Student Resources

• Use day planner divided by hours to schedule all of your activities for the day.  Be sure to schedule enough time for everyday things like sleeping, eating, and commuting.
• Protect yourself from people who do not support your new challenge and goals. Many people do not understand the time commitment required in law school and may think you are ignoring them or no longer want to be their friend.  Explain your new situation to your friends and family to help them see why you will not have as much free time as you used to.  Sometimes it becomes necessary to have less contact with those who are not supportive of you and who do not respect your need to devote a significant amount of time to your studies.
• Schedule some time daily for a fun activity, like going to the gym or watching a movie.  Schedule larger blocks of time on the weekends for visiting family and friends.

• Analyze your learning strengths and weaknesses.
• Focus on difficult tasks during times of the day that you are most productive.
• Take study breaks every few hours.
• Review your notes each day, rather than leaving it all for the end.
• Remember that you should plan for at least two hours of preparation for every one hour of class time.  This does not include the time you will need to devote to reviewing class materials after class, or outlining.

Using a calendar, mark off days and times you have classes. Then mark off specific days, such as days that you will outline each course and days you will devote to legal writing. You should begin outlining your courses about one month into the semester.  Updating your outlines each week will ensure that you finish them well before your final exams.

As the semester becomes more and more packed with assignments and exam preparation, focus on a weekly time plan. Don’t forget to include non law school commitments on your calendar. This will help you complete your personal tasks, while you maintain focus on your law school commitments. You should devote at least two hours of preparation time to every one hour of class.

Plan some stress reducing activities in your calendar. Everyone needs to take a break from studying sometimes! Be sure to eat well and try to exercise regularly. Even a short walk or run will release a lot of tension.

Being well-prepared for your classes will help reduce stress.  Don’t procrastinate – make a schedule and stick to it, and it will make your semester as stress-free as possible.

Excuse 1: You are embarrassed.
Keep in mind that most professors do not take your grade personally. You shouldn't either.

Excuse 2: You do not want the professor to know who you are.
The professor will be glad that you are motivated to do better, and will be happy to help a student who shows a strong desire to improve.

Excuse 3: You just want to move on.
Putting the past behind you is a good approach; however, you need to nail down what went right and what went wrong so that you can start this semester with a positive frame of reference. There are many reasons someone might not do well on a final exam, and there are different ways for improving based on what needs improvement. For example, if you see that the professor wrote “too conclusory” on your final exam, you will know that you need to work on expanding your analysis section before reaching a final conclusion. Or, if you see that you did not get any points for a particular analysis, it may be because you analyzed the wrong issue, so you know that you will need to work on your ability to spot the correct issues on future exams.

Excuse 4: You are sure you know which questions you did poorly on.
You would be surprised at the number of students who are mistaken about their exam performance. You will not know for sure which questions you did well on and which ones you did poorly on until you look at your exams. Imagine how horrible this semester will be if the things you thought you did right, you did wrong, and you unwittingly repeat those mistakes.

Excuse 5: The exam won't have any comments that make sense to me.
Your exam may not have comments on it, but some professors will supply a “sample answer” or a checklist of issues that should have been discussed. If this is the case, you can compare what you wrote to the sample or the checklist and see what was missing. If your exam has no comments, and your professor did not supply a sample answer or a checklist, you can meet with your professor and get an explanation of how your particular exam was graded.

You should look at those you thought you would do well in but didn't, and, if you have time, look at those you did well in.

Most professors will make their exams available during the exam review period, which usually takes place at the start of the next semester. Some professors, however, will require that you come to their office to pick it up and return it to them when you are finished; others will require that you read the exam in their office with them present.

1. Look at the point totals to see how you did overall. Did you have trouble with one particular question or did you perform fairly evenly on each question?
2. Look for patterns. Did you do poorly on all first questions/last questions. Did you allocate time well, have initial jitters, or did fatigue set in?
3. Are there certain types of questions you did better on? How did you do on the policy questions? The issue-spotting questions? Multiple choice? What skills should you concentrate on improving?
4. Focus on content. Did you really know the law? Did you state it correctly and thoroughly? Did you apply the facts to the law? Did you come to a conclusion too quickly without first exploring all the possibilities raised by the facts?
5. Use the Exam Review Checklist (PDF) when reviewing your exams to help pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses on each exam.

In most cases, the answer is yes. But, unless there's a mathematical error, don't think that doing that will change your grade. Your goal in talking to your professor should be to understand what you did right and what you did wrong--not to argue.

Before you set up an appointment to discuss substance, make sure you have read your exam and have formulated questions in advance. Check you answer against your outline to see if you can spot missed issues. Tell your professor which issues you found after the fact and see if your list is complete. Pick a question and describe the type of answer you gave. See what else the professor wanted in the answer.

The Academic Success Program can work with you to improve your exam taking skills. Talk to Danielle Bifulci Kocal about what you think went wrong, and they can help you develop a study strategy to correct the problem so that you do not repeat it on your finals the next semester.

Briefing has three purposes: (1) to practice dissecting a case, which is vital for law school exam taking; (2) to prepare for class; and (3) to use when preparing a substantive outline.

The professor expects that you read the assigned materials and briefed the assigned cases, which includes identifying the relevant facts, issue, rule, reasoning and conclusion. When preparing, focus on the court’s rationale by making sure that you know why the court decided what it did.

After you read and brief the assigned case, ask yourself the following questions: What was this case supposed to teach me? What did I know about this issue or legal topic before I read this case? What do I know now?

You will need to create an outline. Outlining will help you understand how all the rules fit together and will be a vital component of your exam preparation.

Remember that your professors are not trying to intimidate you or make you feel stupid; rather they are trying to challenge your mind to go further than you thought was possible. As you prepare for class, try to anticipate some questions that your professor may ask.

Some subjects are very difficult to comprehend. For example, constitutional law and civil procedure are new and foreign, while torts and criminal law may contain more familiar language and fact patterns. When reading a case that is difficult to understand, use your law dictionary to assist you, but try not to get lost in the details. Instead, ask yourself the following questions: (1) What is this case supposed to teach me, and (2) How does it fit with the case I read yesterday? This will help you understand where the case fits within the "big picture" of the course.

To make sure you are on track, attend the Academic Success Program study skills workshops, outline throughout the semester, practice hypothetical questions throughout the semester, and try taking several practice exams during the last month of classes.

It is important to determine what works best for you. Do so by setting a schedule and sticking to it.

You should consider including persons whom you respect and share similar study habits. Try to keep your study group to a maximum of 4 people and include persons who have different strengths. Finally, make sure that the study group sets some ground rules before getting off the ground!

Yes; you are in law school to learn and succeed and you do not need to interact with people who will stand in your way. Stay focused on your strategy and schedule without allowing others to affect your goals.

Yes; remember that law school is very different from undergraduate and other types of graduate education. You are responsible for learning a large amount of information and must apply it in a way that is new to you. As with all new endeavors, it takes some time to adjust to the rigors and challenges of being a law student.

Take advantage of the Academic Success Program, which offers study skills workshops and individual tutoring to all first year law students. (If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, email the Director of Academic Success to discuss your concerns.)