What DOES predict law school success? Forum

[beach_terror]

While I agree that typing speed can help (and is a good skill to have anyway), it's only loosely correlated with grades IMO. I only type about 45-55 WPM and I did just fine 1L.

so I'm NOT completely fucked at 55 WPM?

The only time absurd typing speed helps is on exams that are designed so you can't finish them. The faster you think and type, the more you can get done.

[quiver]

While I agree that typing speed can help (and is a good skill to have anyway), it's only loosely correlated with grades IMO. I only type about 45-55 WPM and I did just fine 1L.

so I'm NOT completely fucked at 55 WPM?

It will depend on the exam but I'd say no. Lots of other factors are more important.

[keg411]

While I agree that typing speed can help (and is a good skill to have anyway), it's only loosely correlated with grades IMO. I only type about 45-55 WPM and I did just fine 1L.

so I'm NOT completely fucked at 55 WPM?

The only time absurd typing speed helps is on exams that are designed so you can't finish them. The faster you think and type, the more you can get done.

It's not just about typing, but if you generally take exams quickly (no matter what subject), it might correlate to law school success. I've always been a "fast" test-taker and I've found the style of law school exams plays right into my hands.

[beach_terror]

While I agree that typing speed can help (and is a good skill to have anyway), it's only loosely correlated with grades IMO. I only type about 45-55 WPM and I did just fine 1L.

so I'm NOT completely fucked at 55 WPM?

The only time absurd typing speed helps is on exams that are designed so you can't finish them. The faster you think and type, the more you can get done.

It's not just about typing, but if you generally take exams quickly (no matter what subject), it might correlate to law school success. I've always been a "fast" test-taker and I've found the style of law school exams plays right into my hands.

I mean, this entirely depends on the exam. My con law exam was a 3 hour exam with word limits, and definitely didn't require thinking quickly or writing quickly. Some exams do, others don't. I'll agree that they're virtuous abilities in law school generally, but you have to be able to turn it off on certain exams too (which some people can't do).

[Richie Tenenbaum]

The only time absurd typing speed helps is on exams that are designed so you can't finish them. The faster you think and type, the more you can get done.

It's not just about typing, but if you generally take exams quickly (no matter what subject), it might correlate to law school success. I've always been a "fast" test-taker and I've found the style of law school exams plays right into my hands.

I mean, this entirely depends on the exam. My con law exam was a 3 hour exam with word limits, and definitely didn't require thinking quickly or writing quickly. Some exams do, others don't. I'll agree that they're virtuous abilities in law school generally, but you have to be able to turn it off on certain exams too (which some people can't do).

Isn't it a good bet that a 1L's exams are going to be mostly time-crunched?* Of my 6 exams 1L year, .5 of one of my exams wasn't a time-crunch type of test. And 2 of the tests were just insane time-wise (one was 3.5 hours, and I could have easily typed for 5 hours to just cover all the basic analysis that was stuffed in there).

I think the ability to type very fast + think very fast can be a huge advantage on most law school exams. That's not to say if you can't do these things you're screwed--I'm typically a really slow test-taker because I just don't think that fast. I like to mull things over. I had to get myself out of the habit as much as possible with practice tests, but I'm still am not a fast test-taker and my exams will be on the short-side when it comes to pages written. I've been able to do well, but I think it's more despite that fact.

*Take-home exams and exams with word limits are the only format I know that lend themselves to not being time-crunches.

[beach_terror]

The only time absurd typing speed helps is on exams that are designed so you can't finish them. The faster you think and type, the more you can get done.

It's not just about typing, but if you generally take exams quickly (no matter what subject), it might correlate to law school success. I've always been a "fast" test-taker and I've found the style of law school exams plays right into my hands.

I mean, this entirely depends on the exam. My con law exam was a 3 hour exam with word limits, and definitely didn't require thinking quickly or writing quickly. Some exams do, others don't. I'll agree that they're virtuous abilities in law school generally, but you have to be able to turn it off on certain exams too (which some people can't do).

Isn't it a good bet that a 1L's exams are going to be mostly time-crunched?* Of my 6 exams 1L year, .5 of one of my exams wasn't a time-crunch type of test. And 2 of the tests were just insane time-wise (one was 3.5 hours, and I could have easily typed for 5 hours to just cover all the basic analysis that was stuffed in there).

I think the ability to type very fast + think very fast can be a huge advantage on most law school exams. That's not to say if you can't do these things you're screwed--I'm typically a really slow test-taker because I just don't think that fast. I like to mull things over. I had to get myself out of the habit as much as possible with practice tests, but I'm still am not a fast test-taker and my exams will be on the short-side when it comes to pages written. I've been able to do well, but I think it's more despite that fact.

*Take-home exams and exams with word limits are the only format I know that lend themselves to not being time-crunches.

I only consider my torts exam a time-cruncher. Everything else was designed for us to finish it. This is dependent on your LS and section, but I agreed that thinking fast and typing fast are definitely important, but they can be hindrances as well.

[ThreeRivers]

just did typing test, 62 wpm....

[swc65]

LSAT+Effort is my prediction, but I'm just a 1L

Please bookmark this and come back to it next year!!1


I thought the same thing. Effort does seem to play a role, but it's unclear how much. Obviously, there is a minimum, but after that it doesn't seem to matter too much. IME