In college, I had my study process down. I would transcribe everything the professor said in class into a separate word doc for each class. Towards the end of every semester, I would add in important information from the reading and then memorize the entire document. This was my fool proof process for getting an A on a final exam in college. When I got to law school, this process went out the window because I was overwhelmed by all the talk about case briefs, study groups, and other things that I thought I was supposed to be doing. What I eventually learned was that law school is different from being a political science/history major in college, but not completely different. The main differences are that law school requires a command of vastly more material than college every semester, and what you learn from doing the reading and going to class is just the tools to answer exam questions, not the answers themselves. After emerging from my state of confusion 1L year, I gradually created a modified version of my college study process that addressed these key differences. [Read more…] about 4 Steps to Managing Law School Material
4 Reasons Not to Wait Until After the Halloween Party to Start Outlining
There was a common refrain going around the halls of Columbia Law School when I was a student there. Everybody that you asked seemed to be in agreement that the time to start outlining and really get serious about finals was after the Halloween party that the law school puts on every year. I may or may not have done this my 1L year. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember. But if I did wait until the end of October to start outlining, I would never admit to it. As a 1L, you need to start outlining for your exams as soon as you finish a subject area in one of your classes. Here are four reasons why:
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Fast, Healthy, and Cheap Eating in Law School
With a barrage of social events, adjusting to a new city, and the Socratic method to worry about, what to eat is usually one of the last things on law students’ minds when they get to law school. Most people I knew—myself included—lived on pizza, deli sandwiches, and Chinese food for at least the first few weeks.
Many of us continued this pattern for the first semester (and even all of law school), taking full advantage (Tupperware included) of the free pizza that was given out everyday at lunchtime lectures in the law school. There was an unwritten code that you couldn’t just come to the lecture for five minutes and leave with the pizza, but many people did just that. If you were really lucky, you might find a so-called “non-pizza lunch.” This was advertised prominently in the flier for the event in order to encourage people to attend. [Read more…] about Fast, Healthy, and Cheap Eating in Law School
How to Get the Most Out of Law School With Extracurricular Activities
While you may be skeptical of any addition to your already burdensome schedule in law school, adding just a few extracurricular activities beginning as early as 1L year can be very valuable to your education and future.
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