# Off I Go To Law School (or, the End of a Saga) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734 "2006-07-16T14:00:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/1 "2006-07-16T14:00:42Z")
I don’t know if any of you have followed the Saga of my law school admissions process, but I always wonder how other people’s little life stories turn out, so here’s the conclusion to my tale for those who are interested. I wasn’t accepted to any of my preferred schools. I was wait-listed at three but haven’t heard anything to date, so I took that as a “no.” So, I accepted a spot and a sweet $25k/year scholarship to Hofstra, my safety school. I just got an apartment in Queens with my pal **phatlewt** and will soon be a non-traditional commuter first-year law student. Things didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped but I’m still damn excited. And my parents are absolutely beside themselves that I’m coming back to NYC. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/2 "2006-07-16T14:47:48Z")
Congratulations on the scholarship, **Hello Again** , and on getting into law school. Best of luck to you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/3 "2006-07-16T15:41:11Z")
Congrats! Law school can be exciting, challenging and humdrum all on the same day - have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/4 "2006-07-16T17:34:35Z")
Congratulations **Hello Again**. I followed your story in passing, and I’m glad it worked out. As a fellow non-traditional student, I can assure you that you’re in for a hell of a ride. Have fun, study hard, and remember the two sayings that got a friend of mine through law school: Whatever problem can’t be solved with alcohol can be solved with caffeine. _Nil illegitimus carborundum_ ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/5 "2006-07-16T17:40:11Z")
Congratulations and good luck. Here’s my assvice- Sign up to be a BarBri or PMBR rep in your first year. Your only responsibilities for 3 years will be sitting at a table and handing out highlighters. For this you get to take a 3000$ course (it will probably be more by that time) for free. You really don’t need this course to pass the Bar (I didn’t study for the Bar I passed) but you’ll FEEL like you do. Don’t pussyfoot on bar registration. Register for a bar early on. It means you won’t be shelling out 1000-something in registration fees while your classmates whizzed in at the rate of a 100-something. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/6 "2006-07-16T17:41:42Z")
Yay! Congratulations! And yes, I _was_ interested. (Of course.) Have fun in NYC, and good luck with the schooling thing. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/7 "2006-07-16T17:42:08Z")
Have a blast, and don’t give being a mature student a second thought. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/8 "2006-07-16T17:50:16Z")
Awesome! Congrats on your sweet scholarship! ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/9 "2006-07-16T17:51:14Z")
Congrats on getting into Hofstra (especially since they turned me down) and on the scholarship. I’ll be starting law school in a month, as well, and I’ll be interested to know how you’re doing. Keep us informed. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/10 "2006-07-16T17:59:54Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > Awesome! Congrats on your sweet scholarship! Oh yeah, that’s right! We’ve got _two_ non-traditional student Dopers starting on the fast-track! Congratulations to you _both_, **Hello Again** and **Sausage Creature**! Give 'em hell! ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/11 "2006-07-16T19:51:25Z")
I assume you know that you will have reading assignments due on the first day of class? There’s usually a bulletin board that the Faculty uses to post such things. You do not want to get caught unprepared. Watch _The Paper Chase_ for grins. Classes really do go pretty much that way, at least during the first year. You may also want to read _1L_ for another perspective. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/12 "2006-07-16T23:21:31Z")
Congratulations on the scholarship! If you don’t mind my asking, what made you decide you wanted to go to law school/be a lawyer? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/13 "2006-07-16T23:35:26Z")
> [@Arien](#): > > Congratulations on the scholarship! If you don’t mind my asking, what made you decide you wanted to go to law school/be a lawyer? Well, long story really. But to summarize, for the past two years I’ve been a barn manager and riding instructor on a horse farm. I was shoveling poop one day – an activity which truly offers unparalleled opportunities for reflection – thinking to myself, _I’ve got to get my shit together/ cause I can’t live like this forever._\* When I added up the fact that my two favorite hobbies are Memorizing Minutae and Being Right (with Schmoozing running a close third) and my slow-burning fury over the way the Bill of Rights is being pissed on these days, law seemed the obvious choice as a new career in which I could make some money while stickin’ it to the man. \*props to NJ rock band Fountains of Wayne ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/14 "2006-07-16T23:57:22Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > When I added up the fact that my two favorite hobbies are Memorizing Minutae and Being Right (with Schmoozing running a close third) and my slow-burning fury over the way the Bill of Rights is being pissed on these days, law seemed the obvious choice as a new career in which I could make some money while stickin’ it to the man. ``` Hmmm. Well, good luck. I suspect you'll find that law school is absolutely nothing like you seem to be expecting it to be. The emphasis is on analytical thinking, not so much memorizing. Law school also has very little to do with the actual practice of law. Mostly you'll be reading lots of cases, and trying to grasp the elusive "big picture". ``` ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/15 "2006-07-17T00:04:42Z")
I was being facetious. “It seemed like something I’d enjoy” just wasn’t pithy. It is actually is quite amusing how every single person tells you that “law school isn’t anything like you think it’ll be” while giving a wildly different account of what it is “actually” like from the previous person who spieled you on the subject. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/16 "2006-07-17T00:24:20Z")
I’m nearing the end of my law degree. I’d echo what \*\*Northern Piper \*\* said. You’ll find that your studies run the full range of very challenging to very dull. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/17 "2006-07-17T00:25:02Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > I was being facetious. “It seemed like something I’d enjoy” just wasn’t pithy. > > It is actually is quite amusing how every single person tells you that “law school isn’t anything like you think it’ll be” while giving a wildly different account of what it is “actually” like from the previous person who spieled you on the subject. > > Carry on. You know, if I weren’t firmly jacked in to my fields of study, I might have considered going to law school, too. It does seem fascinating (once you get past the tremendous workload), and it also gives you very useful skills for doing research. **Linty** (who _loved_ **The Paper Chase** ) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/18 "2006-07-17T00:30:20Z")
Wishing you luck and joy in your chosen path. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/19 "2006-07-17T05:04:32Z")
I just finished my first year of law school. **Northern Piper** is quite correct–and that’s a typical day. Work hard, have fun, and good luck to you! ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734/20 "2006-07-17T15:09:07Z")
Hey, congrats. My advice: as a 1L, bust your ass. Get the highest GPA you can, really push for it 40+ hours a week or whatever it takes you. Make sure you meet your school’s requirements for the law review. After that, you can spend the next two years coasting on that high GPA, working in the field, and otherwise doing jackshit. On the flipside, if you party the first year, you’ll spend the next two years trying to fix the damage, and you’ll probably miss your shot at the law review and the second year summer jobs with the big firms. My way is better. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-i-go-to-law-school-or-the-end-of-a-saga/364734.md?page=2)