FSU Law Student Taking Questions Forum

A forum for applicants and admitted students to ask law students and graduates about law school and the practice of law.
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adcoelum

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FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by adcoelum » Wed Jan 03, 2018 1:40 pm

I'm going into my second semester with good enough grades I can answer without a chip on my shoulder lol.

I graduated from UF undergrad in May 2017 and started at FSU Law in August 2017. Ask me anything!!

QUIZ

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by QUIZ » Sat Jan 06, 2018 5:37 pm

adcoelum wrote:I'm going into my second semester with good enough grades I can answer without a chip on my shoulder lol.

I graduated from UF undergrad in May 2017 and started at FSU Law in August 2017. Ask me anything!!
Did you choose FSU over UF for Law school? If so, why?

Also, did you receive $ from FSU?

adcoelum

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by adcoelum » Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:48 pm

QUIZ wrote: Did you choose FSU over UF for Law school? If so, why?

Also, did you receive $ from FSU?
Yes and yes, kinda.

For me, it came down to culture. UF and FSU are functionally the same, but the culture at FSU is more friendly and welcoming than at UF. As much as I wanted to be a double gator and as hard as it was to go to FSU, it ended up being really important to going to a school that seemed to really care about my success and well-being.

I didn't initially get money from FSU, but I kept asking for it and eventually they gave me a partial scholarship. They were really upfront about why I didn't get it initially when I asked about it -- my stats were JUST below their automatic scholarships.

css14f

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by css14f » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:49 am

What kinds of things did you do, specifically, in order to get "good" grades? How did you study for the final?

adcoelum

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by adcoelum » Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:53 pm

css14f wrote:What kinds of things did you do, specifically, in order to get "good" grades? How did you study for the final?
I studied the ways that worked best for my to understand the material. That mean starting my studying early, around October. I made flashcards as appropriate for terms and rules. I began outlining around October as well. I think this was vital to my studying. It forced me to go back to my early notes and work through the material again to recall information and synthesize it. Staying on top of outlining and getting them done early allowed me to actually use them while I did practice questions, hypotheticals, and talked out concepts with classmates. It's completely pointless to outline up until the last minute because you won't be actually learning and absorbing the information.

I think it's also important to try to do your readings with purpose. Read the syllabus and found out what the professor expects from the class. Most professors provide some description or label about the readings. Use that to guide your understanding of what you're reading. Don't just read to get it done. Ask questions and think about what the material means in the scheme of the course.

Know your professors. They look for particular things in the exams. If your professor spent two weeks on venue, you better bring up venue in your hypothetical.

That said, everyone studies differently. This worked best for me. Law school isn't easy for me and I have to work really hard for it. For others it really comes naturally to them.

Are you a 1L or thinking about law school?

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css14f

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by css14f » Thu Jan 18, 2018 12:44 am

adcoelum wrote:
css14f wrote:What kinds of things did you do, specifically, in order to get "good" grades? How did you study for the final?
I studied the ways that worked best for my to understand the material. That mean starting my studying early, around October. I made flashcards as appropriate for terms and rules. I began outlining around October as well. I think this was vital to my studying. It forced me to go back to my early notes and work through the material again to recall information and synthesize it. Staying on top of outlining and getting them done early allowed me to actually use them while I did practice questions, hypotheticals, and talked out concepts with classmates. It's completely pointless to outline up until the last minute because you won't be actually learning and absorbing the information.

I think it's also important to try to do your readings with purpose. Read the syllabus and found out what the professor expects from the class. Most professors provide some description or label about the readings. Use that to guide your understanding of what you're reading. Don't just read to get it done. Ask questions and think about what the material means in the scheme of the course.

Know your professors. They look for particular things in the exams. If your professor spent two weeks on venue, you better bring up venue in your hypothetical.

That said, everyone studies differently. This worked best for me. Law school isn't easy for me and I have to work really hard for it. For others it really comes naturally to them.

Are you a 1L or thinking about law school?
Thanks for answering! I'm a 1L at FSU, but didn't do nearly as well as I had hoped. I knew the material and memorized every case, but that didn't help much. Made the mistake of not going through enough practice exams, but even if I had done so, I had no idea (and still have no idea) what a model answer or an "A" answer to a hypo is supposed to look like (for any course).

Made appts with last semester professors but none of them provided any model answers. I also partly blame Examplify crashing repeatedly lol. Did you have any strategy or resources to help you with your final exams? Any books that provide examples, etc./IRAC etc

CharlieAvocado

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by CharlieAvocado » Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:08 pm

I see TLS no longer allows PMs, or access to old ones... BOO!

Can you tell me what was taught in your 1L writing classes? Did they teach you how to actually research, and if so, what resources were really drilled home?

adcoelum

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Re: FSU Law Student Taking Questions

Post by adcoelum » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:13 pm

CharlieAvocado wrote:I see TLS no longer allows PMs, or access to old ones... BOO!

Can you tell me what was taught in your 1L writing classes? Did they teach you how to actually research, and if so, what resources were really drilled home?
Sure. The first semester we focused on learning how to write legal memos. So a memorandum you would write to your employer in a law office which is objective writing. The second semester we focused on writing an appellate brief which is persuasive writing. We learned how to use WestLaw and LexisNexis to do legal research. We also learned how to use the BlueBook to cite. I think what was drilled home the most was to use either Lexis Shephard's system or WestLaw's key citing system to double check if the rules you're taking from a case have been given negative treatment by other cases. Besides that, BlueBooking was drilled home heavily the first semester.

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