Need Advice: Grades, Proximity to Campus, Roommates [POLL] Forum

[instride91]

Hey I’m an incoming 1L (USC) and I need some advice, specifically from people who did very well during their 1L year.

My goal is to be top 5-10% after 1L (Yes I realize that this is a common goal). I have spent this summer prepping by following just about any advice on TLS I could find (including every how to do well in law school related article). I have read Getting To Maybe, LEEWS, John Delaney’s books, etc.

A few of these articles mention that proximity to campus is a key to 1L success. For anyone that is familiar with USC’s area, this is easier said than done. At best I can get within a few miles of USC, but walking distance really isn’t an option.

I’m not sure whether I really want to have roommates. For a while I thought about living by myself in order to avoid distractions, but I also don’t want to be entirely excluded from the social dimension of school. At the same time, I’m pretty outgoing and I went to undergrad in LA, so I don’t feel like I need to be too involved with the social aspect.

For those who killed it as 1Ls: Did you live with roommates? How far away did you live from campus?

It seems as if some of the other incoming students are a bit more interested in partying than I am (not that I don’t enjoy a good black out). This makes me a bit unsure of whether I want to be in that atmosphere again. I loved college, but I feel like I underachieved and I don’t want to be saying that when I graduate from law school.


Any advice at all would be appreciated.

[banjo]

Having a roommate is fine. As for distance from school, I think 10-20 minutes should be good. Just avoid big distractions like a needy relationship or a part-time job.

[Mal Reynolds]

I would say live alone because you sound awful and I wouldn't subject someone to living with you.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Proximity to campus is pretty irrelevant to academic success, unless you're commuting so far (like 2+ hrs each way) that it significantly eats into your time to get things done. I commuted 45 mins-1 hr each way, and I can't identify anything about doing so that affected my grades in any way. Study groups are overrated (during the semester - they can be useful around finals) and there isn't anything academic that quick access to campus gives you any advantage in. The commute did affect how much I participated in the social side of law school, but I'm old and married, so probably wasn't going to be going out to law school bars at 11 pm even if I did live in town.

[lawhopeful10]

I really liked not having a roommate but you could of course do well having roommates too. I think it is just whatever environment you think you will work best in.

[twenty]

If you have a car, your options increase pretty substantially. Avoid the area immediately surrounding USC; the very closest I'd want to be is north of Venice or Downtown LA for the expo line. Alternatively, you could probably go for student housing and bike to campus. 29th and 28th have a lot of short term student rentals, door to door, that's probably about a mile and a half.

[instride91]

Thanks for the advice! As far as the housing budget goes, would you recommend spending as much as possible of the housing budget to find a better place or saving some of the money?

[BigZuck]

Proximity to campus is pretty irrelevant to academic success, unless you're commuting so far (like 2+ hrs each way) that it significantly eats into your time to get things done. I commuted 45 mins-1 hr each way, and I can't identify anything about doing so that affected my grades in any way. Study groups are overrated (during the semester - they can be useful around finals) and there isn't anything academic that quick access to campus gives you any advantage in. The commute did affect how much I participated in the social side of law school, but I'm old and married, so probably wasn't going to be going out to law school bars at 11 pm even if I did live in town.

+1 to all this

Some of these questions are kind of weird though. I mean, saving money is a good thing. But spend as much as you want I guess. You only live once bro. No one can help you with some of the personal stuff like whether you can get work done with roommates or how much your own debt tolerance is.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, I agree with BigZuck. I don't think the questions are weird, necessarily, but I don't think anyone can answer them for you - there's isn't a right way to live that will guarantee success in law school, there are only things that you know will/won't work for you (some people work well living with other law students and knowing you're all facing the same things at the same time, some people work much better being able to get away from stressed out law students, some people can't work at all if their roommate has friends over, some people work much better if they can take breaks and talk to their roommate for with while, some people really need to spend a little more to feel safe/happy/comfortable in their apartment or get certain amenities like in-apartment laundry or a dishwasher, some people feel better spending less and knowing they're keeping their debt down).

Unfortunately, you may need to try a few permutations before you figure this out for yourself.

[instride91]

Yeah, I agree with BigZuck. I don't think the questions are weird, necessarily, but I don't think anyone can answer them for you - there's isn't a right way to live that will guarantee success in law school, there are only things that you know will/won't work for you (some people work well living with other law students and knowing you're all facing the same things at the same time, some people work much better being able to get away from stressed out law students, some people can't work at all if their roommate has friends over, some people work much better if they can take breaks and talk to their roommate for with while, some people really need to spend a little more to feel safe/happy/comfortable in their apartment or get certain amenities like in-apartment laundry or a dishwasher, some people feel better spending less and knowing they're keeping their debt down).

Unfortunately, you may need to try a few permutations before you figure this out for yourself.

Once again thanks for the advice and sorry if any of the questions are a little weird. I guess I just had a bit too much fun in college and don't want to experience the same fraternity/party atmosphere. I loved it during college, but I also kind of got it out of my system.

[BigZuck]

At the risk of Maling up the thread: I guess the questions were just weird to me because I tend to think of deciding to go to law school to be a grown up decision and grown ups should just kind of figure out what works for them. If something wasn't working, change it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

To Mal's point: I would cut it out with the 0L prep. It will probably do more harm than good. Just read Getting to Maybe and be done with it. Having max fun/relaxation this summer will put you in a much better position than the 0L preppers who are about to get median pwned in about 6 months or so.