[ArchAngelIon]

What started out as a love for trolling and a high undergrad GPA translated in to acceptance letters from a few schools.

I start next semester, so if anybody has any truthful advise I won't find on other forums I'm all ears. If you are thinking of applying to law school I can answer some questions about the process and how to impress the admissions staff.

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelIon

What started out as a love for trolling and a high undergrad GPA translated in to acceptance letters from a few schools.

I start next semester, so if anybody has any truthful advise I won't find on other forums I'm all ears. If you are thinking of applying to law school I can answer some questions about the process and how to impress the admissions staff.

1. You first semester is a dick-waving competition. A lot of people will act like they know what they are talking about and will try their damnedest to make sure everyone else in the room knows just how unbelievably intelligent they perceive themselves to be.

2. Don't be that person. First semester is rough, so do your best to just remain in the shadows (during classtime, that is) and know that you'll probably **** up a couple of times when you get called on.

[seekamp84]

First year - probably the worst year. First semester of first year, everything seems fine and then you realize the final exam is coming and EVERYONE ****s their pants.

If you make it past first year, you're usually gonna make it.

Best advice: read cases, take good notes, get in a good study group (not necessarily the one with your buds.)

If you ever need anything, I graduated in December of 2010 and can help you if needed.

[Initial_DREAM]

OP and others...do you suggest I take the lsat in the summer or fall?

[seekamp84]

In all honesty, it doesn't really matter. I'd say to take it when you felt like you had prepared enough to take it. I took it twice and, unfortunately, got the same score the second time.

[ArchAngelIon]

Originally Posted by Initial_DREAM

OP and others...do you suggest I take the lsat in the summer or fall?

Schools generally admit on a rolling basis. Take the LSAT as soon as possible, but make sure you are ready first.

Enjoy logic games ****ing up your life.

[seekamp84]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelIon

Schools generally admit on a rolling basis. Take the LSAT as soon as possible, but make sure you are ready first.

Enjoy logic games ****ing up your life.

Yep.

YEP! Logic games suck a fat one. And not in a good way.

[Initial_DREAM]

i've taken two game theory classes in my undergrad career. is it that type of logic games?

also, when registering for the lsat, does it matter how far away or close it is to the test when i register? i've heard certain locations only take a select amount of test takers.

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by Initial_DREAM

i've taken two game theory classes in my undergrad career. is it that type of logic games?

also, when registering for the lsat, does it matter how far away or close it is to the test when i register? i've heard certain locations only take a select amount of test takers.

The logic games aren't really like those you would have encountered in game theory, but it's much of the same kind of reasoning.

Here are some decent examples of the games as would appear on the LSAT:

http://www.cambridgelsat.com/product...s_practice/410

Can't really help you with the LSAT registration question.

[Peppermint]

Good luck in law school. Hope it works out. I've been reading of difficulties experienced with law school graduates of late. Thought to pass along this professors article:

"Lawyers on Shaky Ground"

snippet:

Aspiring young lawyers may want to read a new piece in the Wall Street Journal before sending in those law school applications. The Journal reports that, while the legal profession as a whole is beginning to see major price increases after the lean years of the recession, these higher fees are concentrated at the top of the profession. Top lawyers at top firms have managed to raise their prices by an average of 4.9 percent, while those at the bottom have scarcely been able to keep up with inflation:
“There are a large number of lawyers today who find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being, for lack of a better phrase, commodity service providers,” said Ken Grady, deputy general counsel at footwear company Wolverine World Wide Inc.[...]“You don’t see a lot of big rate increases being asked for in those areas, and that’s not something they expect to get.”
At the top, though, where clients have always been willing to pay top dollar for high-stakes litigation, mergers or other sophisticated legal work, the increase means more lawyers are joining the $1,000-an-hour club.
This is good news for top lawyers, but it will have a serious impact on the profession as a whole. With the law profession segmenting into two tracks—one for high-charging superstars and a considerably more modest one for the rest—a law degree isn’t looking like a ticket to full employment at a high salary anymore. The vast majority of law school grads will find themselves facing the same lean and competitive marketplaces faced by their peers outside the legal profession. And the law students will be at a disadvantage: they will have considerably more debt to pay off than their non-JD counterparts....

The rest can be read at:

http://blogs.the-american-interest.c...-shaky-ground/

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by Peppermint

Good luck in law school. Hope it works out. I've been reading of difficulties experienced with law school graduates of late.

This should be stressed to anybody considering law school, because admissions offices are not going to admit to this. Contrary to popular opinion, law school isn't a straight ticket to a high salary, and this is compounded by the fact that most law students graduate with a ridiculously high dollar amount in student loans.

If you plan on going to law school, you need to realize that you won't be able to skate by as is typically done in undergrad. Grading/classes are competitive, and there is a lot to be said about the class rank you attain. I was in the top 1/3 of my class and it took me almost 6 months to find a full-time job (which is way, WAY outside what I thought I would be doing when I entered law school).

[seekamp84]

Originally Posted by StellarKnight

This should be stressed to anybody considering law school, because admissions offices are not going to admit to this. Contrary to popular opinion, law school isn't a straight ticket to a high salary, and this is compounded by the fact that most law students graduate with a ridiculously high dollar amount in student loans.

If you plan on going to law school, you need to realize that you won't be able to skate by as is typically done in undergrad. Grading/classes are competitive, and there is a lot to be said about the class rank you attain. I was in the top 1/3 of my class and it took me almost 6 months to find a full-time job (which is way, WAY outside what I thought I would be doing when I entered law school).

This guy hit the nail on the head. I graduated in the top 20% of my graduating class and still had a hard time finding work. Now, that may be partly due to the fact that I did not choose to go to a top tier law school, I could have but I am in a committed relationship and she only got into a P.A. school where the higher tier school, UMiami, didn't really have anything I liked and felt it to be not the right fit for me. So, instead I went to a smaller lower tiered law school.

Additionally, my issue was likely compounded by the fact that I relocated to another part of Florida where my school, while known, was a back seat to UF law school.

Luckily for me, my lady-friend, got a high-paying P.A. job that allowed me to pursue some altruistic pro-bono legal work for a period of time that then allowed me to transfer into an associate position at a small law firm. And although the pay isn't what I thought I'd be making I've also come to realize that, in the beginning, you put in the work and eventually you'll be more comfortable.

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by seekamp84

Luckily for me, my lady-friend, got a high-paying P.A. job that allowed me to pursue some altruistic pro-bono legal work for a period of time that then allowed me to transfer into an associate position at a small law firm. And although the pay isn't what I thought I'd be making I've also come to realize that, in the beginning, you put in the work and eventually you'll be more comfortable.

I wouldn't trade what I'm doing right now for the salary that some of my contemporaries earn. My LS roommate got on with a 20+ attorney firm in my hometown and is making damn good money for a 28 year old. Problem is that he's working 65+ hours a week on average. Talked to him last week and he's only had 6 Saturdays off since we took the bar exam in July.

His salary is damn near double what I make, but I get to work around 8-8:30, never stay past 5:30, and will never work a Saturday. I'm also working for a pretty specialized practice that's involved in an industry which is just starting back up in our area (oil & gas), so there is a lot of room to grow.

As a tip for new law school students: be open to career options. You know virtually nothing about the law going in, and your preconception of what the law entails will most likely be turned on its head. Be sure to spend your summers doing something law related, even if its a non-paid internship. My first summer (and 2L year) I interned for the state division of natural resources and it was awesome!

[ArchAngelIon]

It's ****ing scary. I'm probably going to have to tone down my national level paintball play, and well... stop partying.

How applicable were your undergraduate skills to law school? I've always done well with synthesizing information from huge readings and writing papers.

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelIon

It's ****ing scary. I'm probably going to have to tone down my national level paintball play, and well... stop partying.

How applicable were your undergraduate skills to law school? I've always done well with synthesizing information from huge readings and writing papers.

You have to buckle down and recognize that this is a serious (and expensive) commitment, but it's not nearly as bad as you almost certainly think it will be. I worked as a bartender all throughout undergrad and law school, so trust me: law students still party. I just wouldn't do much of it until after your first semester finals.

I got an English and Econ degree in undergrad, and the English degree was hands down the most beneficial. Clarity of writing and articulation of ideas is essential.

[seekamp84]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelIon

It's ****ing scary. I'm probably going to have to tone down my national level paintball play, and well... stop partying.

How applicable were your undergraduate skills to law school? I've always done well with synthesizing information from huge readings and writing papers.

For me, law school was a HUGE step-up from undergrad. I did particularly well in undergrad without ever really trying all that hard. I can't remember a night when I really, seriously hit the books or anything like that. Now, it may have been that way because I was a political science focusing in political theory major where a lot of my school work was reading based but to each their own.

In law school though, I took school as a job except in reverse. I'd go to class everyday, typically from 9am to 5pm (with the exception of Friday's toward the end and then the occasional night class) then when I got home I would exercise, eat dinner and then hit the books from about 7pm to 12pm most nights then repeat for pretty much every day of the week with an occasional Saturday off. I was a super nerd in law school and read and briefed every case and studied really, really hard and did quite well. Then there are some that are just naturally gifted OR had upper class men as friends who would feed them all of the notes for the classes they were taking as the teachers typically don't vary in how/what they teach from year to year, who had a different experience than I did but, again, to each their own.

An additional pro-tip, if you get into law school TRY (if at all possible) to get about a week or even a few days ahead with notes and readings and it will make up for those times when you're stuck with other work or have a brief to write, etc.

Also, in regards to paintball playing, my level of playing dropped down significantly from where it had been pre-law school but I still played a national event and a few regional events each year in law school and then got out to play when I could. I also picked up distance running as well. DEFINITELY keep up those activities you enjoy outside of law school and try not to BECOME law school.
So, TL;DR, for me law school was a super change but not something I found unmanageable.

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by seekamp84

DEFINITELY keep up those activities you enjoy outside of law school and try not to BECOME law school.

The whole ordeal really boils down to the cliched "it is what you make of it." My first semester I drastically changed (or more appropriately, finally adopted) what I thought were necessary study habits, but I ultimately was disappointed because 1. I didn't do anything other than school and work and 2. my grades were ****.

Once I took that blow to the ego, I loosened up, found what worked for me and did far better. Figure the game out as early as possible. I didn't figure it out until my second semester, and I had to bust my *** for the next 2 years to graduate with honors.

[Ynnekdude]

Originally Posted by StellarKnight

1. You first semester is a dick-waving competition. A lot of people will act like they know what they are talking about and will try their damnedest to make sure everyone else in the room knows just how unbelievably intelligent they perceive themselves to be.

2. Don't be that person. First semester is rough, so do your best to just remain in the shadows (during classtime, that is) and know that you'll probably **** up a couple of times when you get called on.

I'm a bit late to the game but this is spot on. First few weeks are very intimidating and it's pretty easy to get discouraged. Most professors don't have a problem with embarrassing the hell out of you. However, so long as you are prepared for class, you will be fine. Remember though, this isn't college. You cannot get away with skipping the reading or merely skimming it. If you're called on, you are expected to talk about the case and answer questions for the remainder of that case discussion or even the rest of that class. I spent a solid 4+ hours on my reading...daily. The fear of being called on was a massive motivator for me to read my cases and write respectable briefs for every single one.

Those "dick-wavers" will make you feel like a complete idiot when they start preaching to the teach during those first couple classes. Don't let it get to you. By the time the semester is over, they will have been put in their place numerous times.

I would definitely agree that it is what you make of it. A lot of people made it seem as if I would never be able to go out on the weekends or have any sort of social life. However, I went out at least once a week and have been having just as much and sometimes even more fun than I ever did in college.

Don't use law school as an excuse to neglect your friends, family, or pastimes. Just know what to focus on, when to do it, and I'm sure you will do fine.

[giants57]

What's the most useful resource any of you that have been through this have found?

[StellarKnight]

Originally Posted by giants57

What's the most useful resource any of you that have been through this have found?

For your first year subjects, this website can be helpful:

http://lawschool.mikeshecket.com/


WARNING: do not use canned briefs/internet summaries as replacements for reading. Read through the material and try to make as much sense of it that you can, then reference outside sources. Some cases will present complicated concepts, and there will be specific nuances that you professor will be hammering on, so read the material.

[ArchAngelIon]

Originally Posted by StellarKnight

For your first year subjects, this website can be helpful:

http://lawschool.mikeshecket.com/


WARNING: do not use canned briefs/internet summaries as replacements for reading. Read through the material and try to make as much sense of it that you can, then reference outside sources. Some cases will present complicated concepts, and there will be specific nuances that you professor will be hammering on, so read the material.

The dean from UChicago pulled up a brief from lawnix.com a pretty popular free site and tore it a new ******* highlighting all the errors. A relative in the legal profession paid for a week long "law preview" class. Although the days are brutally long 7:45-12 1 hour lunch and than 1-5pm, I found the staff they brought in to be top notch. On top of the UChicago Dean professors from Northwestern, Columbia, and Fordham each get a day to preach the gospel. If I had to pay for this myself it would be rough. Check it out http://www.lawpreview.com/

Just a bit of an update on my end:

I'm from Illinois, and did get in to a T2 school in the city, yet I opted to go to Drake (T3) in Des Moines because I found downtown Chicago to be overpriced, overhyped, and overcrowded. The plan is to work in Iowa for a bit, and when my dad retires from the corporate food world we will start a business handling both investments, wills, and trusts back in the Chicago suburbs.

"Drake greatly outstrips its tier three peers. With 100% of graduates reporting, 96.8 are employed within 9 months of graduation – a statistic rivaling many schools in the first tier." -Top Law Schools

1L starts soon. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.