Ira and I were talking a few weeks ago about how one of the most common questions we get from prospective students is "How many hours a day do you work?"...and how hard it is to answer that question. It's hard to answer because I don’t think most of us think about it that way (it would probably be too overwhelming!) and also because it just varies so much. But it occurred to me today that I can still give you a sense of things. Below are two days, one during a regular week, and one during this week (the week before finals!). They are ripped pretty much verbatim from my planner so...enjoy!

Monday, December 10 (Non-Finals Time)

Wake up at 7, grab breakfast on the way to school (thanks Dunkin Donuts!)

8-12: Work in the CISP office, selling NUSL merch to people, inventorying used text books, and studying in between tasks. This is a work study job, so I get paid about $10 an hour.

12 – 1:30: Employment Law with Prof. Klare

2 – 3:40: Law and Economic Development with Prof. Danielson

I’m out of school by 4! Usually I’ll go home to drop off my books and take a walk. Back at home by 6, have dinner, watch some TV, and get in a few hours of studying. In bed by 11.

Tuesday, February 12 (Finals Time)

Wake up at 7, grab breakfast on the way to school

8-10: Table for CISP, get people to vote on which of their peers should receive co-op funding for public interest co-ops

10-12: An Employment Law study group with friends, going over a past exam

12-1: A meeting on loan forgiveness, and the new federal loan programs

1:45-3:15: Federal Courts class with Prof. Burnham

3:30-5: Work on finals outlines, discuss exam anxiety with friends.

5-6: Federal Courts study session with friends. Only get through about 1 page of notes (out of 50!). Wow.

6-8: Work in the CISP office.

8 onwards: Walk home, have dinner, talk on the phone to my boyfriend, catch up on emails, do reading for class tomorrow.

In bed by 11 or 12.

Hope this gave you some sense of being a law student! My advice would be to know your own tendencies before starting law school. If you’re someone who tends to over commit to activities (ahem), acknowledge that now so that you will avoid it in law school (especially 1L year!). If you are someone who studies well with others, make that happen, but if you aren’t, don’t try to participate in study groups just because you feel like you should. And don’t be afraid to change your strategy. One week my computer was broken, and I realized that without that hunk of plastic in front of me, I made a lot more eye contact with the professor and looked at the case a lot more closely (instead of the formatting on my computer). Once I realized that, I tried to incorporate those things into my class habits, even once my trusty computer was back. Bottom line: no one can tell you exactly what its going to be like to be in law school….and that’s why it’s important to know your priorities ahead of time. Want to spend a lot of time with your family? It’s probably best you try to avoid living far away, with a commute. Want to stay in shape? Schedule those work outs in. Most of all, go easy on yourself. All of us thought we would be the exception to the rule, the law student who can do it all. None of us can. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be.