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Perhaps 10% of my time was spent reading.
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<p>So what did you do with the other 90% of your time? Math problems? Tell anyone who would listen how brilliant you were?</p>
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So what did you do with the other 90% of your time?
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<p>Mainly went to class.</p>
<p>"In major's where a student can write a thesis, the student should take that course rather than shying away from the easy route."</p>
<p>I don't agree with this as an across-the-board recommendation. I didn't write a thesis, and this was unquestionably the right decision in retrospect. I spent that time on academic and nonacademic activities that meant more to me, still got into every law school I wanted, and did well enough in law school to get all the job opportunities I wanted.</p>
<p>Now, if you're an undergrad at San Diego State and you want to go to Yale or Stanford Law? You should write a thesis to have the best odds of getting in. But aside from admissions concerns, there's no essential law-school skill you will acquire by writing a thesis that you can't acquire through other academic experiences.</p>
<p>I also think that "football physics" can be a very good choice if you're a humanities person at heart and you need to get a science requirement out of the way. Sure, challenge yourself in the fields that you care about, but why blow your GPA on a class that doesn't mean a lot to you? If your GPA is high enough, you may be able to go to the kind of law school where your class standing doesn't really matter.</p>
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I don't agree with this as an across-the-board recommendation. I didn't write a thesis, and this was unquestionably the right decision in retrospect. I spent that time on academic and nonacademic activities that meant more to me, still got into every law school I wanted, and did well enough in law school to get all the job opportunities I wanted.
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<p>I agree, and I would add that a lawyer (or law student) should (hopefully) exercise judgment. By that I mean deciding what's really important and making absolutely sure it gets done; deciding what's less imporant and doing it if you have time; and deciding what's not important at all and giving it little or no attention. You shouldn't be lazy, but you shouldn't be a psycho either.</p>
<p>JMHO.</p>
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you may be able to go to the kind of law school where your class standing doesn't really matter.
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Hanna, do you have any sense as to where the line is between "class rank does not matter" and the rest of law schools? Top what?</p>
<p>Sure. The whole top 14 is a group where your class rank doesn't really matter as far as getting a firm job in a major market. It might not be the greatest firm, and it might not be your first choice market, but you can be in the bottom quartile and get a solid private-sector job in any region of the country. The top 6, aka YHSCCN, is a group where your class ranking doesn't really matter as far as getting a Biglaw job. It might not be Wachtell, but you can be in the bottom quartile and get one of the big Vault firms. There are occasional exceptions -- Silicon Valley firms were laying people off in 2002, so that market was tough even for YHS kids that year -- and of course you can always destroy your chances by blowing all your interviews, but it's remarkable how much security you can find by going to the right law school.</p>
<p>There are some other law schools that provide this kind of security in one market. B-minus Texas grads won't starve as long as they stay in Texas. </p>
<p>If you're trying to get a feeder clerkship, of course, your (effective) class ranking matters a great deal at every school, up to and including Yale. But the vast majority of YHS students, not to mention students elsewhere, aren't aiming that high.</p>