Law School 101
Here are the long-anticipated answers to my little quiz.
1. True. I’ll have to find some happy pills somewhere. I’m sure there’s a black market. The mentors kept telling us where to get free coffee, which makes me wonder how long they expect us to remain on campus studying.
2. Very False. I had a sinking feeling when I heard the cashier gleefully announce the total. I’m paying at least twice as much for my books now as I did for those in undergrad. Granted, some of my undergrad reading included paperbacks novels, not new textbooks. It just hurts to know that these books are only good for a semester, unlike the one-time purchase of med school equipment that one uses throughout the didactic years.
3. Ha! That’s all I have to say. Okay, maybe a little more. This is the propaganda that the dean tried to brainwash us with at orientation, yet her next speech was about how she’d have no reservations in preventing us from taking the bar if we violated the honor code (which was examined in excruciating detail).
4. True! We have lockers, cubbies with desks on which people leave notes daily, a rigidly planned schedule, classes with the same 90 people (who we’ll know very well by graduation), multiple classes in the same classroom, lunchtime, 2 buildings, assigned seats, etc. There are definite similarities to college: time gaps between classes, financial aid, and professors with office hours, but it has the overall feel of a small middle school.
5. False. I thought this was the case, but classes are more laid-back and have more voluntary participation than expected. Everyone will have his/her day of reckoning (profs do put students on the spot), but it’s not as nerve-wracking as I imagined.
6. Surprisingly False. Honestly, I expected real jerks (to put it nicely). There are horror stories of students hiding books that are needed for exams, ripping necessary pages out of primary documents, and your generic sabotage practices. I was referred a book (the title escapes me) about a Harvard law student who goes into great detail about the sharks that he faced. I am happy to report that most students I’ve encountered are very friendly, helpful, and easygoing. Our class is of the average age of 25, ranging from 17 (!) to 51. And I thought I was young.
7. True. One course syllabus noted that the grade distribution is supposed to be from a 2.8 to a 3.2, which means As are almost impossible. Motivation, don’t fail me now.
8. False. This is very close to being accurate. I’ll have 1 or 2 classes (max) during my law school career that have a final paper, and the rest have only 1 test. Participation is pretty much mandatory, and there are no intermediate ways of determining how well one grasps the concepts. Yikes.
9. True! I had to read 160 + pages for my first day. Very sneaky.
10. Suuuure. This one’s open to interpretation, but I’m going to have to go with personal experience and say False. Helping people would be very gratifying, but I’ve only seen suits tear relationships, partnerships, and families apart. This is why I probably won’t be litigating, and may prefer the calmer, transactional path. They told us (jokingly) that if we were having trouble getting into the cases, we should just daydream about the power and fortune one can attain as a lawyer. Gag.
The prize for the most right answers was to pay for my tuition, but since there was no contract (implied or otherwise), I’ll just say good luck to any of you considering law school. I don’t think I’ve ever worked this hard. Ever. You know how you can sort of squeeze by doing the bare minimum, and you feel guilty when people praise your half-assed work? I have a feeling that I’ve done that my whole life. Can you imagine the results you could get by applying yourself 100%? I’m going to try and see how that feels. In college, one could get by with skimming the material or not having the textbook for a month into the course, but this is a different ball game. We’re in the major leagues, baby. Okay this has been enough procrastinating from the books already. Updates may be less frequent now. I hope everyone has a wonderful first day of class/work! Peace out.
1. True. I’ll have to find some happy pills somewhere. I’m sure there’s a black market. The mentors kept telling us where to get free coffee, which makes me wonder how long they expect us to remain on campus studying.
2. Very False. I had a sinking feeling when I heard the cashier gleefully announce the total. I’m paying at least twice as much for my books now as I did for those in undergrad. Granted, some of my undergrad reading included paperbacks novels, not new textbooks. It just hurts to know that these books are only good for a semester, unlike the one-time purchase of med school equipment that one uses throughout the didactic years.
3. Ha! That’s all I have to say. Okay, maybe a little more. This is the propaganda that the dean tried to brainwash us with at orientation, yet her next speech was about how she’d have no reservations in preventing us from taking the bar if we violated the honor code (which was examined in excruciating detail).
4. True! We have lockers, cubbies with desks on which people leave notes daily, a rigidly planned schedule, classes with the same 90 people (who we’ll know very well by graduation), multiple classes in the same classroom, lunchtime, 2 buildings, assigned seats, etc. There are definite similarities to college: time gaps between classes, financial aid, and professors with office hours, but it has the overall feel of a small middle school.
5. False. I thought this was the case, but classes are more laid-back and have more voluntary participation than expected. Everyone will have his/her day of reckoning (profs do put students on the spot), but it’s not as nerve-wracking as I imagined.
6. Surprisingly False. Honestly, I expected real jerks (to put it nicely). There are horror stories of students hiding books that are needed for exams, ripping necessary pages out of primary documents, and your generic sabotage practices. I was referred a book (the title escapes me) about a Harvard law student who goes into great detail about the sharks that he faced. I am happy to report that most students I’ve encountered are very friendly, helpful, and easygoing. Our class is of the average age of 25, ranging from 17 (!) to 51. And I thought I was young.
7. True. One course syllabus noted that the grade distribution is supposed to be from a 2.8 to a 3.2, which means As are almost impossible. Motivation, don’t fail me now.
8. False. This is very close to being accurate. I’ll have 1 or 2 classes (max) during my law school career that have a final paper, and the rest have only 1 test. Participation is pretty much mandatory, and there are no intermediate ways of determining how well one grasps the concepts. Yikes.
9. True! I had to read 160 + pages for my first day. Very sneaky.
10. Suuuure. This one’s open to interpretation, but I’m going to have to go with personal experience and say False. Helping people would be very gratifying, but I’ve only seen suits tear relationships, partnerships, and families apart. This is why I probably won’t be litigating, and may prefer the calmer, transactional path. They told us (jokingly) that if we were having trouble getting into the cases, we should just daydream about the power and fortune one can attain as a lawyer. Gag.
The prize for the most right answers was to pay for my tuition, but since there was no contract (implied or otherwise), I’ll just say good luck to any of you considering law school. I don’t think I’ve ever worked this hard. Ever. You know how you can sort of squeeze by doing the bare minimum, and you feel guilty when people praise your half-assed work? I have a feeling that I’ve done that my whole life. Can you imagine the results you could get by applying yourself 100%? I’m going to try and see how that feels. In college, one could get by with skimming the material or not having the textbook for a month into the course, but this is a different ball game. We’re in the major leagues, baby. Okay this has been enough procrastinating from the books already. Updates may be less frequent now. I hope everyone has a wonderful first day of class/work! Peace out.