UF Law Class of 2019 Forum

[07152016]

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[Sonar80]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I must say that surprises me a little bit. Well, I suppose that I might be in the minority then!

Side note: has anyone ordered their parking passes yet? It seems that they're not available just yet.

[07152016]

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[Sonar80]

Anyone else get an email from a student ambassador this morning?

I did not, I got one a long time ago, but haven't gotten anything recently.

[07152016]

..

[Kat1021]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I must say that surprises me a little bit. Well, I suppose that I might be in the minority then!

Side note: has anyone ordered their parking passes yet? It seems that they're not available just yet.

Parking- I tried to order my pass online, but it wouldn't go through. Perhaps we're too early.

I think the majority are atleast reading a prep book, such as 1L of a ride. Let us know what you think of the prep course!

[__blah]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I'm doing both traveling and the prep course. Grades are so important, a prep course can only help.

[__blah]

Has an alumni reached out to anyone

[medtolaw]

Has an alumni reached out to anyone

I had an alum and a professor reach out to me, but not a student.

[07152016]

..

[medtolaw]

Has an alumni reached out to anyone

I had an alum and a professor reach out to me, but not a student.

Neither of those have reached out to me.

It seems pretty random.

[Sonar80]

Has an alumni reached out to anyone

Yes I got an email WAYYYY back in the beginning of the cycle from a student and an alumni, basically they were pitching the school to me, and at that point I'd already decided, so I sent them an email telling them that I was good to go and would be attending UF.

[Sonar80]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I'm doing both traveling and the prep course. Grades are so important, a prep course can only help.

Particularly first semester grades.

[IsThisForReal]

The Batbri prep course is awesome. Don't pay for it but if you can get a scholarhip definitely go.

[__blah]

The Batbri prep course is awesome. Don't pay for it but if you can get a scholarhip definitely go.

I have a scholarship. I think anything that helps you succeed in law school is worth a try.

[__blah]

Has an alumni reached out to anyone

I had an alum and a professor reach out to me, but not a student.

Neither of those have reached out to me.

Same. The school suggested an alumni to connect with but she never got in contact with me.

[GatorToLS]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I would bet that prep courses can help at the margins, but by law school most people have 20 years of reading + writing experience. It's hard for me to see how a few days can make a substantial difference in reading speed/comprehension, or analytical ability.

[GatorToLS]

I heard back yesterday about the Law Preview scholarship! Going to do the one at FIU

You're doing a prep course? Ew.

I would venture a guess that most of us here are doing prep courses in one way or another.

I'm definitely not. I'm taking the advice from ASD and spending my summer doing everything fun that I want to do.

I would bet that prep courses can help at the margins, but by law school most people have 20 years of reading + writing experience. It's hard for me to see how a few days could substantially improve reading speed, reading comprehension, or analytical ability.

[lavarman84]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

I can give plenty of exam tips. But it still may not make a difference. It's just the nature of how law school works. It's why this site does a great job of advising people to assume that they'll be median. Because until you get your first semester grades, you have no idea where on the spectrum you'll be.

[GatorToLS]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

What do you, personally, think is the best way to learn how law school exams work? Is there anything specific to how UF does things that we should be aware of?

[lavarman84]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

What do you, personally, think is the best way to learn how law school exams work? Is there anything specific to how UF does things that we should be aware of?

The best thing you can do is take a bunch of practice tests to prepare for exams with Professors who have model answers. You just have to practice. It's all about understanding what the Professor wants. Because they're the person grading the exam. And you can't really practice that until you know the bulk of or all the material for the course.

Like I said, I can give y'all some tips on dos and don'ts but on exam day, it may not make a difference because it's the last thing you're thinking about. Personally, I think two of the biggest reasons why I did well were that I got plenty of sleep during exam week (some people run themselves ragged studying...trust me, rest is important...you want to be functioning at a high level mentally) and I walked into every exam with a ton of confidence (bordering on arrogance). My first semester, I was basically lying to myself that I was confident but I think mindset is really important. Find a way to trick yourself into being confident. Just about everybody in your class will be smart and will work hard over the semester. All of you are capable of getting top grades. Gotta believe in yourself.

UF does things but they just aren't super helpful. Law Review does tutoring and some of the tutoring is actually really helpful.(I recommend attending the first time for each to see if it will be helpful or a waste of time) But everybody will be giving you tips. I ignored most of it. People find what works for them. I found what works for me by trusting and knowing myself. Find what works for you. Don't just try and do what works for other people.

[GatorToLS]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

What do you, personally, think is the best way to learn how law school exams work? Is there anything specific to how UF does things that we should be aware of?

The best thing you can do is take a bunch of practice tests to prepare for exams with Professors who have model answers. You just have to practice. It's all about understanding what the Professor wants. Because they're the person grading the exam. And you can't really practice that until you know the bulk of or all the material for the course.

Like I said, I can give y'all some tips on dos and don'ts but on exam day, it may not make a difference because it's the last thing you're thinking about. Personally, I think two of the biggest reasons why I did well were that I got plenty of sleep during exam week (some people run themselves ragged studying...trust me, rest is important...you want to be functioning at a high level mentally) and I walked into every exam with a ton of confidence (bordering on arrogance). My first semester, I was basically lying to myself that I was confident but I think mindset is really important. Find a way to trick yourself into being confident. Just about everybody in your class will be smart and will work hard over the semester. All of you are capable of getting top grades. Gotta believe in yourself.

UF does things but they just aren't super helpful. Law Review does tutoring and some of the tutoring is actually really helpful.(I recommend attending the first time for each to see if it will be helpful or a waste of time) But everybody will be giving you tips. I ignored most of it. People find what works for them. I found what works for me by trusting and knowing myself. Find what works for you. Don't just try and do what works for other people.

Thanks for the answer! You mentioned that you had a top 5 finish (out of about 300?), do you mind sharing what you think your LSAT score was relative to the class (just a rough percentile). I know that the LSAT isn't destiny, but the LSAC claims their statistics show LSAT + GPA have a moderate amount of predictive power. It would be interesting to know if you are a normal (on paper) student with exceptional study/exam techniques, or an exceptional student who was already ahead on day one.

[lavarman84]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

What do you, personally, think is the best way to learn how law school exams work? Is there anything specific to how UF does things that we should be aware of?

The best thing you can do is take a bunch of practice tests to prepare for exams with Professors who have model answers. You just have to practice. It's all about understanding what the Professor wants. Because they're the person grading the exam. And you can't really practice that until you know the bulk of or all the material for the course.

Like I said, I can give y'all some tips on dos and don'ts but on exam day, it may not make a difference because it's the last thing you're thinking about. Personally, I think two of the biggest reasons why I did well were that I got plenty of sleep during exam week (some people run themselves ragged studying...trust me, rest is important...you want to be functioning at a high level mentally) and I walked into every exam with a ton of confidence (bordering on arrogance). My first semester, I was basically lying to myself that I was confident but I think mindset is really important. Find a way to trick yourself into being confident. Just about everybody in your class will be smart and will work hard over the semester. All of you are capable of getting top grades. Gotta believe in yourself.

UF does things but they just aren't super helpful. Law Review does tutoring and some of the tutoring is actually really helpful.(I recommend attending the first time for each to see if it will be helpful or a waste of time) But everybody will be giving you tips. I ignored most of it. People find what works for them. I found what works for me by trusting and knowing myself. Find what works for you. Don't just try and do what works for other people.

Thanks for the answer! You mentioned that you had a top 5 finish (out of about 300?), do you mind sharing what you think your LSAT score was relative to the class (just a rough percentile). I know that the LSAT isn't destiny, but the LSAC claims their statistics show LSAT + GPA have a moderate amount of predictive power.

GPA and LSAT were both sitting right on the 75th percentile.(so above median)

[GatorToLS]

Listen, it's y'all's time and money (if you don't have the scholarship). If you want to do it for peace of mind, it's all you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd be relaxing right now. 1L is a grind. Enjoy your freedom. I'll tell you that I did no prep at all for law school. No prep courses, no books, nothing. I didn't even read TLS during 1L year (nor did I know about it). I still finished top 5 in my class.

I guess I can't say that it won't be useful because I never did it but I can say that not prepping didn't hurt me in the slightest. In the end, you're still not going to be prepared for law school. It'll take you awhile to adjust and start to put everything together. And that's fine. Everybody is in the same boat.

Frankly, your 1L grades are going to come down to how natural you are at taking law school exams and the work you put in over the semester. The best thing you can do is understand how law school exams work. But, personally, I don't think a prep course now will really help that much. Things won't start to click until late in the semester.(for some, things might not click until late in 1L year or after 1L year)

What do you, personally, think is the best way to learn how law school exams work? Is there anything specific to how UF does things that we should be aware of?

The best thing you can do is take a bunch of practice tests to prepare for exams with Professors who have model answers. You just have to practice. It's all about understanding what the Professor wants. Because they're the person grading the exam. And you can't really practice that until you know the bulk of or all the material for the course.

Like I said, I can give y'all some tips on dos and don'ts but on exam day, it may not make a difference because it's the last thing you're thinking about. Personally, I think two of the biggest reasons why I did well were that I got plenty of sleep during exam week (some people run themselves ragged studying...trust me, rest is important...you want to be functioning at a high level mentally) and I walked into every exam with a ton of confidence (bordering on arrogance). My first semester, I was basically lying to myself that I was confident but I think mindset is really important. Find a way to trick yourself into being confident. Just about everybody in your class will be smart and will work hard over the semester. All of you are capable of getting top grades. Gotta believe in yourself.

UF does things but they just aren't super helpful. Law Review does tutoring and some of the tutoring is actually really helpful.(I recommend attending the first time for each to see if it will be helpful or a waste of time) But everybody will be giving you tips. I ignored most of it. People find what works for them. I found what works for me by trusting and knowing myself. Find what works for you. Don't just try and do what works for other people.

Thanks for the answer! You mentioned that you had a top 5 finish (out of about 300?), do you mind sharing what you think your LSAT score was relative to the class (just a rough percentile). I know that the LSAT isn't destiny, but the LSAC claims their statistics show LSAT + GPA have a moderate amount of predictive power.

GPA and LSAT were both sitting right on the 75th percentile.(so above median)

Thanks! Good to know. It's really hard to distill the forum horror/success anecdotes into useful data.

[lavarman84]

Thanks! Good to know. It's really hard to distill the forum horror/success anecdotes into useful data.

I still wouldn't put much stock in it, though. I know people with better credentials who did worse. In the end, there's really not much separating people in terms of intelligence.