Okay, time to get down to crunchtime at law school. Spring break is over and I stretched it out by taking the previous week off to work on my memo. I still have 2 absences left in each class, but don't intend to use them.
At this point, there are 6 more weeks of classes and 2 weeks of finals to go. I'm really limping towards the finish. This is the crunchtime period, though. I need to start prepping for finals.
Strange how my perspective is different. Used to be if I studied the night before an exam, I felt completely prepared. Now, if I start studying 6 weeks out, I have this nagging feeling that I should probably have started earlier.
Not sure if I'll be able to continue full-time after this semester. I have so much up in the air. The business has been doing so poorly, I probably need to find a job. If I can't find one, I might need to move to a city with a more vibrant economy.
Like pretty much everything in my life, my plans for getting through law school are a bit hazy. However, I know what I have to do for the next 2 months. Whatever happens after that is anybody's guess.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Spring Break!
I just finished my appellate brief. Nice to have that weight off my shoulders. No more real writing assignments this year. I'll have an upper level writing requirement eventually, but not sure when that will happen.
Still totally lacking in motivation. I'm going to take this Spring Break away from school entirely. Won't study much if any. I also need to devote some attention to non-school stuff. I have a couple of training classes I need to attend, for instance.
Hard to believe that there is only 6 more weeks of class after Spring Break. If you don't obsess about it, the time goes by pretty quickly. Hard to believe that in 2 months, my first year of law school will be in the bag.
1 down, 2 to go. Not that encouraging, really. However, I'll have the Summer to recouperate. I am not looking for any internships or legal employment over the Summer. Probably should, but won't. The Summer classes are all offerred in the evening, when Logan's mom works. So, taking a class here or there won't work, either.
If I can just get through this semester without having to repeat any classes, it'll be a wonderful thing.
Still totally lacking in motivation. I'm going to take this Spring Break away from school entirely. Won't study much if any. I also need to devote some attention to non-school stuff. I have a couple of training classes I need to attend, for instance.
Hard to believe that there is only 6 more weeks of class after Spring Break. If you don't obsess about it, the time goes by pretty quickly. Hard to believe that in 2 months, my first year of law school will be in the bag.
1 down, 2 to go. Not that encouraging, really. However, I'll have the Summer to recouperate. I am not looking for any internships or legal employment over the Summer. Probably should, but won't. The Summer classes are all offerred in the evening, when Logan's mom works. So, taking a class here or there won't work, either.
If I can just get through this semester without having to repeat any classes, it'll be a wonderful thing.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Fall 1L Grade Post Mortem
I've met with all my profs to discuss my exam results from the Fall semester. There were quite a few surprises in there.
The biggie is that I missed an A- in Civ Pro by one point. Literally by one point.
Second, in Torts, on the MCQ section, I was 1 point away from having the highest grade in the class. I thought I killed the essays, but apparently the prof disagreed. Might have done a little better than average on those, but nothing too extraordinary. The prof did say I had one of the higher B+s.
Contracts, I forgot to mention consideration on a short essay and it cost me 9 points. Probably the difference between a B- and a B.
So, if things had gone a little differently, I'd be looking at more like a 3.3 instead of a 3.1.
Not to sound like I'm rationalizing, but there's really not a significant difference between, say, a low A- and a high B+. I think my grades were fair, but it does look like I didn't get a lot of luck, here.
Where things could have gone one of two ways, it looks like more often, they went the other way.
Not sure to be encouraged by that. Initially, it does sort of suck to think I was so close to an A- in Torts and Civ Pro. On the other hand, I guess I could tell myself that it was basically a coin toss in a couple of my classes. I just happened to come up tails twice.
I also am coming to grips with the fact that all my other committments probably are hurting my grades. I would be doing this differently if not for the time I need to spend on them. How much difference? Who knows. I don't think it's huge, but it might be enough to make a 1 point difference on a couple of exams.
Okay, on to semester two.
The biggie is that I missed an A- in Civ Pro by one point. Literally by one point.
Second, in Torts, on the MCQ section, I was 1 point away from having the highest grade in the class. I thought I killed the essays, but apparently the prof disagreed. Might have done a little better than average on those, but nothing too extraordinary. The prof did say I had one of the higher B+s.
Contracts, I forgot to mention consideration on a short essay and it cost me 9 points. Probably the difference between a B- and a B.
So, if things had gone a little differently, I'd be looking at more like a 3.3 instead of a 3.1.
Not to sound like I'm rationalizing, but there's really not a significant difference between, say, a low A- and a high B+. I think my grades were fair, but it does look like I didn't get a lot of luck, here.
Where things could have gone one of two ways, it looks like more often, they went the other way.
Not sure to be encouraged by that. Initially, it does sort of suck to think I was so close to an A- in Torts and Civ Pro. On the other hand, I guess I could tell myself that it was basically a coin toss in a couple of my classes. I just happened to come up tails twice.
I also am coming to grips with the fact that all my other committments probably are hurting my grades. I would be doing this differently if not for the time I need to spend on them. How much difference? Who knows. I don't think it's huge, but it might be enough to make a 1 point difference on a couple of exams.
Okay, on to semester two.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
3 weeks in...
3 weeks in. 11 weeks to go. It already feels like we've been in this semester forever. All I can think is how much I'll enjoy setting my own schedule next Fall. It's been a strain to be here 5 days a week. Only 11 more weeks of it, but I really need to move past the 1L phase. Although we're not allowed to have jobs, I still have the biz and the kid. This 5-day schedule blows.
Brief due tomorrow in writing. I just can't get going on it. I have all day after school today, and all morning tomorrow for it, though. Not sure if it's graded or whether we just get a completion grade on it. I'm hoping for a completion grade. After this, the only remaining written assignment for Legal Writing is our final trial brief. It'll be nice to kiss this class goodbye.
So, survive, survive. Finals aren't for a while. Study group starts next week. I think that'll help some. Didn't do any last semester. If it can help me get one tick higher on one or two grades this semester, it's more than worth it.
Brief due tomorrow in writing. I just can't get going on it. I have all day after school today, and all morning tomorrow for it, though. Not sure if it's graded or whether we just get a completion grade on it. I'm hoping for a completion grade. After this, the only remaining written assignment for Legal Writing is our final trial brief. It'll be nice to kiss this class goodbye.
So, survive, survive. Finals aren't for a while. Study group starts next week. I think that'll help some. Didn't do any last semester. If it can help me get one tick higher on one or two grades this semester, it's more than worth it.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Post Mortem on Fall Semester, 1L Year
All my grades are in. Two B+, Two B, and one B-. Overall GPA is 3.088. So, just a tick shy of a 3.1. I need a 3.2 to keep my scholarship. So, basically, I need a 3.3 in the Spring Semester to keep it.
If I don't, I honestly don't think it will change my plans at all. All in all, I'm not unhappy with my grades. I feel like I did my best, or at least an approximation of it. The difficulty I had was mostly in trying to write good answers during pretty severe time constraints on the exam.
The only thing I could have done, but didn't, was work harder to put together a study group or two. I am starting one up, now.
I'm not really that optimistic that I'll be able to pull a 3.3 in the Spring, but I'll do what I can. Just a couple of grades break my way and it could happen.
If I don't, I honestly don't think it will change my plans at all. All in all, I'm not unhappy with my grades. I feel like I did my best, or at least an approximation of it. The difficulty I had was mostly in trying to write good answers during pretty severe time constraints on the exam.
The only thing I could have done, but didn't, was work harder to put together a study group or two. I am starting one up, now.
I'm not really that optimistic that I'll be able to pull a 3.3 in the Spring, but I'll do what I can. Just a couple of grades break my way and it could happen.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Contracts Grades Are In
Contracts is really the only exam where, when I look back, I feel like I just booted the thing. The grades are posted and I got a B-. This one, frankly, it would not have surprised me to get a C. I was praying for a B. I ended up with something in the middle, shading towards the B. So, I'm pretty happy.
At this point, my GPA is ever so slightly higher than a 3.0, because my one B+ was in my 4 credit hour class.
The other class I'm worried about is Civ Pro, and I'm not confident about that one, but I'm certain I did much worse in Contracts. I'm thinking I have a good shot at a B, which would put me in at the end of the semester with just a tick higher than a 3.0.
Today is actually the deadline to post grades. So, the suspense should be over, soon.
Freakin' 1L. It's funny, but they say that 1L classes really bond because they went through 1L together. I can totally see that. It's not that the classes, themselves, are that bad. It's that there's so much emotion surrounding almost everything that happens.
At this point, my GPA is ever so slightly higher than a 3.0, because my one B+ was in my 4 credit hour class.
The other class I'm worried about is Civ Pro, and I'm not confident about that one, but I'm certain I did much worse in Contracts. I'm thinking I have a good shot at a B, which would put me in at the end of the semester with just a tick higher than a 3.0.
Today is actually the deadline to post grades. So, the suspense should be over, soon.
Freakin' 1L. It's funny, but they say that 1L classes really bond because they went through 1L together. I can totally see that. It's not that the classes, themselves, are that bad. It's that there's so much emotion surrounding almost everything that happens.
Friday, January 6, 2012
In a foul mood...
I'm just generally in a bad mood for all sorts of reasons, but one of them is my disappointing Law School grades. With three grades in, I have a B+ and two Bs.
Not so bad, but that's with my two strongest subjects in there. The remaining classes were my weakest. The deadline for reporting grades is tomorrow, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're posted a lot later than that, especially for one prof who had to grade another prof's exams after having to take over the class on short-notice due to an emergency.
I'm worried about both exams. Made big mistakes on both of them.
Now, I do think my grades are fair. I guess I'm just in awe that so many people kicked my ass. Property was the real stunner. I thought I nailed that thing, but if I got a B, that means that probably 10 other students, give or take, did a better job than I did. Smart people in this class, no doubt.
Also, the gravitational pull of the B is starting to dawn on me. We have roughly a 3.0 curve at the school. I think only about 10% get As, but there's a little latitude in there. Not sure how many get B+ or A-. Figure if another 5% or so get those grades, then we're talking maybe 8 people in a class of 50 would get something higher than a B.
I'm also hoping it works in reverse: that on a 3.0 curve, that also means that only 8 people or so will get less than a B.
This means that, in a class of 50, about 35-ish will get a B. An unlucky 8 or so get less than a B. A very smart 8 or so get more than a B.
Also, it's hard to guess how you did in a class. I thought I did pretty poorly in my legal writing class, but when the points were tallied I was almost spot-on for being right at the mean. I honestly feared a C in that class.
Torts? Felt really good after that one, and did end up with a B+. So, who knows. Property, I honestly thought that was my strongest exam and I got a B.
I'm hoping the gravitational pull of the B will also keep me from getting a C in Civ Pro and Contracts. I should know tomorrow. That's the deadline, but like I said, it wouldn't surprise me if I only knew one of them by then.
It sorta sucks knowing that I'm an average student. I did work pretty hard on this and put in a lot of prep, even before the semester started. It does remind me a bit of b-school. I was always getting my ass kicked by the touchy-feely types in classes like organizational behavior and labor and human resources. I was always getting my ass kicked by the engineers in all my quantitative classes.
In the end, I got a 3.5, which wasn't competitively graded, but if I had to guess, was probably about average for the program.
In Law School, it's looking a lot like I may end up with a 3.0. Average for the program.
Of course, both b-school and law school attract a lot of driven people who want to do well because a lot of money can be at stake. Figure you take the general population. Only 1 in 3 get a bachelor's degree.
Of those, most feel like they have more than enough school and never go back. Then, you have the folks who think about law school. You pretty much need an average or better LSAT to even get into an accredited law school. In the end, my peer group in law school might very well be representative of something like the top 4% of the general population.
(33% of population gets a bachelor's degree. 25% of them even think about going on for graduate school. 50% of them can't test well enough to get into law school. That works out to roughly 4% of the population. Being average in that cohort means you're at about the 98th percentile in academic chops. Also, being top 10% means you're in the top 4/10ths of a percent of the population as a whole. Sort of shows why it's hard to get an A. Those percentages aren't authoritative, by the way. They're just my guesses as to what they should be.)
Now, on the bright side, I won't have to spend all that time working on law review!
Ah well. Schtuff happens. My only worries related to my GPA are that I won't maintain a high enough GPA to keep my scholarship. I need a 3.2 and as it stands now, I'd have about a 3.08 if I pull Bs in my two other classes.
The other worry is that I would like to gain some experience working for a law firm before I graduate. Preferrably a personal injury firm. However, if my grades aren't good enough, I won't be able to score an internship.
All in all, not the biggest deal. Really, in the final analysis, I need to remind myself that my A plan at graduation was to hang out a shingle and start a solo practice. Nothing has really changed about that.
Not so bad, but that's with my two strongest subjects in there. The remaining classes were my weakest. The deadline for reporting grades is tomorrow, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're posted a lot later than that, especially for one prof who had to grade another prof's exams after having to take over the class on short-notice due to an emergency.
I'm worried about both exams. Made big mistakes on both of them.
Now, I do think my grades are fair. I guess I'm just in awe that so many people kicked my ass. Property was the real stunner. I thought I nailed that thing, but if I got a B, that means that probably 10 other students, give or take, did a better job than I did. Smart people in this class, no doubt.
Also, the gravitational pull of the B is starting to dawn on me. We have roughly a 3.0 curve at the school. I think only about 10% get As, but there's a little latitude in there. Not sure how many get B+ or A-. Figure if another 5% or so get those grades, then we're talking maybe 8 people in a class of 50 would get something higher than a B.
I'm also hoping it works in reverse: that on a 3.0 curve, that also means that only 8 people or so will get less than a B.
This means that, in a class of 50, about 35-ish will get a B. An unlucky 8 or so get less than a B. A very smart 8 or so get more than a B.
Also, it's hard to guess how you did in a class. I thought I did pretty poorly in my legal writing class, but when the points were tallied I was almost spot-on for being right at the mean. I honestly feared a C in that class.
Torts? Felt really good after that one, and did end up with a B+. So, who knows. Property, I honestly thought that was my strongest exam and I got a B.
I'm hoping the gravitational pull of the B will also keep me from getting a C in Civ Pro and Contracts. I should know tomorrow. That's the deadline, but like I said, it wouldn't surprise me if I only knew one of them by then.
It sorta sucks knowing that I'm an average student. I did work pretty hard on this and put in a lot of prep, even before the semester started. It does remind me a bit of b-school. I was always getting my ass kicked by the touchy-feely types in classes like organizational behavior and labor and human resources. I was always getting my ass kicked by the engineers in all my quantitative classes.
In the end, I got a 3.5, which wasn't competitively graded, but if I had to guess, was probably about average for the program.
In Law School, it's looking a lot like I may end up with a 3.0. Average for the program.
Of course, both b-school and law school attract a lot of driven people who want to do well because a lot of money can be at stake. Figure you take the general population. Only 1 in 3 get a bachelor's degree.
Of those, most feel like they have more than enough school and never go back. Then, you have the folks who think about law school. You pretty much need an average or better LSAT to even get into an accredited law school. In the end, my peer group in law school might very well be representative of something like the top 4% of the general population.
(33% of population gets a bachelor's degree. 25% of them even think about going on for graduate school. 50% of them can't test well enough to get into law school. That works out to roughly 4% of the population. Being average in that cohort means you're at about the 98th percentile in academic chops. Also, being top 10% means you're in the top 4/10ths of a percent of the population as a whole. Sort of shows why it's hard to get an A. Those percentages aren't authoritative, by the way. They're just my guesses as to what they should be.)
Now, on the bright side, I won't have to spend all that time working on law review!
Ah well. Schtuff happens. My only worries related to my GPA are that I won't maintain a high enough GPA to keep my scholarship. I need a 3.2 and as it stands now, I'd have about a 3.08 if I pull Bs in my two other classes.
The other worry is that I would like to gain some experience working for a law firm before I graduate. Preferrably a personal injury firm. However, if my grades aren't good enough, I won't be able to score an internship.
All in all, not the biggest deal. Really, in the final analysis, I need to remind myself that my A plan at graduation was to hang out a shingle and start a solo practice. Nothing has really changed about that.
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