By Megan Rodgers, winner of the 2008 Ms. JD Summer Scholarship

1. Law students study twenty-four hours a day and have no time to do anything else.

I came to Michigan determined to disprove this strong myth. After graduating from a small, liberal arts college, I was ready to experience life at a big university. I wanted to stand in the Big House for the first time and cheer for my team while the marching band played our fight song. I wanted to take pride in my University and see many of the major memorable moments of the year. I vowed that no matter how stressed I became, I would make it to every single home football game dressed in maize and blue. As it turns out, law school is not the 24/7 job that people make it out to be. Sure it is more than a 40-hour/week job, but through the most basic time management, a person can still make time for the things that are important to her. It is great to be a Michigan Wolverine, and this past year I can truly say that I was one.

2.The Socratic method is used to intimidate first year law students and has little educational value.

The Socratic method was the thing that terrified me most about entering law school. Never one to voluntarily speak in class, each time I was called on first semester I could feel the redness in my face seeping from my chin to my forehead. The first time I was called on in class was the most terrifying moment of my first year of law school. But by second semester I was volunteering in addition to being called on. Now, as a TA for an undergrad class, I realize how incredibly effective the Socratic method can be in a classroom. The Socratic method leads to a classroom full of prepared, confident and remarkably eloquent students. To my delight, I surprisingly found myself among that group of students.

3. All law students should study for finals by making elaborate outlines and forming study groups.

During orientation, our 2L leaders reiterated that we should not change our study habits from those that we used in high school and undergrad. I was skeptical, since there seem to be such “tried and tested” means of studying in law school. In the end, I caved under the pressure and started making briefs every day for class, preparing outlines for finals and joining a study group. After first semester concluded, I quickly realized that the wise 2Ls were correct and that the standard outlines and study groups are not the most effective way for me to study for finals. I comfortably slipped back into my usual routine of flash cards and handwritten outlines for my second semester finals.

4. Law students only join student organizations to boost their resume.

Law school initially seemed a lot like high school -- from the lockers to the extreme pressure to join extracurricular activities. I picked a few clubs to join early on during first semester and was surprised to find them made up of people who genuinely cared about the goals of the club and each other. Inspired, I ran for a board position in the Women Law Students Association and served as a social chair during second semester. I made so many new, close friends through the club and had the pleasure of organizing events for Women’s Week and a charity race we sponsored.

5. Law school is not a place to make friends -- it is a competitive environment where friendships are secondary to beating the curve.

We have all heard the horror stories of law students refusing to send a classmate a copy of the day’s notes or ripping out pages in the library books. I had friends at other law schools that complained of these very things and counted down the days to graduation. But at Michigan, I found a real community. One student in my class sent out a semester’s worth of class notes to the entire section the week before a final. Others circulated book award outlines they had received from upperclassman. Of course a curve breeds competition, but in my section competition was secondary to camaraderie.

6. Law students lose their moral compass.

My civil procedure professor used to tell us that law school is neither a car wash nor a brothel. Law school may open a student’s eyes to a new way of looking at the world, but it will neither clean up their morals nor blacken them. Furthermore, the professors and attorneys I have met through this first year do not resemble the despicable cartoon stereotypes of attorneys everywhere. Instead, they are upstanding citizens willing to bend over backwards to help another. Of course some attorneys, like some people of each profession, may be sleazy or lack morals, but this is not even remotely a function of their law degree. It is merely a reflection of their personality that transcends their career; law school has nothing to do with it.

7. Law students are broke.

Actually, this one is true. Offer to buy one a cup of coffee the next time you see him or her.