First year Blues

Congratulations! You've been accepted to law school!.....
You are a mix of emotions including excited that you got accepted, enthusiastic that you get to accomplish your dreams, and worried that you will not be good enough.
Fast foreword to orientation, you are bombarded by your future professors and classmates asking questions, and jamming down all this new information down. I know what you are thinking, will you be able to accomplish all of this? How are you going to study all this new information? How will you know if you are doing enough? Well, buckle down I will pass down the secret formula to doing well in your first year.

Before I break down the secret I need to include this discretionary information. Doing well in law school is subjective, unlike any other schooling or programs you have done, this will be completely different. Most law schools only have finals and no mid-terms and definitely no homework. You will be teaching yourself the information, and regurgitating it to your professors during class. You are basically learning a new language. The best approach is to do all your required readings, and give yourself homework. So here we go the secret steps to doing well your first year.

Step 1:

• Read twenty pages ahead before every class 
• Brief the cases in between those pages
• Take notes as you read

Ste 2: 

• Include any clarification on any notes that you previously took 
• Overlook your previous brief
• Start an outline out of the rules and any important cases be sure to include your notes

Step 3: 

• Review your outline once a week when you add new materials 

If you follow these steps then as you add new information, you will retain the old information. The earlier you start this process, the better you will do for your midterms or finals. In the end you will only be tweaking your outlines to have dire information that you cannot remember. If you need a little bit more boost you can study using study guides such as Emanuel or Glannon guides. 

Extra Tips: Cramming will only get you a C at best, some people are ok with receiving such a grade because it is considered passing so suit yourself. 

Meet with your professors during office hours to learn their writing style. Every professor is different, for example I had a professor who preferred us to start our essays with "you have asked us to..." while another professor would have given a paper that started such a way an F. Tread carefully. Good luck, and send me questions, I am happy to help.