How Many Hours Do You Study Per Week

[ptoomey]

Counting class hours, I probably spend around 30-40 hours a week on law school stuff if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to (I still contend that most people skim after 1L if they read at all). During 1L though, there were probably times I put in 60-80, but that was only when I had something due for legal writing.

Ninja1, I like that answer. So far it's my favorite I can't envision doing much more than 50 - 60 without getting burnt out.

If I spent 30-40 hours a week, I wouldn't make median, let alone anything remotely safe, job-market-wise.  The 2007 Princeton Review report does not take into account the New Reality, post melt-down.  Everyone here seems to understand the stakes are now much higher, and it means many more hours hitting the books - so 60-80 hours is more the norm than the outlier.  Our curve is so tight that a single grade could make a significant difference as to where you land.  But with five graded courses a semester, I don't know if you can really compare us to a lot of schools with less rigorous curricula.

Truth is, if you don't want to work, don't come to Ithaca.  Sometimes, I regret that I did.

mbw, that's pretty scary. 80 hours a week is insane. Are you a 1L? Does it get any less intense in years 2 and 3 up there, from what you've heard.

I pretty much do the same every day, although I took most of thurs and fri off this past week.  But like I said, that's not like straight 100% intense work.  It's work, food, work, LSD, work, food, work, walk back and forth to school, work.  Who knows how many hours are actually full-on productivity.

jeez, I don't know if I'm cut out for this. I think I'd go nuts if I didn't take Saturdays and Sundays off.
Which means I could probably get up to around 50 hours if I leave time for sleeping and eating, and walking.
I might be too old for this

[mbw]

Counting class hours, I probably spend around 30-40 hours a week on law school stuff if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to (I still contend that most people skim after 1L if they read at all). During 1L though, there were probably times I put in 60-80, but that was only when I had something due for legal writing.

Ninja1, I like that answer. So far it's my favorite I can't envision doing much more than 50 - 60 without getting burnt out.

If I spent 30-40 hours a week, I wouldn't make median, let alone anything remotely safe, job-market-wise.  The 2007 Princeton Review report does not take into account the New Reality, post melt-down.  Everyone here seems to understand the stakes are now much higher, and it means many more hours hitting the books - so 60-80 hours is more the norm than the outlier.  Our curve is so tight that a single grade could make a significant difference as to where you land.  But with five graded courses a semester, I don't know if you can really compare us to a lot of schools with less rigorous curricula.

Truth is, if you don't want to work, don't come to Ithaca.  Sometimes, I regret that I did.

mbw, that's pretty scary. 80 hours a week is insane. Are you a 1L? Does it get any less intense in years 2 and 3 up there, from what you've heard.

I pretty much do the same every day, although I took most of thurs and fri off this past week.  But like I said, that's not like straight 100% intense work.  It's work, food, work, LSD, work, food, work, walk back and forth to school, work.  Who knows how many hours are actually full-on productivity.

jeez, I don't know if I'm cut out for this. I think I'd go nuts if I didn't take Saturdays and Sundays off.
Which means I could probably get up to around 50 hours if I leave time for sleeping and eating, and walking.
I might be too old for this

It does seem to get a bit easier in 2-3L.

And age shouldn't deter you.  I'm the oldest in my class.

[Ninja1]

Counting class hours, I probably spend around 30-40 hours a week on law school stuff if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to (I still contend that most people skim after 1L if they read at all). During 1L though, there were probably times I put in 60-80, but that was only when I had something due for legal writing.

Ninja1, I like that answer. So far it's my favorite I can't envision doing much more than 50 - 60 without getting burnt out.

Now, I will say that I did see some people put in way more hours than me during 1L, but I honestly have no idea what they were doing after a certain point. I'd go to class, do all of my reading, and maybe even go back over my notes and still not manage to spend more than 40 hours a week on stuff, but some people would spend like 10-12 hours at school every day. What they were doing is beyond me, and results varied greatly from one person to the next. One guy that put in tons of time got either straight or almost straight As, but a few other people I know managed to get even worse grades than me despite spending twice as much time working, and most people just did about average (as per the usual with the curve I guess).

[ptoomey]

Now, I will say that I did see some people put in way more hours than me during 1L, but I honestly have no idea what they were doing after a certain point. I'd go to class, do all of my reading, and maybe even go back over my notes and still not manage to spend more than 40 hours a week on stuff, but some people would spend like 10-12 hours at school every day. What they were doing is beyond me, and results varied greatly from one person to the next. One guy that put in tons of time got either straight or almost straight As, but a few other people I know managed to get even worse grades than me despite spending twice as much time working, and most people just did about average (as per the usual with the curve I guess).

Yikes, it sounds so random. Do you think writing ability(on exams) is the biggest factor, after you've put in some reasonable threshold of reading and preparing?
I'm the proud owner of one of those ultra writing intensive engineering degrees - I'll get crushed in law school if it comes down to writing ability.

[ptoomey]

It does seem to get a bit easier in 2-3L.

And age shouldn't deter you.  I'm the oldest in my class.

Thanks for the encouragement. I haven't given up on the idea yet.

[USAFVETERAN]

I started out putting in roughly 48 hours a week (this includes class) but scaled back after about a month in.  At that point I was burning out quickly.  Once deadlines for legal research approached I cranked it back up to beyond 48 hours because legal research has a way of forcing one to burn the candles.  I am probably back at around 48 because on finals approaching.  There are a few things that I have figured out so far. First, you will find your own pace throughout the semester.  However, this does not mean scale back on reading etc. Second, you WILL burn out if you try to maintain a workload more than your body can handle. Third, and probably most important, if you do all of your reading and briefs throughout the semester you will not have to put in mad hours when it is time to study for your finals.  When you begin to study the time spent should be a refresher on the concepts that you have already read. 

[Ninja1]

Now, I will say that I did see some people put in way more hours than me during 1L, but I honestly have no idea what they were doing after a certain point. I'd go to class, do all of my reading, and maybe even go back over my notes and still not manage to spend more than 40 hours a week on stuff, but some people would spend like 10-12 hours at school every day. What they were doing is beyond me, and results varied greatly from one person to the next. One guy that put in tons of time got either straight or almost straight As, but a few other people I know managed to get even worse grades than me despite spending twice as much time working, and most people just did about average (as per the usual with the curve I guess).

Yikes, it sounds so random. Do you think writing ability(on exams) is the biggest factor, after you've put in some reasonable threshold of reading and preparing?
I'm the proud owner of one of those ultra writing intensive engineering degrees - I'll get crushed in law school if it comes down to writing ability.

Writing ability matters, but probably not as much as it should. Grammar seems to take a backseat in law school for reasons that I don't fully understand. If you know and can apply the law, you'll be cool.

[ptoomey]

I'd probably be alright at putting short arguments together, but under time pressure,
I doubt I'd be able to organize something long that sounded impressive when I was done.
I can write something that sounds halfway intelligent, but it takes me a long time, with
lots of rewrites.

I think I might survive, but I doubt I'd be able to make it to the top of the class, at
least in 1L.

Thanks for the info, Ninja1.

Good luck studying everyone. Finals must be coming soon.

[redjay]

Id say i put in around 70 per week during finals, but thats mostly because I don't start studying until the last week of the semester and have to learn everything from the beginning. I don't recommend this method, but it works fine for me because I generally take a couple writing classes and only have 2-3 exams.

[kimber1028]

I put in about 50-60 hours throughout the term (including class time), but I was doing all of my classwork, outlining, and going through supplements at the same time.  Since I followed this method continuously, my workload didn't amp up a ton during finals and I was able to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night during crunch time.  I did take weekends off completely until the last month before finals, though.  It's really about how you organize your schedule and how efficient your study time is.  I've seen others spend 80 hours a week "studying," which really means about 50 studying or in class and 30 on Facebook and G-Chat.  That's an easy way to burn out and not learn the material even though a lot of time is being put into school.