Things you wish you knew before starting law school? Forum

[spleenworship]

You paid 4 G's for a bar prep course?

Isn't that about what yours costs? I mean, mine is like 3 G's or so. Another 1.5 G's if I want to do a second state.... I didn't look to closely, to be honest.... the numbers freaked me out.

[TheGreatWhiteHorse]

You paid 4 G's for a bar prep course?

Isn't that about what yours costs? I mean, mine is like 3 G's or so. Another 1.5 G's if I want to do a second state.... I didn't look to closely, to be honest.... the numbers freaked me out.

4 g's for two states sounds about right. About 2.5 for one. But I completely agree about signing up as a student rep as early as possible.

[Blumpbeef]

Also, fiercely guard your hobbies. If you let go of those and fall into monomania, you begin to die inside.

This is depressing, because I am giving up both of my hobbies (ice hockey and snowboarding) for LS because of the logistics (there are no mountains anywhere near Chicago) and cost/transportation (40lb gear bag and sticks on the subway? No thanks). I hope to hell I find something else worthwhile to fill the time or I am going to be one unhappy rinkrat.

Um.... couldn't you rent a locker at the rink and just keep your stuff there?

Hockey gear really should be aired out to dry every time you wear it. You can tell who doesn't, because you can smell them across the parking lot. (And it's not just aesthetics...letting your gear rot breaks it down faster and causes it to wear out, and it's also an excellent way to catch staph infections and other lovely bugs.)
That's if rinks even have lockers that can hold a full set of gear+sticks. No rink I've ever been in does.

Other issues: I don't like playing with women and a lone chick trying to join a men's league in a new city is going to have an uphill battle. And paying for league fees with student loans seems less than responsible.

My roommate played hockey. We had a closet-which-must-not-be-opened.

[cinephile]

Also, fiercely guard your hobbies. If you let go of those and fall into monomania, you begin to die inside.

This is depressing, because I am giving up both of my hobbies (ice hockey and snowboarding) for LS because of the logistics (there are no mountains anywhere near Chicago) and cost/transportation (40lb gear bag and sticks on the subway? No thanks). I hope to hell I find something else worthwhile to fill the time or I am going to be one unhappy rinkrat.

The problem is more about letting yourself do something outside of school without feeling guilty that you're not studying and are falling behind.

[traynorsbizarro]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

[rinkrat19]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

I don't speak whatever language that is.

And I'm not anyone's son.

[TheGreatWhiteHorse]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

I don't speak whatever language that is.

And I'm not anyone's son.

You're a clone? Awesome.

[rinkrat19]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

I don't speak whatever language that is.

And I'm not anyone's son.

You're a clone? Awesome.

Think harder.

[TheGreatWhiteHorse]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

I don't speak whatever language that is.

And I'm not anyone's son.

You're a clone? Awesome.

Think harder.

You're a robot? •_• (j/k)

[droges]

1. Balance school and everything else. If you treat it like a 9-5 and stay on top of things you will be fine. Then you can ramp up your hours towards the end of the semester and not be burned out and not be depressed.

2. Spending your life in the library does not have a substantial impact on your grades. Sure, for those people who spend all their time studying it might, but for those of us who can't do that spending too much time in the library will only be detrimental to your mental health and ability to focus when you try to do actual work.

[reformed calvinist]

Yeah I avoid the law library like the plague. At the very least avoid it around finals. Avoiding the library will do wonders for your concentration and you'll avoid the law school echo chamber (hearing whiners stress out is more stressful than the actual workload).

[vpintz]

son, giving up ur hobbies (& friends, loved ones, etc.) and lettting urself die inside tis whats all about. that little cavity it called the "learning crater." FYL. if you aint ready to do so, you aint ready to gun! really, u think they gonna let u snowboardz around the office as a first-year associate?

please stop posting.

[ms9]

I'll share something with you guys that is "thing I wish people knew before law school and as law school students":

The vast majority of law firms care about one thing above all others, "can you build a book of clients on your own". I really wish more students realized that because I feel like for the past some odd numbers of years I have been getting an increasing number of calls on my cell or emails,
"can you help me get a job in Higher Ed, government, etc etc I had no idea this was the driving force of law firms and I feel like a salesperson".

[msblaw89]

Yeah I avoid the law library like the plague. At the very least avoid it around finals. Avoiding the library will do wonders for your concentration and you'll avoid the law school echo chamber (hearing whiners stress out is more stressful than the actual workload).

Is there any advantage to being int he law library verses your own apartment ( if you study well on your own)? For exams are there some books you can only access at the library? In all of undergrad I never went to the library...and I don't think I will want to in law school either

[spleenworship]

Yeah I avoid the law library like the plague. At the very least avoid it around finals. Avoiding the library will do wonders for your concentration and you'll avoid the law school echo chamber (hearing whiners stress out is more stressful than the actual workload).

Is there any advantage to being int he law library verses your own apartment ( if you study well on your own)? For exams are there some books you can only access at the library? In all of undergrad I never went to the library...and I don't think I will want to in law school either

The library is somewhere without TV, SO, or other distracting crap....

supposedly...

but realistically you have your computer and headphones between facebook, TLS, news, HULU, Netflicks, Etc.... you can endlessly find ways to distract yourself. I only go to the library for research advice from librarians, or for annotated statutes which I find easier and quicker to go through on paper instead of the computer like I do cases.

[reformed calvinist]

Yeah I avoid the law library like the plague. At the very least avoid it around finals. Avoiding the library will do wonders for your concentration and you'll avoid the law school echo chamber (hearing whiners stress out is more stressful than the actual workload).

Is there any advantage to being int he law library verses your own apartment ( if you study well on your own)? For exams are there some books you can only access at the library? In all of undergrad I never went to the library...and I don't think I will want to in law school either

In my experience, no. In fact, the library is disadvantageous, because I invariably run into friends of mine and begin socializing. Now, I would never argue that socializing is bad-I think it's essential to your mental health, but when it bleeds into my study time it's a bad thing.

Last night I turned on the TV to watch something quick while I ate dinner, and I stumbled upon inglourious basterds ten minutes in. Why don't you take a wild guess as to whether I got any work done? So I'm a hopeless case at home too. I can usually focus like a laser in libraries, but I avoid the law library.

[TheGreatWhiteHorse]

I avoid the library, too. I am usually a mess on my own, so I started out going to the law library for hours to try and be productive. Noooope.

Between the discomfort of not being able to de-pants, or go to the fridge whenever you want and the fact that my law building is on a huge campus and the typical undergrad library is 34758342609 miles away (which brings all manner of perverse undergrads shuffling through in the later hours) its a disaster.

As for finals and such: t he only thing Ive ever needed the library for is to grab old exams or something...oh wait...my profs never do that. Nevermind. No. There are no special library-only materials.

[EliHBCU]

You paid 4 G's for a bar prep course?

Ok not exactly 4K, but close enough to hurt my wallet.

[solotee]

I wish I would have known that the work only increases after 1L.

Other than that, it's pretty much what I expected it to be.