First week tales - good, bad, ugly?

[pslaw2011]

So, its around the time of the first week of classes for many. Heres a thread to share some experiences. Socratic nightmares, lmao experiences, etc.

*c'mon, be nice its just for fun

[FalconJimmy]

This week was AWESOME!  Everything about it was cool.  The students were awesome.  The profs are all great.  The classes were all fun.

Lots of work, though.  Good lord, just the first week and the workload was pretty impressive.  So long as I can keep up, I think I'll be fine, though.

[lawyerintraining]

How hard can first week be? Meet new friends, find student lounge/lounge in it. Listen to old people talk and ask questions about books you were required to read......its a bookclub for people who want to wear ties.

[jack24]

How hard can first week be? Meet new friends, find student lounge/lounge in it. Listen to old people talk and ask questions about books you were required to read......its a bookclub for people who want to wear ties.

Are you talking about the first week of freshman year for a liberal arts degree?

In law school you are graded on a curve and some of your competitors spend nearly every waking minute of 1L preparing for the final exam.  Sure, you can just sit and take notes and depend on your time in class, and you'll get straight B's if you are smart, but law school success depends on what you do on your own time.

[lawyerintraining]

How hard can first week be? Meet new friends, find student lounge/lounge in it. Listen to old people talk and ask questions about books you were required to read......its a bookclub for people who want to wear ties.

Are you talking about the first week of freshman year for a liberal arts degree?

In law school you are graded on a curve and some of your competitors spend nearly every waking minute of 1L preparing for the final exam.  Sure, you can just sit and take notes and depend on your time in class, and you'll get straight B's if you are smart, but law school success depends on what you do on your own time.

so on your own time, read&study. Curve makes it easier not harder. If you can get a 50% and not get a D- or below, that's all that needs be said.

[FalconJimmy]

How hard can first week be? Meet new friends, find student lounge/lounge in it. Listen to old people talk and ask questions about books you were required to read......its a bookclub for people who want to wear ties.

Where in the world are you studying law?  Are you studying law?

[lawyerintraining]

I could be studying paint drying on a wall, if it's on a curve the same principals apply regardless of the subject matter.

[FalconJimmy]

I am sincerely curious, but are you actually in Law School?

I have a 2 credit research and writing class that had a 4 hour in-library exercise that we all had to do.  Some folks worked together and lopped that down to about 3 hours, but nobody seemed to finish in less time than that.

There was reading in addition to that.  As well as 3 hours in class. 

That 2 credit class alone probably took me 12 hours, alone. 

Granted, not all schools have the same curriculum, but I don't think my school is THAT different than most.

As for the curve making things easier, I guess it does if you attend a school that's so highly regarded that average and below students can still find employment.

However, if the curve is something like only 10% of the folks get an A, that plays havoc with maintaining a minimum GPA to keep a scholarship.  Not to mention the fact that if you're not one of those guys pulling down As, your chances of having an impressive class rank will be considerably diminished.

I guess not everybody wants a job at graduation.  Not everybody feels the need to do well in law school.  However, those are common goals for students.  For students who have those goals, the curve doesn't make things easier.

I attended a relatively rigorous, research-oriented B-school, and we were unusual in that a sizeable portion of every class might get Cs.  However, if you did the work and showed reasonable mastery of the material, you could almost always get a B or an A. 

Even when I studied subjects like chemistry in undergrad, we had a curve that still allowed more than 10% of the class to pull down an A.

I don't mean to be rude, but I'm finding it difficult to take you seriously.

[FalconJimmy]

I could be studying paint drying on a wall, if it's on a curve the same principals apply regardless of the subject matter.

I find it easy to believe you're studying paint drying on a wall.

What I'm finding difficult to believe is that you've actually attended a college class somewhere.

For instance, first test I ever took in college was a Chemistry exam where I got a 57.  Nearly crapped my pants.  Then, the distribution was put up on the board and it was an A.  The professor simply used a loose curve and natural breaks to determine grades.  If memory serves, about a quarter of the class got As.

That's a world away from a forced curve where only 10% of the class gets an A.

[lawyerintraining]

I could be studying paint drying on a wall, if it's on a curve the same principals apply regardless of the subject matter.

I find it easy to believe you're studying paint drying on a wall.

What I'm finding difficult to believe is that you've actually attended a college class somewhere.

For instance, first test I ever took in college was a Chemistry exam where I got a 57.  Nearly crapped my pants.  Then, the distribution was put up on the board and it was an A.  The professor simply used a loose curve and natural breaks to determine grades.  If memory serves, about a quarter of the class got As.

That's a world away from a forced curve where only 10% of the class gets an A.

If your class had to use a curve in undergrad, you all deserved to fail. How the hell can a school justify passing someone in CHEMISTRY with a 57 just because everyone else just happened to be dumber? Gotta love America, we fall behind the rest of the world, but it's ok since we give ourselves A's compared to our invalid neighbors...