law school horror stories

[sin]

sfdght.

[PT]

how did you do on your lsat's? what law school?

[EastCoaster]

thought id build from hercs post. anyone who has been to law school, or applied to law school throw out some stories. i cant wait to go, i plan on going into intellectual property, simply because i can make triple the money in law as i can as a scientist.

Your first year of law school will be the hardest thing you ever go though. They try and weed out all the guys who slipped through the cracks.

Good Luck

[BigGreen]

I know of one individual that was consistently scoring in the 170's on practice LSATs and ended up with an abysmal score on test day since he bubbled incorrectly on a section and every answer was shifted one line down from where he had wanted it. He ended up retaking and scoring within his practice range, but that (physically) tiny error caused him to have to wait another year to apply. OUCH.

[inheritmylife]

I know of one individual that was consistently scoring in the 170's on practice LSATs and ended up with an abysmal score on test day since he bubbled incorrectly on a section and every answer was shifted one line down from where he had wanted it. He ended up retaking and scoring within his practice range, but that (physically) tiny error caused him to have to wait another year to apply. OUCH.

Now THAT is a horror story. I'd cry for days.

[Hk45USP]

thought id build from hercs post. anyone who has been to law school, or applied to law school throw out some stories. i cant wait to go, i plan on going into intellectual property, simply because i can make triple the money in law as i can as a scientist.

I'm also a future law school student. You should pick up a book called "Law School Confidential." If you want to know what law school is like in detail, read this book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...628145-9818328

From what I've read in the book, 3-4 hours minimum of reading mundane case studies EVERYDAY.

Good luck.

[sigrabbit]

First year is a bitch, just because you are trying to essentially learn a foreign language. After you adjust to what is expected, it is smooth sailing, at least for me. Once I figured out what the professors expected from us, the classes became much easier. After the first year the course material is MUCH more difficult, but by that point you should have figured out how to pick up on the important concepts and ignore the garbage that surrounds them. The most difficult adjustment is coping with having only one shot at making your grade. You don't have multiple tests throughout the year, just a final.

One of my horror stories caused me to lose sleep for days. On a Wills and Trusts final I had the law down cold for the final, and breezed through the test so fast I was the first person done. I sat down in the commons area for about 45 minutes waiting to gloat and discuss the test with my classmates. When people started filtering down, we went over some of the proposed answers and I started to hear people talking about questions I did not have on my test. With about 5 minutes of the test left I realized that my test did not have all of the questions on it! I ran up to the testing room and found out that the last page of my test had two pages stuck together and I did not answer about 1/3 of the test. It turns out that I would have had an "A" if I had the opportunity to finish the test, and I ended up with a "B-" because I aced the rest of the test. Thank god for curves. I thought I was going to fail and have to retake the class.

[Cali]

My sister was in the 98 percentile for the LSAT and she even said the first year was hell.

Good luck!

[RATM]

man BG, you seem like the most articulate/intelligent member of this board. I wish you the best of luck, and keep up abreast of the in's an out's during your first year as much as you can.

[BigGreen]

man BG, you seem like the most articulate/intelligent member of this board. I wish you the best of luck, and keep up abreast of the in's an out's during your first year as much as you can.

I'm borderline retarded to be honest. It's only society's misplaced faith in standardized testing that has allowed me to do anything with my life other than move rocks from one pile to another and then back again upon finishing. Oh wait, i do have one talent....kicking the hell out of you assclowns in fantasy football!

And with regards to law school, 1L orientation is next week, and I'm still desperately trying to secure a deferment until next year as I *know* I'm not ready right now with all that has happened in my life the last few months (relationship ending and my brother, who was doing very well for a while, falling back into his drug addiction).

[RATM]

I was going to slander you with some feeble words about fantasy football, but I had no idea about your brother. Sorry to hear that and I wish him the best of luck!

[BigGreen]

I was going to slander you with some feeble words about fantasy football, but I had no idea about your brother. Sorry to hear that and I wish him the best of luck!

Don't be a squirrely pussy....slander away. There is no love lost in war or fantasy football.

[RATM]

Don't be a squirrely pussy....slander away. There is no love lost in war or fantasy football.

feel so inadequate now......i have nothing....

[sin]

I know of one individual that was consistently scoring in the 170's on practice LSATs and ended up with an abysmal score on test day since he bubbled incorrectly on a section and every answer was shifted one line down from where he had wanted it. He ended up retaking and scoring within his practice range, but that (physically) tiny error caused him to have to wait another year to apply. OUCH.

this is pretty much what i expect to happen. my history with standardized tests has been poor at best. ill just go into the test with zero expectations, that way i cant be mad at myself if i f up.

[sin]

First year is a bitch, just because you are trying to essentially learn a foreign language. After you adjust to what is expected, it is smooth sailing, at least for me. Once I figured out what the professors expected from us, the classes became much easier. After the first year the course material is MUCH more difficult, but by that point you should have figured out how to pick up on the important concepts and ignore the garbage that surrounds them. The most difficult adjustment is coping with having only one shot at making your grade. You don't have multiple tests throughout the year, just a final.

One of my horror stories caused me to lose sleep for days. On a Wills and Trusts final I had the law down cold for the final, and breezed through the test so fast I was the first person done. I sat down in the commons area for about 45 minutes waiting to gloat and discuss the test with my classmates. When people started filtering down, we went over some of the proposed answers and I started to hear people talking about questions I did not have on my test. With about 5 minutes of the test left I realized that my test did not have all of the questions on it! I ran up to the testing room and found out that the last page of my test had two pages stuck together and I did not answer about 1/3 of the test. It turns out that I would have had an "A" if I had the opportunity to finish the test, and I ended up with a "B-" because I aced the rest of the test. Thank god for curves. I thought I was going to fail and have to retake the class.

the funny thing is that i have always had dreams about things like my alarm not going off before a test or having pages missing. your reality is one of my nightmares.

[gunner27]

If you can do it, IP is the way to go. It's rare to have people with lots of both scientific and legal knowledge, and lots of firms will pay top dollar for it. Wish I had the mind for it, but the one large patent case I worked on almost killed me.

My worst law school horror experience was definitely my Commercial Paper final. The exam was 9 short-answer questrions, which didn't sound like too much. I busted my ass studying for it, but when I actually started on the test, I looked at the first question and had absolutely no idea how to proceed. No problem, I thought, I'll just go to an easy question, write that one, get into the groove, and come back to the harder ones. I read through all 9 and thought I had a vague idea about how to handle one of them. Then I really started to panic. I ended pulling a B+, but I left convinced that I had actually failed the exam. Everyone else felt the same way as well--in fact, some of the women in the class were crying afterwards. Fortunately, the professor was actually pretty good and a decent guy who put a pretty high curve on the exam, so everyone did decently grade-wise.

I still have to say, though, that no law school horror story compares to taking the Bar exam--at least in some states.

[bigbouncinballs]

which states?

[gunner27]

which states?

There are a number of states that are known for killer bar exams. California, New York, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Delaware, Nevada--basically lots of states that people want to live in. Some of them (I know CA is) are 3-day exams. Not fun or easy to be that focused for that long.

[bigbouncinballs]

so no colorado and no hawaii... sweet!

[sin]

If you can do it, IP is the way to go. It's rare to have people with lots of both scientific and legal knowledge, and lots of firms will pay top dollar for it. Wish I had the mind for it, but the one large patent case I worked on almost killed me.

My worst law school horror experience was definitely my Commercial Paper final. The exam was 9 short-answer questrions, which didn't sound like too much. I busted my ass studying for it, but when I actually started on the test, I looked at the first question and had absolutely no idea how to proceed. No problem, I thought, I'll just go to an easy question, write that one, get into the groove, and come back to the harder ones. I read through all 9 and thought I had a vague idea about how to handle one of them. Then I really started to panic. I ended pulling a B+, but I left convinced that I had actually failed the exam. Everyone else felt the same way as well--in fact, some of the women in the class were crying afterwards. Fortunately, the professor was actually pretty good and a decent guy who put a pretty high curve on the exam, so everyone did decently grade-wise.

I still have to say, though, that no law school horror story compares to taking the Bar exam--at least in some states.

sfgh

[Mr. Death]

i plan on going into intellectual property, simply because i can make triple the money in law as i can as a scientist.

I am planning on going into intellectual property as well. I am a senior Biology student and am probably going to get my masters in Biochemistry before I apply to law school. Like you said, IP lawyers make great money and even more importantly, there are plenty of available positions due to the tough undergraduate work and many employers requiring a MS or PhD.

[Big Poppa Pump]

Don't go to law school, it sucks

[sin]

I am planning on going into intellectual property as well. I am a senior Biology student and am probably going to get my masters in Biochemistry before I apply to law school. Like you said, IP lawyers make great money and even more importantly, there are plenty of available positions due to the tough undergraduate work and many employers requiring a MS or PhD.

yeah, i have a friend whose uncle invests in biotech startups. when he found out what i did he just about begged me to go into ip. good luck on your ventures.