Five Things I Learned in Undergrad That Helped Me at Yale Law School
Back To School
It’s mid August and for many of you that means only one thing: another summer break is in the books and its time to move out of mom and dad’s house once more (can I get a hallelujah?!) and head back to school. But before you set off to platform 9 and 3/4, we wanted to leave you with some words of wisdom.
Mary Adkins is one of our superstar LSAT instructors here in New York City, and she also happens to be a graduate of Yale Law School. In the ‘back to school spirit’, we asked Mary if she could reflect on the top five things she learned during undergrad that had the biggest impact on her life in Law School. Hopefully it’s not too late for you to take some of her advice (and if you’re intrigued by Mary’s insights and are looking for a New York course, consider signing up for her course). So without further ado…
5 Things I Learned as an Undergrad that Helped me in Law School:
1. No one else knows what’s going on either. Remember when you were a freshman in college and your mom gave you a giant, sloppy kiss on the cheek before reminding you to separate the whites from the colors? You were embarrassed until you realized that everyone else (a) also had dorky parents, and (b) couldn’t do laundry either. When I got to law schoolI was positive that I was the only one there who was utterly confused. What’s a holding? What’s dicta? “Oh no,” I thought, “I’m actually an idiot. How have I managed to fool everyone all this time?” However, once I learned that everyone else felt equally lost, it was liberating. It was also a great way to launch friendships—over shared panic and distaste for the law. I mean, over beers.
2. Get beers after class. The funny thing about law is that you’ll never know all of it. Ever. It starts in law school and will continue through your career—an endless pit of statutes and opinions awaiting your parsing skills. There will not, however, always be your classmates living across the hall, or two blocks away, inviting you to get a drink. Support—receiving it and giving it—is important in law school. The memories you take from college are the relationships and the same is true of law school. But you may have to remind yourself of that from time to time.
3. Just say no to circadian rhythm social pressures. You’ve heard and/or said it a gajillion times: “Dude, I pulled an all-nighter.” People saunter into class in their pajamas, bragging about their lack of sleep. In college, this didn’t work so well for me. The first time I pulled an all-nighter, I turned in a paper the next morning that came back covered in red ink. Having slept, I could then see that the first sentence was not a sentence. Truly—it lacked a verb. (It a verb). I’m not cool enough to work past midnight, never mind all night. I would much rather wake up early. By law school, my nocturnal peers were churning out papers while I was dreaming about Justice Stevens, and I was fine with that. If you’re not a night owl, I suggest you self-accept as well. It’s a load off.
4. Get to know professors. I am always surprised when friends tell me they have gone through all of college or graduate school without forming a single relationship with a professor. Of course, I do it so eagerly it’s awkward –“Hi again, Mary” at Office Hours–, but why not? You have temporary, direct access to someone who is an expert in an area that interests you, and who is also there to nurture you as a student. Most faculty care very much about students’ success and want to have a relationship with you. And every now and then, one will even buy you ice cream.
5. Prepare to go back to high school. Forget college. Law school is much more like high school. You have lockers, and everyone knows your business. If you give your locker combination to a guy or girl you’re dating, WOAH. You’re serious. So get ready to do adolescence all over again—but hopefully you’ll make better decisions this round. Like, don’t borrow your parents’ car without a license, smoke the wrong ends of cigarettes, or take your first Jager shots on prom night with Opie Harris who graduated two years ago. Hypothetically speaking, of course.