Law School is Driving me Nuts!!!!!!!! Any ideas

December 14, 2010

I'm perfectly aware that what I'm about to talk about will make me seem pretty whiny, since what I am complaining about emerges from something that few people have the privilege of experiencing: graduate education. Regardless of that, here we go. Since this is basically my full-time job, I figure this is the best subforum in which to post.

I'm currently a first year, first semester law student, and as expected, I'm freaking out about my exams. What really has been concerning me is just how much of my sense of self worth I have been attaching to my academic performance, and just how much I've been freaking out as a result. The crux of the problem is that, while I've always been a very slow test taker (usually among the last handful to finish any exam, in fact), this has already potentially compromised my grades. I took an exam yesterday (Civil Procedure) and was unable to finish the entire exam. From my understanding, most people were able to finish. I left a sub-sub-question mostly unanswered that maybe would have taken a paragraph to answer, so it may not be a HUGE deal. However, I ran into a similar problem last week on an easier exam (although I did more or less adequately finish that one) and I got extremely angry at myself for not budgeting my time and learning from my mistakes the second time around. It's just something that I'm unable to do, and it's VERY frustrating to know that my grades and therefore my long-term job prospects are being compromised not by not knowing the material, but by having an issue with taking exams and not being able to adapt to it for reasons that frustratingly elude me.

Part of what has made me freak out is ego, and the other part is a genuine concern for my future. Bear in mind that its VERY unlikely I'm failing any class. In fact, the chances of me ending up even on academic probation are quite low (and I won't find out until January how I did in any class, lovely right?). Now I'm not sure if there are any lawyers here, but the current market is VERY bad for this profession. First year grades are statistically the most significant factor in determining eventual job prospects, so I naturally freak out about that. Simply put, “average” doesn't cut it nowadays. Another aspect is the fact that being here has made me very competitive. I will come out and admit that I've always had an inferiority complex with how I view my own intelligence. I'm not a genius, but most people tell me I'm pretty smart. I graduated college with honors, double major with a minor, was in numerous honors societies, etc. However, I've always been a relatively poor math student, and it's compromised my ability to score well on standardized tests. This has always been a HUGE factor in making me feel inferior. And the same type of feeling is returning to me right now. I hate feeling like I'm surrounded by a majority of people who are brighter than me and who can handle this course load better than me. Another thing that makes me feel worse is that, contrary to popular belief, the study of law is NOT that difficult when measured objectively to many other disciplines. I'm aware of that, and the fact that I'm having trouble with this makes me feel all the more inferior.There is simply so much at stake and I feel like I've screwed things up, not for being dumb, but for not being fast enough.

Just to give you an example of what I'm talking about, I was EXTREMELY despondent over my exam yesterday. I got into my car and sat there and screamed at the top of my lungs for a good 3 minutes straight. I was not aware that I was capable of making such sounds. I got home and actually cried, which I don't really do much. And yes, I'm a guy. I've considered dropping out. I feel like I have a gray cloud over my head everywhere I walk. I have a hard time remembering the last time I felt this hopeless and fixated on something. I've been eating 1 meal a day per average for the last few days, not necessarily related to studying. I was up for 30 hours straight, slept for 5 hours, and am now sitting here at 5 am typing this out because I still couldn't manage to sleep for a full night. I've re-read my exam answers for the exams I've taken obsessively for the past week or so. I'm seriously questioning my future and my whole existence. I've officially bought into this rat race and I'm too emotionally involved to turn back. I feel like dropping out will make me bitter, inferior, and regretful. I feel like staying in school will make me feel bitter, inferior, and regretful.

I'm thinking of contacting my school's psychological counseling service, although my last exam is on Friday so who knows how useful any sort of “Crisis intervention” would be.

Anyone have similarly frustrating or painful experiences in higher education? Anyone have any advice? Thanks.

December 14, 2010

There are quite a few lawyers on Loveshack....and if that doesn't make you feel grim about your future career, I don't know what will. Kidding. Ish.

I think Law is a funny sort of course in that some very bright people can end up doing quite badly on it. I knew a few people who did badly in law, switched courses after the end of first year and ended up doing well in a different area. By and large I really enjoyed studying it, but it wasn't my first degree - so by the time I got around to it I was pretty well versed in taking exams. You probably study in a different jurisdiction, and I don't know whether your course would be structured in the same way as mine - but in our exams it always tended to be 3 hours, 4 essays to be picked from a selection (variable number) of topics.

I would usually study 6 areas that I thought had a good chance of coming up. I'd study enough to be able to talk fairly generally about that subject, and to be able to throw in the basics of a couple of cases and make reference to relevant legislation. It sounds lazy, and probably is. I didn't exactly knock myself out studying for exams, but I would take a far more diligent approach to coursework - for which lecturers rightly expect a far higher standard.

With exams, if you go in with a head that's over-clogged with information, you're often going to spend more time than you should writing your first couple of essays - then you'll end up in the position you've found yourself in, where you're struggling to finish the last essay in time. You have to be ruthless. I'd spend a maximum of ten minutes per essay scribbling basic preparation notes down, then try to restrict each essay to 30 minutes - leaving a blank page after every essay so that if I had time at the end I could go back and add extra notes.

I can really identify with the way you mull over exams you've just sat. I can well remember sitting there trying to second guess the examiner on the mark I'd get for each question. The worst ever exam was evidence. I cried and stressed about it in the way you've described here, and when the mark came - it was a merit. In all the stress of an exam, you're not really placed to assess with any objectivity how well you've done. Often, in those post mortems, the only thing you're assessing with any accuracy is you're own emotional state (ie "I did terribly in that exam" = "I am in a state of terribly high anxiety.")

It's stress management techniques that you need, I think. There are various things that could help. I got hypnotherapy - not for exams, but for speaking in court, which I found a terrifying prospect at first. I can't tell you how much it helped me. Also, relaxation techniques. Here is a link about the Alexander Technique which is very useful for relaxation

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/

I suspect that if you're finding it really hard to relax then it's probably because there's some core belief in you that you need to be stressed in order to do well. Maybe a parental voice that you've internalised....or, if you've ever participated in a competitive sport, the sense of needing that rush of stress related adrenalin that can give you a winning boost. However, that stressed rush of adrenalin isn't helpful in an exam situation. So yes, if you can speak to an on-campus counsellor that could be help you a lot in terms of reprogramming your mind so that it sends the right "stay calm and relaxed" messages to your body when an exam is imminent. Stress related to exams is one of the most common problems a student counsellor will deal with, so he/she should be really well placed to help you.

Obviously other things include eating right, getting fresh air and good sleep hygiene to optimise your chances of getting a decent nights sleep. Reward yourself for your bouts of study, so that you end them on a positive note and with good feelings. Be ruthless about taking breaks during bouts of studying, and on putting into practice the kind of relaxation techniques you can read about in that link I've given you - and elsewhere on the Internet.

December 14, 2010

I've been there and I can relate.

The first year of law school was the hardest of the three years. I wanted to drop out after the first semester, but I'm glad I didn't. On a good day when I do my hair and make up right, I'm pretty attractive, but one thing I had from the time I was young, is my intellectual ability. I skipped a grade in elementary school. I've gotten awards in high school and in college. I was used to thinking of myself as smart. I was used to getting good grades. In law school, I was average because everyone else there was just as smart or even smarter. It's very humbling.

Like you, I thought I failed my Civil Procedure test. You actually didn't make a fool out of yourself the way I did. This is how bad it was for me. I had a panic attack during the test. I started visualizing myself failing the class and being kicked out of law school. I went outside to get some fresh air thinking it would help me, but after no breakfast and only several cups of coffee, I guess I had low blood sugar because I promptly fainted in the courtyard. Talk about embarrassing. One of the other students found me. Thank god it was only one other person who knows this. Anyway, the student affairs dean came over and she gave me a paperbag to breathe into. I passed all my first year classes, but I was so sure I wouldn't. I've never had such an anxiety attack before and not since. This was about ten years ago, but I still remember it vividly. Since then I went on to clerk for a judge and eventually found a job with a large agency. It's understandable you'd have anxiety. Your entire grade for the course is based on a two to three hour exam written under extreme time pressure.

The thing that helped me the most in law school was 1) outlining as I went along and 2) my study group. Going to class, reading the cases, outlining, taking good notes are also key, but you have to be able to macro organize the course into a manageable outline. Don't wait until the last minute to do that.

I did fine in law school. I wasn't at the very top, but I wasn't in the bottom either. I found connections I made through internships as a 2L and 3L helpful. My first job offer out of law school came because of a summer 2L job I did. After you get your first job, not too many future employers are going to ask to see your grades.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Afishwithabike

December 14, 2010

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate it.

Taramere, I'm studying law in the US. The exam I took was 4 questions, each weighted differently, with 4 hours time to finish. The first question was worth 50 points out of 100, the suggested time for it was 2 hours, and I ended up going over by quite a bit, just as you said. Thing is, that first question had three sub questions, the first subquestion having two sub-subquestions and the second having three. I ended up scrambling to do the last two questions with the comparatively little time I had left. Even before I had gone into that exam, I had talked myself into not making the mistake of spending too much time on the first question. For whatever reason, in an attempt to do as well as possible on that first question, I still went over by a significant amount of time. It's a habit that I wasn't able to break, and it honestly seems like that is what bothers me more than anything else. I may have hurt myself because of that, but not because of a lack of true ability or knowledge.

I called the campus counseling center and there's a 1 week waiting list for appointments. It's pointless for me since my last exam is on friday (and is far shorter than my other exams), but I'll look into counseling starting the next term.

I suppose it feels good that I'm not alone. I asked another student who I am friends with and she said that she knew people who didn't even get to the last page of the exam last year and still managed to pull a B (depending on the school, a B/B- is the top of the bell curve in most law school grading systems). That helped my anxiety a little bit, because I certainly didn't leave a whole page unanswered.

December 14, 2010

Lawyer here, admitted 2003.

I pretty much almost failed my first semester exams, due to two things: (1) My live-in BF broke up with me the week prior to finals week, so my head just wasn't in the game, and (2) I had NO CLUE how to take a law school exam, as the examination process in law school was so wildly different from undergrad.

Most, if not all, of your first year courses are year long, right? You will be able to improve your final grades by then, I PROMISE. Whatever happens with these exams, go meet with each professor during office hours and go over the exam and how you can improve specific to each professor's standards. I was on the low side of the bell curve after first semester, and on the far right side after the end of the year. I wouldn't have been able to pull that off if I hadn't met with them.

Also, if you're not taking your exams on a laptop, you should (where possible). Many first year exams - Contracts specifically - are racehorses, and you'll need as much time as you can. And make sure you outline each problem/question and spot all the issues before you start writing. If you're running short on time, just quickly identify those issues even if you can't analyze them. Half of your score is from issue spotting.

December 14, 2010

Another word of advice: stop talking to people about the exams, either before or afterward. It'll only produce more anxiety, and lots of folks are bluffing.

December 14, 2010

Another word of advice: stop talking to people about the exams, either before or afterward. It'll only produce more anxiety, and lots of folks are bluffing.

Yes, this is so important. I used to have a tendency to do a post-mortem after an exam, but I quickly learned the hard way their answers may not have been any better and/or they're bluffing. Besides, it's too late to change anything at that point anyway so why borrow trouble?

December 14, 2010

Lawyer here, admitted 2003.

I pretty much almost failed my first semester exams, due to two things: (1) My live-in BF broke up with me the week prior to finals week, so my head just wasn't in the game, and (2) I had NO CLUE how to take a law school exam, as the examination process in law school was so wildly different from undergrad.

Most, if not all, of your first year courses are year long, right? You will be able to improve your final grades by then, I PROMISE. Whatever happens with these exams, go meet with each professor during office hours and go over the exam and how you can improve specific to each professor's standards. I was on the low side of the bell curve after first semester, and on the far right side after the end of the year. I wouldn't have been able to pull that off if I hadn't met with them.

Also, if you're not taking your exams on a laptop, you should (where possible). Many first year exams - Contracts specifically - are racehorses, and you'll need as much time as you can. And make sure you outline each problem/question and spot all the issues before you start writing. If you're running short on time, just quickly identify those issues even if you can't analyze them. Half of your score is from issue spotting.

Hmm glad to see there's so many lawyers here.

And the way my law school does first year courses is the following.

First Semester

LAWR1

Civil Procedure

Contracts

Torts

Second Semester

Property

Criminal Law

Constitutional Law

LAWR II

Every class is one semester long, so as far as the classes I'm taking this semester go, the exams I'm taking are the absolute final exams.

What was frustrating was that I looked at and outlined answers for previous exams in all my courses, so I pretty much knew how law school exams are taken. And I actually think my answers on the exam that drove me up a wall yesterday seem to make sense. I'm mostly just concerned that what I didn't answer could hurt me (and it will, although how much remains to be seen) and that I can't seem to shake my habit of taking too long on the first question. I did that on my Torts final too in that I worked down to the wire, but after reading it, it makes sense.

My contracts "final" is not nearly as big a deal. 10 multiple choice questions in one hour. It's the only class that follows a highly nontraditional (For law school) exam schedule: three 8-hour long take home exams, and three in class multiple choice exams that mimic bar exam questions.

Needless to say, I want this week to be over. I asked a friend of mine who is a nurse to put me in a medically induced coma until January 4th. She did not find this suggestion as amusing as I did.

December 14, 2010

Annnnnd another thing...

They say that your first year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death. It's really true. What you're feeling is very common and normal. There's a lot of fear and pressure your first year. It feels like the world will end if you don't do well, and if you're at a school that curves grades, the natural competition is even worse.

But no matter what happens, you'll eventually secure a great job. Trust me, friends of mine who almost failed out are doing very, very well for themselves. The practice of law really isn't about natural genius so much as sheer determination and the ability to think outside the box. You're doing that now. You'll be fine.

December 14, 2010

I'm kicking myself about my typos and the lack of opportunity to edit them. It's as bad as an exam post mortem!

Taramere, I'm studying law in the US. The exam I took was 4 questions, each weighted differently, with 4 hours time to finish. The first question was worth 50 points out of 100, the suggested time for it was 2 hours, and I ended up going over by quite a bit, just as you said. Thing is, that first question had three sub questions, the first subquestion having two sub-subquestions and the second having three. I ended up scrambling to do the last two questions with the comparatively little time I had left.

I never encountered a question with so many sections to it as you've described. I don't see how you could be expected to do more than a few sentences for each section. Probably if you can, it would be steer clear of questions that are structured like that in the future. You can end up spending far too long on one subsection which you can answer well, but which - even if you got 100% for it, would only get you 10% towards your overall exam score. You know that already, of course.

Even before I had gone into that exam, I had talked myself into not making the mistake of spending too much time on the first question. For whatever reason, in an attempt to do as well as possible on that first question, I still went over by a significant amount of time. It's a habit that I wasn't able to break, and it honestly seems like that is what bothers me more than anything else. I may have hurt myself because of that, but not because of a lack of true ability or knowledge.

I think you can take heart from the inevitability of most other people in your class doing exactly the same thing. You're all first year students, and university exam technique can take a while to master. What stands out for me is that you have a very clear notion of where you went wrong here. Some people come out of exams so muddled that they can barely even remember having done the exam - it's all such a blur for them. You will almost certainly have done better than you think you did.

Positive thinking sounds like such a cliche, but it is incredibly effective. I remember getting a tennis lesson where I was practising volleys. "Don't hit it on that side of the court" my instructor kept yelling - getting increasingly frustrated because I carried on hitting it on the wrong side of the court. Eventually I said "tell me where to hit it, instead of telling me where not to hit it." So he did, and straight away I hit the ball exactly where it was meant to go. It's like that thing where you tell someone not to think of a yellow elephant with pink spots (or pink with yellow - can't remember which) and so of course, that's exactly the thing they can't get out of their mind.

So, instead of going into that Friday exam thinking "don't spend too long on the first question" go in thinking very firmly "Take about 45 minutes (or whatever is an appropriate amount of time) for the first question, or less if you don't feel you need that much time." You were bright enough to get the grades to get onto this course, there's no question that you can manage the work and you can probably very easily write enough, in 40 minutes to achieve a good mark in an essay that you're permitted up to an hour for.

The examiners aren't, after all, expecting anything close to the quality of an essay that you could write at your leisure (and with access to texts). They just want a very basic summary that shows you understand the main principles.

What exam do you have on Friday, if you don't mind me asking?

December 14, 2010

I never encountered a question with so many sections to it as you've described. I don't see how you could be expected to do more than a few sentences for each section. Probably if you can, it would be steer clear of questions that are structured like that in the future.

What he experienced is VERY common on US law school exams, as well as many state bar exams. One four hour exam can easily net pages and pages of a typed answer, not a few sentences here and there. They tend to throw the kitchen sink into the questions, and you have no choice but to identify and analyze as many as you can.

He can't exactly steer clear of what questions are asked either.

December 14, 2010

What he experienced is VERY common on US law school exams, as well as many state bar exams. One four hour exam can easily net pages and pages of a typed answer, not a few sentences here and there. They tend to throw the kitchen sink into the questions, and you have no choice but to identify and analyze as many as you can.

He can't exactly steer clear of what questions are asked either.

So it's not a "4 questions from 6" structure?

Do students use computers in exams over there? For all I know, they use computers for exams over here now. I feel archaic now. We sat on individual tables, scribbling - and in a 3 hour exam with 4 questions you would maybe have 4 sides of A4 written per per question. It would be interesting to see a typical exam question to make a comparison.

December 14, 2010

So it's not a "4 questions from 6" structure?

Do students use computers in exams over there? For all I know, they use computers for exams over here now. I feel archaic now. We sat on individual tables, scribbling - and in a 3 hour exam with 4 questions you would maybe have 4 sides of A4 written per per question. It would be interesting to see a typical exam question to make a comparison.

So far, none of my exams are formatted where you can choose which questions to answer. I encountered those a lot as an undergrad, and that frankly made everything way easier. As far as typing or paper goes, it's the preference of the professor. My exams this semester were all typed, completely open-book/open-notes. I know my Property professor next semester requires handwritten exams and is also 100% closed book. Upon looking at what I face for Constitutional next semester, the exam is an 8 hour self scheduled exam that asks less than half of what I had to answer for Civil Procedure. Go figure.

From what I've heard though, the study of law in the US is far more intimidating than in any other location. It's about the only thing the US is still doing right education-wise:p

December 14, 2010

So it's not a "4 questions from 6" structure?

Do students use computers in exams over there? For all I know, they use computers for exams over here now. I feel archaic now. We sat on individual tables, scribbling - and in a 3 hour exam with 4 questions you would maybe have 4 sides of A4 written per per question. It would be interesting to see a typical exam question to make a comparison.

I've never seen an exam where I could pick and choose what questions to answer.

You can do a search for California Bar exam previous questions and see what a typical 3-hour question and successful passing answer looks like. Many law schools model their exams after Bar exams to prepare their students for the Bar.

When I was in school (2000-2003), about 80% of my exams were typed via laptop on special software that denied you access to your hard drive while using it. NONE of my first year exams were open book/notes or take homes, it was all from memory, so he's really lucky about that!! But in later years it was, but if you didn't already know the stuff pretty much inside out by heart already, you'd waste a TON of time looking through your notes/outlines.

December 14, 2010

So far, none of my exams are formatted where you can choose which questions to answer. I encountered those a lot as an undergrad, and that frankly made everything way easier. As far as typing or paper goes, it's the preference of the professor. My exams this semester were all typed, completely open-book/open-notes. I know my Property professor next semester requires handwritten exams and is also 100% closed book. Upon looking at what I face for Constitutional next semester, the exam is an 8 hour self scheduled exam that asks less than half of what I had to answer for Civil Procedure. Go figure.

From what I've heard though, the study of law in the US is far more intimidating than in any other location. It's about the only thing the US is still doing right education-wise:p

Ah...I forgot. In the US, you study at law school as post-grads. I think that used to be more common here too. Now, however, the common route here is that you do a Bachelors in Law (even if you've already got a degree - you would simply do a conversion), then you do a Diploma in legal practice, then you do your 2 year traineeship with a firm. Now, in the course of the traineeship there's a lot of written work to be done in order to prove that certain competencies are being met in the course of the training. You get your practising certificate after a year, but aren't fully qualified as a solicitor until you've finished the 2 years training...so it's a very different structure.

I think Australia, New Zealand and possibly Canada have a structure similar to ours. If you're going straight into practice as a fully fledged lawyer after studying, I can see why the exams would need to pretty testing. I've heard about the Bar exams, and the hours of studying that have to be put in for them.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you on Friday!

NONE of my first year exams were open book/notes or take homes, it was all from memory, so he's really lucky about that!! But in later years it was, but if you didn't already know the stuff pretty much inside out by heart already, you'd waste a TON of time looking through your notes/outlines.

Yeah, the only one I can remember being anything close to open book was a family law exam where we could take a copy of the Family Law Act in. I didn't know, though (I must have been snoozing when they told us that), so I didn't have the Act with me. I think I actually did better because of that. I saw, as you say, a lot of people wasting a great deal of time sifting through the Act during the exam.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Taramere

December 14, 2010

I've never seen an exam where I could pick and choose what questions to answer.

You can do a search for California Bar exam previous questions and see what a typical 3-hour question and successful passing answer looks like. Many law schools model their exams after Bar exams to prepare their students for the Bar.

When I was in school (2000-2003), about 80% of my exams were typed via laptop on special software that denied you access to your hard drive while using it. NONE of my first year exams were open book/notes or take homes, it was all from memory, so he's really lucky about that!! But in later years it was, but if you didn't already know the stuff pretty much inside out by heart already, you'd waste a TON of time looking through your notes/outlines.

Even though I had an outline with me with flow charts and whatnot, I didn't really have time to look at anything other than the rulebook (which has the usual FRCP/28 U.S.C. rules in it). The whole point of outlining really is to teach yourself the material, even though I initially believed it was so you could answer exam questions more easily while taking it. I'm surprised how much I had learned from the process alone.

Also, you mentioned that you and your fellow students' career prospects ended up being pretty good. Would you say that's actually the norm nowadays? All I've been told in the past year or so is that law school is basically a shameless scam. This article in particular hits close to home because, although I don't go here, I do go to a law school in the state. I voted against going to this one because I felt it was massively overpriced for what it was.

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/08/irate_law_school_grads_say_the.html

Edited December 14, 2010 by TheBigQuestion

December 14, 2010

Also, you mentioned that you and your fellow students' career prospects ended up being pretty good. Would you say that's actually the norm nowadays? All I've been told in the past year or so is that law school is basically a shameless scam. This article in particular hits close to home because, although I don't go here, I do go to a law school in the state. I voted against going to this one because I felt it was massively overpriced for what it was.
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/08/irate_law_school_grads_say_the.html

Straight out of law school, where you went to school and how well you did, as well as whether you were on law review, moot court, mock trial, indigent clinics, etc., matters a LOT. It's how firms and agencies pick their new flock.

But 5+ years out, the amount of experience you have weighs WAY more than your pedigree or class rank, but the latter does still matter a little bit, at least the school does.

Thing is, you'll get a LOT more practical experience in a smaller firm (admittedly earning less though), than if you start out in a big Top 10 national firm where you're stuck in the library for your first 3-4 years drafting research memos. And when it comes time to make a lateral move, you'll fare better than your high-ranking counterparts.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Star Gazer

December 14, 2010

That's all very reassuring. Glad to know I'm not the only one who had a few first-year related freakouts. Hopefully I didn't do as poorly as I initially feared I did. Of course, the interminable wait beings.

December 17, 2010

I'm a first semester law student too, just took my Civ Pro final tonight.

What do you call a law student who graduates at the bottom of his class?

....

a lawyer.

you'll be fine!

December 17, 2010

What do you call a law student who graduates at the bottom of his class?

A legislator.

Aside: You'll note in your Spring semester that 80% of the students say they're in the top half of the class.

December 17, 2010

Additionally, if you want to boost your grades in law school, look into gaming the system. Use all your networking skills with the upperclassmen to find out which profs focus on which aspects with respect to grading. Also, find out which curves are easier, or which externships are graded (and graded easily).

Some small classes get a more generous curve. Some externships with judges are for a huge amount of credits, and many judges give 4.0's just for not being a total disaster. Some 3L's may have a killer outline, or know that [X] professor really likes it when you put [Y] in your answer.

I had a prof that claimed to have a word limit for your exam answers. He'd ask huge questions, but you could only use 1000 words to answer. Talking to upperclassmen, they all said to ignore the limit. Sure enough, it worked.

December 17, 2010

I'm a first semester law student too, just took my Civ Pro final tonight.

What do you call a law student who graduates at the bottom of his class?

....

a lawyer.

you'll be fine!

I'll be fine as in not failing? You're almost certainly right.

I'll be fine as in I won't be on probation? Very likely.

I'll be fine as in actually doing well enough to get a few interviews at on-campus interviewing next fall? Highly unlikely unless I completely turn it around next semester. I think I can reasonably estimate how well I did in everything, and I just don't think I could have possibly done better than the vast majority of people. These people are smart. I'm not attending a fourth-tier or unaccredited school here.

I'm done with everything now, but I'm still extremely paranoid about my career options and the shame I will be sure to pour on myself should the worst case scenario come true. My stomach has been in knots non-stop the past two weeks.

I'm racking up way too much in financial aid to risk spending 1 year+ searching for a full time law job as it is, and I'm not helping myself by potentially putting myself in the bottom quarter of my class.

I'm still enrolled for next semester but I'm really starting to wonder if it's worth it. Let's just say that people on law school related message boards have not been nearly as optimistic as people on this board are in regards to people in my situation. I don't know if that's because they're weasels or because they have a better grasp on the career prospects for law students than the posters here.

December 17, 2010

I had a prof that claimed to have a word limit for your exam answers. He'd ask huge questions, but you could only use 1000 words to answer. Talking to upperclassmen, they all said to ignore the limit. Sure enough, it worked.

Pretty much every professor at my school strictly enforces word limits.

December 18, 2010

. I'm not attending a fourth-tier or unaccredited school here.

well since you're having a pity party for yourself and debating whether or not you should even be enrolled again next year maybe you should consider switching to a 4th tier school?

or better yet, actually go ahead and unenroll because if you balk in the face of adversity you're clearly not the advocate anyone wants to hire.

December 19, 2010

well since you're having a pity party for yourself and debating whether or not you should even be enrolled again next year maybe you should consider switching to a 4th tier school?

or better yet, actually go ahead and unenroll because if you balk in the face of adversity you're clearly not the advocate anyone wants to hire.

If there's an award out there for "Worst Advice Given in the Past Century," you just won it. I should transfer to a 4th-tier school despite the fact that where I am right now is a public school that gives me in-state tuition, while most 4th tier schools are private, inhumanely expensive, and have virtually no employment prospects for most of their graduates? Yeah, thanks. Really helpful. Really economically smart. Are you clueless as to the state of this profession right now or does it not matter to you because you're a trust fund baby or something?

The comment about me not being an "advocate" anyone would be willing to higher because I "balk in the face of adversity" also leads me to believe that you're pretty clueless as to the nature of most lawyers' day-to-day work. Yeah, there's tons of "adversity" in being a glorified paper custodian.

As far as my "pity party" goes, you don't sound like you had much trouble during any of your exams. You're not in any position to criticize the concerns that I have. This thread was mostly helpful and constructive and I'd like to keep it that way. If that isn't why you're here, kindly stay the hell out of my thread and don't let the door slam your ass on the way out.

Edited December 19, 2010 by TheBigQuestion

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