<p>First, above all, don't waste your time studying for the LSAT until, at most, a couple of months before it. College isn't, or at least shouldn't be, just about picking up a credential needed to continue in the next round of a game of life. </p>
<p>Getting into law school is mostly about two numbers--LSAT and gpa. Right now, worrry about gpa. Most freshmen do worse gpa-wise than upperclassmen do. For law school purposes, it's the cumulative gpa that counts, so get off to a good start. Moreover, law school aspirations aside, there are a surprising number of opportunities at many colleges that are based on gpa. This can include majors, particular courses, study abroad programs, honor societies, some work study jobs, etc. Don't let your failure to buckle down immediately rob you of these opportunities.</p>
<p>I advise taking one small class in a field of interest to you that's not a normal distribution -type course as a freshman. Sometimes, you luck out and get a good mentor out of it because the prof will notice a frosh who is taking a course out of interest. Getting to know profs well, particularly at a big university, is a VERY good thing to do. More often, you get to know some upperclass(wo)men, who can give you advice re good profs, courses, activities, and, sometimes, even LS applications.</p>
<p>Make a point of talking in class--not to hear the sound of your own voice or to the extent of annoying your classmates, but do participate. There are many students who try to get to know profs by going to office hours. While that's a good idea, there are cases in which it can come across as brown-nosing and actually backfire. Getting a prof's attention because you asked a question that shows that you were paying attention or by participating in class discussion is usually a better way to make a prof take note of you.
When you are applying to law school, having recs which say that you participate in class can help. (I'm not saying you can't get into a top law school if you aren't Chatty Kathy, just that since law school instruction is based on classroom discusssion, having recs that say you are one of those rare students who facilitates discussion helps.) </p>
<p>Do some community service. Again, I am not saying this is essential, just that it helps. It doesn't have to be working in a soup kitchen. Most colleges have lots of opportunities to give back. I've known people who tutored in elementary school, acted as a guardian ad litem for foster kids, trained teens in conflict resolution programs, coached little kids sports teams in inner cities, helped immigrants learn English, taught in a literacy program in a prison, volunteered to be translators a certain number of hours a week at a big city hospital, taught music lessons in a settlement house for free, coached high school debate teams for the Urban Debate League,etc. Most universities offer community service opportunities, and you can also get involved in off-campus organizations. </p>
<p>That's my two cents.</p>