am i the only one whose conscious about my age Forum

[3v3ryth1ng]

Yeah I have no Idea what Jeffort is talking about. It is a lot easier than wakign up at 5 and working til 8. The last month is hectic, but still less consuming than a (assuming starting work at 6AM if you get up at 5) 14 hour a day job. 1L is pretty fun. The stressful part is not the time, but not being exactly sure what is expected from you. If you do it right, 2L is when youll actually be most pressed for time (journals clinic etc plus probably a few harder classes).

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to. I wouldn't take it lightly of course (though I hope I could squeeze in some video game time somewhere).

If you approach professors in office hours, do they ever give you a clearer indication of what they're looking for? A rubric? Exemplar? Or do they just kind of expect the "smart" ones will figure it out?

[splitmuch]

Yeah I have no Idea what Jeffort is talking about. It is a lot easier than wakign up at 5 and working til 8. The last month is hectic, but still less consuming than a (assuming starting work at 6AM if you get up at 5) 14 hour a day job. 1L is pretty fun. The stressful part is not the time, but not being exactly sure what is expected from you. If you do it right, 2L is when youll actually be most pressed for time (journals clinic etc plus probably a few harder classes).

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to. I wouldn't take it lightly of course (though I hope I could squeeze in some video game time somewhere).

If you approach professors in office hours, do they ever give you a clearer indication of what they're looking for? A rubric? Exemplar? Or do they just kind of expect the "smart" ones will figure it out?

To clarify, most professors are clear on what you should know, and you can glean from class relative importance (and at my school anyway the professors are very helpful outside of class). I do have one professor who just kind of rambles on tangents and ridiculous hypotheticals which has made learning the "black letter" but he seems to be an outlier.

WHen I say hard to know what they expect I don't mean what they expect you to learn (that's pretty clear and 4/5 of my course had pretty clear syllabi) I mean what they expect on tests. Its a pretty different type of exam than youve ever taken before (I had two midterms so I have some experience now) so its a matter of getting used to it but proper prior preparation can be good (i recommend Getting to Maybe.)

Now, there are some classes where the entire class will be spent discussing normative evaluations of what the law is, but the test is not about those evaluations (save one "policy" question) but is fact patterns where you just apply objective law (or in most cases the differing alternative laws).

[Jeffort]

Yeah I have no Idea what Jeffort is talking about. It is a lot easier than wakign up at 5 and working til 8. The last month is hectic, but still less consuming than a (assuming starting work at 6AM if you get up at 5) 14 hour a day job. 1L is pretty fun. The stressful part is not the time, but not being exactly sure what is expected from you. If you do it right, 2L is when youll actually be most pressed for time (journals clinic etc plus probably a few harder classes).

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to. I wouldn't take it lightly of course (though I hope I could squeeze in some video game time somewhere).

If you approach professors in office hours, do they ever give you a clearer indication of what they're looking for? A rubric? Exemplar? Or do they just kind of expect the "smart" ones will figure it out?

I'm messing with you a little bit, the first semester of 1L is a bit of a hazing process. A common saying that holds true is "First year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death."

It takes a while to figure out what the heck is going on, get your bearings straight, determine what is important and what is not to get a good balance going with the entire routine. All things considered though, it is a lot of work and many people over do it and freak out, especially during first semester of 1L leading up to first round of finals. Many students will go nutzo stressing out and start bouncing off the walls in weird ways.

There was a girl (Stanford Phd grad) that sat next to me in contracts first semester of 1L. Starting about half way through the semester she started randomly and loudly blurting out weird video game noises during class. Sounds like 'bleep, bzzip, blonggg' etc. but she was not even using a laptop or playing video games. People in class and the professor kept looking back and I just kept pointing my finger at her each time everyone looked back to see where the noises were coming from. In the last few weeks of first semester she started bringing her dog to classes, sneaking it into each classroom and hiding it under the desk before lecture began. It was a mid sized collie type of dog, not a small thing like a poodle. During contracts the darn dog kept chewing on my shoes and shoelaces during class while the girl was more frequently making weird noises and blurting out weird statements during lecture. She was not present for first semester finals and was never seen again at the LS after first semester classed ended.

As far as the 5a.m. to 8p.m. thing, that can easily and does frequently happen. Many students push the limits and study until 11p.m. or later each night after getting up really early before classes start to finish the reading assignments. From my first semester experience I highly recommend getting a place to live on or right by campus so you do not have to commute/fight rush hour traffic and deal with parking. A place within short walking distance of the law bldg is ideal. I learned that the hard way. First eight weeks of 1L I commuted from Orange County to USC and back each day. Almost two hours commute each way to go 45 miles every day in rush hour SoCal traffic. Had to wake up around 5:15 a.m. to get to morning class on time and would get home after classes around 7p.m., then have dinner, then do the reading for the next days classes and try to get to bed before midnight to lather, rinse, repeat again the next day. That routine sucked so I got a place to live near campus weeks before first round of finals and then LS became a heck of a lot more fun and enjoyable.

And yes, there is plenty of time for video games if you play your cards right. I inadvertently corrupted my class section because a computer friend gave me for my B-day present a CD with the MAME emulator and original ROMs for tons arcade classics going back to asteroids, space invaders, and pac-man so you could play the original arcade versions on a laptop or PC. Guess what I spent a lot of time in class doing on my laptop? Playing games including Punch Out and Super Punch out! After the first day I started playing them during boring classes or in between classes/during lunch another student asked if he could borrow the CD while I was studying in the library. I handed it over and asked him to return it to me soon. He gave it back later that day and said thanks with a big smile on his face. About a week later almost everyone in our section had the games on their laptops and were playing video games during a lot of class time! lol

[ThreeRivers]

I'm planning on treating LS for the most part like an 8-6 job, with Saturday off and 8-1 on Sunday's... I'll see how that goes lol

[Bildungsroman]

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to.

The whole trope of attributing everything negative to people coming straight through is starting to get a little tired. By far the most prominent bitchers and moaners about law school being hard on this site during their 1L last year were some "lol k-jd = retarded" trolls. In my personal experience I'm seeing no difference in how people straight through vs. people with a gap view law school's difficulty.

Edit: What the fuck, you're a 0L?

[willwash]

I'm 28 and will be 30 when I enter LS, 33 when I graduate, and will have 6.5 years in the Navy post UG

[Jeffort]

I'm planning on treating LS for the most part like an 8-6 job, with Saturday off and 8-1 on Sunday's... I'll see how that goes lol

Excellent plan.

Treating it like a regular job with regular work hours is good and allows you to still have a life. During finals time you might need to go a bit more intense to get everything in, but even then you should maintain moderation for quality of life, health, proper focus, and sanity purposes.

Other than my first 8 weeks of 1L with all that time wasted sitting on the freeway staring at bumpers and brake lights, I never studied past ~7p.m. except a few times I went up to ~8:30-9pm during finals. I always took the weekends off except for some occasional light reading and review here and there.

The only times I was in the law bldg or library past 7p.m. was when I had to drive over to turn in a paper before a deadline. The late night library occupiers made me laugh when I saw them.

LS is demanding, requires a lot of hard work and a lot of reading, but to do well it is not necessary to give up having a life and healthy social and whatever other activities time in order to perform well. Just like preparing for the LSAT, moderation and balance is a key element of any good strategy.

Another funny 1L first semester story about a classmate that hit it too hard in a way to activate the 'tilt' light on a pinball machine. First week of finals, night before the first one, torts. I was staying down the hall from him in the graduate housing dorm. At ~8:30 I closed the books, grabbed a few beers and knocked on his door. OMFG WTF R U doing?!? was my reaction when he let me in. He had gotten a bunch of 3 foot wide butcher paper and hung it on the walls. One was about 15 feet long and had his torts 'flow chart' on it that he was still working on with big fat magic markers. I sat on the couch and tried to get him to have a beer and chill but he insisted on trying to explain his frigging wall to wall torts flow chart to me while making changes and additions to it. I left after a few minutes and went to bed since I could not take his aggro stress level. He failed the bar exam two times in a row that I know of from alumni news.

[headandshoulderos]

the fuck is this thread

[imjustjoking22]

I feel like every post I make on TLS starts with "I don't wanna be a douche, but..."

OP, you can't possibly have fully researched law school enough to make the decision to go to law school without knowing that 24 is a perfectly normal age to enter. When I read the title of this post, I was expecting someone in their early 30s+

+1

Also, the OP apparently does not understand the meaning of "+1"

[3v3ryth1ng]

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to.

The whole trope of attributing everything negative to people coming straight through is starting to get a little tired. By far the most prominent bitchers and moaners about law school being hard on this site during their 1L last year were some "lol k-jd = retarded" trolls. In my personal experience I'm seeing no difference in how people straight through vs. people with a gap view law school's difficulty.

Edit: What the fuck, you're a 0L?

All I know is that after working, the idea of attending school again sounds like vacation. The idea of school that makes me read and actually use my brain sounds interesting. I guess I'll find out when I get there. I didn't say it was easy- I don't know.

As far as me being a 0L, what's that matter, you got a problem with that? You some kind of big shot elitist?

[Ofta3184]

definitely dont stress out about age. i went straight through from undergrad to law and i feel disadvantaged because all my peers have 1-2 years in the real world

[headandshoulderos]

everybody in school wishes they were working. everybody working wishes they were back in school. such is the way of the world.... so say we all

[3v3ryth1ng]

Yeah I have no Idea what Jeffort is talking about. It is a lot easier than wakign up at 5 and working til 8. The last month is hectic, but still less consuming than a (assuming starting work at 6AM if you get up at 5) 14 hour a day job. 1L is pretty fun. The stressful part is not the time, but not being exactly sure what is expected from you. If you do it right, 2L is when youll actually be most pressed for time (journals clinic etc plus probably a few harder classes).

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to. I wouldn't take it lightly of course (though I hope I could squeeze in some video game time somewhere).

If you approach professors in office hours, do they ever give you a clearer indication of what they're looking for? A rubric? Exemplar? Or do they just kind of expect the "smart" ones will figure it out?

I'm messing with you a little bit, the first semester of 1L is a bit of a hazing process. A common saying that holds true is "First year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death."

It takes a while to figure out what the heck is going on, get your bearings straight, determine what is important and what is not to get a good balance going with the entire routine. All things considered though, it is a lot of work and many people over do it and freak out, especially during first semester of 1L leading up to first round of finals. Many students will go nutzo stressing out and start bouncing off the walls in weird ways.

There was a girl (Stanford Phd grad) that sat next to me in contracts first semester of 1L. Starting about half way through the semester she started randomly and loudly blurting out weird video game noises during class. Sounds like 'bleep, bzzip, blonggg' etc. but she was not even using a laptop or playing video games. People in class and the professor kept looking back and I just kept pointing my finger at her each time everyone looked back to see where the noises were coming from. In the last few weeks of first semester she started bringing her dog to classes, sneaking it into each classroom and hiding it under the desk before lecture began. It was a mid sized collie type of dog, not a small thing like a poodle. During contracts the darn dog kept chewing on my shoes and shoelaces during class while the girl was more frequently making weird noises and blurting out weird statements during lecture. She was not present for first semester finals and was never seen again at the LS after first semester classed ended.

As far as the 5a.m. to 8p.m. thing, that can easily and does frequently happen. Many students push the limits and study until 11p.m. or later each night after getting up really early before classes start to finish the reading assignments. From my first semester experience I highly recommend getting a place to live on or right by campus so you do not have to commute/fight rush hour traffic and deal with parking. A place within short walking distance of the law bldg is ideal. I learned that the hard way. First eight weeks of 1L I commuted from Orange County to USC and back each day. Almost two hours commute each way to go 45 miles every day in rush hour SoCal traffic. Had to wake up around 5:15 a.m. to get to morning class on time and would get home after classes around 7p.m., then have dinner, then do the reading for the next days classes and try to get to bed before midnight to lather, rinse, repeat again the next day. That routine sucked so I got a place to live near campus weeks before first round of finals and then LS became a heck of a lot more fun and enjoyable.

And yes, there is plenty of time for video games if you play your cards right. I inadvertently corrupted my class section because a computer friend gave me for my B-day present a CD with the MAME emulator and original ROMs for tons arcade classics going back to asteroids, space invaders, and pac-man so you could play the original arcade versions on a laptop or PC. Guess what I spent a lot of time in class doing on my laptop? Playing games including Punch Out and Super Punch out! After the first day I started playing them during boring classes or in between classes/during lunch another student asked if he could borrow the CD while I was studying in the library. I handed it over and asked him to return it to me soon. He gave it back later that day and said thanks with a big smile on his face. About a week later almost everyone in our section had the games on their laptops and were playing video games during a lot of class time! lol

Yeah I saw you went to USC. I got my Master's there, and I lived at 23rd and Figueroa. Worst year of my life. I couldn't even sleep with all the gunshots, helicopters and dogs barking. Although, I can't say I wouldn't go there if I got in. The next 16 hours will determine whether I even have that option though

I think I gave you the wrong impression with what I said about the video games. I take studying very seriously, especially if it's challenging. Law School is something I really want to do, and there's no way I'd let my myself fuck that up. Thanks for all the advice!

[3v3ryth1ng]

everybody in school wishes they were working. everybody working wishes they were back in school. such is the way of the world.... so say we all

The only reason I ever wished I was working when I was in school was because I was broke eating canned tuna and ravioli from the 99 Cent Store every night. Other than that, it was a blast!

[Jeffort]

Yeah I have no Idea what Jeffort is talking about. It is a lot easier than wakign up at 5 and working til 8. The last month is hectic, but still less consuming than a (assuming starting work at 6AM if you get up at 5) 14 hour a day job. 1L is pretty fun. The stressful part is not the time, but not being exactly sure what is expected from you. If you do it right, 2L is when youll actually be most pressed for time (journals clinic etc plus probably a few harder classes).

I always hear mixed things about law school, but most of the people who tell me how hard it is went straight from undergrad, which is probably what they're comparing it to. I wouldn't take it lightly of course (though I hope I could squeeze in some video game time somewhere).

If you approach professors in office hours, do they ever give you a clearer indication of what they're looking for? A rubric? Exemplar? Or do they just kind of expect the "smart" ones will figure it out?

I'm messing with you a little bit, the first semester of 1L is a bit of a hazing process. A common saying that holds true is "First year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death."

It takes a while to figure out what the heck is going on, get your bearings straight, determine what is important and what is not to get a good balance going with the entire routine. All things considered though, it is a lot of work and many people over do it and freak out, especially during first semester of 1L leading up to first round of finals. Many students will go nutzo stressing out and start bouncing off the walls in weird ways.

There was a girl (Stanford Phd grad) that sat next to me in contracts first semester of 1L. Starting about half way through the semester she started randomly and loudly blurting out weird video game noises during class. Sounds like 'bleep, bzzip, blonggg' etc. but she was not even using a laptop or playing video games. People in class and the professor kept looking back and I just kept pointing my finger at her each time everyone looked back to see where the noises were coming from. In the last few weeks of first semester she started bringing her dog to classes, sneaking it into each classroom and hiding it under the desk before lecture began. It was a mid sized collie type of dog, not a small thing like a poodle. During contracts the darn dog kept chewing on my shoes and shoelaces during class while the girl was more frequently making weird noises and blurting out weird statements during lecture. She was not present for first semester finals and was never seen again at the LS after first semester classed ended.

As far as the 5a.m. to 8p.m. thing, that can easily and does frequently happen. Many students push the limits and study until 11p.m. or later each night after getting up really early before classes start to finish the reading assignments. From my first semester experience I highly recommend getting a place to live on or right by campus so you do not have to commute/fight rush hour traffic and deal with parking. A place within short walking distance of the law bldg is ideal. I learned that the hard way. First eight weeks of 1L I commuted from Orange County to USC and back each day. Almost two hours commute each way to go 45 miles every day in rush hour SoCal traffic. Had to wake up around 5:15 a.m. to get to morning class on time and would get home after classes around 7p.m., then have dinner, then do the reading for the next days classes and try to get to bed before midnight to lather, rinse, repeat again the next day. That routine sucked so I got a place to live near campus weeks before first round of finals and then LS became a heck of a lot more fun and enjoyable.

And yes, there is plenty of time for video games if you play your cards right. I inadvertently corrupted my class section because a computer friend gave me for my B-day present a CD with the MAME emulator and original ROMs for tons arcade classics going back to asteroids, space invaders, and pac-man so you could play the original arcade versions on a laptop or PC. Guess what I spent a lot of time in class doing on my laptop? Playing games including Punch Out and Super Punch out! After the first day I started playing them during boring classes or in between classes/during lunch another student asked if he could borrow the CD while I was studying in the library. I handed it over and asked him to return it to me soon. He gave it back later that day and said thanks with a big smile on his face. About a week later almost everyone in our section had the games on their laptops and were playing video games during a lot of class time! lol

Yeah I saw you went to USC. I got my Master's there, and I lived at 23rd and Figueroa. Worst year of my life. I couldn't even sleep with all the gunshots, helicopters and dogs barking. Although, I can't say I wouldn't go there if I got in. The next 16 hours will determine whether I even have that option though

I think I gave you the wrong impression with what I said about the video games. I take studying very seriously, especially if it's challenging. Law School is something I really want to do, and there's no way I'd let my myself fuck that up. Thanks for all the advice!

Nah, I was just messing with you and joking around a little since you are an older 'non-trad' applicant and figured you'd take it well.

I started LS when I was 27. I had done well in some businesses after working my arse off up to ~70 hours a week since High School, through college while taking a full load of classes and after that with other things. Due to the $$ I had accumulated from work and good stock investments at the time I took a break from full time work for a while, but then got bored so I decided to prep for and take the LSAT since I am fascinated by the law and how it works, like logic and like to read and think.

Did really well so I felt obligated to apply to LSs. My thoughts were along the lines of "crap, with that LSAT score I have to apply to top LSs". Then when I got a bunch of acceptances my thought was "crap, I guess I should go and stop wasting everyday at the beach staring at girls, the ocean and F'cking around downtown" since that was getting old and boring. So I enrolled and showed up!

The first few weeks were a bit rough while figuring out the routine and what is vs. what is not important. Once I got that down I had a great time with plenty of free time, had lots of fun, learned a lot, and did well all three years.

The main things I regret include pissing away most of my $$ by writing checks to pay tuition for the majority of 2nd and 3rd year semesters rather than sticking with the gov subsidized loans, pissing away a bunch more on stupid $hit and not pulling invested $$ out in time before the dot-com bubble burst. My biggest regret was the day of the EBAY IPO. My broker had been selling me up on the idea for weeks and I had a tentative buy order in and just had to call him and say GO. Right before the deadline I dialed 10 of the eleven digits on the phone and then a hot girl knocked on the door and I got distracted. If I had dialed that last digit and just said 'do it' I would still be living in a giant oceanfront place right now! Oh well, I was young and naive and thought I knew it all. $$ comes and goes, no biggie.

Ha ha about the gunshots, police sirens and helicopter noises at night near USC. That made it hard for me to sleep the nights I stayed in my grad housing dorm room.

Good luck on the test dude! When you get into LS, seek out and make friends with the older students that are around or above your age group, it will make the experience a lot more fun. I couldn't stand hanging out with or trying to study with the 21ish year old students in my class section at first, especially the extreme gunner ones that were also immature and very opinionated. They grow on you after a while, especially after they get humbled by 1L first semester grades.

Great song that I believe fits the main themes of this thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq_A8nXMsQ

[bessmarvin89]

I'm planning on treating LS for the most part like an 8-6 job, with Saturday off and 8-1 on Sunday's... I'll see how that goes lol

+1 !!!!