Law School Discussion

Would you recommend LEEWS then?

Sure, I think it helped me. I think to get the most out of it, you have to do it early  (before classes start or at least 2-3 weeks in) and you need to follow it to the letter. I might have done better if I had done those things. Then again, I most likely would have done worse if I didn't go through it. I also had multiple choice on every in class exam last semester. LEEWS didn't really help for that.

Also, it easier to apply in certain classes. It is great for Torts. For something like Civ Pro or Con Law, the basic ideas are still good, but it isn't as natural a fit.

It isn't a magic pill. It gives good advice and good strategy for writing exams. You still need to know the law COLD to get good grades (which LEEWS says as well).

BTW: Knowing the law cold isn't a sufficient condition for good grades, its a necessary condition.

I just wanted to clarify: I'm not saying prepping will hurt you. However, I wanted to emphasize that prepping in a way that will help you "play the game" of law school may be more useful than learning the nuances of the Rule Against Perpetuities. For me, learning to write an exam was the most helpful thing for studying and preparing for class because it gave a concise focus for what I will end up being tested on later.

I understand that everyone is different, and that you all should do what you think is best. I'm just sharing what I can of my experiences to help you from some pain.

If you are going to do any kind of "prepping" I would suggest LEEWS or something like that. The reason I think this might help is that it could help you figure out earlier what is important in class and what is not (there are many things that you discuss in class that are interesting but do not help you).

As to E&Es, I think there is a strong possibility you are going to forget most of that stuff by the time exams roll around. I would guess I've retained, off the top of my head, about 30% of the things from first semester.
Plus, it is nice to have "fresh" hypos when you get to the final weeks of the semester.
 
I also think "prepping" may cause you to waste what could be the last free summer  you will have for the rest of your life.

I also want to say that I'm not convinced that doing "well" correlates to how much time you spend studying. I know many, many of my fellow classmates that studied much harder than me and were very disappointed with their grades (I'm assuming they did worse than me, or at least about the same). I also know of at least 3 people who studied less than me and have better grades than me. Just how it works.

My recommendation: Try to get withoutasigh's apt. You cannot beat it for the price and the location.

Well, I guess there really is no way to completely avoid the unfairness you are talking about. I can only describe what happens here.

First, all students are ranked against the entire class.

Second, the way Emory divides sections, you end up mixing up with everyone else. There are six sections. Each class is a combination of two sections (except Torts which is only one and the writing/research class that is like two half sections combined). So, by the end of your first year, you have at least one class with every student.

This has two advantages. First, you only have to be with the same 40 people all the time instead of the same 80. Second, it mitigates the unfairness you are talking about.

Also, keep in mind, the majority of grades in a any given class are B's or B+'s. While professors have discretion, they tend to clump more in the middle so there are less C's and B-'s.

However, that is just how we do it. I have read on this board how at some schools where they give scholarships based on being above say a 3.2, they will section all of the scholarship kids together, so there is no way they can all maintain their money. Don't know if it is true, just doing my part to perpetuate the rumor.