This post has been sponsored by Zebra Pen. All
thoughts and opinions are my own.
Since I am beginning my third and last year of
law school, I wanted to make this blog post with the idea of helping those who
are as lost as I was the first day of my first year. Here are my 6 tips for
success as a law school student.
1. Be prepared
You are in professional school, after all.
Make sure you have all your school supplies in check: pens, notebooks, binders,
highlighters, and paper. You do not want to be that person asking for a pen and
paper the first day!
Depending on your law school, there may be
classes where professors have a no laptop policy and you will need to hand write your notes. You might also have classes where case briefs must be handwritten.
If that is the case, make sure you use great quality pens. The Zebra
STEEL G-402® Gel Retractable Pen is my top pen choice. I like that
the STEEL G-402 is an affordable pen that
is also durable and of premium quality. Zebra Pen offers a variety of high-quality, stylish pens
to give you the confidence to pursue your goals. Check out more
information here to see how you can Choose Different. In
addition, make sure your notes are legible for when you’re making outlines to
study for finals—starting with a reliable pen is critical.
2. Organization is key!
Keep a calendar or planner to stay on top of
your readings, assignments, and anything else going on in your classes. I like
to add my class schedule with room numbers to my phone calendar that syncs with
my laptop and iPad calendars. I generally put the assignment in parenthesis
next to the class, i.e. CON LAW 227 (Read pg. 1-32). You also will want to keep
track of any absences you might have in your classes in the same calendar.
3. Keep a good study space at home
You will spend a lot of time reading and
briefing cases. Make sure you have a neat and comfortable study place at home.
This will come in handy when the library is closed for the holidays or if you
find yourself in the middle of a pandemic having to take all of your classes in
your house or apartment. I equipped my study space with STEEL
G-402 Gel Pens, paper, and a printer.
4. Take advise with a grain of salt
A large amount of people will randomly decide
to come up to you and give you advice on what worked for them in their law
school journey. Take their advice with a grain of salt. Just because it worked
for them, it does not mean that it will work for you. Do your best to filter
out which advice is similar to what you know has worked for you in your
academic career in the past.
For example, I know I’m not the type of person
that studies three months before a final, so for anyone that advises me that
way, I will hear it, but I will not necessarily follow their advice. In other
words, try to stick to what has worked for you and make slight improvements, as
law school is different than undergrad. My best and only advice to you (this is
tried and true for me): sleep at least 7 hours the night before the final.
All-nighters do not work for me; I will be so tired during the exam that I will
not remember anything I studied and will actually get a lower grade than if I
sleep a full night the night before.
5. Don’t play the comparison game
This is your law school experience! Don’t
compare yourself to what your classmates are doing. If Sally studies every day
and never goes out, that’s what works for Sally. If Tim goes out every night
and never opens a book, that’s what works for Tim. Find what works for you and
don’t worry about what others are doing. The grades are individual, the experience
is individual, and other people will not contribute to you getting your degree
or getting that license.
6. Dress for success
This is completely optional, but to me,
personally, dressing up to school made me want to actively be there and
participate more in class. There is something about putting some thought into
your outfit that completely changes the way you carry yourself. Some people
prefer to be comfortable, which is completely fine. I generally treat law
school like I would an office; thus, I try to stick to a business casual dress
code. Plus, the STEEL
G-402 doubles as the perfect accessory to my
professional, yet casual, wardrobe.
