Balancing academics and social life

[ray7]

I am a soon to be 1L and am wondering what it is TRUTHFULLY going to be like.

Are the majority of people on this board attempting to instill fear by exaggerating the amount of time they actually spend studying? Do people attempt to make it look more strenuous and time consuming then it really is? Or is the law school experience as bad as some make it out to be.

Although I am prepared to work as hard as I have to in order to put myself in the best position possible, I would still like to maintain some sort of a social life. I do not plan on going out during the week like I did in undergrad, however, I would like to be able to go to the bar or keep in touch with friends on Friday and Saturday nights, and have some down time on the weekend. I will be attending a part-time day program where I will be taking one less class a semester. Is this a reasonable expectation?

[Budlaw]

I am a soon to be 1L and am wondering what it is TRUTHFULLY going to be like.

Are the majority of people on this board attempting to instill fear by exaggerating the amount of time they actually spend studying? Do people attempt to make it look more strenuous and time consuming then it really is? Or is the law school experience as bad as some make it out to be.

Although I am prepared to work as hard as I have to in order to put myself in the best position possible, I would still like to maintain some sort of a social life. I do not plan on going out during the week like I did in undergrad, however, I would like to be able to go to the bar or keep in touch with friends on Friday and Saturday nights, and have some down time on the weekend. I will be attending a part-time day program where I will be taking one less class a semester. Is this a reasonable expectation?

You definately have reasonable expectations. You can have a social life in law-school. I didn't do any type of work at all on the weekends until Sunday evening. (unless I had a paper due or finals were near) And yet I still did just fine during my One-L year. You can go out on the weekends, and still make good grades. I'd actually recommend that you go out on the weekends so you can be somewhat sane.

Being a 1L is all about NOT believing the hype. Is your first year hard? Yes. However, it's not as ridiculous as some people will make it sound.

[ray7]

Thanks for the response.

I had a rather interesting experience as I visited my mother's school this afternoon. A teacher comes up to me and goes, "So I hear you are going to law school next year." I responded by saying, yes I will be attending in the fall. She responded by saying, "Wow, good luck. You are going to have so much work you will barely have time to piss! Your life is over!" I chuckled and moved on. I guess this is part of that "1L hype" you speak of.