Sage advice for soon to be 1L's

[casino]

lol

casino

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.

[dft]

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

Why not?  I thought that would be a good idea. I would think law students are generally responsible and organized. These are very important qualities in roommates (paying bills on time, keeping the place clean, etc.). Also, they're likely to be studying often, so they won't bother you with noise and other annoying *&^%. In addition, it might be nice to have someone to bounce (law-related) ideas off of once and awhile to help to further your understanding of the law. And finally, it's always good to have a roommate (or two) that you have something in common with, so that you will get along better. I think that since you are both in law school together, you are likely to be on the same wavelength regarding all sorts of issues that come up when living with other people (such as the above mentioned).

[jdohno]

I agree with labamba on this. I didn't have a law student as a roommate but I had three of them on the same floor in my apartment complex and they were always at my place. Ccih, you have a good idea of what a good law school roommate SHOULD be like. There is a great chance that you both won't be in the same section so you don't have an instant study partner. Professors teach the same thing in different ways. What I found out was that another law student will either be freaked out if you study more than he does or the person will always go to you if they don't understand something. That takes up a lot of time.

People don't really do the study group thing until around exam time. Even though it's a good idea to have someone to bounce ideas around with. One of my neighbors was always at bars and parties. When exam time came around, she freaked out and would come to my door at weird hours to "talk." If she was my roommate, there is no way in Also when you get home, you want to get away from the law for a few hours. You can't do that if your roommate is another law student. If you're in law school, a great roommate is a med student or engineering/biology/architeture grad student. They're never home. And when they're home they are sleeping. A classmate had a med student as a roommate and she was happy with the arrangement.

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

Why not?  I thought that would be a good idea. I would think law students are generally responsible and organized. These are very important qualities in roommates (paying bills on time, keeping the place clean, etc.). Also, they're likely to be studying often, so they won't bother you with noise and other annoying *&^%. In addition, it might be nice to have someone to bounce (law-related) ideas off of once and awhile to help to further your understanding of the law. And finally, it's always good to have a roommate (or two) that you have something in common with, so that you will get along better. I think that since you are both in law school together, you are likely to be on the same wavelength regarding all sorts of issues that come up when living with other people (such as the above mentioned).

[jdohno]

Demanding outlines??? I would have had a great answer to that request. 

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.

[Coregram]

Don't spend too much time on discussion boards and take most of our advice with a grain of salt.

[jdohno]

Yeah. I'm glad school is starting soon for a lot of people. You will get to see everything for yourself.  Your first year will be fine as long as you realized it's a whole different game. Law school is a lot of hard work.

Don't spend too much time on discussion boards and take most of our advice with a grain of salt.

[slacker]

Advice includes:
- fiber - don't underestimate its importance

- don't talk about exams after you've taken them

- as others have said, figure out what works for you and go with that

[SassDiva2000]

I'm new here and I think that's a fabulous post. Excellent advice.

I'd add this based on my own experience:
1. Don't put down the "on call" person because they seemed flustered and didn't give great answers. Next week, that could be you.

I knew so many students who, after class in the elevators, bashed whoever was "on call" that day because they didn't know what consideration was, couldn't recite the facts properly or whatever the case was. The fact of the matter is, how one performs in class and responds to the socratic method is not always an indication of how well that same person will perform on the exam.

[JG]

Ok, here are mine:

1.  Make it your goal to get out of every single class with a set of typed notes from which you can make your outline--without going back to the casebook or to a commercial outline.  That means writing down what the professor says and also taking notes from the book during class.

2.  If you take notes on your laptop, don't have a wireless connection or any games.  Virtually no one can stop themselves from using these things in class.

3.  Make your own outlines. Making the outline is what teaches you, not reading it.  If you can, make multiple outlines (an "everything" outline, a bare-bones outline, etc.)

4.  Don't talk about exams after you take them.

5.  Don't talk about your grades after you get them.

[BigTex]

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