Although most of us have some general knowledge about what it is like to study law in college, it is challenging to understand exactly what this entails.
There is an abundance of information surrounding law school, and they range from stories that are largely accurate to those completely made up.
In this guide, we put an end to some common misconceptions, provide evidence for others, and ensure that you have a clear understanding of the commitments you are making when you fill out that application form to join a law school.
Let’s get started.
7 Facts about Law School You Should Know Before Enrolling
Here are the seven things you need to know before joining law school:
1. Law School Will Be Challenging in Your First Year
In the first week of your first year as a first-year law student, each professor will give you a ton of reading to do. Take a closer look at the course outline, and you’ll notice that the required reading would get significantly more extensive as the semester progresses. In order to get ready for class, you might have to read anywhere from forty to eighty pages a day.
It doesn’t end there.
As you continue to read, you’ll learn the basics of law, you will familiarize yourself with reading and writing case briefs, and diving deeper into the course.
The good thing is that they ease you into it gradually, and reading cases becomes a LOT less difficult the more you do it. Don’t worry yourself unnecessarily over the reading, but be aware that it will be more challenging than you anticipate.
2. Your Final Grade Depends On Just One Exam
The vast majority of instructors at law schools do not assign any work beyond reading. You will not write any paper, nor will you receive any quizzes or other tasks similar to those you were accustomed to receiving in your undergraduate studies.
Instead, during the first year, full-time students only take one test at the conclusion of the semester, which then serves as the sole determinant of their mark for the whole semester.
3. Law School Exams are Exhausting
The majority of law school examinations run between three and four hours, during which you should be actively working.
Essay tests are particularly challenging because you will have to identify as many “problems” as possible and outline alternative outcomes as soon.
Essay examinations typically feature drawn-out fact patterns that may raise a variety of ethical and legal concerns. Students earn points for identifying the problem and providing an analysis of it based on the facts.
On some occasions, law school examinations will consist of both multiple-choice and essay questions. The multiple-choice tests in law school are in fact rather challenging because it asks you to ignore all you’ve learned about legal analysis and choose an answer based only on the facts that are in front of you.
The substance of the tests is not only exceedingly challenging, but also the length of the exams is quite taxing on the student. But there is no need to be concerned because you’ll soon find yourself relaxing and reading in preparation for the next one.
4. Admissions to Law School Does Not Favor Every Student
The requirements of law school are such that only a limited number of students may get any given grade, and the majority of institutions make their grading curve public.
Although the grading curves used at law schools might vary, one example could be that only 10% of students in a given class are eligible to get an A letter grade.
5. You’ll spend More Time Studying in Law School than in College
Law school requires you to put in more effort, but the total amount of effort you’ll need to put in is probably going to be far greater than you anticipated.
You will have to spend a significant amount of time outlining, in addition to the time you spend reading and attending class.
The majority of teachers permits exams with open book, and students can bring their “outlines” with them.
You might think of outlines as a condensed version of the whole class, with a focus on the material that will be most relevant to the test. However, outlines are not just useful to consult on the day of the test.
The act of outlining will assist you in learning the content and will give you a better understanding of how everything connects to one another. Therefore, even if your instructor needs a test with no notes or textbooks allowed, you will still create a course outline.
6. Law School is Like High School
In most law schools, first-year classes are divided into sections, and students who are enrolled in the same section follow the same curriculum. This implies that you will interact with the same people on a daily basis during your first year of law school.
Because it is a very tiny group, in which everyone is anxious and, as a result, hormonal, law school might start to seem a lot like being back in high school. And it’s not always easy to avoid becoming entangled in the antics that are going on.
Enjoying yourself while you’re in law school is an absolute must. Engage in conversation with your other students in a manner that is agreeable to you. If you find a couple of glasses of wine helps you to relax and let off some steam, that’s perfectly OK.
You’re human.
7. First Year Students in Law School Can’t Skip Classes
As a first-year law student, you won’t miss class in order to make up work for another course.
There will still be students who skip class in order to catch up on their reading or review their hornbooks, but you must resist the urge to do the same. It is acceptable to miss school, but you should only do so if you are ill, there is an emergency, or you require a day off for mental health reasons.
Remember, the majority of law school instructors do not administer exams on topics that they do not teach. Therefore, if you want to perform well in law school, the most important thing you can do is to attend all of your classes and take detailed notes.