Ten Tips to Survive Law School

How to Beat the 1L Blues

I graduated from Boston College Law in 2000.  It was a huge culture shock for me, having come from a very tiny liberal arts school.  Some things that made it easier:

1)  Do the reading.This sounds simple, but up until the time I started law school, I'd always been able to fly by the seat of my pants even when I hadn't quite finished an assignment.  Socratic method does NOT work for seat-fliers. 

2)  Have friends outside the school.  Law school students feed on each other's stress.  The best thing I did for myself was to find other friends.  This doesn't mean never spending time with law school people, but it DOES mean you need another outlet.  Don't become isolated in that little world.  It's not the real world and you need to remember that fact at all times.

3)  Make sure you sleep.Again, sounds simple, but you'd be amazed at how many people don't do it.  Staying up until 2:00 a.m. studying does not actually help.  It makes you sleep deprived.  The best rule I had was to get a minimum of 8 hours sleep every night before an exam or presentation.  I honestly think it's what made my grades higher than some of my supposedly smarter classmates'.

4)  Eat right.See #3.  My 1L class lost two girls to eating disorders.  One was anorexic and one was bulimic.  Your health is important.  Don't let the stress control your eating habits.

5)  Take at least one night a week completely off studying.This doesn't mean you can't study on Saturday if you take that night off.  It means at 5:00 on Saturday you are DONE and you have FUN.  See a movie.  Go to a bar.  Whatever.  Just take time for you.  (Frankly, I always kept all day Saturday free from work.  But I'm a fast reader, so I could catch up on Sunday without having a stroke.)

6)  Learn to use the commercial outlines.  They aren't perfect, but they really do make your life easier.  I never would have passed Civil Procedure if I'd used the outline I tried to make.