College Life vs. Law School: what’s the difference?

Many students contemplating whether or not to go to law school have a lot of questions.  Is it the right move for me?  Is it worth the time and monetary commitments?  Will I make a good lawyer/law student?  How much money can I expect to make as a lawyer?  The list goes on…

One important question I always suggest that students focus upon is whether or not they will enjoy going to law school and working as a lawyer.  Students often have very little sense of what law school is actually like.  However, they have a very good sense of what going to college is like.  So, I thought I’d provide anyone who may be contemplating going to law school with a sense of some of the key differences between college life and law school life:

The Differences

1. Law school requires more reading. A typical law school class involves significantly more reading than the typical University course.  While it is manageable, one should expect to do more homework – primarily in the form of reading – in law school than as a college student.

2.  Law school is normally on the semester system. Some Universities are on a quarter system, and some are on a semester system.  Law schools normally operate on a semester system.

3.  Law school courses frequently have only one exam. The typical college course may have one or two midterms, a final paper, a final exam, and maybe even some graded quizzes.  In contrast, law school courses typically have 100% of one’s grade resting on the final exam.  The nice part of all of that is that one doesn’t need to be studying for exams constantly.  The downside is that it puts a lot of pressure on the results of one’s final exam.

4.  Law school classes typically have only essay exams.  University courses vary in terms of their exam types – multiple choice, short answer, essay, etc.  Law school exams typically are essay exams in which a student is given one or more hypothetical factual scenarios and is expected to provide a written analysis of the question(s) posed.

5.  Law school professors often use the Socratic Method:  Students in University classes typically take notes while the professor lectures.  Law school professors lecture, but many of them like to use the infamous Socratic Method teaching style in which they call on students and ask them a series of questions to help explore and analyze legal issues.  Some law school professors will call on students randomly; other professors will have a student panel consisting of (roughly) 5 students each day who they will call upon (which at least allows a student to know which day he/she will be called upon); and others don’t use the Socratic Method at all.  Relax…it isn’t as bad as it sounds…and it normally has absolutely zero impact on your final grade!

6.  Law school classes rely upon case law analysis. Most law school classes focus heavily on analyzing actual law cases, some of them over a century old.  The cases tend to be interesting and sometimes funny, and typically have more than one judge’s analysis (opinion) of how the case should be decided.  In some cases there will be several different opinions written by the judges, coming out with very different conclusions based upon the same set of facts.  The memorable fact patterns of these cases are a fun aspect of law school.

7.  Law school focuses on one general topic.  University students take a wide variety of courses in very different subjects:  math, English, history, science, literature, film studies, etc.  Law school classes all fall under one general topic:  the law.  Of course, within the law, there are very different subjects – Constitutional law, criminal law, civil procedure, contracts, etc.

8.  Law school has no “major.” University students pick a major in which they take a lot of courses in a particular topic (e.g., psychology, chemistry, etc.).  One does not pick a major in law school.  In a sense, law school itself is like a major (i.e., majoring in the law), and one takes a variety of different courses within that general topic.

9.  First year law school courses are determined in advance. In college, one normally gets to pick which courses one takes right from the beginning.  A student’s first year courses in law school are fully decided in advance.  Students can take elective courses in their second and third years of law school.

10.  Some law schools don’t have traditional grading systems. Many law schools have done away with traditional A-B-C-D-F grades.  It’s not as good as it seems, though!  Typically, these law schools use a HP-P-NP (High Pass, Pass, No Pass) or equivalent grading system, so it really just amounts to replacing one grading system with another. Law students at schools using the HP-P-NP report mixed feelings about the different system.

Overall, law school can be a lot of fun.  Of course, there also are many similarities between college life and law school life.  Students may enjoy sitting in on an actual law school class to get a taste of the classroom environment, but the only way to fully experience the difference is when you actually do it!  If you have any questions about law school, or the application process, please feel free to contact me at mark@scoreitup.com.