What Law School is Really Like: The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth

Everyone has their own personal reason for wanting to pursue a career in law. Maybe you'd like to change the world, or maybe you'd just like to make a lot of money. Either way, it doesn't matter why you're there. Law school takes no prisoners whether your intentions are pure or tainted, and it is a painful process that must be endured to obtain that glorious pot of juris doctorate gold at the end of the rainbow.

Most potential law students have seen Legally Blonde, and although I don't attend Harvard, I can attest that there is some accuracy in the film. Law school professors are a brutal bunch-they show no mercy, and it seems that their ultimate goal is to embarrass you in front of your peers. The Socratic Method is alive and well, and you will be a victim of its merciless hand at one time or another.

What is the Socratic Method you ask? Well, I classify it as a particularly cruel and unusual form of torture. The professor will randomly call on students-and it is random because most law professors have no desire to learn their student's names. The professor will then ask you to give the facts of a case you have read in your book. But it doesn't end there-you will then be bombarded with questions about every facet of the case, even the most miniscule details that you never would have thought were important when you were diligently reading the case at 2 AM the night before. If you attempt to say, "I don't know"-forget it; you're not getting off of the hook. You will be verbally assaulted until the professor tires of abusing you and moves on to another nameless victim, leaving you exhausted and humiliated-just another casualty of the Socratic Method.