The Competition Myth
By Ms. JD • August 09, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ed. Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited law school myths from law students across the country. Many students weighed in on the subject of competition. Are law students really monsters that will tear pages from books, steal notebooks from lockers, and hide outlines? Sara Brucker, UC Davis School of Law, writes: Law students aren’t monsters. I lost a close friend my first year of law school and missed several weeks of school. Without request, without explanation, several of my classmates sent me their class notes and picked up copies of worksheets and handouts for me. I was not expecting such…
Myth: Law School Leaves No Time for a Healthy Lifestyle
By Ms. JD • July 31, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ed Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited lessons learned from law students across the country. Several law students mentioned the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle while in law school, including weekly exercise, nutritious meals, and plenty of sleep. Joanna, a student at the University of Buffalo, wrote: In listening to 1L war stories, I was often told that the only things I would have time to do were go to class and read. I took this advice to heart, and often neglected to exercise regularly or pay enough attention to what I was eating. That was a big mistake.…
Don’t Say Goodbye to Your Social Life
By Ms. JD • July 26, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ed. Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited law school myths from law students across the country. Many students agreed that becoming a law student does not mean saying goodbye to your social life. Sara Brucker, UC Davis School of Law, writes: You can have a life outside law school! Law school is one of the few things you truly can devote every minute of every day to. Don’t do it. You may be one of the lucky people who never ever burns out, and yes we’re spending more money than many of us have ever seen in our lives, but…
Are Grades Everything?
By Ms. JD • July 25, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ed. Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited law school myths from law students across the country. Grades were a popular topic, with many students dispelling the myth that grades are the only accurate measure of law school success. Myth: Grades are the only guarantee to job placement. Excelling on law school exams and earning high marks are helpful to gain interviews. An interview is nothing more than a foot in the door towards employment. Scholastic legal achievement is very misleading in defining how talented a person is in the real world or how far they will excel professionally. Some employers…
Law School is Just Like High School: Myth or Truth?
By Ms. JD • July 11, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ed. Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited lessons learned from law students across the country. Many students mentioned the commonalties between law school and high school—the gossip, the dating, the lockers, and the drama. Aileen, University of Pennsylvania, wrote: “It’s exactly like high school.” Older friends warned me law school was a retreat to adolescence. “Everyone gossips and dates each other. You even have lockers!” While I have found law school to be a cohesive community, I find these two experiences to be too different to be analogized, even jokingly. We have lockers. And many people date each other. But…
Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 Ms. JD Public Service Summer Scholarships!
By Ms. JD • July 07, 2008 •Myths & Truths
Ms. JD is pleased to announce the recipients of its Public Service Summer Scholarship. Selected from over 100 applicants nationwide, the recipients and honorable mentions demonstrate extraordinary commitment to promoting women in the law through public service careers. SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS Megan Rodgers grew up a devout Cardinals fan from St. Louis, Missouri. She left the Midwest and headed to Bowdoin College for undergrad where she graduated phi beta kappa, majoring in sociology with a minor in government and legal studies. At Bowdoin, Megan was a captain of the varsity softball team and spent a semester abroad in Bologna, Italy. After…
Law School Myths
By Ms. JD • July 07, 2008 •Myths & Truths
By Crystal Stevens, recipient of the 2008 Ms. JD Summer Scholarship Honorable Mention Award Perhaps the single greatest myth about being a law student is the idea that one can succeed on her own. Amidst studies of tort liability and civil procedure, law students also learn the value of networking. We find ourselves being members of a unique community, relying on each other for support and guidance. A year ago, the term “networking” carried a negative connotation for me. I have since come to think of networking within the legal profession as lifting as you climb. I am confident that…
A Relationship with Law School
By Ms. JD • July 07, 2008 •Myths & Truths
by Carlie Boos, winner of the 2008 Ms. JD Summer Scholarship Law school is difficult to conceptualize before you’re there. I suppose it’s like starting a new relationship. Just as love-at-first-sight jump starts your heart and sends it cowering into your throat, so too does your first day of law school. All you can envision is the bright and shiny future, a world of power suits and corner offices. You do all you can to remain nonchalant, and convince your new classmates that this is just another date. If you whip out your digital camera to immortalize the carpet stain…
7 Myths About Being A Law Student
By Ms. JD • July 07, 2008 •Myths & Truths
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…