Advice: What to do the summer before law school

Gyimah, Ama - headshotThe summer before I started law school I went on a mission trip to Ghana and worked at a preschool. It sounds like it would be demanding, but I also had a lot of down time to explore and read books for fun. I would advise anyone coming into law school to indulge in their hobbies and relax. Law school gets really busy and it would be best to feel relaxed and refreshed before you hit the ground running your first semester.” – Ama Gyimah
 

 

1000x560_okeefeHey future 1Ls! Congratulations! You should be very proud of yourselves. Please take the time this summer to enjoy every fun thing you can think of. If you’re in Chicago, attend the street festivals, go to baseball games, spend time at the beach and just generally enjoy your free time! I remember feeling very nervous and wanting to do as much as I could to prepare for law school. Unfortunately AND fortunately, there is not much you can do. A lot of law school is learning another language and it is near impossible to prepare for the new knowledge. If you meet lawyers or law students ask them about their experience and for any tips they might have. Although the hints won’t really make sense until you start school, once you get into the semester you’ll remember some of the important things people have told you. Above all, please relax. You’ll have plenty of time to do work during the school year!” -Brigid O’Keeffe

 

Payal, Patel- heashot “The most important thing an incoming 1L should do before starting law school in the fall is to enjoy their summer. If you’ve recently finished college, spend time with family and friends and do all the fun things you’ve always wanted to do. If you’re currently working, try to take at least a few weeks off before you start school (i.e., I stopped working at the end of July) and do the same thing. While you should definitely take some time to relax, also start getting your affairs in order such as making living arrangements, gathering school supplies (i.e. look up your first semester books online in advance and shop around for the best price!) and getting acquainted with the neighbourhood around the school and Chicago in general.” -Payal Patel

 

simonet_1000 “It is perfectly fine to work during the summer before your 1L year. However, maybe plan to leave your job a little earlier. I left mine in early August and took a family vacation before coming to Chicago for law school. Its not necessary to spend a lot of time and money prepping for the fall. Loyola does a great job of making sure its easy for all 1Ls to acclimate to the law school environment. Its all about personal preference. Whatever is going to make you most comfortable going in is what you should do!” -Michael Simonet

 

 ” Hey 1Ls! The summer before my 1L year I transitioned to part time at work to spend time with my family and friends before things got too busy. I watched a lot of Netflix and read some great books. I also spent some time creating a Chicago bucket list that I was able to knock some things off of before school started! I honestly didn’t think too much about law school until our First Class Assignments came out about two weeks prior to classes starting. But I do recommend making friends on the Facebook page and trying to meet up before orientation day! It’s really nice to be able to see a friendly face on your first day.” -Emma McMullen

 

anders_1000 “The summer before classes began, I read the assigned novel, A Civil Action​.  It ended up being a great introduction to the legal vocabulary and concepts present in first semester courses, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly dense.  Other than that, I relaxed and enjoyed summer.  I would recommend doing the same.  Spend time with family and friends and don’t take down time for granted.” -John Anders

 

Stewart, S- HeadshotMost importantly, enjoy your friends and family, spend some time relaxing, and leave yourself ample time to get organized and settled if moving to the city for the first time. The only thing I wish I would have done was to make the habit of reading daily. This summer, read for pleasure— it will help you get in the mindset of having large reading assignments for each class and you will come to find you miss reading fiction when you are elbows deep in dense law books. I did read one book called “1L Of A Ride” by Andrew McClurg before starting school. It has some good, general advice about how to tweak your study habits for law school and the chapters are explicit enough were you don’t need to read it cover to cover.” -Sarah Stewart

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