Stick with the exam prep material, and don't bother with the substantive stuff. I remember reading the E&E books before school, and it ended up being time wasted that could have been put to better uses.

And while you don't have to share all tips and knowledge with everyone, remember that you want to keep a good reputation as a collegial person, and actively keeping everything to yourself based on some notion of competition isnt the right mindset you want to use.