If you’ve been accepted to law school, clearly you’re a smart person who is good at school. The only problem is, so is everyone else. Combine the student caliber with the strict first-year curve, and you’ve got a recipe for a very competitive educational experience!
How Can You Ensure You’re Ready?
While nothing can fully prepare you for the first time you’re “on call” in a law school class, there are lots of things you can do this summer to ensure you’ll arrive at law school Orientation ready to go. Read on for our suggestions.
1. Register for the Start Law School Right Course
First and foremost, consider registering for the Law School Toolbox’s flagship course for new law students: Start Law School Right. Start Law School Right combines on-demand lessons with the personal feedback you need to ensure you’re developing the skills needed for law school success.
You can start any time, and you’ll have a personal tutor to help you along the way! Take a look.
Got questions about Start Law School Right? Please contact us, and we’re happy to help.
2. Catch Up on the Law School Toolbox Podcast
The popular Law School Toolbox podcast covers a wide variety of topics, including lots of advice for new law students. Check out the full podcast archive, or listen to a few of the most relevant episodes below:
- Podcast Episode 40: Preparing for Your First Semester of Law School In this podcast we talk about what incoming law school students should be doing or thinking about this summer to get ready for law school (if anything!).
- Podcast Episode 43: Getting Mentally Prepared to Start Law School In this podcast we discuss how to get mentally prepared for the challenges of starting law school. These challenges might be academic in nature, or more personal. Luckily, there are techniques you can use on any type of challenge to ensure you’re moving forward and keeping things under control.
- Podcast Episode 57: Tips for Surviving Law School Orientation Today, we’re talking about law school Orientation. If you’re getting ready to start law school, tune in!
- Podcast Episode 89: The Leap From Undergrad to Law School (With Keri Clapp) Today, we’re talking with Keri Clapp, professor and tutor for the Law School Toolbox and Bar Exam Toolbox, about important considerations to keep in mind as you make the transition from undergrad to law school. Keri, who teaches at both the undergraduate and law school levels, offers her unique perspective on the key differences so you'll know what’s in store in law school.
- Podcast Episode 98: Top 1L Questions: Non-Traditional Law Students Are you nervous about going to law school with an unconventional background? We have some tips that might help you feel more comfortable!
- Podcast Episode 104: Law School Essentials - What to Buy (And Not to Buy) Beforehand Are you gearing up to start law school? Listen for a discussion of law school must-haves, as well as some ways to save time and money as you plan your shopping.
- Podcast Episode 113: Life as a First-Generation College and Law Student (With Shirlene Armstrong) If you're considering law school, but would be the first in your family to do so, this podcast is for you! Shirlene Armstrong is talking about her experience, including some of the particular challenges she encountered as a first-generation law student.
- Podcast Episode 151: Our Top 10 Podcast Episodes for Incoming 1Ls Today we’re counting down our top ten episodes for incoming 1Ls. This list is good listening for anyone, but especially for those getting ready to start law school in the fall. If law school’s coming up soon, here are some episodes we recommend you check out!
- Podcast Episode 193: Books to Read Before Law School We’re talking about books related to the legal system that you might want to read during the summer before starting law school. These books are interesting, and you might even learn something in the process!
- Podcast Episode 195: What To Do the Summer Before Law School We’re talking about what to do (and what not to do) over the summer to prepare for your 1L year.
- Podcast Episode 198: Pre-1L Life Logistics We’re talking about ways to minimize the hassle of moving and handling other life logistics as you get ready to start law school.
- Podcast Episode 249: Changes to the LSAT Due to COVID-19 (with Steve Schwartz) We’re chatting with guest Steve Schwartz — founder of the LSAT Blog — about changes happening to the LSAT because of COVID-19.
- Podcast Episode 289: Starting Law School in 2021 We are talking about getting ready to start law school this year, and specifically, how to frame it for yourself during a time affected by pandemic restrictions.
- Podcast Episode 307: Kicking Off Your 1L Year Right (Even in a Pandemic) It looks like the COVID pandemic will continue to be a factor at the beginning of this school year. What can you do to get into the mindset for starting law school, considering the ongoing issues due to COVID? Join us for this episode as we share some tips for a successful 1L year.
- Podcast Episode 340: Getting in the Right Headspace to Start Law School We’re talking about what to do – and what not to do – the summer before law school.
- Podcast Episode 345: Getting Ready for Starting Law School (Life Logistics) We’re talking about life logistics as you prepare to start law school. We share tips for organizing yourself during this process so your transition to law school happens as smoothly as possible.
- Podcast Episode 349: Common Questions From Incoming Law Students We’re talking about some scenarios that people often ask about if they’re incoming law students. We address concerns related to finding your motivation, fitting into law school, succeeding academically, and more.
3. Read some Useful Blog Posts
Our law school tutors and other writers regularly offer advice on all aspects of the law school experience on the Law School Toolbox blog. Here’s some of our most relevant content for incoming 1Ls:
- 5 Strategies for Surviving Your First Week of Law School Are you starting law school this fall? Use these strategies to survive (and thrive) your first week.
- Starting Law School in the Fall? Congratulations! You are starting the law school journey at the end of the summer. While this is a very exciting path you’re about to take, it can also be scary – especially if you’re not prepared. Read this post to see how you can start your law school journey on the right foot.
- Law School Toolbox Experts Share: What I Did Right When Starting Law School We all make mistakes when starting law school, but there are many things you will do right. The Law School Toolbox team is sharing the things they did right when starting law school so you can learn from their experience.
- Law School Toolbox Experts Share: Mistakes I Made When Starting Law School Congratulations, you did it! You are starting law school this fall. Starting something new can be overwhelming, stressful and sometimes scary. The Law School Toolbox tutors are sharing their mistakes so you can avoid making them.
- How to Start Law School Right Your performance in your first semester of law school will be due to many factors that are completely out of your control. So, how do you combat these steep odds? Well, you’re just going to have to do everything you can to stack the deck in your favor in every area you can control. That way, you can start law school right from day one! Here’s how.
- Non-Obvious Things That 1Ls Should Bring With Them and Why Starting something new (especially law school) is stressful enough. You don’t need additional stress by forgetting essential items when you start classes. The Law School Toolbox experts are sharing some lesser known items to pack and bring with you in law school.
- Suggestions for Surviving/Optimizing Law School Orientation Orientation is an important part of the starting law school process. In this article, the Law School Toolbox experts share with you some suggestions for surviving and optimizing law school orientation.
- Podcast Episode 1: Mindset - The Key to Success in Law School? Everyone is going to encounter challenges in law school, and in life – what matters is how you react to the road bumps. Do you have a fixed mindset or do you see challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow? Hear our thoughts on mindset in this episode.
- Podcast Episode 2: Why is Law School Hard? Today, we’re talking about why law school is hard! Not to scare you, but to provide context and alert you to some of the challenges you might face. Forewarned is forearmed. And remember, a challenge – seen the right way – is just an opportunity for growth and learning.
- Podcast Episode 57: Tips for Surviving Law School Orientation Today, we’re talking about law school Orientation. If you’re getting ready to start law school, tune in!
Let’s Stay in Touch!
That’s probably enough to get you started! If you have any questions as you move through law school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Lee and Alison, the creators of the Law School Toolbox. You can easily contact us here.
We also offer law school tutoring, if you find you need a little more help getting off on the right foot.
The Law School Toolbox team is here to help you make your law school experience awesome! If you’d like to keep in touch, please join the thousands of other law students on our free weekly mailing list or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.
Best of luck as you start your law school journey!
