Sage advice for soon to be 1L's

[frame of mind]

The most important things I learned as 1L were these:

1. Do not buy the case books for your classes.

2. Do not study at all during the school year, except for the last week of your classes and during the exam period.

[MidWestLawGril]

So, here's some real advice...

Review your class notes after class everyday.  I did this everyday and it was the best thing I did.

Don't over-prepare for class.  You only need a general idea of what the case is about, you don't have to understand every little nuance and read each case three times. That's what the professor will explain during class.

Start outlining as soon as possible and spend one-two days a week on your outlines.

State the RULE on your exam.  Many people think they understand this and then they get their exams back and realize they did not explicity state the rule in general terms, they just started applying it. That may be the difference between an A and a B.

Lastly, don't take advice from C students, unless they have raised their grades to A's.  Watch out because you don't know who you are getting advice from when you get to school.

[Burning Sands]

Lastly, don't take advice from C students, unless they have raised their grades to A's.  Watch out because you don't know who you are getting advice from when you get to school.

Amen.

As a 1L, you're going to hear 1001 pieces of advice from 1001 different people.  Know who you're talkin to and act accordingly.

[Noelle]

So, here's some real advice...

Review your class notes after class everyday.  I did this everyday and it was the best thing I did.

Don't over-prepare for class.  You only need a general idea of what the case is about, you don't have to understand every little nuance and read each case three times. That's what the professor will explain during class.

Start outlining as soon as possible and spend one-two days a week on your outlines.

State the RULE on your exam.  Many people think they understand this and then they get their exams back and realize they did not explicity state the rule in general terms, they just started applying it. That may be the difference between an A and a B.

Lastly, don't take advice from C students, unless they have raised their grades to A's.  Watch out because you don't know who you are getting advice from when you get to school.

Exactly!

[slacker]

Don't let your classmates stress you out, especially around finals.

[jdohno]

Yup. I saved all those days I could be absent in class for finals time. I stayed away from school around finals time. I had pages of my outline stolen. People were desperate at my school. I hung out on the top floors of the undergrad library and studied for my finals because people were calling me at home. I wonder if exam time will be that bad in our second and third years.

Don't let your classmates stress you out, especially around finals.

[Burning Sands]

Don't let your classmates stress you out, especially around finals.

In fact, the day of finals DO NOT talk to any other law students, period.

[tsilva25]

tag

[Burning Sands]

Yup. I saved all those days I could be absent in class for finals time. I stayed away from school around finals time. I had pages of my outline stolen. People were desperate at my school. I hung out on the top floors of the undergrad library and studied for my finals because people were calling me at home. I wonder if exam time will be that bad in our second and third years.

No Sh!T!!!!!  People get crazy desperate around finals.  This dude I had studied with periodically during the semester turned into this outline monster, demanding outlines from everybody in sight.

When that realization sets in that you're not 100% before finals, you can see some pretty crazy things in law school.

[labamba]

And one more thing -- never ever choose a law student as a roommate!