I'm going to law school!

[AliciaD496]

I applied several law schools last fall/winter and it was beginning to feel like I had no chance of getting accepted anywhere at first. Three rejections will do that to you. I had hoped to get in to the University of Washington because it was it was a public university and therefore cheaper as an in-state student but I knew it was a long shot because of its popularity and reputation.

I just found out yesterday via the online application status check that I DID get in to Seattle University! I know it was in part because of my brother-in-law being an alumni and writing a letter of support but that didn't mean they were going to accept me. SU has a program for students like myself who have a slightly weaker LSAT and GPA where they get a head start by 'dipping their toes' so to speak with a Criminal Law class in the summer before full time studies (also provides a bit of a social network opportunity with smaller classes for that term at least). If my suspicions are right and I got accepted as part of this program I'll be starting school in June. I'm still waiting to hear from about 3 other schools but I think SU is probably going to end up being my only choice, competition is pretty fierce for entrance this fall apparently. The main disappointment is it's a private school and will cost quite a bit more than the UW and not quite as well known.

Anyway, I'm kinda nervous and kinda excited. I know there are a few other law students and lawyers on here so any advice for a soon-to-be 1L would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Nobody]

Read, read, read. Outline, outline, outline.

That's all I got for your first year. Keep on top of the things and don't wait to outline. That's the big thing. 1L is a bitch, so good luck!


-nobody

 

[Alpha Romeo]

Congrats!!

A few pieces of advice:

1) Always do your reading, even if you can't follow it. Just do your best to get through it.

2) Brief the cases you read, even if you think its stupid after a while it'll help you.

3) When studying for exams, use the practice tests they offer. Don't just study from the book.

4) Make time for yourself no matter what.

5) For exams remember this: IRAC, Issue, Rule Analysis Conclusion. If you answer every essay like that you'll score big points.

1L is the worst year of the three. You will work your ass off so get used to it. If you drink, prepare for the biggest party of your academic career at the end of 1L year. It's the largest until you take the Bar exam...and pass!

Any questions, let me know!!!

 

[the_wildcard]

Congrats!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Congrats, I hope I'll be posting here the same news next semester.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your LSAT score?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Congrats and good luck, Alicia. My advice? Memorize the speeches of Samuel T. Cogley.

(I'll just leave it ambivalent as to which STC I'm talking about. )

 

[TrekkieMonster]

Congrat's ... and condolences.

Kidding about the condolences ... sort of.

If it's something you really want, then it'll be a great experience for you, no matter how hard the work. I think you'll appreciate the advantages of a smaller school. My law school was small when I entered, and offered a lot of personal attention. It was a great experience, even with all the work. Unfortunately, it became rather well known and highly rated pretty quickly thereafter, and now it's a bit, impersonal, money-grubbing monolith that crushes the souls of ....

Oh, never mind. I'll save that for another thread.

As for advice, I think AR said pretty much everything I would have, though I would place additional emphasis on his number 4. Seriously.

Congratulations again! Your adventure is just beginning.

 

[firehawk12]

I'd make a yet another lawyer joke, but then again I'm in English Lit so I guess I don't get to talk.

Congrats!

 

[iguana_tonante]

Congrats!

No particular advice here, since I know zilch about law school, but well done indeed!

 

[TheBrew]

No. NO! Get out while you still can!



All kidding aside, congrats!

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Congrats and good luck.

 

[Alpinemaps]

Congrats! I've followed your story for awhile, so I know how proud and excited you are to get into law school! That is fantastic.

I know it was in part because of my brother-in-law being an alumni and writing a letter of support but that didn't mean they were going to accept me.

Like you said, it wasn't the only reason you got in. But, don't be ashamed to use your network. Life is really about 'who you know', and it's great that you were able to leverage that.

 

[propita]

Congrats! Or maybe not.

I'm at a small school, CA-accredited, not ABA-accredited, but since I'm staying in CA, that's fine. So I was able to go on a 4yr plan and not overtax myself.

1L is a bitch.

Some advice is repeated from above.

Do the reading. Do all of the reading. Have no life that first year. If you're reading Torts and trying to figure out what's going on because the rule keeps changing--they're giving you the development of that particular rule of law by tracing its history through cases.

Brief the cases. When called on to brief in class, don't worry about screwing up--everyone does. And everyone is silently rooting for you. Don't include really non-material facts unless your prof likes it that way. You can learn to "book brief"--writing/highlighting in the book--but long cases may result in flipping pages when you're called on. Not so good. In first year, I wrote my class notes then typed them up that night. That let me review the concepts and organize things from the start. Not outline, but organize my notes. Second year, I typed all during class.

IRAC IRAC IRAC. Here's a great tip: when answering a test question, approach each step of analysis as "Element outcome" because "fact justification."
The fact justification should be the applicable fact(s) from the question, as word-for-word as possible. For example, for the element of "volitional", something like "Dave's act was volitional because [fact from question].

Don't rush about study groups. Don't worry if your study group breaks up--personalities don't always work together well even when everyone is "nice."

Don't worry about your outlines for at least a month--you need to have enough info to outline. If you want a sample, pm me. I'm told that mine are "thorough" but very short compared to others'--everything needed for tests and a bit more, but very concise. Color highlights, indents, very organized visually. Just let me know the class(es).

 

[Nobody]

Another tip that just crossed my mind. I'm not sure how your school structures Research & Writing, but here we're allowed to use computer research from the get-go. Awesome, because Westlaw is like crack but resist the urge! Use the books! It's nice to have a familiarity with book-based research and knowing where things are in the library. Computer research is invaluable but don't use it as a crutch or it will suck later in the semester (and, from what they keep telling me, in the real world too).



-nobody

 

[AliciaD496]

Hey, sorry for the thread necromancy here but I thought I'd give a little update.

I've heard from 2 of the 3 other schools and they were also rejections...it's coming down to the wire to get my deposit in for SU. Should I just go head and send it in? I have a strong suspicion I didn't get into that last school either and it's simply cheaper to stay in Seattle. My long term goal is to get out of Seattle but that can wait for a few years, I'll definitely be more marketable with a JD.

Thanks for all the advice everyone too! I'll definitely take the reading suggestion to heart. Part of this "access program" that I'll be participating in this summer is the teach us how to brief the cases and a bit of an introduction to writing before we get to legal writing the next spring. It also eases the burden a bit for the fall term because one class is already done. It provides some one-on-one critiquing of our writing and some practice exams as well so we're prepared for the final at the end of July (and teaches us how to take law school exams as well, I'd imagine). It'll be an intense 7 weeks but will hopefully I'll be benefiting from it for the next three years.

ETA: To answer Alidar Jarok's question, my score was 156 which was somewhere around the 67th percentile. My brother-in-law claims that was better than his, but I don't know about that. They had actually changed the format of the Reading Comp section (they introduced the comparing two readings side-by-side, I think) starting with our exam in June 2007 so despite having training there was a bit of a suprise there.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Congrats, Alicia, and good luck! ^^

 

[Alpha Romeo]

Hey, sorry for the thread necromancy here but I thought I'd give a little update.

I've heard from 2 of the 3 other schools and they were also rejections...it's coming down to the wire to get my deposit in for SU. Should I just go head and send it in? I have a strong suspicion I didn't get into that last school either and it's simply cheaper to stay in Seattle. My long term goal is to get out of Seattle but that can wait for a few years, I'll definitely be more marketable with a JD.

Thanks for all the advice everyone too! I'll definitely take the reading suggestion to heart. Part of this "access program" that I'll be participating in this summer is the teach us how to brief the cases and a bit of an introduction to writing before we get to legal writing the next spring. It also eases the burden a bit for the fall term because one class is already done. It provides some one-on-one critiquing of our writing and some practice exams as well so we're prepared for the final at the end of July (and teaches us how to take law school exams as well, I'd imagine). It'll be an intense 7 weeks but will hopefully I'll be benefiting from it for the next three years.

ETA: To answer Alidar Jarok's question, my score was 156 which was somewhere around the 67th percentile. My brother-in-law claims that was better than his, but I don't know about that. They had actually changed the format of the Reading Comp section (they introduced the comparing two readings side-by-side, I think) starting with our exam in June 2007 so despite having training there was a bit of a suprise there.

Go for it. Don't hesitate!

Did you apply for scholarships?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

ETA: To answer Alidar Jarok's question, my score was 156 which was somewhere around the 67th percentile. My brother-in-law claims that was better than his, but I don't know about that. They had actually changed the format of the Reading Comp section (they introduced the comparing two readings side-by-side, I think) starting with our exam in June 2007 so despite having training there was a bit of a suprise there.

My friend got a 155 and she got accepted to most of the schools she wanted to attend, so it's pretty decent. Thanks for letting me know that they changed the format slightly, for such a high stakes exam, surprises really aren't cool

Since you're so close to the wire for SU, it's probably a good idea to send it in. Keep everyone updated with how law school is going when you get the time (obviously, first year, you'll be very busy).

 

[SmoothieX]

Congratulations Alicia!!!

I went to graduate school but not law school, so I don't have any advice. Good luck nonetheless.