What is student life in law school like? Forum

[JCDante]

Other than the course work being much harder than undergraduate, is it the same in regards to going to college clubs, studying (except more), and partying? You know, the usual college stuff? Do you find yourself mainly engaged with the students of the law school, or is there some crossover with other grad and undergrad students (like in clubs).

And obviously student life changes depending the area (i.e. NYU has NYC, Cornell you're out in the middle of nowhere, Ann Arbor you've got a chill college town, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

[KMart]

High school.

[Ron Don Volante]

High school but a lot better.

[BigZuck]

I wouldn't say it's harder than college, you just have to put up with more BS like student unfriendly deadlines and having to take classes taught and graded by law professors.

It does seem a lot like high school in some ways and there are probably a few more noticeably insufferable people than in college but overall it's pretty much what you make of it (as is the case with life)

Lots of the club stuff revolves around law-schooly things and most of the social stuff revolves around drinking.

At my school nothing really lends itself to associating with students in other programs.

[bearsfan23]

Academically - unless you had a pretty rigorous major or are used to being graded on a curve, law school is definitely more intense. Not that the material is generally that difficult, but your grade (at least 1L year) is relative to how everyone else does.

Cross over with other programs - This probably really depends on the school and/or your personal interest in pursuing this.

Socially - Its like high school, but without the hot girls

[Johann]

Lot more drug and alcohol abuse instead of casual drinking and drugs. Drugs and alcohol go from being a fun social activity in college to a coping mechanism to get through daily life.

[JCDante]

Socially - Its like high school, but without the hot girls

How does this happen? Even if you got to a school like Duke or Virginia which is totally not like high school?

[PeanutsNJam]

I'm also curious how it's like high school. Clique-y? Is the varsity quarterback football player gonna stick my head in a toilet.

[First Offense]

I'm also curious how it's like high school. Clique-y? Is the varsity quarterback football player gonna stick my head in a toilet.

It's fairly small, and especially 1L you generally have all the classes with the same people. I don't think it's more gossipy or cliquey than anything else, but the gossip and cliquey-ness is magnified due to the small group of people you're around.

Also lockers.

[FlanAl]

Its so much like high school in so many ways but the two most annoying for me were:

1) The professors treat you like high school students. Cold calling is basically "where's your homework Mr. Spiccoli?"

2) In high school people are competing to get into good colleges. In law school people are competing to get into good firms. Remember that annoying kid with the stanford sweatshirt from high school? Well now he has a cravath bag.

[NYCFAN1]

Socially - Its like high school, but without the hot girls

How does this happen? Even if you got to a school like Duke or Virginia which is totally not like high school?

schools like Duke and Virginia are more like high school than, say, NYU or Columbia since your whole world revolves around law school -- you're not likely to have another social group outside of the law school in a small town like Durham

[Ron Don Volante]

Lot more drug and alcohol abuse instead of casual drinking and drugs. Drugs and alcohol go from being a fun social activity in college to a coping mechanism to get through daily life.

This puts your posting history into a more understandable context

[jbagelboy]

Never really understood the high school comparisons. Yea some folks have lockers and people spend a lot of time in one set of buildings, but its not like students in their mid-20s are driving home to their parents at 330 every afternoon. For those of us who had careers before law school and maintain close relationships with friends/significant others outside school, the secondary school comparisons really miss the mark.

[First Offense]

Never really understood the high school comparisons. Yea some folks have lockers and people spend a lot of time in one set of buildings, but its not like students in their mid-20s are driving home to their parents at 330 every afternoon. For those of us who had careers before law school and maintain close relationships with friends/significant others outside school, the secondary school comparisons really miss the mark.

Anyone ever tell you you're an insufferable ass?

[jbagelboy]

Never really understood the high school comparisons. Yea some folks have lockers and people spend a lot of time in one set of buildings, but its not like students in their mid-20s are driving home to their parents at 330 every afternoon. For those of us who had careers before law school and maintain close relationships with friends/significant others outside school, the secondary school comparisons really miss the mark.

Anyone ever tell you you're an insufferable ass?

On tls, its been known to happen. I'm not saying life is easier for older people. I just think the "law school is high school" trope doesn't tell the whole story.

[BigZuck]

I'm old AF and from what I can tell law school is pretty damn high schooly. Way more so than college or grad school or the real world.

[ymmv]

I'm old AF and from what I can tell law school is pretty damn high schooly. Way more so than college or grad school or the real world.

Not my experience at all. But it might be because my undergrad was so fucking cliquey and high schooly by comparison. There are some shitheads at my LS but on the whole it's a pretty chill, sociable crowd.

[BigZuck]

I'm old AF and from what I can tell law school is pretty damn high schooly. Way more so than college or grad school or the real world.

Not my experience at all. But it might be because my undergrad was so fucking cliquey and high schooly by comparison. There are some shitheads at my LS but on the whole it's a pretty chill, sociable crowd.

Maybe it's where I go? I could definitely see it being different from school to school.

I like the vast majority of people at my school too but there's a pretty visible minority that's all about DAT HIGH SCHOOL LIFE. And those people are fine too, I can just see where people get the law school=high school thing from.

[star fox]

I'm old AF and from what I can tell law school is pretty damn high schooly. Way more so than college or grad school or the real world.

Not my experience at all. But it might be because my undergrad was so fucking cliquey and high schooly by comparison. There are some shitheads at my LS but on the whole it's a pretty chill, sociable crowd.

High school was on the whole a pretty chill, sociable crowd as well.

[iamgeorgebush]

i think when people say it's like high school it's b/c you end up spending all your time with more or less the same group of people, especially if you go to LS in a city where you don't know many other people. this, combined with all your classes and possibly all your studying taking place in one building, leads to lots of gossip and drama. and then there are the lockers too.

academically, it's nothing like high school, other than having all your classes assigned for the first year. for one, it's a ton of work, at least for 1L. as a 1L, i probably spend twice as much time on schoolwork than i did in college. i hear people stop caring once they get jobs during OCI, though. this is for my T6 school, mind you.

[DportIA]

horrible. don't go.

[banjo]

High school sucks because you're forced to study and socialize with the same group of teenagers for 6 hours a day, every day, for four years. In law school, you can join zero clubs, attend zero class, and still be totally fine. Even in 1L, if you don't study in the law school, you can avoid almost all the drama and second-hand stress. Makes a huge difference IMO.

[jk148706]

.

[AT9]

The set up is high school-like; you have the lockers, small classes (at some schools) with the same people, the popular kids and the outcasts, often all in one building, etc. But obviously it's not like high school in that (for the most part) people are grown up. Many people have worked in the real world, some are married, and a few are parents. Just lots of work.

So yeah, high school for grown ups.