Brown Boy Goes to Law School

Wow. Well, this sure is different.

I’ve been out of undergrad for over a year now, but I still remember being able to doze off and daydream in class every once in a while. I frankly don’t ever recall doing all the assigned reading for any course, nor do I recall reading very often before class.

Law school is the complete opposite. If you don’t read before class, you won’t be back for year two. Guaranteed. Not only do you have to read (and the reading is heavy, because usually you’re reading appellate decisions written by really old judges), but you also have to outline. You also have to brief the cases in the reading. THEN you go to class, where you take more notes, and then fit them into your outline. Oh, and you write an exam on it at the end of the semester.

The classroom atmosphere is definitely more intense than anything I’ve ever seen. In undergrad, when the professor calls on you, even if you don’t know the answer or you didn’t do the reading it really isn’t that big of a deal. In law school, you will be embarrassed, and made an example out of in front of all your peers. And the way the questions are asked you have to be on your toes. The professor may be in the middle of a sentence and then abruptly call on you and ask you to finish the sentence. And when you answer the question, they’ll ask you “WHY?” And then when you answer the question, the professor will change the facts of the question, and ask you again. Basically what I’m trying to say is it’s nothing like undergrad! It’s definitely hard work, and I can see why there’s a 20% attrition rate in law school.