Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash
From Our Students: Interview with a First-Year Law Student
Published January 21, 2021
Law school is often touted as one of the most challenging but also exciting transitions in a student’s education. The path to a legal career involves loads of preparation, hard work and study, study, study.
We spoke with Nikki Hart ’23 about some of her challenges and joys as a first-year law student, and asked her what advice she'd have for incoming students.
1. What did you find most challenging about your first semester of law school?
The most challenging part of my first semester was the workload, specifically the assigned reading. Unlike my undergraduate experience, my law professors expected us to come to every class prepared and fully up to date on the material.
2. What study habits did you implement to stay on top of the demanding workload? Will you make any adjustments to your study habits this spring?
Time management is key to handling the workload. I made weekly calendars to help reduce stress and get everything on time.
Last semester, I underestimated how soon to start a lot of my assignments, which snowballed into having to delay the next assignments. This semester I plan to start my assignments as soon as I can, allowing me more time to go back and make edits, and also reduces the stress of getting them done.
3. What was the biggest difference between your undergraduate experience and your first semester of law school?
One of the biggest differences was the professor expectations. Law school is a professional school, therefore the professors are not only trying to teach us the material but also how to be professionals in the real world. You are graded on professionalism which is based on attendance and participation, but also your attitude during class and the way you respond to your classmates and professors.
4. What was your favorite class and why?
My favorite class was Civil Procedure because it covers a lot of material and I feel like I learned so much in such a short amount of time. Civil Procedure was one of my most challenging classes for my first semester, but it made finishing the class a lot more rewarding.
5. Did the hybrid class format present any unexpected challenges or benefits?
Remote learning can be very emotionally exhausting. Sometimes a professor’s mic cuts out, your internet is down, or you simply cannot stay focused. This can create a lot of stress and anxiety on top of the stress you already feel from classes. I knew remote learning would present challenges but I did not expect it to be so emotionally draining.
One benefit is there is less time wasted. I live off campus and because I do not have to come to campus for classes I have an extra 30 minutes that would have been spent commuting to campus. Also, the time between classes that would have been spent walking around is saved.
6. How did you prepare for final exams?
I tried to spend a few hours every day studying during the reading week. I made thorough outlines for each of my classes and made flashcards based on that material. It helped streamline my ability to study a little bit every day.
7. What advice would you give incoming first-year law students?
Take a deep breath! You will have a lot of professors and fellows telling you that you need to take time for yourself. They will also tell you it will get easier with time. Listen to them. You will get through it even if you feel like you cannot and taking breaks does not make you a bad student. Once you are actually finished with your first semester, you will feel so proud of yourself. Just keep going.
Visit the School of Admissions Law Blog for more point-of-view articles from our students, as well as other informational posts about the law school experience.
