Will I really be living in the library?? Forum

[A. Nony Mouse]

I did study in the law library, mostly between classes, and it was fine. I actually like a little ambient background noise so the library was kind of quiet for me, but it had good desk space and access to outlets. Leading up to/during finals it got pretty crowded so I tended to avoid it then (unless I was fighting with others for a study room to go over practice exams with a study group). 3L year I just used my (shared) law review office instead.

Like I said, I loved studying in coffeeshops - I like the background noise (I only find it annoying if I have a loud conversation at the very next table), it gets me out of the house, it helps keep me focused because I only have work with me (well, and the internet...but at least not TV or laundry or cleaning or napping like at home), I like people watching, plus easy access to food and drink. I occasionally did practice exams with a group at a coffeeshop, but usually at the law school (I did coffeeshop group studying with other commuters, and law school studying with folks who lived in the law school town).

I also studied at home, but my husband and I had a ~700 sq ft 1 BR apartment and I didn't have an actual desk, so it wasn't the ideal set up. I think I actually did a lot of exam studying at home, though, when the husband was at work during the day and I didn't want to have to put on real clothes/leave the house.

But it really depends on what works for you. I think the difference is really what atmosphere you like best. You really mostly need your casebook and your computer so it's not hard to study in a variety of places (although the casebooks are a pain to haul around).

[LitigatingLiar]

Some people have to be a the library because there is no quiet place at home. Some others prefer to be at home because they live alone and the library is a social hang out for many. Not basing it on personal experience but rather on what other law students have told me.

[Barack O'Drama]

One of my good friends is a rising 2L and from what she has told me she basically treated law school a 9-5 job. She would get to school early, do some readings/briefings, read in-between classes, and during lunch. Then she would spend 2-3 hours after class reading in the library. She told me she never had to pull an all-nighter, and put in 6 hours or so on weekends. I'm quite neurotic, so I pick her brain quite a bit.

Granted, I think this excludes during finals.

[bmathers]

Do people still check books out of the law library or is that not a thing anymore?

I have never had a need to do this, but I'm not on a journal either.

But yeah, OP, studying in law school just means going over your case book, notes, and any supplements you're using. You can do that just as easily from your living room if you prefer.

IMO the difficulty of law school is waaaay overblown. Some people may enjoy being really dedicated and spending 10 hours a day studying, but it's not actually necessary.

This. There's a lot of work come exam time, especially 1L, but the rest of the time it's pretty chill. Most of the people who talk about how they've been up for 36 hours straight are lying: they just think it's part of the law student persona they're supposed to adopt, or they're engaging in some silly stress arms race over Facebook to psych out their fellow gunners.

Yeah I think this is the biggest reason. I'm sure there are some people who spend ridiculous amounts of time studying but there really is not that much content you have to learn in doctrinal classes (especially when most of them are open book). Outside of class time I probably spend about 1-1.5 hours a day studying (aside from legal writing), generally did it at home unless I had a big time gap at school, and even at exams I think you can do very well with ~6 hour days as long as you are pretty caught up throughout the year. The biggest thing is just knowing the second you fall behind in what is going on in the class--then I think you have to work hard to catch up because it will just become exponentially more work if you miss out on groundwork (going to office hours is probably TCR here).

But as I quoted, I think most of the stories are just "some silly stress arms race" I finished 1L with a 4.0 and I think it was because I didn't let myself get caught up in that cesspool of stress and just relaxed/studied at home--so study at home if it fits your schedule better.

I feel that the "Faebook stress arms race" happens here regarding the LSAT too. People saying they pull 10+ hr days prepping for the LSAT most days?? Yeah right.

[L’Étranger]

What's so special about the library? It's full of anxious law students.