Class Selection / Balancing a LS Courseload? Forum

[Interficio]

Hey guys, I've been lurking around for a while and finally decided to post as I had a question that doesn't seem to have been answered explicitly.

How do you guys in law school choose classes in order to have a balanced workload? Are all classes equal in work/difficulty or do you have to take a "layup" or "soft" class like Law and Literature every term to keep things afloat?

Also would help if you guys posted sample course loads from previous terms of yours (I know this is probably inviting trolling) or links to threads that discuss this.

Cheers.

Edit: Also, how do clinics, externships, and reading groups factor into this?

[Interficio]

bump...

[McAvoy]

your first year at almost every school is completely planned for you.

your second and third years will probably have a semester's or so worth of specific class requirements, as well (combined).

At least at my school (UT), you get like a week or something to try out classes before finalizing enrollment.

I can't speak to balancing workload as I'm a 1L, but they call it 2LOL and 3LOL for a reason.

[Kratos]

just take shit you find interesting. or stuff that seems easy. or stuff that doesn't have an exam. or stuff that is on the bar. Or classes that don't require a textbook. or classes that you can find a good outline from prior years. or teachers you like. or any other consideration you want to take into account. stop worrying about how other people choose classes, it's totally a personal matter/also what requirements your school has.

[BVest]

Don't worry about it until spring of 1L when it gets close to the time you have to register. Ask 2Ls and 3Ls you know about specific profs/classes you're considering. And don't assume based on the course topic that the class is going to be easy or hard. And yeah, you'll want to balance a little bit for difficulty, but you'll also want to balance for class hours. For example, if there are a limited number of 4-5 hour classes, you're not going to want to take a bunch of them at the same time in 2L year because it will increase your odds that during 3L you'll have a semester when you've got nothing left you want to take but a bunch of 2 and 3 hour classes.

[Interficio]

Thanks guys!

The only reason I was asking was because everyone on here is always like, you HAVE to take (insert several of the following: evidence, fed courts, tax, etc etc) and I was just wondering how the timing for taking those classes works and whether you would need to have taken any specific class in order to prepare for a summer associate position.

[BVest]

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