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Is starting in the Summer generally considered a less desirable thing to do? Does it carry any unintended consequences? Are there any positives to be gleaned from it?

My biggest fear is that it would isolate me socially from the rest of the 1Ls, as I would be placed in a wonky section full of part-timers, etc. Is this fear unfounded? Do Summer programs typically give you a "head start" or would it place you on an entirely different track from the rest of the Class of 2013?

And yes, I already searched the forum before I posted this, and yes, I've already emailed the school with these questions/concerns, just curious what TLS has to say.

Depends on the summer start program. Some will some won't.

The sumer starters are not isolated because they are part-timers, or somehow less qualified than the rest of the school (at least not here). The summer starters are isolated because they know each other for a full three months before everyone else does. They have a lot of friends in August when everyone shoes up, so they don't need to make the effort to connect that everyone else does. It is kind of ironic: the reason they end up isolated is because at the start of the semester they are not isolated. It feels like they are on a different track. Think back to grade school. When you were in 3rd grade, did you know anyone in 4th? Or 2nd? While the division is not so great as that, it is still there. They can feel almost like the 2Ls or the 3Ls, a separate class unto themselves.

That said, I know quite a few summer starters here, but only because I made an effort to get to know them. And I have been told the division diminishes next year when we all get scrambled.

Bosque wrote:The sumer starters are not isolated because they are part-timers, or somehow less qualified than the rest of the school (at least not here). The summer starters are isolated because they know each other for a full three months before everyone else does. They have a lot of friends in August when everyone shoes up, so they don't need to make the effort to connect that everyone else does. It is kind of ironic: the reason they end up isolated is because at the start of the semester they are not isolated. It feels like they are on a different track. Think back to grade school. When you were in 3rd grade, did you know anyone in 4th? Or 2nd? While the division is not so great as that, it is still there. They can feel almost like the 2Ls or the 3Ls, a separate class unto themselves.

That said, I know quite a few summer starters here, but only because I made an effort to get to know them. And I have been told the division diminishes next year when we all get scrambled.

This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much. Mega credited.