Congratulations on the next big stage of your life! You are beginning law school and hoping to make all the difference in the world. You are a go-getter and can’t wait to start the long road ahead of you filled with sleepless nights and long hours of testing. But don’t fret too much. You can get through it all and these tips will show you how.
Come Prepared
One of the first things you should do in order to be successful is to come prepared. It might seem like something quite ordinary, but with law school, getting a jump start on reading materials will go a long way. You should not only have all your materials with you on the first day of school, but you should read through them before you arrive to class. That way you show the teacher you are serious, and you can feel more prepared.
Get the Grades
Another very important element to expect in your first semester of law school is the fact that your grades will solely be based on your final exams. You may not be able to write an essay like in English class and get a good grade. No, in law school, you have to take your knowledge of the laws and critically analyze each ambiguous situation and figure out how you will solve it within the law. Unfortunately, if you are not good dealing with test stress or get test anxiety, this will be quite a struggle, so find a good compromise for yourself now.
Find Activities
The last tip that you should be aware of for your first semester is it is all about the academics. You will be competing fiercely with your own classmates. This makes for a difficult social life, but you won’t have much time for that because of the hundreds of pages you will need to read daily. Try to join just one extra-curricular activity so you have some friends in a more social setting rather than just a study group.
So, you will be having a lot of competition and your social life may suffer for a little while. Receiving your masters of law will be a great boost to you personally and professionally. Once you get through the hard stuff, you will begin to thoroughly enjoy your career. Being a lawyer can be very rewarding, but lots of hard work. If you are one of those types of people, then you have picked a challenging career that will keep you on your toes. Work hard and then you get to play hard!
This article is from Brooke Chaplan, a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.
